Morris: A Life with Bells On
Encyclopedia
Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary
about morris dancing.
(known as Chaz Oldham), who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst
. The film's production company was Twist Films, set up by Oldham and Akhurst.
Oldham spent his later teen years living with a family who were keen morris dancers, and he realised that the English folk dance and its traditions were a rich subject for a film. He went on to qualify as a lawyer but turned to acting and writing. He gradually developed the script of Morris: A Life with Bells On, and drew up a wish-list of actors he would like to have in the film.
, Ian Hart
, Dominique Pinon
, Greg Wise
, Harriet Walter
, Naomie Harris
and Sophie Thompson
. Oldham plays the lead role and Akhurst also appears in the film. A number of real-life morris sides were used as extras in the filming.
The film was shot in London and parts of south west England in the summer of 2007, one of the wettest on record. Filming locations were predominantly in the West Country
counties of Dorset
and Wiltshire
, and included Sandbanks
beach in Dorset (doubling with the addition of a few palm trees as Los Angeles' Venice Beach), Poole
in Dorset and Tisbury
in Wiltshire. The Compasses Inn at Lower Chicksgrove
in Wiltshire served as the Traveller's Staff pub, and the climax of the film was shot at Wimborne Folk Festival
at Wimborne in Dorset.
, a company and registered charity that specialises in such local screenings, showed the film. The film became a word-of-mouth hit through this route, and allowed Oldham and Akhurst to bypass the distributors and go straight to the exhibitors, bolstered by an internet petition.
In May 2009 the film had its international premiere at the 35th Seattle International Film Festival
, where it was awarded joint third place in the Golden Space Needle Audience Award for best film.
The film had its British premiere at the Prince Charles Cinema
in London on 24 September 2009 and was released in a few cinemas in the Picturehouse
chain on 27 September 2009. Although it had a limited release, on its opening day it had a higher take per screen than the studio-backed big budget film The Soloist
.
Reviews were generally positive. In an article in The Times
, director Ken Russell
(another director renowned for filming in the West Country) considered that the film was "a sophisticated faux-naive film that combines the style of the style of Best in Show
, The Full Monty
, Zoolander
and Babe
... Oldham has managed to walk that tightrope between irony and sincerity and come down squarely on the side of heart." Jonathan Brown of The Independent
considered that "shot in mockumentary style that evokes The Office
and This is Spinal Tap
, A Life with Bells On is an affectionate if uncompromisingly comic examination of this most peculiar of English traditions", while Jon Swaine of The Daily Telegraph
called it "a cult hit". Giving it two stars out of five, Xan Brooks in The Guardian
wrote that "At times its gentle, nuzzling brand of comedy is akin to being gummed by a sheep. And yet Akhurst and Oldham's tale is obviously heartfelt and frequently charming".
Rotten Tomatoes
rates the film at "55% of the audience liked it", based on 38 user ratings. The Rotten Tomatoes rating does not include any critics' reviews.
Part of the publicity for the film included a spoof audition tape for the lead role by Simon Pegg
, and a spoof video diary by American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy
from the television series Heroes
. The film will be released on DVD on 26 July 2010. The soundtrack composed by Richard Lumsden
is also available.
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
about morris dancing.
Development
Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas OldhamCharles Thomas Oldham
Charles Thomas Oldham, also known by his other professional name Tom Oldham and personally as Chaz Oldham, is a British actor, voiceover artist, screenwriter and film producer....
(known as Chaz Oldham), who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst
Lucy Akhurst
Lucy Akhurst is an English actress, writer and director who has been working mainly in television since the 1990s...
. The film's production company was Twist Films, set up by Oldham and Akhurst.
Oldham spent his later teen years living with a family who were keen morris dancers, and he realised that the English folk dance and its traditions were a rich subject for a film. He went on to qualify as a lawyer but turned to acting and writing. He gradually developed the script of Morris: A Life with Bells On, and drew up a wish-list of actors he would like to have in the film.
Filming
Although a low-budget film - it cost a total of £500,000 to make - Oldham was successful in fulfilling his wish-list and the film features some well-known actors including Derek JacobiDerek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, Ian Hart
Ian Hart
Ian Hart is an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:Hart, the grandson of Irish immigrants, was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He is one of three siblings and was brought up in a Roman Catholic family...
, Dominique Pinon
Dominique Pinon
Dominique Pinon is a French actor whose most famous roles have been in the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Jacques Beineix. In the theatre, he has appeared in the plays of Gildas Bourdet, Jorge Lavelli and Valère Novarina...
, Greg Wise
Greg Wise
Greg Wise is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in many British television works, as well as several feature films .- Early life :...
