This week Chris Deacy is joined in the studio by Jo Pearsall to discuss the films; The Sound of Music, When Harry Met Sally, Apollo 13, and Chariots of Fire.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Film Club, I'm Chris Deasey and each week I'll be joined
00:18by a guest from Kent to dive deep into the impact certain films have had on their life.
00:23Each guest will reflect on the films which have meant the most to them over the years.
00:27And every week there will be a Kent Film Trivia, where we quiz you at home about a
00:31film that has a connection to the county.
00:34And now let me introduce you to my guest for this week.
00:37She is a former University of Kent student and now works at Canterbury Cathedral.
00:42She's also interested in music and the arts, including playing the violin and singing.
00:47She is Jo Pearsall.
00:49Great to have you on the show, Jo.
00:50It's nice to be here, Chris.
00:52And I can see, well, a classic you've gone for, Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Sound of
00:57Music.
00:58I have, yes, absolutely.
00:59It's a huge childhood memory of mine.
01:02I've seen it, I can't even imagine how many times.
01:05And when I was a child, me and my next door neighbours used to play, being in The Sound
01:10of Music, on our front gardens.
01:11I thought you were going to say you ran up to the mountains.
01:15No, no, no, we always used to play it.
01:17So we used to re-enact the story, the three of us.
01:20I wasn't usually Maria, I was usually a lot of other people, and my friend was Maria,
01:25and then the other friend was Captain Von Trapp.
01:28And did you sing all the numbers as well?
01:30Oh yeah, absolutely.
01:31So hence the singing that you do now, it all started here.
01:34Yes, that's right.
01:35Can you remember when you first saw The Sound of Music?
01:37I first saw it, I was taken to see it by my parents, presumably, in the cinema, because
01:42I can remember it's such a long film that there was an interval, which obviously doesn't
01:46happen very often now.
01:48And I remember exactly when the interval was, and then we were all like, oh my gosh, we
01:53really want to see what happens next, and there's an interval.
01:56And it's funny you say that, because I saw this at the BFI, and actually the first time
01:59I ever saw it all the way through, it's the sort of film, like Mary Poppins, you think
02:04you know, because it's been on TV so many times.
02:06And they had an interval, and there were quite a few people in the audience who all looked
02:09at each other and thought, oh what do we do now, because they were so engrossed in what
02:12was going on.
02:13Yes, that's right.
02:14You really want to find out what happens, definitely.
02:16And it's such a wonderful story, and the music is beautiful, the actors are fantastic,
02:23they couldn't be better cast, I don't think.
02:26And when you watch that now, because I get the distinct impression that this is something
02:30you've returned to many times over, does it still hold the same magic, for the same reasons?
02:36Well it's funny, because I started to watch it again, because I knew that I was going
02:43to talk about it.
02:44And it's one of those films that you think, I'll just watch five minutes, and then you
02:48find yourself so engrossed in it.
02:50And the start is so beautiful, where it starts with silence and the mountains, and the cinematography
02:57is absolutely incredible, and then all of a sudden you realise that the orchestra's
03:02starting playing, and the music starts coming up, and obviously she sings The Hills Are
03:06Alive With The Sound Of Music, and you just think, wow, this is such a brilliant film.
03:11And I also think, because of course Julie Andrews was expected to win the Oscar that
03:15year, it went to the other Julie, the other British Julie, Julie Christie, but also thinking
03:19about Christopher Plummer, who, I mean, I think he's a phenomenal actor, until just
03:26before he died, and he was in Knives Out and so on, but also an incredible singer, or not,
03:34because this was the thing, wasn't it?
03:35Yes, that's right.
03:36So he had coaching from a singing teacher, because he fully expected that he would be
03:42singing in it, and I'm afraid he isn't.
03:45It's a hidden voice.
03:46I think it's somebody, Bill, somebody, I can't remember his name, but it's a hidden voice.
