The Lost Language of Cranes (film)
Encyclopedia
The Lost Language of Cranes is a 1991 British television film. Made by the BBC
for their Screen Two series; it is an adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name
by David Leavitt
.
Whereas the novel is set in New York
with American
characters, the film takes place in London
. Though most of the characters in the film are British
, the characters of Elliot, Geoffrey and Winston are American, and the story is essentially that of the novel.
" to them. His parents are taken aback by the news and his mother, Rose, says that she will need time to come to terms with it. However, the revelation has a far greater impact on his father, Owen, who at first seems accepting of his son's revelation but later begins to cry. Although he has been married to Rose for years, Owen is also secretly gay, and makes clandestine visits to gay bars and gay adult cinemas.
Meanwhile, Philip's boyfriend, an American
named Elliot, receives a visit from his adoptive parents Derek and Geoffrey, the gay couple who raised him. Soon after their visit, Elliot decides he no longer wants a relationship with Philip and moves to Paris. Philip remains friends with Elliot's female flatmate, Jerene, a PhD
student who is writing her thesis on languages and behaviour. Her research includes the secret language that a pair of young twins created between themselves and also the case of a neglected young child who began emulating the movements of construction cranes
as this was the only thing he could see out of his bedroom window and therefore his only interaction with the outside world at a developmental age.
Owen and Philip go out for a meal and Owen asks Philip questions about his sexuality and how people know that they are gay. He says that he is asking because he has a colleague at the university where he works, an attractive man named Winston, and wondered if he was gay. Owen says he will invite Winston round for dinner because Philip might like him. However, on the evening of the dinner party, it becomes clear to Rose that Owen is the one who is actually attracted to Winston. She later confronts him which leads to Owen admitting his sexuality to her. Owen goes to stay with Philip and finally tells his son about himself.
Angus Macfadyen
- Philip
Eileen Atkins
- Rose
Corey Parker
- Elliot
Richard Warwick
- Frank
Cathy Tyson
- Jerene
Rene Auberjonois
- Geoffrey
John Schlesinger
- Derek
Ben Daniels
- Robin
Nigel Whitmey
- Winston
† Nominated for BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor
by several years. Although made for television, the film was initially screened at the London Film Festival
in November 1991 and was first screened on British television (BBC Two
) in February 1992.
The film was shown in the U.S. on PBS in June 1992, but was censored for both its television airing and its VHS
release. PBS was coming under fire by conservative groups in the early 1990s for presenting programming showing homosexuality and nudity. The following excerpt was originally published in Current
, April 13, 1992: "To ease concerns among wary affiliates, [...] Great Performances Cranes already has been edited for the American audience, losing frontal nudity."
The uncensored film is available on Region 1 DVD
in the U.S., and on Region 2 DVD in The Netherlands. Despite its being a BBC
production, it has not been released on DVD in the UK; it has been scheduled for release several times but has been postponed indefinitely.
Review from the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
"Two summer dramas tell stories of gay lives" by Karen Everhart Bedford
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for their Screen Two series; it is an adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name
The Lost Language of Cranes
The Lost Language of Cranes is a novel by David Leavitt, first published in 1986. A British TV movie of the novel was made in 1991. The movie was released on dvd in 2009.-Plot introduction:...
by David Leavitt
David Leavitt
David Leavitt is an American novelist.-Biography:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Leavitt is a graduate of Yale University. and a professor at the University of Florida...
.
Whereas the novel is set in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
characters, the film takes place in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Though most of the characters in the film are British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the characters of Elliot, Geoffrey and Winston are American, and the story is essentially that of the novel.
Overview
Philip Benjamin is a 20-something middle-class Londoner who works in publishing. Unbeknownst to his parents, Philip is gay and he decides to "come outCome Out
Come Out may refer to:*Come Out , a music piece by Steve Reich*Coming out, disclosing one's homosexuality or bisexuality.*"Come Out", a song by Camper van Beethoven from New Roman Times...
" to them. His parents are taken aback by the news and his mother, Rose, says that she will need time to come to terms with it. However, the revelation has a far greater impact on his father, Owen, who at first seems accepting of his son's revelation but later begins to cry. Although he has been married to Rose for years, Owen is also secretly gay, and makes clandestine visits to gay bars and gay adult cinemas.
