Absolute Beginners (film)

Absolute Beginners is a 1986 British musical film adapted from Colin MacInnes' book about life in late 1950s London, directed by Julien Temple. The film stars Eddie O' Connell, Patsy Kensit, James Fox, Edward Tudor-Pole, Anita Morris, and David Bowie, with featured appearances by Sade Adu, Ray Davies, and Steven Berkoff. It was screened out of competition at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival.[4] It received immense coverage in the British media but was panned by critics and became a box office failure.[5] However, Bowie's theme song was very popular in the UK, spending nine weeks on the charts and peaking at number two.[6]

Absolute Beginners
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJulien Temple
Produced by
Written byRichard Burridge
Christopher Wicking
Don MacPherson
Starring
Music byGil Evans
CinematographyOliver Stapleton
Edited byGerry Hambling
Production
companies
Distributed byPalace Pictures (UK)
Orion Pictures (USA)
Release date
  • 18 April 1986 (1986-04-18)
Running time
108 minutes[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£8.4 million[2]
Box office£1.8 million[3]

The commercial failure of Absolute Beginners and two other films is blamed for the collapse of British film studio Goldcrest Films.[7]

Plot

The film takes place in 1958, a time in which popular culture is transforming from 1950s jazz to a new generation on the verge of the 1960s. The storyline incorporates elements of the 1958 Notting Hill race riots. Young photographer Colin falls in love with aspiring fashion designer Crepe Suzette, but she is only interested in her career. Colin tries to win her affections by taking a crack at the big time himself. Meanwhile, racial tensions heat up in Colin's neighbourhood of London.

Cast

Production

Christopher Wicking worked on an early draft of the script which he said "had some sort of propulsion from one scene to the next".[8] He says the script helped raise American finance but then Julien Temple became involved and disregarded a lot of Wicking's ideas. Wicking also says the filmmakers could never reconcile if the musical numbers should advance the story or illustrate something about the characters at the time.[8]

$2.5 million of the film's budget came from Orion and £2.5 million from Goldcrest.[9]

Soundtrack
Absolute Beginners: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Gil Evans with Various Artists
Released7 April 1986 (1986-04-07)
GenreMusical
LabelVirgin Records
ProducerClive Langer, Alan Winstanley
Singles from Absolute Beginners: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  1. "Absolute Beginners"
    Released: 3 March 1986

Absolute Beginners: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was concurrently released to promote the film, and the musical score was composed by Gil Evans. David Bowie's title track, Ray Davies' "Quiet Life", and the Style Council's "Have You Ever Had It Blue?" were released as singles. Abridged versions of the LP were released featuring only sides one and two, and CD versions excised the tracks "Absolute Beginners (Slight Refrain)," "Landlords and Tenants," "Santa Lucia". and "Cool Napoli."[10]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Absolute Beginners"David BowieDavid Bowie7:58
2."Killer Blow"Sade Adu, Simon Booth, Larry StabbinsSade4:34
3."Have You Ever Had It Blue?"Paul WellerThe Style Council5:36
4."Quiet Life"Ray DaviesRay Davies2:55
5."Va Va Voom"Gil EvansGil Evans3:26
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."That's Motivation"BowieDavid Bowie4:14
2."Having It All"Geoff Beauchamp, Alex Godson, Patsy KensitEighth Wonder Featuring Patsy Kensit3:06
3."Rodrigo Bay"Booth, StabbinsWorking Week3:27
4."Selling Out"Slim Gaillard, Tot Taylor, Julien TempleSlim Gaillard3:34
5."Riot City"Jerry DammersJerry Dammers8:28
Side three
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Boogie Stop Shuffle (Rough and the Smooth)"Charles MingusGil Evans3:01
2."Ted Ain't Dead"Edward Tudor-Pole, TempleTenpole Tudor2:35
3."Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu)"Franco Migliacci, Domenico ModugnoDavid Bowie3:13
4."Napoli"Clive Langer, TempleClive Langer4:09
5."Little Cat (You Never Had It So Good)"Nick LoweJonas (24)2:19
6."Absolute Beginners (Slight Refrain)"BowieGil Evans0:38
Side four
No.TitleWriter(s)ArtistLength
1."Better Git It in Your Soul (The Hot and the Cold)"MingusGil Evans1:49
2."Landlords and Tenants"Laurel AitkenLaurel Aitken2:46
3."Santa Lucia"Ekow AbbanEkow Abban3:49
4."Cool Napoli"Langer, TempleGil Evans2:01
5."So What? (Lyric Version)"Smiley CultureMiles Davis, Smiley Culture4:18
6."Absolute Beginners (Refrain)"BowieGil Evans1:37

Reception

Critical

New York Times film critic Caryn James remarked upon the "unevenness" of Temple's adaptation and its "erratic" results.[11] Pauline Kael declared that the music was "peculiarly unlyrical and ephemeral".[12] Jeremy Allen in The Guardian praised Bowie's theme song but described the film as "an overbudget turkey of huge proportions".[13] Corey K. Creekmur stated in The International Film Musical that the film "failed to deliver on the critical expectations surrounding it", although it remained "a deeply interesting, if flawed, attempt to harness the contemporary musical in the services of politics and social equality".[14]

Absolute Beginners currently holds a 79-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews.[15]

Box Office

Goldcrest Films invested £4,680,000 in the film and received £1,859,000 back, losing £2,821,000.[16]

gollark: I mean, what's the alternative? Give it to someone *randomly*? Allocate it based on some notion of what's "best for society", which you probably can't calculate in a way everyone will agree on?
gollark: Something something noncentral fallacy. Just because it has aspects similar to bribes, doesn't mean all the bad connotations of "bribe" should reasonably be carried along.
gollark: In a market thing goods just go to whoever is willing to pay for them.
gollark: What?
gollark: The argument for land value tax is that it's apparently more economically efficient in some way than income taxes, and inasmuch as nobody actually produces land/natural resources value derived from them should go to everyone.

References
Notes
  1. "Absolute Beginners (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 18 March 1986. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  2. Walker p. 33
  3. Walker p. 54
  4. "Festival de Cannes: Absolute Beginners". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
  5. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/mar/26/uma-thurman-motherhood-flop
  6. https://www.officialcharts.com/search/singles/absolute-beginners/
  7. https://thequietus.com/articles/09849-absolute-beginners-julien-temple-bowiefest-ica
  8. All's Well That Ends: an interview with Chris Wicking Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 55, Iss. 658, (1 Nov 1988): 322.
  9. "Bad Beginning." Sunday Times [London, England] 15 June 1986: 45. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.
  10. https://www.discogs.com/master/view/67673
  11. James, Caryn (18 April 1986). "Rock Musical 'Beginners'". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  12. Kael, Pauline (2011) [1991]. 5001 Nights at the Movies. Henry Holt and Company. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-250-03357-4.
  13. Allen, Jeremy (3 December 2014). "David Bowie: 10 of the best". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  14. Creekmur, Corey K. (2013). The International Film Musical. Edinburgh University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0748634774.
  15. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/absolute_beginners
  16. Eberts, Jake; Illott, Terry (1990). My indecision is final. Faber and Faber. p. 656.
Sources
  • Walker, Alexander, Icons in the Fire: The Rise and Fall of Practically Everyone in the British Film Industry 1984-2000, Orion Books, 2005
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