\
ANDERSON'S ARISTOCRATIC,
CELIBATE HOMOSEXUAL, PRINCIPLED PERSONALITY BEGINS TO EMERGE
ls hat all there is?
Paul Dale makes the pilgrimage to the remarkable Lindsay Anderson Collection at Stirling University.
here are ten filmmakers I hold eloser to in_\
heart than l.iiiils;i}' Anderson. I disemered
Anderson's \\Ul'l\ amidst a adoleseent hormones and hexiilderment. and to this day l lind it impossihle to east oil the suspieion that .-\nderson‘s .\laleolm .\lel)o\\ell/.\liek 'l'ra\ers trilog) (If. ()/1 Luv/ii .lliiri. Britannia l/(M/llltl/l is as good as post \\‘1ll' British einema is going to get.
I‘d known ahout Stirling l'niVersits‘s .-\nderson eolleetion l‘Ul‘ ages ltlll l’L‘liL‘L‘llCL‘ Iii late the eantanlserous truth ahoiit a true hero of mine meant that I had resisted all imitations. 'l'hen (ieorge .\liehael entered the frame (see Nexis in Briel'. page 7) and the time seemed right to pit} a \ isit.
.-\nd so it is that on a suitahl} dreieh da_\ I make m_\ way from Stirling station to the Hare prison—inspired hrutalist jo_\s ol' the town‘s eampus. l-‘etehed from the hits stop h_\ projeet arehix‘ist Karl .\lagee. I am led Lli)\\ll
to the hasemeni of the lihrar} \\ here in er lllllll of
Anderson‘s hooks. ISO arehi\ e ho\es teontaining .-\nderson’.s personal and making papers. photos. and memorahilial and 700 VHS \ideo tapes eoniaining films and TV programmes reeorded h_\ .-\nderson are housed. We chat ahout him the eolleetion ended up here when. despite his Seottish heritage .\nderson ne\ er e\ en Visited the eountr}. .\lagee. a gentle hut authoritaiix e eon\ersationalist ian Irish hiirr helps him greatl} in this respeetl e\plains. ‘ln .-\ugust I004 Anderson died suddenl} while on holida} in Frame. aged 7]. With no immediate t‘amil}. Anderson‘s elose eirele of friends eom'erged on his London flat to sort out his affairs. .-\s is often the ease. the most visible. \aliiahle material “as
42 THE LIST .Ti‘ Apr l 1 Mg“ baggy;
torrent of
taken. The remaining eolleeiion \ias put in temporar} storage in the ol‘liees ol the British ('ouneil in l.ondon. Anderson left no instruetions as to “here amthing \\as to he deposited. lloxie\er. he had made it elear that he did not \iani them to end up in the British l-ilm Institute as he had heen engaged in a long—running dispute \\llll them. angered h_\ main of their polieies and infuriated h} \\ll;tl he we as their laek ol support for British filmmakers. \Vhen pressure on space iieeessitated the remo\al of his material from the ol'liees ol' the British (’ouneil. Seottish Sereen \ias ollered the eolleetion. The} aeeepted it and then in Illlll the :\lltlL'l‘\Hll eolleetion \\as transferred to Stirling as a permanent
plaee Ul- deposit:
.\litg'L‘L‘ llils llU\\ L‘UlllPlL‘lL‘kl llle‘ llereulean lil\l\ Ul-
eataloguing .-\nderson's helongings lthe man rarel} thre\\ iiiistliiiig a\\a_\ l. and a full list ol its eontents
are a\ailahle online. 'l‘he eolleetion is a \xondet' ol'
ama/ing eiirrespiindenees ie\ en one from Kiirosimal. diaries. a lake ()seat'. photographs and audioeassettes. In time Anderson‘s \ieit‘dl} ai‘isloet'alie. eelihale homose\ual. prineipled personalit} hegins to emerge from all these items and I find iii-hell moxed and hadgered h} the mans spirit. l-iinall}. .\lagee sereens .-\iidei'soii\ superhl} pla_\l'iil last liliii /\ Ilia! .l// 'l'lii'ri' ls.’ imade for BB(‘ Seotlandi and the rarel} seen eiit ol llls Wham in (‘hina film It You ll'i'ri' 'lilii'ri'. Neither disappoints. hut l ne\er thought for a moment the} \iould. \Vhen \\lll there he a proper Seotiish retrospeetn e of this great filmmakers \iork'.’
Visit www.Iibrary.stir.ac.uk/lindsayanderson
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
I‘
* U Carmen eKhayelitsha Bi/et's opera gets a right gorng over in a township in South Africa. Any film that features this many (very) big, beautiful black women and men belting out arias has got to he the top of any list. anytime. See revrew. page 45'). Fl/lll/l()(/S(~?. [ iii/iburgh from Fri :3 May.
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* The General Buster Keaton's wondrous and brilliant 1927 feature gets itself a new print as it kicks off a season of classic silent films from one of Cinemas true vrsronaries. Film/rouse. Edinburgh from Fri 5 May.
* Fate Long overdue release of Turkish filmmaker Zeki Demirkibuz's adaptation of Camus The Outsider. This is the first film in his ‘Tales of Darkness' Trilogy. See review, page 44. Film/muse, Edinburgh from Mon t-Tbu 4 May.
* The Gospel According to St Matthew Classic Pasolini. Part of Cinema: Sud. GFT. Glasgow (Mon 8 May only).
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* Bailey On Three blinding television documentaries made by photographer Davad Bailey in the late 603 and early 703 available on DVD for the first time. Bailey's subjects are Andy Warhol. Cecil Beaton and Luchino Visconti. A fascinating time capsule. Out now (Network).