Morris: A Life with Bells On
| Morris: A Life with Bells On | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Lucy Akhurst |
| Produced by | Charles Thomas Oldham Lucy Akhurst |
| Written by | Charles Thomas Oldham |
| Starring | Charles Thomas Oldham Ian Hart Derek Jacobi Dominique Pinon Greg Wise Naomie Harris Aidan McArdle Sophie Thompson Harriet Walter |
| Music by | Richard Lumsden |
| Cinematography | Roger Chapman |
| Edited by | Nick Carew |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £500,000 |
Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.
Morris: A Life with Bells On was written by Charles Thomas Oldham (known as Chaz Oldham), who also co-produced it with his wife, the film's director Lucy Akhurst. The film's production company was Twist Films, set up by Oldham and Akhurst.
Oldham spent his later teen years living with a family who were keen morris dancers, and he realised that the English folk dance and its traditions were a rich subject for a film. He went on to qualify as a lawyer but turned to acting and writing. He gradually developed the script of Morris: A Life with Bells On, and drew up a wish-list of actors he would like to have in the film.
Although a low-budget film - it cost a total of £500,000 to make - Oldham was successful in fulfilling his wish-list and the film features some well-known actors including Derek Jacobi, Ian Hart, Dominique Pinon, Greg Wise, Harriet Walter, Naomie Harris and Sophie Thompson. Oldham plays the lead role and Akhurst also appears in the film. A number of real-life morris sides were used as extras in the filming.
The film was shot in London and parts of south west England in the summer of 2007, one of the wettest on record up to that date. Filming locations were predominantly in the West Country counties of Dorset and Wiltshire, and included Sandbanks beach in Dorset (doubling with the addition of a few palm trees as Los Angeles' Venice Beach),Poole in Dorset and Tisbury in Wiltshire. The Compasses Inn at Lower Chicksgrove in Wiltshire served as the Traveller's Staff pub, and the climax of the film was shot at Wimborne Folk Festival at Wimborne in Dorset.
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