, Harriet Walter
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
, Naomie Harris
Naomie Harris
Naomie Melanie Harris is an English screen actress. She is best known for her starring role as Selena in 28 Days Later, as well as her supporting turn as Tia Dalma/Calypso in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films...
and Sophie Thompson
Sophie Thompson
Sophie Thompson is an award-winning English actress, best known for playing Stella Crawford in EastEnders.-Early life:...
. Oldham plays the lead role and Akhurst also appears in the film. A number of real-life morris sides were used as extras in the filming.
The film was shot in London and parts of south west England in the summer of 2007, one of the wettest on record. Filming locations were predominantly in the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
counties of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
and Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, and included Sandbanks
Sandbanks
Sandbanks is a small peninsula or spit crossing the mouth of Poole Harbour on the English Channel coast at Poole in Dorset, England. It is well-known for the highly regarded Sandbanks Beach and property value; Sandbanks has, by area, the fourth highest land value in the world...
beach in Dorset (doubling with the addition of a few palm trees as Los Angeles' Venice Beach), Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
in Dorset and Tisbury
Tisbury, Wiltshire
The large village of Tisbury lies approximately west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire.With a population at the 2001 census of 2,056 it is an important local centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour...
in Wiltshire. The Compasses Inn at Lower Chicksgrove
Lower Chicksgrove
Lower Chicksgrove is a hamlet in the civil parish of Tisbury in the south of the county of Wiltshire, England. The settlement is recorded in the 12th century as Chicksgrove and a nearby settlement as Stoford; Chicksgrove was first recorded as Lower Chicksgrove and Stoford as Upper Chicksgrove in...
in Wiltshire served as the Traveller's Staff pub, and the climax of the film was shot at Wimborne Folk Festival
Wimborne Folk Festival
Wimborne Folk Festival is an annual festival of English folk music and dance, held in Wimborne Minster in the English county of Dorset.The Festival was founded in 1980, and is billed as a festival of "Traditional Folk Dance, English and Celtic Music and Song"...
at Wimborne in Dorset.
Release and reception
The film struggled to find a widespread distribution deal, as distributors felt it was too niche in its appeal to be profitable. Oldham and Akhurst organised a tour of village halls throughout the West Country from January to March 2009, in local venues such as village halls. MoviolaMoviola (cinema service)
Moviola is a rural cinema service operating in the British West Country counties of Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. It provides a cinema service for rural communities that have no or distant access to cinema theatres, showing a range of films in village halls and other venues...
, a company and registered charity that specialises in such local screenings, showed the film. The film became a word-of-mouth hit through this route, and allowed Oldham and Akhurst to bypass the distributors and go straight to the exhibitors, bolstered by an internet petition.
In May 2009 the film had its international premiere at the 35th Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
, where it was awarded joint third place in the Golden Space Needle Audience Award for best film.
The film had its British premiere at the Prince Charles Cinema
Prince Charles Cinema
The Prince Charles Cinema is a repertory cinema located in Leicester Place, 40 metres north of Leicester Square in the West End of London. It shows a rotating program of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood releases - typically more than ten different films a week on two...
in London on 24 September 2009 and was released in a few cinemas in the Picturehouse
Picturehouse Cinemas
Picturehouse Cinemas is a network of art house cinemas in the United Kingdom. it has 19 sites, all in England and Scotland.The first Picturehouse opened in Oxford in 1989, but many of its cinemas operated independently before being adopted by City Screen Ltd., the official trading name of the...
chain on 27 September 2009. Although it had a limited release, on its opening day it had a higher take per screen than the studio-backed big budget film The Soloist
The Soloist
The Soloist is a 2009 American/French/British drama film directed by Joe Wright, and starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr. The screenplay by Susannah Grant is based on the book, The Soloist by Steve Lopez...
.
Reviews were generally positive. In an article in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, director Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
(another director renowned for filming in the West Country) considered that the film was "a sophisticated faux-naive film that combines the style of the style of Best in Show
Best in Show (film)
Best in Show is a 2000 independent film that follows five entrants in a prestigious dog show. The film focuses on the slightly surreal interactions among the various owners and handlers as they travel to the show and compete. Much of the dialogue was improvised.Christopher Guest directed; he also...
