|
|
 |
|
Wartime When was it made? 1987 Who made it? Reeltime Pictures What format was it on? A mail order VHS for fans
in the know with a special edition released in proper shops a decade
later. Familiar faces John Levene and Michael Wisher (and Nick Briggs apparently)
Familiar names Music is by Mark Ayres,
graphics by Kevin Davies, the producer/director is Keith Barnfather and
both Briggs and Jon Ainsworth assisted. The blurb
In a nutshell… Warrant Officer Benton is transporting some radioactive material for the Brig when he decides to stop and have a nervous breakdown. He starts hearing strange noises and seeing things in the corner of his eye. He runs around some ruins for a while as the music gets more and more tense. Occasionally a weird and slightly nauseating special effect will be added to the picture. Small boys appear – as do an older couple in wartime clothes – and these turn out to be Benton, his brother and his parents respectively. Benton is shot and ends up having two picnics with his parents.
Is it any good? Not really. There is a fair amount of spooky, psychological drama in the spin-off genre and that’s because it’s cheap to make. Here we have a story in which John Levene runs around some ruins, through some woods, across some bridges and climbs some steps. Just because there is spooky music and he’s seeing things that aren’t there, it doesn’t mean it is good drama. It doesn’t help that Levene is so wooden. Maybe he just seemed good in the 70s because he was surrounded by good actors. Given the lead, all he does is grimace a bit and run around some ruins. All of which would be fine if there was any reason for it but Benton is fine, he has his breakdown for no obvious reason and then he’s fine again. It can’t be the first time he’s been back to the place where his brother died. So why have a breakdown now? Is this the reason he ended up as a used car salesman? Did the Brig find out and send him on his way with a firm handshake and the promise of a pint if ever they were in the same pub?
I think – and this is only a guess with the flimsiest evidence to back it up – that he was suddenly guilty about his brother’s death and whether he could’ve saved him. And he was guilty because his father died during the war. And he was guilty because he achieved a higher rank than his father. And he was guilty because he didn’t become a proper officer which was what his mother hoped. All in the space of about fifteen minutes. I think his subconscious was doing a bit of spring cleaning and things got a bit out of hand. And I don’t know why they introduced someone trying to steal the radio active material. There is the world’s slowest car chase (a chase so risible that Benton doesn’t even know he’s being chased), a reasonable enough fight scene and they leave his body on the floor when they drive off. Did they add it at the last moment to put a bit of action in the script? Was the would-be thief a friend of the producer’s who was promised he could cock a gun on camera? It made no sense. None of it made any sense but this was the other sort of head scratching. On the plus side, they keep it moving. The temptation to have two people sitting in a room talking to save money must’ve been there. If anything they do too much visually. There is too much movement. Worse, there are too many camera effects. Zooms in, zooms out, juddering, filters – it all makes you feel slightly sick. The people making it are to
be congratulated for being the first to do something like this. The
re-issue extras shows clips from fan-produced films made in the 70s and
80s and this was streets ahead of those amateur efforts. The fan films
were made as a laugh, Wartime was a serious attempt to make something that
wasn’t amateur and laughable. They should be proud of their
accomplishment. Anything for the BBC to object to? Reeltime licensed Benton and UNIT from Derek Sherwin and didn’t mention anything owned by the BBC. Nick Courtney does a voice over (apparently a new addition for the 1997 version) but doesn’t mention anything he shouldn’t. He could be anyone.
Did it help fill the void? It was produced in 1987 –
before the void was upon us so the only gap it filled was for those fans
yearning for a return to the 1970s and Doctor Who in Exciting Adventures
With UNIT. Would it work on TV? Considering it was made for fans who know who Benton is and the history of UNIT it is something a non-fan would understand. There aren’t any continuity references to get in the way – it is two soldiers in a jeep with an insignia. That’s it really. The story has its flaws and I can’t imagine mainstream viewers enjoying it. The quality of effects wouldn’t be a bar to television – some of the post production trickery should be undone as it distracts from the drama rather than enhancing it but the explosions are credible and it never tries to do anything it can’t do on its budget. An obscure satellite channel desperate for content might’ve broadcast this in the late 80s but it is essentially by fans for fans. Production 3/5 Entertainment 1/5 Whoishness 2/5 Overall 2/5
|
Title
