Play for Today (TV Series) Red Shift (1978) User Reviews

Classic BBC 'Play for Today'

[t-dooley-69-386916 · 8/10 · 21 May 2015]

Made by the BBC back in 1978 this was an adaptation of the book of the same name by Alan Garner. It tells of three men from different periods in history, who all come to the same mystical hill – Mow Top Hill – to rid themselves of their troubles. One is modern day and that means 1978 and one Roman and I think the third is around the time of the English Civil War. A strange, but beautiful hand carved axe seems to be the link.

To say any more would be too much and not enough. There are three perfectly paced stories here and all would stand up to individual scrutiny in their own right. The acting is a bit 'stagey' at times in terms of the dialogue, but you could get away with it in those days. This is very much theatre and as such is an art form – no grubby kitchen sink drama to be worried about. The acting is all very good and the locations are great, I particularly like the trains – some of which are still being used on my line today (I am not joking).

This is one that will keep you guessing right until the end and even if you get it right – you will not want to be. This is how things used to be made; with time, effort and attention to every detail going into it. When you see the production values you would think this was a film and not made for a one off broadcast on television. This is another gem from the archives that we have to thank the BFI for – I just hope they keep digging them out.

A complex and rewarding drama

[esotericbonanza · 14 November 2017]

This is one of the real gems from the BFI's BBC DVD releases, the kind of one-off drama that could never be made in this modern age.

A complex and elusive drama of how history, despite being ever-shifting and ever-changing repeats itself, this is deserving of the over-used phrase original.

with non-realistic dialogue, more theatrical than many viewers might be used to, it is a brave and rewarding experiment and well worth your time if you are truly seeking something different, edifying and illuminating.

Bravo to the BFI for making it available again and shame on current TV executives for turning their backs on such definition-defying material.

Red Shift

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 14 August 2017]

This Play for Today presentation, Red Shift has been spruced up for a Bly Ray release.

What makes it work is the direction by John Mackenzie who follows the stories of three men in different time streams; Roman, English civil war and the present day (1970s.)

Writer Alan Garner imbues the film with a mystical mythology of stone axe fallen from the stars which somehow foreshadows violence and maybe luck.

Tom and Jan are a young couple about to be separated as she is going to London to work as a nurse. Tom feels stifled living in his parents caravan. He becomes jealous when he finds out that Jan has been having an affair. They find a stone axe at their monthly meetings in Mow Cop Hill near Crewe.

In Roman Britain one of the soldiers goes berserk with a stone axe. A young girl abused by the soldiers are later poisoned by her.

During the English civil war there is a massacre by Royalist soldiers in a Cheshire village. Thomas Rowley and his wife are few of the survivors. Rowley has found the stone axe and heads to Mow Cop Hill where he built a house and placed the axe in the chimney as a good luck charm which some centuries later Tom and Jan discover.

Some of the violent scenes are well staged by Mackenzie, the massacre is horrifying. Some of the acting and writing is pretentious though although I admire the hints of mysticism and fatalism.