Memed My Hawk

Based on Nobel nominee Turkish writer, Yashar Kemal's novel, MEMED is a movie with strong Marxist message, alongside movies such as VIVA ZAPATA and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN. The movie tells the story of simple village folks in 1930s Anatolia, exploded by a ruthless feudal landlord, Abdicate Agha, played by Peter Ustinov who also wrote the screenplay and directed. The cinematography by Freddie Francis is superb, and the music by Manos Hadjidakis haunting and dramatic as the scripts demands it.

There are great performances by veteran British actors- Eileen Waye, Siobhan McKenna, Dennis Quilley, Walter Gottel and Herbert Lom.

Sadly, the the Turkish government of 1982 refused permission to shoot MEMED in Turkey, and later permission to exhibit was, and remains, denied.