Jubilee (1978)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Derek Jarman

Writer:

Derek Jarman (writer)

Release Date:

September 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

Sex, drugs and punk rock. Add violence and time travel and you have Jubilee.

Plot:

Queen Elizabeth I travels to late twentieth-century Britain to discover a tawdry and depressing landscape...

Plot Keywords:

Punk | Penis | Bizarre | Naked Killer | Violence

Cast

Jenny Runacre	...	Queen Elizabeth I / Bod
Nell Campbell	...	Crabs (as Little Nell)
Toyah Willcox	...	Mad
Jordan	...	Amyl Nitrite
Hermine Demoriane	...	Chaos
Ian Charleson	...	Angel
Karl Johnson	...	Sphinx
Linda Spurrier	...	Viv
Neil Kennedy	...	Max
Jack Birkett	...	Borgia Ginz (as Orlando)
Wayne County	...	Lounge Lizard
Richard O'Brien	...	John Dee
David Brandon	...	Ariel (as David Haughton)
Helen Wellington-Lloyd	...	Lady in Waiting
Adam Ant	...	Kid
Claire Davenport	...	First Customs Lady
Donald Dunham	...	Policeman
Iris Fry	...	Bingo lady
Quinn Hawkins	...	Boy
Barney James	...	Policeman
Lindsay Kemp	...	Cabaret performer
Ulla Larson-Styles	...	Waitress
Howard Malin	...	Schmeitzer
Luciana Martínez	...	Escort to Borgia
William Merrow	...	Maurice
Gene October	...	Happy Days
Prudence Walters	...	Escort to Borgia
Joyce Windsor	...	Bingo Lady
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steven Severin	...	Himself (as Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Duggie Fields	...	Party-goer (uncredited)
Siouxsie Sioux	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Derek Jarman

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Derek Jarman		writer

Produced by
Howard Malin	....	co-producer
James Whaley	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Brian Eno

Cinematography by
Peter Middleton

Film Editing by
Nick Barnard

Production Design by
Mordecai Schreiber

Costume Design by
Dave Henderson
Christopher Hobbs

Makeup Department
Keith of 'Smile'	....	hair stylist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Guy Ford	....	assistant director

Art Department
Kenny Morriss	....	assistant production designer

Sound Department
Mike Billing	....	dubbing mixer
John Hayes	....	sound recordist
Trevor Rutherford	....	assistant sound recordist

Special Effects by
Martin Gutteridge	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Denis Balkin	....	grip
Bob McShane	....	assistant camera
Mike Munro	....	electrician
Jean-Marc Prouveur	....	still photographer
John Rogers	....	gaffer
Johnny Rosza	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Richard Croft	....	costume maker
Ralph Dyer	....	costume maker
Luciana Martínez	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Annette D'Alton	....	assistant editor
Tom Priestley	....	supervising editor

Transportation Department
John Albery	....	transportation

Other crew
Lee Drysdale	....	production assistant
Judi Futrille	....	continuity
Lindsay Kemp	....	cabaret performance
Luciana Martínez	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Megalovision
• Whaley-Malin Productions

Distributors

• Cinegate Ltd. (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Mystic Fire Video (1990) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Bermondsey, London, England, UK

Company:

Megalovision

Trivia:

Toyah Willcox chose the character of Mad while leafing through the script, finding that that character had the most lines.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the policemen shoot Angel and Sphinx dead, Sphinx's eyes blink before the camera cuts away.

Quotes:

Crabs: Why don't you take up embroidery, Bod?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jubilee: A Time Less Golden (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Wargasm in Pornotopia

mixed responses

Jubilee, being a Derek Jarman film, obviously sets out to shock. An assorted set of punks and deviants live together in a garish open plan hell festooned with pictures of Hitler. Mad, an orange haired punkette (Toyah Wilcox, these days much more toned down and almost normal) and Amyl Nitrate (played by the unusual Jordan), a very weird lady who dreams of being a ballerina and talks about Myra Hindley, fight with each other. The regal Bod (Jenny Runacre, very good in this in both roles) doubles as Queen Elizabeth, wandering with her soothsayer John Dee (Richard O'Brien) and emotionless angel Arial, through a Britain tottering on the brink of revolution as the Silver Jubilee hits. Other dotty characters include Viv, an artist, and Angel and Sphinx (Linda Spurrier, Ian Charleson and Karl Johnson, who all went more mainstream than this later in their careers), who seem to do very little. Little Nell plays little whore Crabs, and Adam Ant plays slow-witted Kid, who is adopted by the freaks into their little gang. Cue a lot of raucous music, satirical comment on the media and the establishment, and a fair amount of unpleasant murder. And some plastic petunias. It does have its moments, but as a whole it is a bit of a mess. For visual style and flair it scores highly, but on everything else maybe the jury is still out.