Meanwhile, Philip's boyfriend, an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
named Elliot, receives a visit from his adoptive parents Derek and Geoffrey, the gay couple who raised him. Soon after their visit, Elliot decides he no longer wants a relationship with Philip and moves to Paris. Philip remains friends with Elliot's female flatmate, Jerene, a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
student who is writing her thesis on languages and behaviour. Her research includes the secret language that a pair of young twins created between themselves and also the case of a neglected young child who began emulating the movements of construction cranes
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
as this was the only thing he could see out of his bedroom window and therefore his only interaction with the outside world at a developmental age.
Owen and Philip go out for a meal and Owen asks Philip questions about his sexuality and how people know that they are gay. He says that he is asking because he has a colleague at the university where he works, an attractive man named Winston, and wondered if he was gay. Owen says he will invite Winston round for dinner because Philip might like him. However, on the evening of the dinner party, it becomes clear to Rose that Owen is the one who is actually attracted to Winston. She later confronts him which leads to Owen admitting his sexuality to her. Owen goes to stay with Philip and finally tells his son about himself.
Cast
Brian Cox† - OwenAngus Macfadyen
Angus Macfadyen
Angus Macfadyen is a Scottish actor.Angus Macfadyen was born in Glasgow and was brought up partly in Africa, France, the Philippines and Singapore. His father was a doctor in the World Health Organisation. He was once engaged to actress Catherine Zeta-Jones.Angus attended the University of...
- Philip
Eileen Atkins
Eileen Atkins
Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE is an English actress and occasional screenwriter.- Early life :Atkins was born in the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, a Salvation Army women's hostel in East London...
- Rose
Corey Parker
Corey Parker (actor)
Corey Parker is an American actor and acting coach.-Biography:Corey Parker was born in New York City, the son of acting coach Rochelle "Rocky" Parker...
- Elliot
Richard Warwick
Richard Warwick
Richard Warwick was a British actor.He was born Richard Carey Winter, at Meopham, Kent and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of Romeo and Juliet in the role of Gregory...
- Frank
Cathy Tyson
Cathy Tyson
Catherine "Cathy" Tyson is an English stage, film and television actress.-Early life:The daughter of a Trinidadian barrister father and an English social worker mother, Tyson and her family moved to Liverpool when she was approximately two years old.-Career:Tyson attended the Everyman Youth...
- Jerene
Rene Auberjonois
Rene Auberjonois
René Murat Auberjonois is an American actor, known for portraying Father Mulcahy in the movie version of M*A*S*H and for creating a number of characters in long-running television series, including Clayton Endicott III on Benson , Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Chef Louis in The Little...
- Geoffrey
John Schlesinger
John Schlesinger
John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician...
- Derek
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
- Robin
Nigel Whitmey
Nigel Whitmey
Nigel Whitmey is a British Canadian-born actor who was born in Alberta, Canada, who has appeared in TV series and films. He is also the husband of the actress Abigail Thaw, whom he met whilst training at RADA.-Early life:...
- Winston
† Nominated for BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor
Release and controversy
The film is notable for its graphic (for the time) depiction of homosexuality for a television production and predates the equally graphic Tales Of The City television adaptations and Queer As FolkQueer as Folk (UK TV series)
Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies...
by several years. Although made for television, the film was initially screened at the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...
in November 1991 and was first screened on British television (BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
) in February 1992.
The film was shown in the U.S. on PBS in June 1992, but was censored for both its television airing and its VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
release. PBS was coming under fire by conservative groups in the early 1990s for presenting programming showing homosexuality and nudity. The following excerpt was originally published in Current
Current (newspaper)
Current is an American trade journal that covers public broadcasting in the United States. It is described by the Public Broadcasting Service as "The most widely read periodical in the field"...
, April 13, 1992: "To ease concerns among wary affiliates, [...] Great Performances Cranes already has been edited for the American audience, losing frontal nudity."
The uncensored film is available on Region 1 DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the U.S., and on Region 2 DVD in The Netherlands. Despite its being a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production, it has not been released on DVD in the UK; it has been scheduled for release several times but has been postponed indefinitely.
External links
New York Times ReviewReview from the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
"Two summer dramas tell stories of gay lives" by Karen Everhart Bedford