BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 / Andrew Scott in Pride

**Posted by Kittyhawk** October 24, 2017 10:33 am

Watched it yesterday, and it's a really, really, great "little" movie. I loved that the DVD bonus material shows some of the actual members of both groups - and that they were happy with the movie Now I'll watch first the commentary, and then I'll have to watch the movie a few more times to really get all the dialogue - it's sooo worth it!

(Another movie along the same lines is Made in Dagenham - more in the Rupert Graves thread)

**Posted by besleybean** October 24, 2017 4:54 pm

Yep, this is one of my favourite films.

**Posted by Kittyhawk** October 26, 2017 9:53 am

So, now I've watched the movie three times and really thought I had understood everything - but where is the sex scene that "earned" it the R-rating in the U.S.?

**Posted by Yitzock** October 27, 2017 2:09 pm

Unfortunately it's been a few years since I saw the film so I don't remember anything like that.
The story of the release of the film in the U.S. on DVD is a little weird, too, though. The DVD back cover didn't mention that the activists supporting the miners were gay and erased a banner with that referred to it from the photo of the marching scene.

Last edited by Yitzock (October 27, 2017 2:12 pm)

**Posted by besleybean** October 27, 2017 4:49 pm

Funny ole' USA!
I seem to remember there is a rather nice gay sex scene...but maybe that's just my wishful thinking!

**Posted by Kittyhawk** October 28, 2017 9:58 am

I'm afraid it's wishful thinking!

I remember two rather desperate kisses (a drunk maybe straight woman kisses a lesbian, and a gay man on his "farewell party tour" kisses his gay friend), Gethin curling up with Jonathan in Bed groaning "don't these women ever sleep" (while the miners' wives are giggling and shrieking over a dildo and some naked men in porn magazines (which are not shown all that much)) and Joe and Steph (i. e. a homosexual man and woman) lying in bed together, holding hands (after Steph said something like "if we were normal, we'd be kissing now").

That the U.S. distributors felt the need to change the DVD cover shows that there's something seriously wrong with the country - the French version (which seems to be very similar to the British one) is very discreet and just provides necessary information (for once it's even a correct representation of the contents) - I mean, if you are homophobic enough to be put off by the cover, you'd want to know what the film is about before buying it, wouldn't you? In France the film is "tous publics", by the way, i. e. no age restrictions whatsoever.

Yitzok, if you've seen the movie only in the cinema, I'd recommend you get the DVD so you can see the extras as well - I was happy to see the real Jonathan alive and well in 2014

**Posted by Yitzock** October 28, 2017 3:45 pm

As much progress as the US has made as far as LGBTQ rights go, some people can still be really touchy about it. It's kind of annoying to read about that whenever something like this DVD cover thing comes up.

Unfortunately, I actually did not get the chance to see the film in the cinema. I saw it on DVD from the library a few years ago. But I never got the chance to watch the extras, I can't remember why. I think it might have been when I was home from university for Christmas, so there was a lot of other things to do. One of these days I'll have to get it again to see the extras.

**Posted by Kittyhawk** November 5, 2017 12:37 pm

Something I have always wondered about (since watching Brassed Off), and maybe somebody here can help me understand: There's this wonderfully moving scene of Bill Nighy's "geology lesson" where he talks about the dark artery of coal running from Spain through Wales to Pennsylvania which shows a deep love of the subject and attachment to the work "the pits and the people are one and the same" (Andrew Scott's reaction, too) - I'm assuming that's reflecting something of the real people's attitudes towards the mines. Also because it ties in what I heard when visiting a slate mine (yes, an underground mine, not an open-air quarry).

So, the thing I find hard to understand: Why are people so attached to work under horrible conditions, with pay that's not particularly good, and that has a high likelyhood of ending up killing them? Even the Bremen town musicians knew "You can always find something better than death"...

Last edited by Kittyhawk (November 5, 2017 12:41 pm)

**Posted by besleybean** November 5, 2017 2:13 pm

I believe it is the community they are attached to.

**Posted by Yitzock** November 5, 2017 4:12 pm

Yes, I think it's partly that and also just in general the fact that such a job allows them to be able to put food on the table for their families. I remember once on a TV a man singing a song he wrote about how his job mining coal kept the lights on.
Sometimes I find it difficult to understand myself, since I dislike the fact that coal and oil create pollution that destroys the earth, even if I also understand that people need jobs to survive.

**Posted by Liberty** November 5, 2017 4:23 pm

I agree that it's the community, and I think one thing that is special about coal mining is that settlements/towns were built because of the mines (as seen in Pride, I think) - the coal mines were the whole point of those towns. Working in the mines was supposed to be a secure job for life, and people were doing it over generations. So the effect of closing the mines was massive.

Last edited by Liberty (November 5, 2017 4:23 pm)

**Posted by besleybean** November 5, 2017 4:25 pm

And a deliberate political action to smash the unions...oh sorry, did I say that out loud?!

**Posted by Yitzock** November 5, 2017 4:32 pm

Just in writing, besley! lol

**Posted by besleybean** November 5, 2017 4:34 pm

**Posted by belis** November 5, 2017 4:54 pm

Kittyhawk wrote:
So, the thing I find hard to understand: Why are people so attached to work under horrible conditions, with pay that's not particularly good, and that has a high likelyhood of ending up killing them? Even the Bremen town musicians knew "You can always find something better than death"...

As far as manual labour goes mining became quite well paid. It is skilled labour and they had strong unions. There is the community, the family tradition etc

I do wonder sometimes why NHS workers, for example, feel so passionate about it and want to protect the NHS. The pay is not grate relatively speaking, The condition could be improved. I think part of it is the culture, wanting to be a part of something bigger that is benefiting others. I imagine there is a similar thing about mining. You are part of a special sort of club that gets some respect for the work that they do.