Online Discussion: Watkins on War & Revolution: Culloden + La Commune Paris 1871

Join us as we continue our discussions of foreign, avant-garde, and experimental films online. The films chosen each month are freely available on one or more platforms such as YouTube, Open Culture, vimeo, and archive.org. In some cases, the films are also available on public library streaming databases such as kanopy or Hoopla. You will need to find and watch the films prior to our discussion.
On August 12 we discuss two acclaimed films by the English director Peter Watkins. Culloden (1964) portrays the 1746 Battle of Culloden, which resulted in the British Army's destruction of the Scottish Jacobite rising of 1745 and, in the words of the narrator, "tore apart forever the clan system of the Scottish Highlands." The director’s masterpiece, La Commune (Paris, 1871), is a six-hour-long documentary-style historical re-enactment of the drama of the French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
Culloden (1964) Dir. Peter Watkins (70 minutes)
“In April 1746 Scotland’s Jacobite army – exhausted, starving, and on the run – was intercepted by the British royal army on a sodden field near Inverness known as Culloden. Over the subsequent hour, the rebel forces were savaged by British cannon fire and cavalry, the anti-English uprising collapsed, and the rebellion itself was permanently shattered. It was the last civil battle in British history – and a pivotal moment in the history of Scotland’s independence struggle. In 1964 the BBC produced a 69-minute docu-drama titled Culloden, which was directed by filmmaker Peter Watkins. Its innovative structure and creative production enable it to stand out as an outstanding work even now, well over 50 years since it was first produced. Culloden re-creates the historic battle. It is shot on location in grainy and miserable black-and-white. It is populated with non-professional actors from nearby Inverness as well as lowland Scotland and London. The cast are dressed in historically accurate outfits and uniforms, and made up with all manner of wounds, pox scars, sunburn and fatigue. Simulating the battle and its participants would be striking enough – but then Watkins adds a television news crew. The crew walk among both sides of the battle before it starts, conducting on-the-spot interviews with both infantry and command. Individuals are profiled, and the layout of the battlefield is explained. When the battle begins, camera operators are embedded in the field capturing the carnage as it plays out….As the bodies pile up, Watkins’ approach makes the human cost feel raw and deeply tragic.” — Fictionmachine.com
La Commune (Paris, 1871) (2000) Dir. Peter Watkins (346 minutes)
“As France's republican government fled to Versailles in 1870, determined workers and radical intellectuals barricaded Paris and installed La Commune, a rapturous attempt at a utopian society. Peter Watkins's monumental and exhilarating masterwork keeps the radical spirit alive, audaciously mixing past and present to debunk the notion that history is available through a singular representation. Several hundred nonprofessional actors were charged with inventing their roles, beautifully reanimating the ill-fated utopia. This staging relies on serpentine tracking shots that glide between spirited arguments in the street, school lessons, and marching drills to reveal the intensifying strife. Over its six-hour transit, this “impassioned hubbub,” as J. Hoberman calls it, generates great immediacy. The urgency is heightened by two opposing news stations offering up their hasty commentary on the unfolding insurrection, as well as scenes in which the cast breaks out of 1871 to comment on the present moment. Infectious and heady, La Commune is itself evidence that revolutionary possibilities still linger.” — Pacific Film Archive
Note on searching YouTube: Try searching for the director’s last name plus the name of the film you are seeking, e.g. “Murnau Faust.” When searching for a foreign film, you may need to search for it by its original-language title, (e.g. “Bergman Jungfrukällan” instead of “Bergman Virgin Spring”). If you have trouble finding a version of your film with English subtitles, add “subtitles” to your search terms. Some foreign films offer computer generated subtitles if you click on the Settings icon at the bottom of the screen. If you do not find the film you are looking for on YouTube, try searching archive.org, Open Culture, and vimeo.