03:51There's actually a documentary that the BBC did a few years ago about these hidden voices,
03:56because quite a few musicals at the time, not only were the people who were famous not
04:01singing, but the singers weren't even credited it, and now they've brought it back so that
04:06people are credited for what they actually sang, and I think, I was reading on the internet
04:12that you can actually hear now some of Christopher Plummer's vocals that they've actually quite
04:17recently released.
04:18Because there was a time, not too many years ago, where he reunited with Julie Andrews,
04:23and they did perform, and I think for many years, I think there was an adage, a line
04:28going around when he said it was almost like singing with a greetings card.
04:31Yes, that's right.
04:32He was quite rude about it.
04:35I think he mellowed.
04:36Yes, and he moved into, a lot of the films he went on to make were a lot more dark, shall
04:41we say.
04:42Yes, and he was a really acclaimed Shakespearean actor, so I think for him to be in this, which
04:47was then held up as this quite saccharine, I mean, it's not actually that saccharine
04:52if you watch the whole thing, but it was always, oh, he's in The Sound of Music, as if it was
04:56some sort of naff thing that was beneath him.
05:00And then I think with the popularity, and also when you re-look at it, the beauty and
05:04the just extraordinary scope of the film, that I think it's sort of, people are re-imagining
05:09it now and thinking actually, it's such a good film.
05:12You mentioned that you think that the first time you saw this was at the cinema.
05:15Yes.
05:16But have you watched it at the cinema since?
05:17No.
05:18Or is it something you'd watch on the small screen?
05:19No, I've only watched it on the small screen, first on VHS, and then now on DVD, and then
05:25obviously it's always on the television at some point over Christmas and New Year, so
05:30you can usually catch it there.
05:31And are there any particular scenes, you mentioned the opening, but is there anything in particular
05:35when you're watching it, the kind of, or is it the sort of film that the more you watch
05:39it, you pick upon something different?
05:40Yes, I think that's true, because there's so much in it, and I think sometimes the scenes
05:46that you remember, I mean, there's so many famous scenes in it.
05:49I do love the bit when she comes from the nunnery at the start, and she sings, I have
05:54confidence, and you see her with her bags, and she's walking up to the von Trapp massive,
06:00massive mansion, and at the end she knocks on the door, and then obviously she goes in,
06:04and that's the end of the song.
06:05So that's one of my particular favourite bits.
06:07Fantastic.
06:08Well, it's time now to move on to your second chosen film, and I'm excited to see this,
06:15because I watched it at the cinema very recently when Harry met Sally.
06:18Oh, gosh.
06:19I saw it on, not quite New Year's Eve, but the 30th of December.
06:23Oh, right.
06:24And it's been picked on this programme before.
06:25Oh, okay.
06:26Why have you chosen it?
06:28Well, I think the timing of it was when I was going to university at the University
06:33of Kent, and I think actually I saw it first at, well, it used to be called Cinema 3, at
06:40the Gulbenkian complex, and I just loved it from the first moment I saw it.
06:45I mean, it's absolutely stellar in all of its aspects.
06:50You know, the cast, fantastic, probably at the top of their game.
06:53Rob Reiner, the director, Nora Ephron, who wrote it, and the music, Harry Connick, Jr.,
07:00when he was not particularly well-known, and all these great American songbook songs, performed
07:05sometimes by the original artists like Frank Sinatra.
07:08It's set in Manhattan.
07:09It looks beautiful.
07:10I mean, you can see, perhaps not from that picture, but the autumn in New York obviously
07:15is just lovely.
07:16And everything about it I just find enchanting, really.
07:20Because it's one of those rites of passage films, where it shows you all the different
07:23seasons.
07:24And I know a lot of people, I was talking to Mark Connolly, who was referring to how
07:28he sees this as the best Christmas movie, but other people will go for New Year, but
07:32also autumn, so it's almost as though everybody is extracting the season, or maybe even the
07:37period of life, because you see them as younger people, that most suits them.
07:42So maybe it's the sort of film that can also grow with you.
07:44Yes.
07:45And some of the lines are really funny.
07:47And some of the lines that are actually quite famous now, and people don't really know where
07:50they're from, they could be from this, because there's some absolute classic moments.
