Drama about a platoon of British paratroopers on patrol in Northern Ireland.Drama about a platoon of British paratroopers on patrol in Northern Ireland.Drama about a platoon of British paratroopers on patrol in Northern Ireland.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe original script by A.F.N. Clarke was a faithful adaptation of his book of the same name which was a memoir about his two tours of duty in Northern Ireland in 1973 and 1976. Director Alan Clarke was not happy with the script, feeling it would not be possible to make with the limited budget and shooting time he had. So A.F.N. Clarke had to scale everything down in the script and take out a lot of dialogue, something he was not happy with as he wanted to keep the essence of his book intact.
In the end, Alan and A.F.N. had a lengthy discussion about the essence of the book and decided that by taking out the dialogue, it made it a very visceral film in the style of the visceral nature of the book.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Alan Clarke: Out of His Own Light (2016)
Featured review
Tense Drama
CONTACT is a drama set around a platoon of British soldiers from the Parachute regiment patrolling the bandit country of the rural border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. There`s hardly any dialogue and absolutely no plot as we see a squad of soldiers getting on with a dangerous and thankless task . Director Alan Clarke has rightfully resisted making any political comment with CONTACT and gives the programme a docudrama feel with shaky camera work and jump edits which works totally in its favour . Witness the scene near the end where the platoon commander investigates an abandoned car , you`ll be able to hear your own heart pumping with anxiety.
My one problem with CONTACT is that the patrol sees maybe a bit too much action with terrorists . You could serve several tours of Northern Ireland without coming into contact ( Hence the title of the drama ) with the enemy while here the patrol comes into contact with terrorists several times , but I guess soldiers yomping around Irish fields with no incidents wouldn`t have made much of a dramatic impact
My one problem with CONTACT is that the patrol sees maybe a bit too much action with terrorists . You could serve several tours of Northern Ireland without coming into contact ( Hence the title of the drama ) with the enemy while here the patrol comes into contact with terrorists several times , but I guess soldiers yomping around Irish fields with no incidents wouldn`t have made much of a dramatic impact
helpful•91
- Theo Robertson
- Jul 14, 2002
Details
- Runtime1 hour 7 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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