Red Riding
| Red Riding | |
|---|---|
| Created by | David Peace Tony Grisoni |
| Starring | Mark Addy Sean Bean Jim Carter Warren Clarke Paddy Considine Anthony Flanagan Andrew Garfield Rebecca Hall Sean Harris Gerard Kearns Eddie Marsan David Morrissey Peter Mullan Maxine Peake Lesley Sharp Robert Sheehan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 295 min. |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 5 March – 19 March 2009 |
Red Riding is a television adaptation of English author David Peace's Red Riding Quartet. Published between 1999 and 2002, the quartet comprises the novels Nineteen Seventy-Four (1999), Nineteen Seventy-Seven (2000), Nineteen Eighty (2001) and Nineteen Eighty-Three (2002). Set against a backdrop of serial murders, including the Yorkshire Ripper case, they deal with multi-layered corruption and feature several recurring characters across the four books. Though real crimes are featured the scripts are fictionalised and dramatised versions of events rather than contemporary factual accounts.
The adaptation into three feature-length television episodes aired on Channel 4 beginning on 5 March 2009. They are produced by Revolution Films. The three films are due to be released theatrically in the US in the autumn of 2009.
In the Year of Our Lord 1974
The first episode of the trilogy features Sean Bean and Andrew Garfield. It focuses on a series of the unsolved murders of young girls. It is set in the year of the title. The story follows Eddie Dunford (Garfield), a young reporter from the Yorkshire Post as he tries to find information on the missing (presumed dead) girls.
John Dawson (Sean Bean), a local businessman, has bribed members of the police and councillors so that he can purchase local land and gain planning permission for a mall he has planned. One of the murdered girls is found on his land, having been tortured, raped, and strangled.
During his investigations, Dunford meets and becomes a lover to the mother of one of the missing girls, Paula Garland (Rebecca Hall). It transpires that Dawson also had a sexual relationship with her.
Dunford ignores a threat from police (orchestrated by Dawson) to keep away from Paula, but he continues to pursue her. Ultimately Dunford is captured by rogue policemen, and Paula is murdered.
After a severe beating and torture by rogue police, Dunford is given a gun and abandoned in a desolate area. He seeks out Dawson and challenges him about the murders. Dawson makes a confession to having 'a private weakness', indicating that he was connected to the girls' murders. Dunford shoots him repeatedly then flees by car. He then deliberately drives into a head-on collision with two police cars that were pursuing him, a vision of Paula by his side, which kills him.
This episode was shot on 16 mm film and broadcast with an anamorphic aspect ratio of 16x9. It was directed by Julian Jarrold.
In the Year of Our Lord 1980
The second episode of the trilogy which aired on 12th March on Channel 4. The theme for this episode is the investigation of the Yorkshire Ripper murders. It starred Paddy Considine as Peter Hunter, a Police Officer brought in to investigate the Ripper murders and featured David Morrissey as Maurice Jobson, Jim Carter as Harold Angus and Maxine Peake as Helen Marshall.
The story focuses on Police corruption. Hunter is brought in to the Ripper investigation having previously worked on the Karachi Club massacre. The two cases are linked by Officer Bob Craven (Sean Harris). Hunter suggests that the Ripper investigation is being side-tracked by the Wearside Jack tapes and feels that the real Ripper has been interviewed and missed.
Peter Hunter suspects, when reviewing the Ripper cases that the killing of one victim, Clare Strachan, is a copy-cat murder. Hunter, Helen Marshall and John Nolan (Tony Pitts) receive information on the murder of Clare Strachan from BJ (Robert Sheehan). They soon follow this line of inquiry towards a denouement of arson, Police corruption and, ultimately, the brutal death of Hunter at the hands of those he trusts.
This episode was shot on 35 mm film and broadcast with an anamorphic aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It is directed by James Marsh.
In the Year of Our Lord 1983
The third episode of the trilogy which aired on 19th March on Channel 4. It was shot using the Red One digital camera. It was directed by Anand Tucker.
Awards and nominations
The films have been nominated for The TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards.[2]
References
- ^ Kay, Jeremy (14 May 2009). "IFC Films acquires cult drama Red Riding". ScreenDaily.com (Emap Media).
- ^ Allen, Kate (7 September 2009). "Coben, Cole, Atkinson vie for crime awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
External links
- Official website
- "Filming wraps on new Channel 4 drama serial Red Riding" (Press release). Channel 4.
- Northern Exposure, The Guardian, February 28 2009
- Review, Leicester Mercury