Tumbledown
Encyclopedia
Tumbledown is a 1988
BBC Television
drama film
set during the Falklands War
.
MC
(played by Colin Firth
), an officer of the Scots Guards
during the Falklands Campaign
of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown
, Lawrence is shot in the head by an Argentine sniper, and left paralysed on his left side. He then must learn to adjust to his new disability.
The film sparked enormous controversy when first aired (1988), in part because it conveyed the flat indifference shown by government, society, and ordinary people to the returning wounded from the Falkands War - this content forms much of the story, as Lawrence struggles to come to terms with his terrible injuries, and to face a life in which he cannot do the thing he is trained to do, the thing he loves: soldiering.
The film also triggered controversy by presenting an unvarnished portrait of the protagonist - for example, his joy in the brutalities of war and a stunning flashback scene toward the end which shows him exulting at the top of Mount Tumbledown. The film portrays Lawrence's love of the military life as much as it portrays his feelings of abandonment and bitterness as he tries to cope with his wounds, with little help from the government that sent him into battle.
Lead actor Colin Firth is reported to have said that the right hated the movie and the left hated the film, because it did not conform to any fixed ideology.
Firth was nominated for a BAFTA TV Best Actor Award and won a Royal TV Society Best Actor Award for the role.
1988 in television
The year 1988 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1988.For the American TV schedule, see: 1988-89 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:...
BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
set during the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
Synopsis
The film centres on the experiences of Robert LawrenceRobert Lawrence (British Army officer)
Robert Alasdair Davidson Lawrence MC is a former British Army officer who fought and was severely wounded in the Falklands War...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(played by Colin Firth
Colin Firth
SirColin Andrew Firth, CBE is a British film, television, and theatre actor. Firth gained wide public attention in the 1990s for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 television adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice...
), an officer of the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
during the Falklands Campaign
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
of 1982. While fighting at the Battle of Mount Tumbledown
Battle of Mount Tumbledown
The Battle of Mount Tumbledown was an engagement in the Falklands War, one of a series of battles that took place during the British advance towards Stanley.-Overview:...
, Lawrence is shot in the head by an Argentine sniper, and left paralysed on his left side. He then must learn to adjust to his new disability.
The film sparked enormous controversy when first aired (1988), in part because it conveyed the flat indifference shown by government, society, and ordinary people to the returning wounded from the Falkands War - this content forms much of the story, as Lawrence struggles to come to terms with his terrible injuries, and to face a life in which he cannot do the thing he is trained to do, the thing he loves: soldiering.
The film also triggered controversy by presenting an unvarnished portrait of the protagonist - for example, his joy in the brutalities of war and a stunning flashback scene toward the end which shows him exulting at the top of Mount Tumbledown. The film portrays Lawrence's love of the military life as much as it portrays his feelings of abandonment and bitterness as he tries to cope with his wounds, with little help from the government that sent him into battle.
Lead actor Colin Firth is reported to have said that the right hated the movie and the left hated the film, because it did not conform to any fixed ideology.
Firth was nominated for a BAFTA TV Best Actor Award and won a Royal TV Society Best Actor Award for the role.
Awards
- BAFTA TV Awards 1989
- Won: Best Film Cameraman: Andrew Dunn
- Won: Best Make Up: Shaunna Harrison
- Won: Best Single Drama: Richard Broke, Richard Eyre & Charles Wood
- Nominated: Best Actor: Colin Firth
- Nominated: Best Costume Design: Michael Burdle
- Nominated: Best Design: Geoff Powell
- Nominated: Best Film Editor: Ken Pearce
- Nominated: Best Film Sound: Graham Ross, Ken Hams & Christopher Swanton
- Nominated: Best Original Television Music: Richard Hartley
- RTS Television Award 1989
- Won: Best Actor (Male): Colin Firth
- Won: Best Make Up Design: Shaunna Harrison
- Won: Best Single Play: Charles Wood
- Prix ItaliaPrix ItaliaThe Prix Italia is an international Italian television, radio-broadcasting and Website award. It was established in 1948 by RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana in Capri...
1988
DVD release
- Released on Region 2 DVD by BBC Video on 2007-03-26.
- The series was included in the The Falklands 25th Commemorative Box Set with The Falklands PlayThe Falklands PlayThe Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
.
See also
- The Falklands PlayThe Falklands PlayThe Falklands Play is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had increasingly come to specialise in dramatic reconstructions of...
- An Ungentlemanly ActAn Ungentlemanly ActAn Ungentlemanly Act is a 1992 BBC television film about the first days of the invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982.-Production:The film was written and directed by Stuart Urban, and commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Falklands War...
- Cultural impact of the Falklands WarCultural impact of the Falklands WarThe cultural impact of the Falklands War spanned several media in both Britain and Argentina.-Non-fiction:The war provided a wealth of material for writers, and many dozens of books came from it; in the United Kingdom the definitive account became Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the...
External links
- Battle for Life by Robert Fox from Radio TimesRadio TimesRadio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
(28 May - 3 June 1988)