Unmade Movies: Harold Pinter's Victory

Nov 17, 2024 6:21 AM

Author:Harold Pinter,Joseph Conrad,Full Cast,Bjarne Henriksen,Vanessa Kirby,Mark Strong,Simon Russell Beale

Harold Pinter's unproduced screenplay of Joseph Conrad's last great novel, specially adapted for radio by Sir Richard Eyre

'All radio drama should be at this level' Spectator

The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures - spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten gems have been brought to life, fully realised as vivid, cinematic radio productions. Scripted by major 20th Century writers, including Harold Pinter, Arthur Miller, Alfred Hitchcock and Dennis Potter, they star a host of A-list actors and feature richly evocative, atmospheric soundtracks.

One of seven of these 'unmade movies' available on audio, Victory is a dark, morally complex drama set in the Dutch East Indies in 1900. It tells the story of Baron Heyst, a mysterious Swedish recluse living alone on a deserted island whose life is changed forever when he visits a neighbouring island, and falls in love with young English violinist Lena. Pursued by predatory older men, Lena is drawn to Heyst, and escapes with him to his island retreat...

The foremost playwright of his generation, Harold Pinter was also a celebrated screenwriter, who wrote the scripts for hit movies including The Servant, The Go-Between and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Victory, however, was judged too expensive for Hollywood - but, courtesy of this special adaptation by award-winning director Sir Richard Eyre, it has finally seen the light of day. Bjarne Henriksen (The Killing) stars as Heyst, with Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) as Lena and Mark Strong (Cruella) as Ricardo, while narrator Simon Russell Beale sets the scene with directions and descriptions from Pinter's screenplay, some taken directly from Conrad's original novel. So sit back, grab some popcorn and let this epic production play out on the biggest screen of all - that of your imagination.

Production credits

Written by Harold Pinter

Based on Victory: An Island Tale by Joseph Conrad

Directed by Richard Eyre

Produced by Laurence Bowen

Sound Design: John Leonard and Wilfredo Acosta

A Feelgood Fiction production for BBC Radio 4

Cast

Narrator - Simon Russell Beale

Heyst - Bjarne Henriksen

Lena - Vanessa Kirby

Davidson - Matthew Marsh

Ricardo - Mark Strong

Jones - Robert Portal

Schomberg - Patrick O'Kane

Mrs Schomberg - Helen Schlesinger

Pedro - Martin Marquez

Chang - Paul Chan

Mrs Zangiacomo - Flaminia Cinque

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 February 2015

(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

All radio drama should be at this level

—— Spectator

Captures the early days of the "English bands" and their story. The ups and downs, relationships, craziness and fun... This really happened!

—— Mike Rutherford

A wry and witty account of life in one of the world's biggest and unlikeliest supergroups and the music industry in its heyday... John Illsley is a charming, amusing and observant companion.

—— Mariella Frostrup

Frank, funny and tender. If you loved their music, you'll adore this book.

—— Nicholas Evans

Fans will be mesmerized.

—— Publishers Weekly

Eye-popping revelations [...] Will Smith bares all about his childhood and life

—— Sun

The book is awesome. So candid and considered...fascinating.

—— Chris Evans , Virgin Radio

Devastating, wise, hilarious and original

—— Róisín Ingle

A terrific book . . . absolutely brilliant

—— Brendan O'Connor

O'Connor gets you onside so completely with her direct narrative, you feel you could be in the same room as her

—— Sunday Times

Rememberings offers O'Connor's very personal version of events, a tale of maternal and institutional abuse that might be a misery memoir, if it weren't related with such eccentric charm and cheery fortitude

—— Daily Telegraph

From wild youth to troubled adulthood, this memoir is a blast of chaos

—— Times

Utterly brilliant

—— Paul Howard

Astonishing. Staggering

—— Rob Delaney

Superb . . . fantastic

—— Irish Daily Star

Beautifully written

—— VIP

Honest and illuminating

—— Irish Independent

Rememberings is an electrifying reminder of the importance of [O'Connor's] voice

—— Business Post

O'Connor brings everything to this memoir

—— Financial Times

Incendiary

—— i

Astonishingly good, wise and hilarious

—— Louise Nealon

Candid, open-hearted . . . a lot of self-deprecation, a lot of laughs, and a measure of honesty that would put most of us to shame

—— Anglo-Celt

Genuinely incredible . . . [Rememberings is] suffused with humour and forgiveness

—— Guardian

There's nothing conventional about Sinéad O'Connor and there's little conventional about her memoir either. . . She writes with searing honesty and plenty of wit

—— Independent

Her complicated life makes for riveting reading. From ripping up photographs of the Pope on prime time US television and her mental health struggles to a rollercoaster spiritual quest, she has never been afraid to be fearless

—— iNews

A deliciously decadent tale of sex, tragedy, celebrity, surfboards and tanned skin in 1980s Malibu.

—— The Times

I absolutely loved her book.... It's an absolute blast to read

—— Alice- Azania Jarvis

JACKIE COLLINS, BUT BETTER Sacrilege to say "better", I know, but there we are. Set in the 1980s, Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising is wonderfully written, intensely evocative and concerns the model/ surfer children of a rock star. Tons of glamour, tons of sharply observed insights about sibling relationships, plus a massive party. Beach read par excellence. See also her brilliant Daisy Jones & the Six, which is heaven (more rock stars).

—— Anonymous

When we picked up Malibu Rising, the new novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, we could barely put it down

—— That's Life

You'll never want this book to end, it will suck you in and spit you out!

—— Muddy Stilettos

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