New Town Utopia

New Town Utopia
Directed by	Christopher Ian Smith
Produced by	Christopher Ian Smith
Starring	Jim Broadbent; Terry Bird; Vincent O'Connell;
Music by	Greg Haines (composer); Steve Cookman (dubbing); Robin Green (sound designer);
Cinematography	Christopher Ian Smith;
Edited by	Neil Lenthall; Christopher Ian Smith;
Production; companies	Cult Modern
Release date	4 May 2018 (United Kingdom);
Running time	80 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

New Town Utopia is a 2018 documentary feature film about the British new town experiment. It is an alternative social history of the Essex town of Basildon, including interviews and performances from artists, poets and musicians of the town.[1][2]

Plot

The poetic narrative of the film explores topics including: the flawed utopian ambition of post-war planning and design, social housing and the impact of Thatcher's right-to-buy policy; the neglect of creative and cultural facilities by national and local government; and the demonisation of working class people by the British media.[3]

Release

New Town Utopia was released theatrically the UK on 4 May 2018. It was directed by British filmmaker Christopher Ian Smith and executive produced by Margaret Matheson (Scum, Sid and Nancy, Sleep Furiously). It features actor Jim Broadbent (Iris, Topsy-Turvy, Moulin Rouge!) as the voice of Lewis Silkin MP.

Reception

It was well received by critics and audiences. It has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called it an "Unapologetically upbeat film in which utopianism is taken unexpectedly seriously. Absorbing and heartening." The Times review said it was "Consistently fascinating, unfolds like a warning from history'.[4][5][6]

Cast

Jim Broadbent
Terry Bird
Vincent O'Connell
Joe Morgan
Ralph Dartford
Sue Ryder Paget
Mike Parker
Kath Joyce-Banks
Shaun Badham
Vin Harrop
Penny Betteridge
Rob Marlow
Tim Williams
Pat Joyce
Stuart Brown
Phil Burdett
Richard Lee
Richard Hawkins
Marc Barnacle
Ölmo Lazarus
Steve Waters
Barry Hayes
Joe Hymas

References

Maher, Kevin (4 May 2018). "Film review: New Town Utopia" (PDF). The Times. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
"New Town Utopia – Interview with director Christopher Ian Smith". Flux. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
Bradshaw, Peter (3 May 2018). "New Town Utopia review – how Basildon was delivered to the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
McNab, Chris (4 May 2018). "New Town Utopia Review". Culture Fly. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
O'Sullivan, Feargus (14 May 2018). "A Loving Glimpse of a 'New Town Utopia'". CityLab. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
"New Town Utopia: A portrait of Basildon - Icon Magazine". IconEye. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

External links

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[1] Maher, Kevin (4 May 2018). "Film review: New Town Utopia" (PDF). The Times. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[2] "New Town Utopia – Interview with director Christopher Ian Smith". Flux. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[3] Bradshaw, Peter (3 May 2018). "New Town Utopia review – how Basildon was delivered to the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[4] McNab, Chris (4 May 2018). "New Town Utopia Review". Culture Fly. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[5] O'Sullivan, Feargus (14 May 2018). "A Loving Glimpse of a 'New Town Utopia'". CityLab. Retrieved 17 September 2018.

[6] "New Town Utopia: A portrait of Basildon - Icon Magazine". IconEye. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.