Feast of July (1995)

Director:

Christopher Menaul

Writers:

H.E. Bates (novel)
Christopher Neame (writer)

Release Date:

13 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

There is no escape from the past.

Plot:

This romantic story, based on a novel by H.E. Bates and set in late 19th century England, rests on sibling...

Plot Keywords:

Nose Bleed | 19th Century | Capital Punishment | Murder | Victorian Era

Cast

Embeth Davidtz	...	Bella Ford
Tom Bell	...	Ben Wainwright
Gemma Jones	...	Mrs. Wainwright
James Purefoy	...	Jedd Wainwright
Ben Chaplin	...	Con Wainwright
Kenneth Anderson	...	Matty Wainwright
Greg Wise	...	Arch Wilson
David Neal	...	Mitchy Mitchell
Julian Protheroe	...	Bowler-Hatted Man
Mark Neal	...	Clerk at Shoe Factory
Tim Preece	...	Preacher
Daphne Neville	...	Mrs. Mitchell
Charles De'Ath	...	Billy Swaine
Colin Prockter	...	Man in Pub
Richard Hope	...	Squire Wyman

MPAA:

Rated R for brief violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Black Country Museum, Dudley, West Midlands, England, UK

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Soundtrack:

LONGWAY SET

Summary: Beautifully filmed good story

In an almost quasi-Victorian style, and most certainly with a true Victorian setting, H.E.Bates' novel has been turned into a fine cinematographic production. Excellent interpretations by all concerned, not only the leading actors, lushly backed up by some truly splendid photography, this is a film which appeals to the senses of perceptive viewers.

Unfortunately the music score is not up to much, or perhaps I should say that you should not see this film expecting great orchestral and vocal music as Zbigniew Preisner has already given us in the trilogy `Trois Couleurs' or especially in the previous film `La Double Vie de Véronique' (1991).

H.E.Bates was first a serious novelist, giving us such splendid titles as `The Jacaranda Tree' and `The Purple Plain', both based on his wartime experiences in Burma (now called something like Myaungyi), and evidently `Feast of July' falls into this category. Unfortunately he then turned his hand to light frivolous reading with would-be attempts at hilarity, and he simply fell out of any serious reading list. Thoroughly recommend these two novels as they paint an authentic picture of people with real feelings and genuine jealousies and mistrust. Perhaps it is this characterisation that has been soundly transformed into a visual experience that makes `Feast of July' a thoroughly recommendable film. Near 7 out of 10.