07:55And also it's got the lovely Carrie Fisher and lovely Bruno Kirby, both of which didn't
08:02live long enough, really.
08:04And so they're perfectly encapsulated in that.
08:07They both look lovely.
08:09They give great performances with real heart, so it's nice because of that as well.
08:14Because there's that split screen moment, isn't there, where they're all telling the
08:18other at the same time, but they're actually all both in the same physical space, and also
08:25on the telephone line.
08:26So it's that sort of moment when they're all trying to do what I think everybody can relate
08:30to, that sort of sense of friendship versus relationship, and what it is that you're grasping
08:37onto and whether it will endure.
08:40And I think in a film perspective, I think it's interesting because I really like romantic
08:45comedies, and obviously it harks back to really old, you know, Katharine Hepburn, Doris Day
08:52type things.
08:54And then this is sort of of its period.
08:57But I think this has kind of enabled a lot of really famous other romantic comedies like
09:03It's Complicated or The Proposal.
09:06I think a lot of those have drawn from this as a template to sort of even modern day romantic
09:12comedies.
09:13Somehow, they've seen this and they've taken those lessons from that to make them glamorous
09:18and fun and funny.
09:20But lots of mixed effects as well, because not too many years ago, probably 2023, Meg
09:26Ryan directed a film which was set in an airport, and it has strands of this.
09:31And you almost imagine it's the same characters, like she's meeting up with an old college
09:35flame and she's being divorced.
09:37But it doesn't have the same magic.
09:39So there is almost as though all the forces came together, the stars aligned, and it still
09:46holds up as maybe the epitome of a good rom-com.
09:50Maybe not even rom-com.
09:52Maybe that's an unfair way to characterize it.
09:54Well, if you like them, you don't mind it being called that.
09:57But some people, yes, you can be a bit sniffy about them.
10:00But I just think it's the sort of exemplar of it, isn't it?
10:04Obviously, you've got Mail, but A Sleepless in Seattle a few years later.
10:07Yes, that's right.
10:08So it was a start of a big Meg Ryan.
10:13She was in everything that was really, really popular for that period, and I think this
10:17is probably the first thing that she did that was a really big hit.
10:21And in relation to your first choice as well, I asked you whether a film can grow with you,
10:27whether you can grow with a film.
10:28But do you feel that because you see them, you would have been college age, obviously,
10:32at the beginning, and they look fairly convincing, actually.
10:35Yeah, not too bad.
10:36And then you see them, obviously, in later life, and then you see them as older people.
10:41But in that sense, do you find that when you watch this again, do you kind of feel that
10:45you're tapping into the different ages, the different periods of life that maybe are different
10:52from what you saw when you were a university student yourself back in the day?
10:56I don't know about that, actually.
10:57I just think it's quite far away from my life.
11:01And I think that's part of its attraction, because, you know, wouldn't it be lovely to
11:05live in New York and to wear Meg Ryan's clothes and go around the museum, you know, with Billy
11:08Crystal?
11:09Wouldn't that be fabulous?
11:10So, no, I don't think I think of it like that.
11:12I just watch it and go, oh, this is lovely.
11:14So it's both like the exotic, the fantasy, but also highly relatable, because the issues
11:20at the heart of this are ones that are universal, and it's clever that it captured it in quite
11:25that way.
11:26Yes, absolutely.
11:27Yeah.
11:28That's about all the time we have for this first half of the show.
11:31However, before we go to the break, we have a Kent Film trivia question for you at home.
11:36Which of these James Bond films was the highest earning in the franchise until Die Another
11:41Day and shot a scene within Chatham Dockyard?
11:44Was it A, Doctor No, B, The World is Not Enough, or C, Never Say Never Again?
11:51We'll reveal the answer right after this break.
11:53Don't go away.
12:01Hello, and welcome back to Kent Film Club.
12:09Just before that ad break, we asked you at home a Kent Film trivia question.
12:13Which of these James Bond films was the highest earning in the franchise until Die Another
12:17Day and shot a scene within Chatham Dockyard?
