FILMS THAT INFLUENCED HOUSE
TRAFALGAR
Quite enough has been
written about House Trafalgar. So I have decided to write more. I trust you
will bear with me.
Mark, James and I were busy
being sedentary at Mark’s gentleman’s apartment last night and we watched the
1984 ‘classic’ Return of the Living Dead on my recommendation. It’s fair to say
this film has dated. However, there were still some elements I remember helped
me to develop my own tastes; which I guess are reflected in the shi- content I
write.
Anyways, I got to thinking
about House T. and the movies that influenced me in writing the screenplay. Not
Mark or James’s takes – they undoubtedly have their own influences that
occasionally coincide with mine on our mutual Venn diagram.
You’ll pretty much know all
the movies here but I’ll try and make my take on them specific and interesting.
I’ll also try and keep it spoiler free for the few of you who have not yet
witnessed our genius. Some films are obvious; some perhaps not so. So join me,
if you will, in a little tour…
HOME (BBCTV)
This was a BBC4 short as
part of the BBC’s JG Ballard season. I’m a huge fan of JG Ballard, ever since I
read an interview with him one Saturday afternoon in the Portsmouth Virgin
Megastore in 1980. The interview was in an issue of what seemed to this speccy,
weedy fourteen year old suburban boy, the incredibly grown up Heavy Metal
magazine, alongside the Crass and Killing Joke singles. I was stunned by the
icy cruelty Ballard’s words appeared to endorse. I knew this was dangerous,
modern stuff and way out of my experience. I had to start reading his books.
The gorgeous Portsmouth Tricorn Centre in its full glory. Alas, no Virgin Megastore 1980 picture. If you've got one let us know.
Anyway: Home. This film
stars Antony Sher and is about an upper middle class man who can’t leave his
house. So he becomes a hermit and lives there until he’s reduced to living off
mould and stuff. Essentially, the man becomes a savage and the house is a
jungle. Very Ballard. Alex Kirk and I thought this was amazing.
I came up with the idea of
doing a Tom and Jerry comedy about two men who live in a shared house having a war
with each other that escalates out of control. The end would be the house
collapses in a pile of rubble. The two men climb out and continue to fight.
I’m very attracted to the
idea of the normal being surreal. Eventually, this idea must
have transmuted into House Trafalgar.
A bad quality partial version of Home is here:
MASTER AND COMMANDER
Obviously. This movie died
at the box office. I didn’t even see it until I got a £1 version on DVD from
Smiths. It blew me away. However, the look of this movie is so clearly an
influence on House Trafalgar I’m going to wait for Mark to write his take on
Master and Commander. If you haven’t seen it, shame on you.
THE THING (1982)
‘We need some help down
here. We found something in the ice. We found something. We found something…’
So run the lines to the
greatest trailer ever made! For economy of character, this script is the best.
Just check out the insipid remake/prequel to see how with the same elements, you don’t introduce
character.
This incredible Bill
Lancaster/John Carpenter movie still holds up. I believe this is due to the
amazing feeling of hopelessness and paranoia. I love films that don’t end well.
Professional men working against the odds. Only here, under the façade of duty;
you really can’t trust anybody.
Check out if you can the
Alan Dean Foster novelisation. Back in those pre-video days, novelisations were
all you could get your hands on. It’s based on (I believe) the second draft of
the script so there are some startling differences to the movie. Check out what
happens to Nauls and Sanchez (Windows in the movie). I wish they’d kept that
in…
Trivia: my friend Barry was
the bass player in the band I was in at the time (yes, the mighty Dance Kapital;
I know you’ve heard of us). Barry was also a pro-skateboarder and often went to
California
Some of my mate Barry's skateboard sponsor's skateboards from the 1980s. A photo I ripped from Barry's Facebook page. Hope you don't mind, Barry. ZORLAC!
ZULU
As a child of a certain age,
Zulu still inspires fantastic devotion. It’s a boy’s film for the boy inside
every man. It is also obviously the template for the structure of every other
military movie, including House Trafalgar.
Lord of the Rings. Starship
Troopers. I personally believe Michael Ironside’s ‘Give it everything you’ve
got’ line (when the bugs attack the fort) is an attempt to top Zulu. I think Ed
Neumeier and Paul Verhoeven are telling us: ‘Zulu was a bloody battle but there
was structure. THIS battle is going to be a gigantic free for all.’ Does that
make sense?
Everything about Zulu is
inspiring: the music, the landscape, the ferocity, the energy. This is a film
that can’t wait to get on to the next bit; mirroring the mind of a little boy.
It has duty, honour, courage and sacrifice. And no boring kissy-lovey bits.
You won’t believe me but the
only bit I consciously stole was the Surgeon scene. The rest was just there in
my psyche. I’m guessing Neil had this film very much in mind when he wrote the
score.
Little bit of trivia: Mark
Gatiss once claimed to me one of his ancestors is the commissar guy who hands
out the bullets. Respect due.
Another little bit of
trivia: one drunken New Year, a bunch of sedentary gentlemen and ladies and me
were sharing a holiday home in Swanage. Zulu came on telly and unbelievably one
of my friends had NEVER SEEN IT. I recall clearly the moment when he said in a
tense voice: ‘at least they don’t have guns’ – as the first bullet was fired at
Rorke’s Drift…
Worth taking a look at the Wikipedia entry to see how different the movie is to the reality. Don't bother with Zulu Dawn.
A BRIDGE TOO FAR
House T. is very consciously
an old fashioned big film about duty and self-sacrifice in the face of
impossible odds. A Bridge Too Far is the last and biggest of that type of film.
I wrote each character as if
they were to be played by a massive star; preferably a 70s star.
I saw this movie with my Dad
in 1979 and it was clear then that the structure was too diverse to hold the
movie together. There are just too many sub-plots that don’t shore up the main
plot and the sheer number of massive stars unbalances an audience’s expectation.
However, time I think has been kind to this movie because it rewards repeat
viewings.
For me A Bridge Too Far is,
until Master and Commander, the last believable film to have an unselfconscious
subtext of decency and duty as positive virtues. After this, war was either going
to be messy and complicated and morally murky; or simple jingoism. No bad
thing; just different.
‘Two days they said. We’ve
been here nine!’ Sean Connery is probably the inspiration for the Captain in
House T. Okay. He is.
STOP RIGHT THERE
Wow. That’s a lot of words.
Got a bit carried away. And we haven’t even got to Starship Troopers yet. Okay,
this’ll have to be a two-parter. Thanks for reading!
Guess which films are next:
