In the heat of the summer of 1976, drama teacher Vivienne fights sweltering heat and general teenage apathy to put on an end-of-term version of Shakespeare's The Tempest.
Aaron, a young misfit living in a remote Scottish fishing community, is the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident that claimed the lives of five men including his older brother. ... See full summary »
Greyhawks Rugby Club is under threat from land developers, and Dave's position as chairman is being challenged by an extremely loud Australian. The faithful few have gathered on the morning... See full summary »
Director:
Simon Sprackling
Stars:
Michael Beckley,
Beth Cordingly,
Chris England
A kindly shop owner whose overwhelming gambling debts allow a greedy landlord to seize his shop of dusty treasures. Evicted and with no way to pay his debts, he and his granddaughter flee.
Set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, two brothers fall for the same girl while contending with the pressures of their feudal family life, the war, and the price of courage and cowardice.
Director:
Pat O'Connor
Stars:
George MacKay,
Hero Fiennes Tiffin,
Jack O'Connell
Paralysed from the waist down after a car crash, Julie Hill struggles to get used to her disability and to save her marriage. It looks as if her husband will leave her. Then doctors try a ... See full summary »
Director:
Richard Spence
Stars:
Caroline Quentin,
Kevin Whately,
Phil Davis
In the heat of the summer of 1976, keen drama teacher Vivienne fights sweltering heat and general teenage apathy to put on an end of year music version of Shakespeare's The Tempest. To engage her students, she uses hits of the time, which will be performed by a fresh young cast led by rising star Aneurin Barnard.Written by
Websurfer
Weather was very bad during the shoot, with rain and showers every day. Things were so bad that the producers started joking that every scene that was shot in sunshine would be in the final cut. See more »
Goofs
The song Livin' Thing (written by Jeff Lynne, performed by ELO), did not chart in the UK until 13 Nov 1976 and would not have been known during the Summer of 76. See more »
Quotes
Vivienne Mae:
Ah, the goddess on whom the music attends.
Stella:
Sorry I'm late, miss.
Vivienne Mae:
Don't worry, I did your bit for you. You're not indispensable, Stella Joes. Just remember that. Nobody is.
Headmaster:
It won't happen again, Miss Mae. The both of us will be punctual next time. Won't we, *Stella*?
See more »
Crazy Credits
All The Car Booters of South Wales (you know who you are) See more »
This is another slew of dramas or comedies which we have had in the last few years set in the 1970s. Maybe the writers and directors have hit 40 and getting nostalgic about their youth.
Set in the summer of 1976 where Britain had a hot summer leading to a drought, Vivienne May (Minnie Driver) a teacher in South Wales, a free spirit wants to put an end of year production of The Tempest with rock songs. Its all so Jesus Christ Superstar.
The kids leaving school face an uncertain future, many of them are going to go into mediocre jobs. At least Viv has the support of the headmaster as some of the more conservative teachers disapprove of her plans. They only see kids as fit for factory work or going down the mines.
There is nothing really original in Hunky Dory although the songs blend in well with the musical particularly the ELO numbers.
Its a coming of age tale as some of the kids are dealing with their sexuality, machismo, girlfriend/boyfriend trouble and in one case hanging around with skinheads.
It all leads up with the production of the musical in the opening night and all the turmoil associated with it.
Its a small scale feel-good musical, nice but I felt the tone was all over the place ranging from comedy to drama and back again. Apparently the final credits indicates that this might be based on true events.
In retrospect having been around at that time, in some sense these kids never had it so good, at least they had some sort of job to go to after leaving school. Just wait until 1979 when Mrs Thatcher enters Downing Street and closes a lot of the factories down.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This is another slew of dramas or comedies which we have had in the last few years set in the 1970s. Maybe the writers and directors have hit 40 and getting nostalgic about their youth.
Set in the summer of 1976 where Britain had a hot summer leading to a drought, Vivienne May (Minnie Driver) a teacher in South Wales, a free spirit wants to put an end of year production of The Tempest with rock songs. Its all so Jesus Christ Superstar.
The kids leaving school face an uncertain future, many of them are going to go into mediocre jobs. At least Viv has the support of the headmaster as some of the more conservative teachers disapprove of her plans. They only see kids as fit for factory work or going down the mines.
There is nothing really original in Hunky Dory although the songs blend in well with the musical particularly the ELO numbers.
Its a coming of age tale as some of the kids are dealing with their sexuality, machismo, girlfriend/boyfriend trouble and in one case hanging around with skinheads.
It all leads up with the production of the musical in the opening night and all the turmoil associated with it.
Its a small scale feel-good musical, nice but I felt the tone was all over the place ranging from comedy to drama and back again. Apparently the final credits indicates that this might be based on true events.
In retrospect having been around at that time, in some sense these kids never had it so good, at least they had some sort of job to go to after leaving school. Just wait until 1979 when Mrs Thatcher enters Downing Street and closes a lot of the factories down.