{"id":26997,"date":"2012-08-27T12:56:04","date_gmt":"2012-08-27T19:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26997"},"modified":"2020-12-11T21:17:27","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T04:17:27","slug":"sunday-bloody-sunday-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26997","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;We&#8217;re free to do what we want.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Poster-204x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-27000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Poster-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Poster-87x128.jpg 87w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA freespirited artist (Murray Head) remains romantically involved with a lonely divorcee (Glenda Jackson) and a Jewish physician (Peter Finch), both mutual friends of an open-minded married couple (Frank Windsor and Vivian Pickles) with multiple children.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Glenda Jackson Films<\/li>\n<li>John Schlesinger Films<\/li>\n<li>Love Triangle<\/li>\n<li>Peter Finch Films<\/li>\n<li>Sexuality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Sunday Bloody Sunday<\/em> (scripted by <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Penelope_Gilliatt\">film critic Penelope Gilliatt<\/a>) was director John Schlesinger&#8217;s follow-up to his critically acclaimed success with <em>Midnight Cowboy<\/em> (1969), as well as earlier notable titles, including <em>Billy Liar<\/em> (1963), <em>Darling<\/em> (1965), and <em>Far From the Madding Crowd<\/em> (1967). <em>SBS<\/em> is often cited as his most personal film, given its inclusion of a gay, Jewish male protagonist (Schlesinger himself was gay and Jewish); indeed, it&#8217;s Schlesinger and Gilliatt&#8217;s sensitive, open-minded treatment of sexuality in general that most distinguishes this unusual love triangle tale, in which both &#8220;ends&#8221; of the triangle (Finch and Jackson) freely share its &#8220;point&#8221; (Head) with others, yet struggle with the implications of such a knowing compromise. For Finch &#8212; who seems personally at ease with his sexuality, yet hides it from his tradition-bound family &#8212; this means being unable to count on Head as a travel partner to a much-dreamed-of trip to Italy; for Jackson, it means (among other things) giving up on the dubious prospect of having children of her own (portrayed as a decidedly hectic lifestyle choice through the anti-bourgeois household run by Windsor and Pickles, whose very young children smoke pot and take on more responsibilities than one might feel comfortable with). <\/p>\n<p>Schlesinger situates Finch and Jackson&#8217;s sticky romantic scenario within the cultural milieu of early-1970s Britain; to that end, there&#8217;s a sense of disconnectedness to some of the contextualizing and\/or supporting scenes &#8212; I&#8217;m still not sure what the significance is, for instance, of a dramatic incident involving a dog and an accident. However, it&#8217;s the central performers and their romantic dilemmas which really ground the film, as we watch to see how Finch and Jackson will handle their growing realization that the America-bound Head may soon become an even less permanent part of their lives. Indeed, there&#8217;s an undeniable sense of sadness and ambiguity to both Finch and Jackson&#8217;s plights, giving one pause to reflect on what, exactly, one &#8220;should&#8221; be looking for in life and in romance. Are Finch and Jackson compromising their chances for a more fulfilling and &#8220;stable&#8221; relationship with someone else? Or are they smart to accept the limited happiness they have with Head? These are decidedly sticky questions with no easy answers, and <em>Sunday Bloody Sunday<\/em> respectfully acknowledges that reality. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Authentic performances by the three romantic leads: Finch, Jackson (nominated by Peary as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>), and Head<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Finch.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-26999\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Jackson.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-26998\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Head.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-27005\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday-Pickles.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical relevance as an early film to treat &#8220;open&#8221; sexual arrangements with candor and respect. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0067805\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/sunday-bloody-sunday-1971\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1971\/10\/03\/archives\/sunday-without-tears-without-pity-sunday-without-tears.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9JST6ia8skA\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re free to do what we want.&#8221; Synopsis: A freespirited artist (Murray Head) remains romantically involved with a lonely divorcee (Glenda Jackson) and a Jewish physician (Peter Finch), both mutual friends of an open-minded married couple (Frank Windsor and Vivian Pickles) with multiple children. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Glenda Jackson Films John Schlesinger Films Love Triangle Peter Finch Films Sexuality Review: Sunday Bloody Sunday (scripted by film critic Penelope Gilliatt) was director John Schlesinger&#8217;s follow-up to his critically acclaimed&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26997\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26997"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57223,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26997\/revisions\/57223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}