12:20I asked, was it A, Doctor No, B, The World is Not Enough, or C, Never Say Never Again?
12:26Now I can reveal to you that the answer was, in fact, B, The World is Not Enough.
12:31The historic Chatham Dockyard was used for the action-packed boat chase at the start
12:36of the film where the boat goes to a road, through a boathouse, and down an arched alleyway.
12:42Did you get the answer right?
12:44Well, it is time now, Jo, to move on to your next chosen film, and you've gone for Apollo
12:5013.
12:51Wow.
12:52Brilliant.
12:53I saw this at the cinema in 1995.
12:55Yes.
12:56I think I must have.
12:57I can't specifically remember, but I think I must have, and I've seen it so many times
13:01since then.
13:02It's one of those films that as soon as it's on the television, you think, oh, I'll watch
13:06it for a little bit, and then you end up watching the whole thing because it's so sort of compelling.
13:10Because it was almost a hat trick for Tom Hanks, because Philadelphia, Forrest Gump,
13:14he didn't win the Oscar for this.
13:16But he was obviously, it was that kind of period when a film like this, which sort of
13:22navigated America's past in terms of space travel.
13:27I haven't seen it for a while.
13:29So tell me why this stands out for you.
13:32Well, in a way, this represents films about space, because I'm very interested in, particularly
13:40the Apollo missions, I've watched a lot of documentaries, listened to podcasts, so I'm
13:45quite interested in it as a sort of genre.
13:48So this is representational of that.
13:50But it's an excellent film.
13:52And even though, no spoilers, but even though you know what's going to happen, most people
13:57would, because it's historic, obviously, it still grips you.
14:02And you still think, oh, my goodness, what's going to happen?
14:05So I think partly because it's such a good film, and partly because it's about space,
14:10that's why I've brought it.
14:11Ron Howard directed it.
14:13Tom Hanks is in it.
14:14I'm not a massive Tom Hanks fan.
14:16I think everybody likes Tom Hanks, don't they?
14:19It's not because of that.
14:20It's the story, the way it's done, which is exceptional.
14:24And I've seen it recently, and it doesn't look dated at all, even though it was filmed,
14:29I think, in 1995?
14:30Yeah.
14:31Well, it was released, certainly, as I recall, well, it was certainly in 1995.
14:34If I had to guess, I'd say it was around sort of September.
14:37Yeah.
14:38And if you think of how long that is ago, and yet it doesn't look dated.
14:41And of course, it was dealing with that whole question, and Forrest Gump, a year before,
14:45was also very good at sort of asking those questions about the journeys that we've been
14:49on, the intimate, personal journeys, versus the bigger picture, what's going on in wider
14:55context.
14:56And even at that age, I mean, I wasn't alive then, but it was, you know, that question
15:02of where were you when, you know, man walked on the moon.
15:05In later years, it was where were you when John Lennon, or then when Princess Diana died.
15:08But there was something iconic about this.
15:10And as you say, even if you know how it plays out, when you're watching it, you still
15:15imagine that it can go horribly wrong.
15:17Yes, because it's so convincing.
15:20And the drama that they managed to instil into it in the control room, obviously on
15:25the spacecraft itself.
15:28And I love the idea that it's the human endeavour and the human knowledge and the science that
15:35makes it OK.
15:37So it's a terrible situation.
15:40They all have to draw on everything they know, and they all have to run about and do all
15:44this action to try and sort it out.
15:47And it's the kind of the triumph of the sort of human response to disaster, you know, which
15:54I think is really appealing.
15:56I think we like to watch that.
15:58And it's a really good story.
15:59And as I recall, and it is a long time since I saw it, you obviously have seen set in space,
16:05but also a lot of it is grounded because it's Ed Harris, isn't it, who's at Mission Control?
16:10Ed Harris is Gene Kranz, yeah.
16:11He's terrific.
16:12And I've read Gene Kranz's book as well.
16:15So he's the real controller who was in charge.
16:17But yes, so he's got his waistcoat on, Ed Harris says, and he's in charge of the room.
