The Moon and the Sledgehammer is a film that celebrates the unique independent lifestyle and philosophies of a real family: Mr Page; his two sons Jim and Peter; and his two daughters, Kathy and Nancy – so relevant today in times of eco-awareness.
The Moon and the Sledgehammer is 50!
Celebrations to be announced.
The Moon and the Sledgehammer proudly announces that is has achieved the rare milestone of continuing to entertain and fascinate the public for an astonishing 50 years. We are certain that Mr Page and the family would be thrilled to know this. Keep visiting our website to find out how you can join in this very happy occasion.
Update on our 50th Birthday Events
Two guests announced – Maxine Peake and John Russell Taylor
We are so excited that cinemas are open again and we can finally enjoy that unique thrill that comes with the big screen experience.
Cinema closures created challenges for us in our celebration of the film’s 50th Anniversary Events. So it is with the greatest of pleasure that we can finally announce that will have dates and venues very soon of the first Special Celebration Event. As a taster of things to come, we are delighted to announce that actor, writer and director Maxine Peake and Times film and art critic, John Russell Taylor, will be among the guests to join director Philip Trevelyan onstage for a Q&A session following the screening.
John Russell Taylor
John Russell Taylor has had a long and distinguished career as both film then arts critic for The Times as well as writing numerous books on the greats of cinema, among them studies of Hollywood, Hitchcock, Mankiewicz, Cukor, Welles, Bergman and Guinness, and major contributions to the art world with his books on Claude Monet and the Impressionist. He spent six years as a professor, lecturing on film at the famous University of Southern California whose alumni include John Carpenter and George Lucas. He first met Trevelyan 50 years ago at the Berlin Film Festival when the film screened there in 1971, allowing him the rare opportunity to have observed the film’s continued success over half a century.
Maxine Peake
We are thrilled to have a guest of such high calibre as Maxine Peake, whose packed acting career spans stage, radio, screen and television and whose impressively long list of credits and versatility ranges from comedy and drama to Alan Bennett and Shakespeare. She is well known for her role of Twinkle in Dinnerladies, and for the fantastic portrayal of Veronica in Shameless as well as being the first female to play the part of Hamlet on stage since Frances de la Tour’s performance 35 years ago. She has long been a fan of The Moon and the Sledgehammer and chose it as her Desert Island Doc at the Sheffield Doc Fest. You can watch the interview below.
We are truly honoured that these guest will join Trevelyan to discuss The Moon and the Sledgehammer and can only anticipate with the greatest of pleasure the conversation in store with these exceptional people and hear their views on why this extraordinary film has continued to enthrall audiences over ten decades and hear how its popularity increased since the onset of the pandemic. Watch this space for announcements of dates and venues.
Trevelyan Retrospective
We continue to work with cinemas and film festivals on the important Trevelyan Retrospective and hope conditions allow for this exciting event. The Retrospective will start with Trevelyan’s earliest film – his student film, Lambing, and continue with Ship Hotel – Tyne Main, a wonderful piece of observed cinema featuring the famous pub on the banks of the river Tyne on a Sunday afternoon as the publicans prepare to welcome the locals for a sing song and game of dominoes. Big Ware is a study of the last traditional country potter. The delight and high standard he takes in his craft as we observe his skills tells the story of how pottery, once common in every home, lost out to the competition from plastic, but when people returned to pottery he was the only potter left. The family business continues to this day. Trevelyan’s rarely seen film about the poet Basil Bunting And of course Trevelyan’s most famous film, The Moon and the Sledgehammer, will be featured, with guests accompanying Trevelyan on stage for Q&As.
It has been a very tough time for the industry and continues to be challenging due to seating restrictions so please support your local cinemas. The unthinkable alternative is quite simply that we will lose them, and what an unwonderful world that would be.
Our current position during the pandemic
Hello. I hope this finds you safe and well during these strange times of both adversity and positive changes, where our values are being challenged like never before.
This year we had many plans in place to celebrate the 50th year of the film with a wonderful new DVD made from the amazing restored copy of the film, which also includes companion DVD Behind The Moon and The Sledgehammer. However, with cinemas closed and gatherings no longer possible, we have had to put our plans on hold for now, which was very disappointing
Watching the new version of the film again during this pandemic, I am struck by how relevant it is in today’s times. Mr Page talks about people having nothing if they haven’t got time. “If you haven’t got time, you haven’t got time to have anything because you haven’t got time”. Now here we are, some of us with all the time in the world on our hands and many of us are using it just as Mr Page said – to live, to make things, to wonder at the world. He talks of the importance of food – ‘It’s food first. Work after.’ Food has never been as important as it is today. The new Flour Power you might even say. Our world is closer to the Pages than it has ever been; we are living on basics. When lockdown started we suddenly experienced clean air, peace and quiet to heard birdsong, and most of all, time to live. We have now passed through summer into autumn with the prospect of a difficult winter looming. What better time to curl up on the sofa and enjoy the Page family and ponder on their views of the world? As anyone who is familiar with the film knows, it can be watched many times and you’ll always find something new.
So enjoy your Page Family moments. Stay safe and do something wonderful in these strange times.
If you wish to order your copy of the new 2-in-1 DVD please click here
NEW!!! 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION DVD Enjoy the full glorious colours of this exciting new edition. 2 DVDs in 1 includes BEHIND THE MOON & THE SLEDGEHAMMER
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Available Now!
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We are delighted to announce that following some delays due to lockdown, the new DVD, made from the fabulous restored version of the film and also containing companion DVD, BEHIND The Moon & the Sledgehammer, is now available to order. We are thrilled to be able to present the film in the highest possible quality; so much so that it cannot be distinguished from the original film version. The many glorious shades of green that surrounded the Pages are back again, under that blue summer sky of 1969, and wait till you see the peacock! This upgrade also ensures that the film will survive long into the future to be enjoyed by many generations to come. We are proud that we have successfully preserved the film, despite the fact that no funding is available for this and give our grateful thanks to Harvard University who recognized the importance of the film and generously supported us in ensuring its existence. We are thrilled with the results. As director Philip Trevelyan said when he viewed the restored copy “the film has come alive again”. click here to order your new copy
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