The Ploughman's Lunch (1983)

Director:

Richard Eyre

Writer:

Ian McEwan

Stars:

Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry, Rosemary Harris

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Pryce	...	James Penfield
Tim Curry	...	Jeremy Hancock
Rosemary Harris	...	Ann Barrington
Frank Finlay	...	Matthew Fox
Charlie Dore	...	Susan Barrington
David de Keyser	...	Gold
Nat Jackley	...	Mr. Penfield
Bill Paterson	...	Lecturer
William Maxwell	...	Journalist
Paul Jesson	...	Journalist
Andy Rashleigh	...	Journalist
Christopher Fulford	...	Young Journalist
David Lyon	...	Newsreader
Polly Abbott	...	Gold's Assistant
Peter Walmsley	...	Bob Tuckett

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

political convention | newsroom | conservative | reporter | speech | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1983 (UK)

Also Known As:

A Verdade dos Factos

Filming Locations:

Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Goldcrest Films International, Greenpoint Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the film, towards the end, is set at the Conservative Party annual conference in Brighton in 1982, and was actually filmed at that event. In one shot at the conference, Penfield is seen lighting a cigarette amongst a crowd of conference delegates, and just behind his right shoulder is John Major, who would later succeed Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister.

---

Connections

Referenced in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1997)

---

Soundtracks

"Dramatic Interludes"
(uncredited)
Music by Hans May
KPM Music Ltd

User Reviews

Slow, but if you stay with it, it is very fascinating

The Ploughman's Lunch is a very interesting movie. It is rather slow sometimes, and some of the lost interest ideas could have been a little better developed. But if you do stay with it, it is a fine movie. The movie is very well made, with stylish camera shots without being too fancy and fine location shooting. The direction is very skilled while never flashy, the story is compelling with a superbly staged and written scene in the pub between Jonathan Pryce and Frank Finlay and the writing is superb. The characters are even more fascinating, especially Pryce's. Ghastly but deliberately so. The acting especially from Pryce and Rosemary Harris is uniformly excellent. Overall, a fine and interesting film, that is worth sticking with even with the pace. 8/10 Bethany Cox