, The Full Monty
The Full Monty
The Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
, Zoolander
Zoolander
Zoolander is a 2001 American satirical comedy film directed by and starring Ben Stiller. The film contains elements from a pair of short films directed by Russell Bates and written by Drake Sather and Stiller for the VH1 Fashion Awards television specials in 1996 and 1997. The short films and the...
and Babe
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
... Oldham has managed to walk that tightrope between irony and sincerity and come down squarely on the side of heart." Jonathan Brown of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
considered that "shot in mockumentary style that evokes The Office
The Office
The Office is a popular mockumentary/situation comedy TV show that was first made in the UK and has now been re-made in many other countries, with overall viewership in the hundreds of millions worldwide. The original version of The Office was created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. It...
and This is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap is an American 1984 rock musical mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap...
, A Life with Bells On is an affectionate if uncompromisingly comic examination of this most peculiar of English traditions", while Jon Swaine of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
called it "a cult hit". Giving it two stars out of five, Xan Brooks in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
wrote that "At times its gentle, nuzzling brand of comedy is akin to being gummed by a sheep. And yet Akhurst and Oldham's tale is obviously heartfelt and frequently charming".
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rates the film at "55% of the audience liked it", based on 38 user ratings. The Rotten Tomatoes rating does not include any critics' reviews.
Part of the publicity for the film included a spoof audition tape for the lead role by Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg
Simon Pegg is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer, and director. He is best known for having co-written and stared in various Edgar Wright features, mainly Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and the comedy series Spaced.He also portrayed Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the 2009 Star Trek film...
, and a spoof video diary by American actor Sendhil Ramamurthy
Sendhil Ramamurthy
Sendhil Ramamurthy is an American actor. He is best known for the role as geneticist Mohinder Suresh in the NBC drama Heroes.-Personal life:...
from the television series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
. The film will be released on DVD on 26 July 2010. The soundtrack composed by Richard Lumsden
Richard Lumsden
Richard James Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4's drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
is also available.
Cast
- Charles Thomas OldhamCharles Thomas OldhamCharles Thomas Oldham, also known by his other professional name Tom Oldham and personally as Chaz Oldham, is a British actor, voiceover artist, screenwriter and film producer....
- Derecq Twist (Millsham Morrisman) - Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
- Quentin Neely - Ian HartIan HartIan Hart is an English stage, television and film actor.-Early life:Hart, the grandson of Irish immigrants, was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He is one of three siblings and was brought up in a Roman Catholic family...
- Endeavour Hungerfjord Welsh - Dominique PinonDominique PinonDominique Pinon is a French actor whose most famous roles have been in the films of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Jacques Beineix. In the theatre, he has appeared in the plays of Gildas Bourdet, Jorge Lavelli and Valère Novarina...
- Jean Baptiste Poquelin (Millsham Morrisman) - Greg WiseGreg WiseGreg Wise is an English actor and producer. He has appeared in many British television works, as well as several feature films .- Early life :...
- Miloslav Villandry - Naomie HarrisNaomie HarrisNaomie Melanie Harris is an English screen actress. She is best known for her starring role as Selena in 28 Days Later, as well as her supporting turn as Tia Dalma/Calypso in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films...
- Sonja - Aidan McArdleAidan McArdleAidan McArdle is an Irish actor.McArdle was born in Dublin. He studied for an Arts degree at University College Dublin before going on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England....
- Jeremy - The Producer - Sophie ThompsonSophie ThompsonSophie Thompson is an award-winning English actress, best known for playing Stella Crawford in EastEnders.-Early life:...
- Glenda - Harriet WalterHarriet WalterDame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
- Professor Compton Chamberlayne - Jasper BrittonJasper BrittonJasper Britton, in is an actor.Britton is the son of veteran actor Tony Britton, and Danish sculptor and member of the World War II Danish Resistance Eva Castle Britton...
- Will Frosser (Millsham Morrisman) - Pascal LangdalePascal LangdalePascal Langdale is an English actor, who has played supporting roles in a number of television dramas since 1999. Pascal Langdale also lent his voice and likeness to the critically acclaimed video game Heavy Rain, in which he played Ethan Mars...
- Preston Tannen - Richard LumsdenRichard LumsdenRichard James Lumsden is a British actor, writer, composer and musician. He played Nathan in Channel 4's drama Sugar Rush and on radio he plays Ray in Clare in the Community.-Career:...
- Plush Gurney (Millsham Morrisman) - Clive MantleClive Mantle-Early life and education:Mantle was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire. He was a pupil at Kimbolton School, Cambridgeshire and a chorister in St John's College Choir for four years...
- Muff Barcock (Millsham Morrisman) - John BoswallJohn BoswallJohn Boswall was a British actor probably best known for playing Wyvern in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest....
as Mr Staveley - Adam Ewan - Boothby Pagnell (Millsham Morrisman)
- Andy Black - Lydiard Sperling (Millsham Morrisman)