Under Milk Wood (1972 film)

Under Milk Wood (film)

Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by Andrew Sinclair
Produced by John Comfort et al.
Written by Dylan Thomas
Screenplay by Andrew Sinclair
Based on Under Milk Wood, A Play for Voices
by Dylan Thomas
Starring Richard Burton
Elizabeth Taylor
Peter O'Toole
Music by Brian Gascoigne
Cinematography Robert Huke
Edited by Willy Kemplen, Greg Miller
Production
company
Distributed by J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors (1972,UK), Altura Films International (1973,USA)
Release dates
  • 27 January 1972 (1972-01-27) (UK)
  • 21 January 1973 (1973-01-21) (USA)
Running time
87 min
Country UK
Language English

Under Milk Wood is a 1972 British film directed by Andrew Sinclair and based on the 1954 radio play Under Milk Wood by the Welsh writer Dylan Thomas. It featured performances from many well-known actors as the residents of the fictional Welsh fishing village of Llareggub including Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Siân Phillips, David Jason, Glynis Johns, Victor Spinetti, Ruth Madoc, Angharad Rees, Ann Beach, Vivien Merchant and Peter O'Toole.[1]

Production

Under Milk Wood was Sinclair's first film and he was able to sign up Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to the project with the help of O'Toole, Sinclair's long-term friend. Burton and Taylor were paid £10,000 each.[2] Elizabeth Taylor was only available for three days of filming, which at her request took place in London. At £600, her three dresses took up half of the costume budget.[2]

It was the only film in which Burton, Taylor and O’Toole appeared together. It was shot primarily on location in Wales and has since acquired a reputation among aficionados as a cult movie.[3] "The film, beautifully photographed and spoken, casts the brooding spell of Thomas’ verse in its reconstruction of the seaside village and the daily round of its inhabitants", wrote Andrew Sinclair in the International Herald Tribune.[3]

The filming took place in Wales.[4]

Aftermath

The film was not a box office success and the main stars wrote it off as a tax loss.[2]

In December 2012 the director of the film, Andrew Sinclair, gave its rights to the people of Wales.[5] In 2014 the film was digitally remastered and re-released to celebrate the centenary of Thomas's birth.[2]

Cast

References

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