16:22And there's lots of really dramatic bits where they are in it.
16:25And one of the reasons I picked it was because I've been to NASA in Florida.
16:32Anybody can go.
16:33It's a day out, you know, in Florida.
16:35And it's wonderful.
16:37But one of the things when I was there was all about the Apollo 13.
16:41And it was a fabulous display of the control room.
16:45So you could actually walk through exactly as it was.
16:49And then there was a film rolling about the mission.
16:53And it said, and then you might not know what happened.
16:56And then a big film of a man walking towards you came out and it said, I'm Jim Lovell.
17:02So I can tell you that everything turned out OK.
17:05Because obviously he's the man that Tom Hanks is playing.
17:08Do you think it mattered that this film was based on real events?
17:12Because that's always the thing when I'm watching a film.
17:14Sometimes I like it when it does a little bit, something a bit more lateral.
17:18And you're watching it thinking, I don't like Tarantino's done that when he's taken historical
17:21events and then rewritten them.
17:24But do you feel that this sort of really encapsulates a particular time, space, and era?
17:29Obviously there's a whole lot of particularly American mythology around this.
17:34Yeah.
17:35And it does, actually, because it starts with the people involved in Apollo 13 watching
17:41the moon landing.
17:42So it really sits you in a period.
17:45The clothes that they're wearing, where they live, the cars that they are driving.
17:49It's completely in that period.
17:51It's beautifully done.
17:52So yeah.
17:53So I think that's really important that Ron Howard was really keen to try and get it as
17:59close as possible.
18:00And in fact, Jim Lovell, the real Jim Lovell's wife, said that Tom Hanks gave such a good
18:05impression of him that sometimes she thought it was him.
18:08Fantastic.
18:09Well, it's time now, Jo, to move on to your final chosen film.
18:13And you've gone for Chariots of Fire, which was the first film I saw at the cinema.
18:17Oh, no way.
18:18I didn't know that.
18:19Oh, that's fun, isn't it?
18:20So I saw it at the cinema.
18:23But obviously, you know, it was quite a long time ago, so I was quite young.
18:26But why I've chosen it is because I love the Olympics.
18:30And Chariots of Fire is about the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
18:35And obviously, we've just had the hundred years of that in Paris.
18:39So I thought that was quite a nice choice at this time.
18:43And also, it's a really, really good film.
18:45And it also represents my love of British films.
18:47I love a film set here and made here.
18:52There's hundreds, obviously, that you could choose.
18:54But this one just feels really special to me.
18:57And it's another film that when it's on, you just think, oh, watch five minutes.
19:00And then you end up watching all of it, because it's so good.
19:03Because I know that this week, because I mentioned this on my radio show, but it was Harold Abrahams.
19:07He died at the age of 78 this week in 1978.
19:11Oh, I didn't know that.
19:13Yeah.
19:14And I remember watching this.
19:15And because in later years, I did a lot of work with religion.
19:17But of course, that plays a big role in this about, well, tell us about that.
19:20But it's about not running on the Sabbath.
19:23Yeah, so Eric Liddell focuses on two main athletes, Harold Abrahams, who you've mentioned,
19:28and Eric Liddell.
19:29They're both trying to get to the 100 metres final for the 1924 Olympics.
19:34They're both from the UK.
19:35Eric Liddell is from Scotland.
19:37He's actually from a missionary family from the Church of Scotland.
19:41He's very religious himself.
19:43One of the reasons that he runs is to promote God and religion to other people.
19:50And what happens is, in terms of, it's terribly dramatic.
19:54He's on the, just about to get onto the boat to Paris.
19:57And somebody says, good luck on Sunday.
19:59And he goes, well, I can't run on Sunday.
20:02And that was the heat for the 100 metre final.
20:06So he, in the film, he then says, well, I'm not running on the Sunday, so I'm not going
20:10to be in that.
20:11And of course, the Olympic Committee are all like, ooh.
20:14So in the film, they make a compromise that he's going to run, I think, the 400 metres
20:19instead.
