Spurs fans - "Heads up" for Tonight - 7:15 on Film 4
Discussion
Spurs fans - "Heads up" for Tonight - 7:15 on Film 4 (8:15 on Film 4 +1)
Those Glory Glory Days
90 minutes, UK (1984), PG
Review
1980s footballing comedy-drama. In 1961 a group of teenage girls are passionately devoted to Tottenham Hotspur. Twenty years later one of them meets the team's wonder boy Danny Blanchflower, and recalls her youthful obsession
Made for TV in the early days of Channel 4 (David Puttnam serves as executive producer), this tale of female football fandom comes with an impressive pedigree. Directed by Philip Saville (fresh from 'The Boys From The Blackstuff') and co-scripted by venerable TV writer Jack Rosenthal, it explores the delights and frustrations of teenage obsession, and the shadow that obsession may cast on later life.
At the start of the 1980s, Julia Herrick (Goodman) is a successful sports journalist. Thus she finds herself sharing a car with her former hero Danny Blanchflower (the ex-Spurs star in a one-off cameo). Cue a series of flashbacks in which Julia (played by Nathenson as a girl) recalls events from 1961 - the year when her life was inextricably bound up with the fortunes of Spurs, and the year the team itself made soccer history by winning both the League and the FA Cup.
With its observations on what it means to be a teenager, particularly a girl in the macho world of football, there are hints of Loach and Leigh. However, Saville's touch is light throughout, the script is unfussy but pertinent and performances are convincingly naturalistic. (The young Danny Blanchflower, incidentally, is played by John Salthouse, himself a former Crystal Palace pro and best remembered now as dolorous Tony in Abigail's Party.) A treat for regulars at White Hart Lane, but also a very English tale of emotional awakening that manages to transcend its subject matter.
Verdict:
Low-key but likeable comedy drama. Wry wit, unshowy performances and an impressive attention to detail combine in an enduring period piece.
Those Glory Glory Days
90 minutes, UK (1984), PG
Review
1980s footballing comedy-drama. In 1961 a group of teenage girls are passionately devoted to Tottenham Hotspur. Twenty years later one of them meets the team's wonder boy Danny Blanchflower, and recalls her youthful obsession
Made for TV in the early days of Channel 4 (David Puttnam serves as executive producer), this tale of female football fandom comes with an impressive pedigree. Directed by Philip Saville (fresh from 'The Boys From The Blackstuff') and co-scripted by venerable TV writer Jack Rosenthal, it explores the delights and frustrations of teenage obsession, and the shadow that obsession may cast on later life.
At the start of the 1980s, Julia Herrick (Goodman) is a successful sports journalist. Thus she finds herself sharing a car with her former hero Danny Blanchflower (the ex-Spurs star in a one-off cameo). Cue a series of flashbacks in which Julia (played by Nathenson as a girl) recalls events from 1961 - the year when her life was inextricably bound up with the fortunes of Spurs, and the year the team itself made soccer history by winning both the League and the FA Cup.
With its observations on what it means to be a teenager, particularly a girl in the macho world of football, there are hints of Loach and Leigh. However, Saville's touch is light throughout, the script is unfussy but pertinent and performances are convincingly naturalistic. (The young Danny Blanchflower, incidentally, is played by John Salthouse, himself a former Crystal Palace pro and best remembered now as dolorous Tony in Abigail's Party.) A treat for regulars at White Hart Lane, but also a very English tale of emotional awakening that manages to transcend its subject matter.
Verdict:
Low-key but likeable comedy drama. Wry wit, unshowy performances and an impressive attention to detail combine in an enduring period piece.
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