''Tumbledown'' is a 1988

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 ...

drama film set during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

. Directed by Richard Eyre, it stars

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

, Paul Rhys, and David Calder.

Synopsis

The film centres on the experiences of Robert Lawrence MC (played by

), an officer of the Scots Guards during the Falklands War of 1982. While fighting at the

Battle of Mount Tumbledown The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement during the Falklands War. The engagement was an attack by the British Army and the Royal Marines on the heights over-looking Stanley, the Falkland Islands capital. Mount Tumbledown, Mount Willi ...

, Lawrence is shot in the head by an Argentine sniper, and left paralysed on his left side. He then must learn to adjust to his new disability.

Awards

* BAFTA TV Awards 1989 **Won: Best Film Cameraman: Andrew Dunn **Won: Best Make Up: Shaunna Harrison **Won: Best Single Drama: Richard Broke, Richard Eyre & Charles Wood **Nominated: Best Actor: Colin Firth **Nominated: Best Costume Design: Michael Burdle **Nominated: Best Design: Geoff Powell **Nominated: Best Film Editor: Ken Pearce **Nominated: Best Film Sound: Graham Ross, Ken Hams & Christopher Swanton **Nominated: Best Original Television Music: Richard Hartley * RTS Television Award 1989 **Won: Best Actor (Male): Colin Firth **Won: Best Make Up Design: Shaunna Harrison **Won: Best Single Play: Charles Wood * Prix Italia 198
Prix Italia, Winners 1949 - 2010, RAI

Reception

The film sparked enormous controversy when first broadcast in 1988, in part because it conveyed the flat indifference shown by government, society and public to the returning wounded from the Falklands War; this content forms much of the story, as Lawrence struggles to come to terms with his terrible injuries, and to face a life in which he cannot do the thing he is trained to do, the thing he loves: soldiering. The film also triggered controversy by presenting an unvarnished portrait of the protagonist: for example, his joy in the brutalities of war and a flashback scene toward the end which shows him exulting at the top of Mount Tumbledown. The film portrays Lawrence's love of the military life as much as it portrays his feelings of abandonment and bitterness as he tries to cope with his wounds, with little help from the government that sent him into battle. Lead actor Colin Firth is reported to have said that the political left and right hated the film because it did not conform to any fixed ideology.

Media information

DVD release

*Released on Region 2 DVD by BBC Video on 2007-03-26. *The series was included in ''The Falklands 25th Commemorative Box Set'' with '' The Falklands Play''.

Script book

* Paperback edition (28 April 1988). Penguin Books.

References

External links

*
Battle for Life
by Robert Fox from

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

(28 May - 3 June 1988) * {{Richard Eyre 1988 television films 1988 films British television films 1980s English-language films Falklands War films Anti-war films Prix Italia winners Films directed by Richard Eyre 1988 in British television 1980s political films 1980s war films