Burton: Y Gyfrinach

Just found this on an old VHS tape and after transferring it to a DVD I watched and cried at the end. It's probably more suited for a play than a movie but then we wouldn't be able to see Burton's beloved Celigny, his local watering hole and of course the stunning 'Pays de Galles'. All worth a visit if you haven't been there. Nobody will never know what happened on the fateful night but this film is a respectable attempt to show how events could have unfolded. The performances are solid enough with Harrington coping quite well with the Burton lilt, whilst Hywel is a natural Ivor. Of course there is plenty of drinking, shouting and smoking going on with these two abrasive brothers. At the end when Burton says how a man's life can change in a moment, He's speaking about himself as much as he is speaking about Ivor. He was never the same afterwards.

"What exactly happened that day is still a secret which the brothers kept for the rest of their lives. The only thing we know for certain is that the day changed their lives forever. After the accident that evening Ifor suffered serious ill-health for the rest of his life and the events of that night cast a shadow on Richard Burton's turbulent life," says Dylan Wyn Richards.

Two cast members in a high contrast series of scenes. There is tension. There is life. There is a nice speculation. And I welcome the next generation of historical drama where the makers present it as a speculation.

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