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Bill  Douglas
[1934-1991]

short profile movies of Bill Douglas other works by Bill Douglas works about Bill Douglas links

"It was paradise sitting there in the cosy dark being hypnotised by the play of light. Up there was
the best of all possible worlds. To enter this world, that was the dream. Only later did I become aware
that real human beings actually worked on the films, that behind the stars was a producer, director,
writer, cameraman, designer, and so on."
— Bill Douglas, in 1978

filmmaker Bill Douglas entry at Wikipedia
Bill Douglas [1961-96] credits at Internet Movie Database
Bill Douglas Center [est. 1997] at the University of Exeter

Bill Douglas
won a Silver Lion Award for Best First Film at Venice Film Festival, 1972
won Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best British Original Screenplay, 1973
won three awards at Berlin International Film Festival, 1974 & 1979
won the Sutherland Trophy Award at British Film Institute Awards, 1986
and the Bill Douglas Center was established in 1997

Movies  of  Bill Douglas
Bill Douglas [1961-96] credits at Internet Movie Database

·            ·

TV & Film Acting, 1961-70
"The Younger Generation" TV series [5 episodes 1961] /tt0497587/
"Dr. Finlay's Casebook" TV series [1962] /tt0849924/
"Carry On Cleo" feature film [1964] uncredited /tt0057918/
"Peyton Place" TV series [1966] /tt1227449/
"Western" [1970 short] /tt2002857/

Films at London Film School, 1969-70
"Charlie Chaplin's London" [1969] /tt0350701/
"Striptease" [1969] /tt0351788/
"Globe" [1969/70] /tt0350998/
"Come Dancing" [1970] /tt0350729/

The Bill Douglas Trilogy
"One of the greatest experiences [that] the cinema has to offer." — The Observer, U.K.
B.F.I.'s "Bill Douglas Trilogy" pages

	"My Childhood" [46 min; indep U.K. 1972, USA March 1977] Filmed in color, then printed in b&w in order to have a charcoal visual effect; an eight-year-old boy survives an impoverished upbringing in a mining village in 1940s Scotland, living on the breadline with his cousin and sick grandmother; his only escape is the local movie theater, paid for with money made from returning empty jam jars. Written & directed by Bill Douglas; starring Stephen Archibald, Hughie Resto-rick, Jean Taylor Smith, Karl Fieseler, Bernard McKenna, Paul Kermack, Helena Gloag, Ann Smith & Eileen McCallum; won a Silver Lion Award for Best First Film at Venice Film Festival, Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award for Best British Original Screenplay, two awards at Berlin International Film Festival Region 1 disks available only on the Trilogy box sets below • full credits at IMDb
	"My Ain Folk" [55 min; indep U.K. 1973, USA March 1977] The further harrowing life of Jamie, with his cousin Tommy and their mentally-crumbling grandmother, who runs off at one point and is found sleeping in a field; the boys are sent to an orphanage. Written & directed by Bill Douglas; starring Stephen Archibald, Hughie Restorick, Jean Taylor Smith, Bernard McKenna, Mr. Munro, Paul Kermack, Helena Gloag, Jessie Combe, William Carroll & Anne McLeod; won Interfilm Award at Berlin International Film Festival Region 1 disks available only on the Trilogy box sets below • full credits at IMDb
	"My Way Home" [71 min; indep U.K. 1978, USA Sept 1980] Jamie leaves the children's home and gets a job, but is soon drafted into the R.A.F.; his assignment to Egypt brings freedom and new possibilities. Written & directed by Bill Douglas; starring Stephen Archibald, Paul Kermack, Jessie Combe, William Carrol, Morag McNee, Lennox Milne, Gerald James, Sheila Scott, Joseph Blatchley & Radir; won FIPRESCI Prize at Berlin International Film Festival Region 1 disks available only on the Trilogy box sets below • full credits at IMDb
	"The Bill Douglas Trilogy" Blu-ray & DVD Box Sets British Film Institute b&w Blu-ray set [3/2010] 2 disks for $51.99 Facets b&w DVD set [9/2008] 2 disks for $35.99 contains 3 b&w feature films: "My Childhood" [46 min; 1972], "My Ain Folk" [55 min; 1973], and "My Way Home" [71 min; 1978]; both sets seem to include bonus material of a 1978 interview, the student film "Come Dancing" [1970], and the 2006 documentary feature "Bill Douglas: Intent On Getting The Image"

Other Bill Douglas Films

"Home and Away" [B.F.I. 1974]
A boy from the Scottish islands attends school on the mainland, boarding at a small B&B inn; 31-minute color short co-written &
directed by Michael Alexander, co-written by Bill Douglas; available on the "Comrades" disks below • full credits at IMDb

