Television director who worked on Doctor Who for 16 years and was at the helm when the Daleks made their first appearance
Christopher Barry, who has died aged 88, directed many notable television series, ranging from science fiction to historical dramas and literary adaptations. At the heart of his work was a 16-year association with Doctor Who.
It began in 1963, with the inaugural appearance of the Daleks – the metallic creatures who would become the most enduring monsters in the show's history. Of Barry's remaining stories with the first Doctor, William Hartnell, The Romans (1965) was an exercise in knockabout comedy, and The Savages (1966, though now lost) a thoughtful morality tale.
When ill health compelled Hartnell to hand over the part of the Doctor to Patrick Troughton, Barry worked closely with the incoming actor, who was initially unsure how to play the part. The resulting adventure, The Power of the Daleks (1966, though again lost...
Christopher Barry, who has died aged 88, directed many notable television series, ranging from science fiction to historical dramas and literary adaptations. At the heart of his work was a 16-year association with Doctor Who.
It began in 1963, with the inaugural appearance of the Daleks – the metallic creatures who would become the most enduring monsters in the show's history. Of Barry's remaining stories with the first Doctor, William Hartnell, The Romans (1965) was an exercise in knockabout comedy, and The Savages (1966, though now lost) a thoughtful morality tale.
When ill health compelled Hartnell to hand over the part of the Doctor to Patrick Troughton, Barry worked closely with the incoming actor, who was initially unsure how to play the part. The resulting adventure, The Power of the Daleks (1966, though again lost...
- 2/17/2014
- by Toby Hadoke
- The Guardian - Film News
Composers have always mined familiar stories for their texts, although Charles Wuorinen, whose Brokeback Mountain premieres tonight in Madrid, has gone back to the source rather than the screen version of this timeless story
Charles Wuorinen's opera on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain is anything but an adaptation of the movie. For a start, the opera features Proulx's own libretto, whereas the author did not write the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie. As Proulx told me for this week's Music Matters, creating her own opera libretto from her 1997 story was about compressing the already heightened, concise world of the short story still further into the distilled essentials that the characters will sing on stage at the world premiere at the Teatro Real in Madrid tonight. Wuorinen says that he wanted to do something that the film didn't: instead of the beautifying effects of the cinematography on the mountainous landscape of the North American West,...
Charles Wuorinen's opera on Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain is anything but an adaptation of the movie. For a start, the opera features Proulx's own libretto, whereas the author did not write the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie. As Proulx told me for this week's Music Matters, creating her own opera libretto from her 1997 story was about compressing the already heightened, concise world of the short story still further into the distilled essentials that the characters will sing on stage at the world premiere at the Teatro Real in Madrid tonight. Wuorinen says that he wanted to do something that the film didn't: instead of the beautifying effects of the cinematography on the mountainous landscape of the North American West,...
- 1/28/2014
- by Tom Service
- The Guardian - Film News
Looking back at the early days of cinema allows us not only the opportunity to see the development of our favourite medium but also discover the hidden gems which may have been forgotten.
Network Releasing are shining their own particular light on some of the lesser-known films from one of the most important studios in British cinema history. The Ealing Studios Rarities Collection Vol. 1 (out on the 8th of April) contains early works from directors such as Carol Reed and Basil Dean and we’ve got a clip and a couple of rare production images from the wonderfully named Cheer Up! for you today.
A struggling playwright hopes to market a musical comedy that he has written in collaboration with another equally penurious composer. Anxious to secure the backing of a millionaire, the two composers only succeed in making him angry — until, following a chain of misunderstandings, they finally emerge triumphant.
Network Releasing are shining their own particular light on some of the lesser-known films from one of the most important studios in British cinema history. The Ealing Studios Rarities Collection Vol. 1 (out on the 8th of April) contains early works from directors such as Carol Reed and Basil Dean and we’ve got a clip and a couple of rare production images from the wonderfully named Cheer Up! for you today.
A struggling playwright hopes to market a musical comedy that he has written in collaboration with another equally penurious composer. Anxious to secure the backing of a millionaire, the two composers only succeed in making him angry — until, following a chain of misunderstandings, they finally emerge triumphant.
- 3/28/2013
- by Michael Walsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
By forging a new mythology for Britain, Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony earns our culture critic's pick for best art event of the year
Was it the paean to the NHS, or the gay Brookside kiss that did it? Was it Simon Rattle solemnly conducting Rowan Atkinson, or the nod to Ken Loach's films? Perhaps it was the procession of great British pop hits (Olympic gold for that ticked off)? It might have been the moment when Conservative MP Aiden Burley tweeted that the whole show was "multicultural crap".
But for me, the spellbinding thing about Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony was the way it forged a new mythology for Britain: not the tired old stuff about cricket and spinsters bicycling to evensong, but something that was rich and strange, and embraced Shakespeare and Blake and children's books and Tim Berners-Lee and, yes, cricket. Plus the weather and suffragettes and Monty Python.
Was it the paean to the NHS, or the gay Brookside kiss that did it? Was it Simon Rattle solemnly conducting Rowan Atkinson, or the nod to Ken Loach's films? Perhaps it was the procession of great British pop hits (Olympic gold for that ticked off)? It might have been the moment when Conservative MP Aiden Burley tweeted that the whole show was "multicultural crap".
But for me, the spellbinding thing about Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony was the way it forged a new mythology for Britain: not the tired old stuff about cricket and spinsters bicycling to evensong, but something that was rich and strange, and embraced Shakespeare and Blake and children's books and Tim Berners-Lee and, yes, cricket. Plus the weather and suffragettes and Monty Python.
- 12/6/2012
- by Charlotte Higgins
- The Guardian - Film News
Our critics' picks of this week's openings, plus your last chance to see and what to book now
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad
Shakespeare's epic love tragedy relocated to present day Iraq, a society riven by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia. In Arabic with English surtitles. Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (0844 800 1110), Thursday to 5 May; Riverside Studios, London W6 (020-8237 1111), 28 June until 30 June.
Enquirer
A new site-specific production from the National Theatre of Scotland based on interviews with leading figures in the newspaper industry, from editors to retailers. Andrew O'Hagan co-edits with directors John Tiffany and Vicky Featherstone. Hub at Pacific Quay, Glasgow (0141 429 0022), 26 April until 12 May.
Film
Marley (dir. Kevin Macdonald)
A documentary about the life and times of Bob Marley. He was a musical legend, but a flawed and vulnerable human being.
• Which cultural events are in your diary this week? Tell us in the comments below
Opening this week
Theatre
Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad
Shakespeare's epic love tragedy relocated to present day Iraq, a society riven by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia. In Arabic with English surtitles. Swan Theatre, Stratford upon Avon (0844 800 1110), Thursday to 5 May; Riverside Studios, London W6 (020-8237 1111), 28 June until 30 June.
Enquirer
A new site-specific production from the National Theatre of Scotland based on interviews with leading figures in the newspaper industry, from editors to retailers. Andrew O'Hagan co-edits with directors John Tiffany and Vicky Featherstone. Hub at Pacific Quay, Glasgow (0141 429 0022), 26 April until 12 May.
Film
Marley (dir. Kevin Macdonald)
A documentary about the life and times of Bob Marley. He was a musical legend, but a flawed and vulnerable human being.
- 4/22/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
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