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As quintessentially homegrown as a game of cricket or a plate of fish-and-chips, Morris dancing is one of England s most ancient roots traditions. And yet to your average man on the street, it s seen as little more than a national joke. And a bad national joke at that. Something to ridicule. Something to be embarrassed about.
A heartfelt ode to his agrarian roots, WAY OF THE MORRIS follows filmmaker Tim Plester on a deeply personal journey from the barleyfields of his childhood to the killing fields of The Somme, in search of a connection with these much-maligned native dances that run deep in his bloodline. Featuring contributions from iconic singer/songwriter Billy Bragg and Fairport Convention s Chris Leslie.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully filmed, bitter sweet journey,
By
This review is from: Way of the Morris [DVD] (DVD)
Saw this film at Sidmouth Manor Pavilion during Folk Week. The opening animated sequence with the faux earth-legend worried me a bit at first, but after that is over, the film becomes a wonderful exploration of one mans initially unwilling relationship with his family traditional dance roots.Beautifully photographed, the film is touching, witty, and informative. Morris dancers and folkies will love this, but anyone with a passing interest in what it means to be English in todays multi-cultural society should see this. Don't expect the humour of "Morris: A Life with bells", this is a far more truer film about the Morris, although in places very funny, in others it may move you to tears. The scene where Adderbury Village Morris Men sing "Happy The Man", a trad morris song from their village, to commemerate their fallen ancesters at a war grave in Flanders will bring a lump to your throat. Congrats to all involved in making this film.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dancing to the Rhythm of the Sticks and Bells.,
By Bob Salter "Captain Spindrift" (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 50 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Way of the Morris [DVD] (DVD)
A rather pleasant and leisurely journey with director Tim Plester as he returns to his home village of Adderbury in Oxfordshire to connect with his past. His father was a former dancer with the morris men of that village, but Tim wanted to be an astronaut or a glam rock star, but he most definitely did not want to be a morris dancer! But as Plester begins to connect ever more with the past, the lure of waving a large white hanky around and banging sticks together starts to have a strange and hypnotic appeal. Can he resist the lure of the morris?At just over an hour this is not an in depth documentary, it is more one mans personal journey. Plester looks at the origins of morris dancing which is shrouded in the mists of time. He also looks at the 70s folk-rock-inspired revival led by groups like 'Fairport Convention' and their album "Morris On". The film also connects sadly with the 'lost generation' of the First World War when we discover that of all the young Adderbury morris dancers who left to fight in that war, only one returned alive. The dancers make a sentimental journey to the killing fields where they pay a fitting morris style homage to the fallen. The film evokes an English paradise of lost content, with beautiful shots of rural tranquility. There are times watching this documentary when morris dancing seems cool. Certainly a good deal of beer drinking goes on, which is a definite attraction. It is almost enough for me to hand in an application in the hope of dancing to the rhythm of the sticks and bells, ....... but not quite.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Morris Dancing - The Naked Truth,
By
This review is from: Way of the Morris [DVD] (DVD)
Saw this film at The South Bank Film Festival. It is an amazing story of one boy/man's struggle with his inner prejudices against Morris Dancing. It shows why grown men dance with hankies, and explains the tradition and history of The Adderbury Morris. Some of the scenes in the Normandy Cemeteries of WW1 are incredibly moving. The whole film has been very carefully and brilliantly edited to tell ones man's view of Morris Dancing.
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