The Bed Sitting Room

1969
PG-13
1h 30m

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

Frank Thornton in The Bed Sitting Room (1969)

Set in post-nuclear-holocaust England, where a handful of bizarre characters struggle on with their lives in the ruins, amongst endless heaps of ash, piles of broken crockery and brick, muddy plains, and heaps of dentures and old boots.

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Dark Comedy Satire Comedy Sci-Fi

In post-nuclear-holocaust England, a handful of bizarre characters struggles on with their lives in the ruins, among endless heaps of ash, piles of broken crockery and brick, muddy plains, a... Read allIn post-nuclear-holocaust England, a handful of bizarre characters struggles on with their lives in the ruins, among endless heaps of ash, piles of broken crockery and brick, muddy plains, and heaps of dentures and old boots. Patriotically singing "God Save Mrs. Ethel Shroake, Lo... Read allIn post-nuclear-holocaust England, a handful of bizarre characters struggles on with their lives in the ruins, among endless heaps of ash, piles of broken crockery and brick, muddy plains, and heaps of dentures and old boots. Patriotically singing "God Save Mrs. Ethel Shroake, Long Live Mrs. Ethel Shroake", they wander through this surrealistic landscape, forever bein... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

2.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 wins & 3 nominations

Trivia
Producer and director Richard Lester is said to have been depressed that many of the outdoor locations were found so quickly, and needed so little modification.

Goofs
A London Underground train appears several times. The legend over the cab states 'Circle' as in Circle Line. But the Circle is a sub-surface line while the train depicted is London Underground 1962 deep line stock.

Quotes
Mate: And in come the three bears. The Daddy Bear said, "Who's been sleeping in my porridge?" - and the Mummy Bear said, "That's no porridge, that was my wife!"

Crazy credits
In the opening credits, cast members are listed in order of height.

Connections
Featured in Hollywood U.K. British Cinema in the Sixties: A Very British Picture (1993)

User reviews45

Review

Featured review

A British El Topo

This is a visually stunning, funny, brilliant, and extravagantly weird film that should best be compared to El Topo, Barbarella, Playtime, and the Cremaster series. It's the kind of movie made with a big studio budget and free artistic reign; a combination that existed in other late 60s and early 70s bombs that have become cult classics.

Imagine if Monty Python did a lot of LSD, spent a million dollars on art direction, and then made a nuclear-apocalypse satire. Each shot is as sumptuous and symbolically rich as any Mathew Barney created - what with middle class Brits walking on a field of broken china, Underground escalators that end in mid-air, and Cathedrals submerged in water. Plot-wise, this is as free-of-field as an experimental film. Whether you think it profoundly beautiful or profoundly ugly, the look is in the Quay brothers'/Dubuffet mold. Its narrative loosely strings together amazing images, costumes, and poignant, often hilarious scenes of British society desperately trying to hold on to any remaining shards of civilization. The Bed Sitting Room is full of sarcastic comments and profound notions. It is not full of plot - it's amazing without it.

If there is any chance to see this movie on screen, take it. Any frame is worth the price of admission.