Boom! (Losey, 1968): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 2.15pm
This 35mm presentation, also being screened on December 8th, is part of the Richard Burton season at BFI Southbank. Details here.BFI introduction:
Set on a secluded island, Boom introduced a new, minimal ‘music box’
sound that composer John Barry frequently used in the years immediately before his
move to the US. The powerhouse combination of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor at their
most florid propels Joseph Losey’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’
The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore. Wonderfully camp, it bombed in
1968. But time has been kind to it. And Noël Coward has a star turn as
Bill Ridgeway, ‘the witch of Capri’. Indeed. dubbed ‘The Angel of Death’, Burton’s wandering-poet-cum-gigolo washes
up on the isolated Sardinian isle of Taylor’s ailing widow, in this
visually stunning, alcohol-drenched adaptation. Compellingly miscast, the pair face off in the sort of
unhinged register best relished with an enthusiastic audience. Devoted
fans include John Waters, who opined, ‘If you don’t like this film, I
hate you’.
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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