Agrega una trama en tu idiomaA new school teacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his pupils, and he fears the same will happen to him.A new school teacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his pupils, and he fears the same will happen to him.A new school teacher learns that the previous teacher was killed by his pupils, and he fears the same will happen to him.
- Dirección
- Guionistas
- Elenco
- Cary Farthingale
- (as Anthony Haygarth)
- Dirección
- Guionistas
- Todo el elenco y el equipo
- Producción, taquilla y más en IMDbPro
Opiniones destacadas
Did they? They're a creepy bunch. Even the incessantly repeated honorific "sir" begins to feel sinister, though it is never said sarcastically. These boys keep up appearances. So are they capable of murder? It's plausible, and it certainly got this viewer's attention.
As others have noted, the idea resembles "Lord of the Flies," an allegory about human nature, where prepubescent boys degenerate to savagery to survive on an isolated island. But in "Unman," the boys are almost grown, and itching for freedom from the oppressive regimentation at the school. A few leaders emerge, the rest follow, and they coerce Ebony into helping. He complies, in part, because no one in charge believed him when he reported that the boys confessed to throwing Mr Pelham off the nearby cliffs. The Headmaster doesn't even believe him after he produces evidence in the form of Pelham's bloody wallet, which the boys gave him, lest he doubt what they're capable of.
Being neither British nor male, I can't speak to the authenticity of a public school where the coolly composed Headmaster (Douglas Wilmer) has such resolute faith in hidebound methods that he will not even hear dissent. Indeed, when given the bloody wallet, his reaction is to fire Ebony. Like "Lord of the Flies," it could also be considered an allegory, but in the end it feels more like a callow indictment a rigid educational system, minus mature insight.
The most frightening sequence is the shocking persecution of the wife in the squash courts, a superbly staged scene that is quite a jaw-dropper considering the age of the film. In fact it is more the quaint English setting that adds the real shyock to the scene. It is interesting to compare this film with two other public school movies of the era, inevitably Lindsay Anderson's If....but more significantly the brilliant Walk A Crooked Path
which similarly portrays the public school boys as corrupt, ruthless and cold blooded, brilliantly adept at money making, no matter how immorally, and trained to view the world with a haughty authority.
Unman Wittering And Zigo is a truly gripping thriller, and proves Mackenzie is a great thriller maker as he illustrated in pieces like Dennis Potter's Double Dare and The Long Good Friday even more vividly.
Using its theatrical origins to claustrophobic effect, Unman, Wittering and Zigo very cleverly builds up layer upon layer of tension and menace, as Hemming's naive and idealistic Mr. Ebony is quickly and easily outclassed by his pupils, seemingly at every turn. Dismissed by his headmaster, and humoured by both his wife and a fellow teacher, Ebony is slowly ground into submission by the boys as they repeatedly claim to have killed his predecessor. However, when the boys attempt an assault on his wife as a way of further controlling Ebony, the web they have spun begins to unravel until eventually another tragedy forces out the truth.
Chilly and chilling, Mackenzie is well-served by his actors, both adult and juvenile. Hemmings captures just the right note of bewilderment and impotence, whilst Seymour turns the potentially thankless role of Mrs. Ebony into a striking portrait of independence, determination and naturalism - her performance during the attempted assault by the boys is quite brilliant. Standout amongst the boys are Hoye, Owen and Cashman, all conveying stonewall confidence collectively, whilst allowing just the faint trace of fear and uncertainty when separated from their classmates. Unsettling allusions to Ebony's ambivalence and a vaguely sexual response to his ordeal add to the mix, and only a slightly dissatisfying and unbelievable conclusion mar what is otherwise a deeply disturbing, grown up story. Highly recommended, if you can track it down.
¿Sabías que…?
- TriviaDavid Hemmings had clearly forgotten the climax to this film because in his autobiography he describes a totally different ending to the film. (This book is very clearly ghost-written and did not appear until Hemmings had been dead for a year - it seems likely that the actor himself had very little actual input into it).
- Citas
[John Ebony's first day teaching. The students are taking turns reading from a history book]
Wittering: [faintly] hypotenuse... hypotenuse... hypotenuse
John Ebony: Who's that muttering?
Wittering: Me, sir.
Lipstrob: He can't help it, sir.
Cuthbun: He says 'hypotenuse' all the time, sir.
Ankerton: He likes the word.
Aggeridge: Mr. Pelham said he was 'hypotenus-ed' by it, sir!
[general laughter]
John Ebony: Stop it! Very well, you've had ample warning. This form will kept in on Saturday afternoon from 2:30.
Cloistermouth: It's not a good idea, sir.
John Ebony: Why is that, Cloistermouth?
Cloistermouth: Mr. Pelham tried it once, sir.
Terhew: The week before last.
Cloistermouth: And that's why we killed him, sir.
[long silence]
- Créditos curiososIn the closing credits, when the names of actors playing the schoolboys appear they are listed in alphabetical order according to the character's surname. This is so as to resemble the class's register. The character of 'Zigo' appears at the very end but as he never appears in the film, instead of an actor being credited, it merely says "Zigo....Absent".
- ConexionesReferenced in F (2010)
- Bandas sonorasAngel Voices Ever Singing
(uncredited)
Music by Edwin Monk
Words by Francis Pott
Selecciones populares
- How long is Unman, Wittering and Zigo?Con tecnología de Alexa