The White Bus

This review is for Red, White and Zero. It's possible to reconstruct the facts around this film, but the IMDb listing is confusing. Lindsay Anderson's The White Bus was briefly and unsuccessfully released with two other shorts: a very short film by Peter Brook featuring Zero Mostel in a hurry (The Ride of the Valkyries - lots of frantic mugging), and Red and Blue by Tony Richardson. Only Lindsay Anderson's film seems to be readily available. (The others would make good Criterion extras.)

I saw Red, White and Zero on late night Australian television in 1984. The White Bus wasn't seen to best effect on the small screen - rather self-consciously poetic, but as an Anderson film it will obviously bear reseeing. Red and Blue was fascinating and not very good. Tony Richardson was in love with the Nouvelle Vague, and raided its box of tricks and its composers (Bassiak from Jules and Jim; Duhamel from Godard's Pierrot le Fou) in an imitation Demy/Moreau vehicle for Vanessa Redgrave! She fluted a song in English, and Kevin Brownlow provided the jumpcuts. (You can hear her singing Bassiak's Bonjour Papa on YouTube).

Most weirdly, the sex interests for the romantically-besieged Vanessa were provided by Douglas Fairbanks Jr, William Sylvester (the scientist from Kubrick's 2001), and Michael York. The sparks didn't exactly fly. Anyway, after 30 years, it's time to make this available again.

Cute, whacky and beautifully shot surrealistic short from Lindsay Anderson which clearly foreshadows if.... which followed a year later (plus O Lucky Man and Brittania Hospital too). The same cinematographer as on if.... plus the mix of black and white and colour shots.

Some key music sound cues from if... feature here for the first time plus the reading of the proverbs quote "wisdom is the principal thing..." which opens if....

There's also a bit of M Hulot's theme from Mon Oncle mixed in there plus some classic Tati-esque visual humor. I guess Mr Anderson had a whole lot of stuff already brewing that would come flowing out in force a little later.

Criterion definitely missed a trick not including this on the if.... DVD/Bluray - a little more relevant than the Oscar winning short about the deaf kids I'd say. All in all a charming, strange and chuckly way to spend forty minutes.

Interesting 47 minute short from a Shelagh Delaney short story. A girl quits her dull job, and goes on a surrealistic bus tour of a dilapidated Manchester. Along for the ride are a strange mix, including a lascivious vicar, lord mayor (Arthur Lowe, always great), etc. Many of the techniques that became part of 'If' and 'O Lucky Man' first show up here.(e.g. mixing color and B+W). It also follows 'O Lucky Man' in being a surreal journey of a somewhat passive, young lead character traveling through a world where they have little power. Enigmatic, sure, but it's interesting and entertaining in a Brechtian/Anderson sort of dark humored politically satirical way. Cleary it's making fun of the pathetic nature of modern society and our desperate need to justify all the glories of 'progress that really sap our humanity. Some terrific and haunting images. Anthony Hopkins appears very briefly singing in German (?!?).

Odd little movie in which some girl rides around on a tour bus. Nothing really happens. Some of the people here talk about wonderful performances, but really, there's the occasional brief conversation and a lot of touring. There are some cute moments, like some odd character going on about class distinctions, but mainly this just seems to have no point to it at all.

Yet for some reason it has a lot of favorable reviews. And the only thing I can think of is that there are British people who recognize some of the sites and the sorts of people and it takes them back to that time or gives them that feeling of connection. But I've never been to England and to me this was just a huge waste of time.

This film had a big impact on me. Saw first saw it on BBC2 in the 70's as part of a Anderson Retro. Originally based on Delaney's book Red, White & Zero it was a three director/stories feature film. Although the other two parts were never finished. That's why the film doesn't have titles.

The reason why I loved this film was because I grew up in a slum clearance area of Liverpool. The film's landscape was exactly the same. Everything demolished - except for the pubs. I'd never seen anything like it on TV before.

I recently got another chance to see it and loved it. The story follows a girl who is fed up with working in London. The shot opens with her at a desk while the legs of a hanged fellow worker dangle from the celling. She leaves London - tired and fed up - and goes home to Manchester (although parts of the film were filmed in Birmigham). She stands at a desolate bus stop in the middle of demolished terraces. When along comes the white bus - it's a tour guided ride which shows the best of the city. What makes it even more special is that the bus is on it's maiden voyage. The Lord Mayor (Arthur Lowe) and other dignitaries ride the bus on a tour of factories, libraries and even a civil defence demo. At the end of the tour the girl winds up in a small cafe watching, inside what look like married couple. Thier love and passion for the small things in life mesmerises and charms the girl - reminding her what life's all about.

For Delaney it's like Charlie Bubbles - dealing with leaving your home town and looking at the effect it has on you. For Anderson it's yet another example of his cinematic poetry - like If... and Sporting Life. This film is a very special film by very special people. Oh thank you for making it.