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Catch Us If You Can [1965]
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Ahead of it's time - A forgotten masterpiece!
Review date: 2008-03-31 Rating: 10 out of 10
Saw this on TV about 25 years ago, and liked it then, although didn't quite realise at that time how sophisticated it was. Some things aren't as good as you remember them to be, and other things are better - this is definitely in the latter category.
Catch Us If You Can was filmed in the Winter of 1964, and released in 1965. It is sandwiched in between the Beatles two classics, and this film begins very much in the style of A Hard Day's Night - quick editing, fast one liners, the boys leading a zany lifestyle, all living together in a cool pad - bit like the Monkees template. But it soon settles into something far more substantial in terms of the themes it deals with - the cynical manipulation of advertising, dreams versus reality, finding meaning and happiness in different lifelstyles, the travelling not just the arriving.
The journey takes our characters from the bright lights of London - with its rules and regulations - on a pastoral journey through Salisbury Plain, Bath and into Devon, ending up on Burgh Island, not far from Salcombe in South Devon. The island is a metaphor for following a dream , but it turns out to not even be a real island - it's tidal and is connected to the mainland - a comment on the way dreams can be so insubstantial come the morning.
The beatniks they meet holed up smoking dope in an abandoned village the army use for training purposes on Salisbury Plain was a revelation to me, given that this was 1964/5. It was an early capturing of what would be more commonplace by 1967 - really long hair and hippie styles and attitudes at a time when this would have been really shocking!
The cast are very strong - yes, Dave Clark himself is a little wooden - but there are some superb actors here. I found the locations really fascinating too - seeing England only 20 years after the end of the Second World War, looking pretty grimy and run down. And we certainly don't get snow like that anymore!
This black and white print is excellent quality. Altogether a real treat! At times it seemed like I was watching a French sixties film - great photography and scene setting, not over reliant on dialogue to move it along.
If you are a sixties film / pop culture afficianado I would certainly recommend. The Dave Clark Five soundtrack is pretty good too - the title track is as high energy as any Lennon song from 1964, and there are some good slightly Indian sounding drone instrumentals the band play at points through the story - again, ahead of it's time.
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Reviews
Funtastic Britpop movie
Review date: 2008-03-21 Rating: 8 out of 10
Boorman dives into his film career with zest as he captures the essence of the 60s music and youth culture scene in full swing. Similar to Lester's Beatles films, but without the gimmicks and camera tricks, Boorman goes instead for a flowing but quirky narrative, with well conceived scenes in great locations.
I'm so jealous !
Review date: 2007-11-09 Rating: 10 out of 10
Living here in the U.S. this film is not available.
I loved the DC5 and this movie, though somewhat weird,
is great. I hope it is available soon.
Thumping great movie
Review date: 2007-08-01 Rating: 10 out of 10
At last, Catch Us if You Can available on DVD!
This wonderful film is John Boorman's first movie. It has a heavily documentary feel, as Dave Clark and a girl - followed by the group - escape commercial London and travel across the wintry wastes of Britain pursued by the advertising company who wants the girl back for their Meat for Go campaign. The film ends at the derelict hotel on Burgh Island.
Manny Wynn's photography is wonderfully atmospheric, and the stylish filmmaking that made Point Blank such a classic is evident here.
Peter Nichols wrote the screenplay and was not a little miffed when his friend Charles Wood revealed he'd got the job to script Help!, leaving Nichols with the Dave Clark Five. However, Help! has not aged well and, despite the Beatles' music, its sub-Goonish plot and humour is embarrassing.
Catch Us If You Can has fared a great deal better. It punctures the swinging 60s myth before it really got going, and as a film about lost dreams and hopes its bitter-sweet melancholy is very touching.
Ronald Lacey is superb as a stoned hippy living in a squat on Salisbury Plain (this film is 1965) and Robin Bailey (a great and underrated actor) and Yootha Joyce (much missed) are hilarious as a swinging couple in Bath. Dave Clark does his best to play the moody hero, but only ends up as a bit stilted, although this adds to his sulky charm. Luckily, Barbara Ferris adds much-needed vivacity to their scenes.
The film's ironic message is that some dreams won't come true. However, 40 years after it was made Peter Nichols should be pleased that his screenplay has lasted so well. Charles Wood later redeemed himself with the screenplay for The Charge of the Light Brigade, and several careful hoteliers have saved Burgh Island from destruction.
Unusual Sixties Pop Film
Review date: 2007-05-27 Rating: 8 out of 10
When you think of sixties pop films you normally think of the Beatles but here is a forgotten classic. John Boorman directs this unusual, downbeat film with sixties faves the Dave Clark Five. Band leader Dave Clark takes the main role in this tale of a TV stuntman who goes off on an adventure with an unhappy leading lady. Their attempt to escape involves a few odd encounters with homeless people, a swinging couple and the nasty men in suits who track them. Despite what film guides say, this is not a high spirited romp, more a thoughtful film about how business controls the arts, how other lifestyles are available and how empty your dreams can be. It is far more realistic and challenging than the average lightweight pop musical. The locations are striking with Boorman using his flair to capture London, the countryside and the mysterious island in bleak winter time.
Dave Clark is good as the saturnine leading man, a brooding presence really. The rest of his band are reduced to supporting roles and we never see them actually playing as a group. Great songs make up the soundtrack, "When" being the highlight perhaps. According to legend, Dave retained control of the film choosing the writer and director. The band's worldwide popularity in this period meant the American backers were happy to let him have his way. Although successful in England, the film fared less well at the American drive ins, bemusing its target audience. It was renamed "Having A Wild Weekend" in the USA which does not really reflect the content. "Having A Weird Weekend" might have been better. It is not really aimed at a teenage audience because the general tone is more thoughtful than cheerful. There are several lighthearted scenes which add balance but really this is a film with a message and this is why it has aged well.
The Dave Clark Five are an overlooked group nowadays but they had huge success right through the sixties. For two years in America, 1964 and 1965 they were second only to the Beatles in popularity. Check the Billboard charts! They wrote loads of their own hits like the title track to this film, "Glad All Over", "Anyway You Want It", "Bits and Pieces" etc. Dave also produced the band and controls the rights to their music. Unfortunately for reasons that are not clear, it is largely unavailable these days.
It is fab that this film is coming out on DVD. A sixties pop film with a difference: intelligence rather than cheerful mugging, but you still have the great sounds.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Dave Clark
Robin Bailey
Barbara Ferris
Yootha Joyce
David Lodge
Creators:
Dave Clark (Primary Contributor)
Barbara Ferris (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: Optimum Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Optimum Home Entertainment
EAN: 5060034579632
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-06-04
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 87 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1965
Language: English (Original Language)