''Langrishe, Go Down'', the novel by

Aidan Higgins Aidan Higgins (3 March 1927 – 27 December 2015) was an Irish writer. He wrote short stories, travel pieces, radio drama and novels. Among his published works are '' Langrishe, Go Down'' (1966), '' Balcony of Europe'' (1972) and the biographic ...

(1966), was adapted for the screen by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

, directed by David Jones, filmed for

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

in association with

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

, and first broadcast in September 1978 as a 90-minute

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''Play of the Week''. On 17 July,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, ''Langrishe, Go Down'' was re-released as a theatrical

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...

feature film, after being shown in The Spaces Between the Words: A Tribute to Harold Pinter, by the

Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fo ...

, as part of the Harold Pinter Festival of the Lincoln Center Festival 2001, held at

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, from 21 to 31 July 2001.

Credits

*Screenplay:

, from the novel by

*Director: David Jones *Original score:

Carl Davis Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961. He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...

*Photography: Elmer Cossey *Designer:

Roger Murray-Leach Roger Murray-Leach (born 25 June 1943) is a British Production Designer possibly best known for his work on British television series' '' Doctor Who'' and Blake's 7 in the 1970s, although he then went on to work on major feature films. Initiall ...

*Sound Recordist: Graham Hare

Cast

*Imogen Langrishe:

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

*Otto Beck:

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

*Helen Langrishe:

Annette Crosbie Annette Crosbie (born 12 February 1934) is a Scottish actor.Annette Crosbie fil ...

*Lily Langrishe: Susan Williamson *Maureen Layde:

Margaret Whiting Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.Mapes, Jillian.Margaret Whiting, Iconic Standards Singer, Dies at 86. ''Billboard' ...

*Barry Shannon:

Setting

The setting is a fading Irish mansion in the

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

countryside, in the late 1930s, and also includes some locations in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Plot synopsis

Three spinster sisters, Imogene (Dench), Helen (Crosbie), and Lily Langrishe (Williamson), lose their equanimity — and in the case of Imogene her virginity — when a mature German student (

) rents lodging from them while he works on his thesis.

Home media

The film was released on DVD in Australia by MRA Entertainment.

Notes

External links

* {{David Jones 1978 television films 1978 films 1978 drama films 1978 television plays BBC television dramas Films directed by David Jones Films scored by Carl Davis Films with screenplays by Harold Pinter