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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Real Drama, 30 April 2006
7/10
Author: jsargent04 from United States

This is what they should reserve the word drama for. Very powerful and real performances all around. Alan Bates gives a rousing portrayal as the older brother Andy, who constantly berates and somewhat belittles everyone of his family members. He is the star apparently, but little known Brian Cox also shines as the younger brother Steven. He is pretty young in this one, but his acting has and always will be phenomenal in almost anything he does. The movie itself is a bit lagging in terms of pace and story. All the brothers come home and tension ensures, not much more I can give away than that. It's worth checking out for Brian Cox fans, such as myself. I really enjoyed this film and it's more emotional fare than I'm used to. As real to life as any drama can get.

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8 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Hard to find, but well worth it., 13 December 2001
Author: Carol Robinson from New York City

As one of the American Film Theatre movies, "In Celebration" is difficult to find on tape, but this story of an English family gathering for the parents' anniversary deserves a wider audience. Three grown sons argue over their individual problems while Mum bustles about cluelessly and Da waits uneasily for whichever crisis might erupt first. As the angry brother with some unresolved issues, Alan Bates makes the strongest impression, but the other actors are excellent as well.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Great, 13 July 2007
Author: jlon from Dublin

This is more like it. DVD review.

Three brothers (Bates, Bolam, and Cox) return home for their parents' ruby wedding anniversary.

Extremely watchable play-like movie (set in one room) concerning the memories of three brothers. At first they're all a happy bunch but as the day moves on bitter memories surface. What's interesting is how chatty the father (Owen) is but the mother is reserved. I'm sure if it were three daughters instead of sons then the mother would be the boisterous one. What's also interesting is how different the brothers are - Bates talks too much, Cox is uncomfortably silent, and Bolam appears gay. None of them bring their girlfriends along - are they ashamed of their backgrounds? Terraced houses, coal mining, working class values, remembering the war, nosy neighbours, cups of tea, and unhappy families - this movie is a continuation of those kitchen-sink British dramas from the '60s. For two hours I couldn't take my eye off the screen - great little seen movie.

In Celebration puts most of today's Brit movies to shame.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Good execution of a somewhat rusty concept, 26 December 2006
6/10
Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw this movie because I'm a fan of the director, Lindsay Anderson. I think Anderson and the other artists, as well as the actors, all did a good job but the film is somewhat hampered in that it does not even attempt to be cinematic -- it's very much a filmed play. Almost all the action takes place in one room, and there is no attempt by the film-makers to "expand" the action into the outdoors. I respect the film-makers' audacity, but I think it made this 2+ hour long film a bit more of a chore than it should have been.

The story is pretty simple; basically a coal miner and his clueless wife are celebrating their anniversary and all 3 of their sons come home for the occasion. Turns out that there are many unresolved issues between the sons and their parents, as well as each other -- largely these focus on the death of their eldest sibling, possibly due to abuse. There is also the implication that one of the characters is homosexual, though this isn't expored much. Alan Bates provides the film's most resonant and memorable performance as the son who is perhaps closest to the edge of insanity. He and his brother are on other sides of the economic divide as well, and there is an underlying theme of money and self worth that's explored through the conflict between these brothers.

Considering how all the action is focused on those characters and that one room, the film is exceptionally well made. But I just can't see myself taking this one out very often or recommending it to friends. If you're a fan of Anderson or of the original play, it's worth watching, but for most people I would recommend other films by Anderson.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
interesting casting and an engrossing play, 3 May 2009
8/10
Author: didi-5 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I'm not sure this is really a film, more a piece of theatre, preserved. However, the combination of David Storey as writer with Lindsay Anderson as director is certainly intriguing.

Bill Owen and Constance Chapman have been married for forty years, and are waiting for their three sons to join them to celebrate. Andrew, the eldest (Alan Bates), has given up his job as a solicitor to become an artist. Colin (James Bolam) is an executive with a nice car and a lonely life of bachelorhood. And Steven, the baby (Brian Cox), has four children, but is troubled by memories and fancies of the past.

Over all their lives lies the spectre of a dead firstborn, Jamie, talented, and the favourite of his parents, as well as the one to be blamed for a forced alliance with a baby on the way. The celebration day comes to the boil and then fizzes away again with things said and unsaid.

In many ways, not much happens, but when it does, you listen. The performances are superb from all the cast (plus Gabrielle Daye as the nosey next door neighbour). The play leaves you laughing one minute and then shocked and moved the next.

Not entirely successful, then, as cinema - but a valuable record of an intriguing play.

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2 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
My brief review of the film, 7 August 2005
Author: sol- from Perth, Australia

The acting here is quite competent, and it is interesting to watch one of Lindsay Anderson's lesser known films, however adapted from a theatre play, it does not disguise its roots very well, and it is quite talkative with little real action. Action is not necessary for all types of film, but in this case having the characters sitting or standing about while talking is not enough for the material to have spice. It is about emotional confrontations, and sure enough, the performers deliver well in some intense scenes. But as a film and not a theatre production, it only ever feels half-baked, and it certainly does not showcase Anderson's directing skills, which proved to be great in his trilogy with Malcolm McDowell.

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