20:20Because Lord Lindsay, played by Nigel Havers, he actually has already got a medal in one
20:26of his other events.
20:27And he says in the film, well, let him run my event then.
20:30And that's what happens.
20:32So Abrahams runs the 100 metres and Liddell runs the 400.
20:36And when I saw this, and that's all come back to me, because although I have seen it since,
20:40I don't think I've seen it too many times.
20:42But I remember, obviously, Vangelis' score.
20:44And I've been to the beach in St Andrews, where the race took place.
20:47Which it says, there's a title, I think it says that it's set in Broadstairs in Kent.
20:52And it's clearly St Andrews.
20:54So that's quite funny.
20:55So that's a link to Kent as well.
20:57And I love the Gilbert and Sullivan in it, because Harold Abrahams goes to the Savoy
21:02Theatre to watch the Mikado and falls in love with the leading lady.
21:05And then they start going out.
21:07And that's Alice Krieg, the actress, who plays the ball queen in Star Trek later on.
21:14And when I saw this, and of course, it won the Oscar for Best Picture, it was the famous
21:19The British Are Coming.
21:20The British Are Coming.
21:21Yeah, the famous, that was Colin Welland, wasn't it?
21:23The British Are Coming.
21:24Which, yeah, was not that great looking back on it.
21:27Although we had Gandhi, I suppose, the following year.
21:29So there was almost enough reason to believe at the time.
21:32And with the English patient a decade and a half later, that was, I think, borne out.
21:36Well, it was just a bit of a funny thing to say, though, as well, wasn't it?
21:39It was up against Reds and Warren Beatty.
21:41But it was that moment.
21:42Because it was the underdog.
21:43And in a way, it's almost like what happened in the race, you know, that issue about underdogs
21:46and winning against the odds.
21:48And it was almost as though a bit of the film was translated into what then happened at
21:52the Academy Awards.
21:53Yeah, yeah.
21:54I think so.
21:55I hadn't really thought about that.
21:56Because, yes, in the race, the Americans were slated to win.
21:58And they'd come over with this hype from America.
22:01And everybody thought that they would win.
22:03And nobody, I think, thought that Harvard Abrahams would win.
22:06Oh, spoiler.
22:07Oh, you were allowed after, can you believe it, 45 years.
22:12Have you watched this on the big screen?
22:15I mean, was it on the big screen when you first saw it?
22:18I think I did at the start, but not since.
22:20No, I'd love to, because it's so beautiful.
22:23And interestingly, I think the Vangelis music, everybody knows the theme.
22:29But it's actually throughout, this synthesized music goes throughout the film.
22:34And it's almost exactly the opposite of the music you'd expect, because it's a period
22:38piece.
22:39It starts in 1919, obviously finishes with the Olympics in 1924.
22:43You'd expect a certain type of music.
22:46And the score exactly is the opposite of what you'd think.
22:49Because you're right, because there's that synthesized score.
22:52Yeah.
22:53And yet, it couldn't be a better fit.
22:56I mean, if anyone, if you think of the most memorable film scores, this probably would
23:00be at the top of people's list.
23:01Oh, yeah, it would be.
23:02Everybody knows that.
23:03And they know it's something to do with running, if they hear it, you know.
23:06So yeah, it's a lovely score.
23:07And I think he died quite recently, didn't he, Vangelis?
23:10Yeah.
23:11So yeah.
23:12It's got a lot of really worthwhile things in it.
23:15And it's shot beautifully.
23:16And loads of British actors, John Gielgud's in it, Richard Griffiths is in it, Ian Holm
23:21obviously is in it.
23:23So there's a lot of people all through the cast that are just terrific actors.
23:26I'm afraid that it's all the time that we have for today.
23:29But before we go, if you live in Kent and want the chance to share four films of your
23:33choice, reach out to us at KMTV and you might be invited in to be my next guest.
23:39But for now, many thanks to Joe Pearsall for joining us and being such a brilliant guest.
23:43And many thanks to you all for tuning in.
23:45Until then, that's all from us.
23:47Goodbye.
23:52Goodbye.