menu_open Columnists
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

What is a 'Scottish film'? I answer this tricky question in new book

5 0
sunday

In August, after four years’ intensive work, my book Scottish Films was published, surveying 427 films I label as Scottish.

I’m flattered by the reception the book has had and am delighted that a number of people working in the Scottish film industry have singled it out for praise. Readers have noted the thoroughness of the research and the inclusion of many forgotten, obscure, or hard to get films, some of which are gems.

The book covers the obvious: Local Hero, Restless Natives, Braveheart, Ratcatcher, Under the Skin, Sunshine on Leith, Mary Queen of Scots (all four versions) etc. The most recent film to get a release is Harvest, shown briefly in cinemas earlier this summer; the oldest is 1917’s Kidnapped.

This is the first of six versions of Stevenson’s novel, one of which is the utterly bonkers Shots Under the Gallows, a bizarre 1968 East German version, shot entirely behind the iron curtain, in which lions roam the highlands of Scotland. None of the versions of Kidnapped feature Scots in the lead roles, none are directed by a Scot, and four of them were not shot in Scotland.

Read More

Some have noted the omission of films a reader might expect to find here – there are none of the big Hollywood productions which have attracted attention when they have been filmed here: Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America are not included; neither are World War Z, F9:The Fast Saga or Indiana Jones and the Dial of........

© Herald Scotland