"Comrades"  [indep Aug 1987, USA Jan 1989]

In 1832 England, six Dorset farmworkers formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers, intended as a trade union to protest reduced wages (7 shillings per week or less in Dorset versus ten shillings per week in London). A local land baron complained to the Prime Minister, and the men were convicted on an obscure 1797 law against swearing an oath to each other. Their 1834 sentence was transportation to Australia as convicts for seven years. A public outcry about the treatment of the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' brought about their release by the new Home Secretary in 1836. They returned to England as heroes; five eventually emigrated to the London, Ontario area in Canada; the sixth died in the Dorchester Workhouse in 1891. 3-hour color documentary film written & directed by Bill Douglas; starring Jeremy Flynn, Keith Allen, Robin Soans, William Gaminara, Stephen Bateman, Philip Davis, Katy Behean, James Fox, John Hargreaves, Michael Hordern, Alex Norton, Vanessa Redgrave & Imelda Staunton; won Sutherland Trophy Award from British Film Institute; the DVD includes bonus "Closed Circuit" short film [1989] starring Keith Allen British Film Institute widescreen color Blu-ray [7/2009] 2 disks for $36.99 Film4 Library widescreen color DVD-R [4/2011] for $10.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia

Both sets seem to include bonus material of the trailer, a 2-part 1978 interview, student film "Come Dancing" [1970],
and three documentary films: "Bill Douglas: Intent On Getting The Image" [2006 feature],
"Lanterna Magicka" [2009 feature], and "Visions of Comrades" [2009 short]

"Visions of Comrades" [2009] is a 15-minute short consisting of some outtakes, parts of the 1978 interview,
and commentary by actors and others involved in the film • not listed at IMDb

"Sleepwalker" [Bioscope 1985]
50-minute color horror film written & directed by Saxon Logan; Bill Douglas portrays one of the main
characters; also starring Joanna David, ? Grace, Fulton Mackay, Michael Medwin & Heather Page
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1003059/

"Confessions of A Justified Sinner" [unproduced script 1988]

"Flying Horse" [unproduced script 1990]
based on the life of pre-cinema pioneer Eadweard Muybridge [1830-1904]

"The Ring of Truth" [BBC Scotland Nov 1996]
35-minute comedy short directed by Richard Downes; written by Bill Douglas in 1990;
starring Jimmy Logan, Annie Ross & Hope Ross • credits at IMDb

Other  Works  by  Bill Douglas

1978 essay 'Palace of Dreams: The Making of A Film-Maker'

Works  About  Bill Douglas

"Arena" [1979] /tt0199184/
BBC-TV episode on Bill Douglas after he had completed the Trilogy

"Bill Douglas: On Stony Ground" [1992] BBC Scotland documentary • not listed at IMDb

"Bill Douglas: A Lanternist's Account" [1993] Edited by Eddie Dick, Andrew Noble & Duncan Petrie combines specially-commissioned critical essays with the illustrated screenplays for the Trilogy. British Film Institute 9½x7½ pb [9/93] out of print/used British Film Institute 7¾x7¼ hardcover [9/93] out of print/used

"Bill Douglas: Intent On Getting The Image" [indep June 2006]
64-minute documentary by Andy Kimpton-Nye that explores Bill Douglas's struggle from childhood poverty to acclaimed motion picture director; featuring David Brown, Philip Davis, David Hannay, Mamoun Hassan, Bill Hodgson, Peter Jewell, Murray Melvin, Andrew O'Hagan, Charles Rees, Simon Relph, Robin Soans & Imelda Staunton • Region 1 disk available on the Trilogy box sets and the "Comrades" disks above • full credits at IMDb

"Lanterna Magicka: Bill Douglas & The Secret History of Cinema" [2009]
61-minute documentary by Sean Martin & Louise Milne on Bill Douglas's fascination with pre-cinema optical devices, and how he integrated them into "Comrades"; featuring Mick Audsley, Ian Christie, Joanna David, Stephen Herbert, Peter Jewell, Saxon Logan, Alex Norton, Charles Rees, Simon Relph, Ian Sellar, Robin Soans & Imelda Staunton • Region 1 disk available only on the "Comrades" disks above • full credits at IMDb

L i n k s

browse xx xx on DVD • search videos/DVDs
Frank Capra posters category at AllPosters.com
Bill Douglas [1961-96] credits at Internet Movie Database
http://bufvc.ac.uk/2011/05/10/bill-douglas-symposium
Bill Douglas Center [est. 1997] at the University of Exeter

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