This film is part of Free
Guinness - Ploughman
A Guinness advert emphasising its virtues as an accompaniment to a traditional ploughman’s lunch.
Overview
Directed by Ridley Scott the year his feature debut The Duellists was released, the beautifully burnished cinematography of this commercial recalls his classic Dvo?ák-scored Hovis ad a few years earlier. The emphasis here is similarly on timeless tradition, inventively cross-cutting between pieces of equally essential machinery: the plough that tills the field, the knife that cuts the bread and cheese, the gadget that opens the bottle prior to pouring the pint - slowly, of course.
The vast majority of Ridley Scott’s 1970s moving-image output consisted of commercials produced through his company Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), which he founded in 1968 with his younger brother Tony. The best of them displayed a visual ambition and attention to detail, particularly the vivid evocation of atmosphere, that went some distance beyond the advertising norm. The ploughman and his friend are played by actor turned presenter Gavin Campbell and actor Jim Norton, the latter best known as the fearsome Bishop Brennan in Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted twenty years later.
Related
Talent Contest (Fun Palace outtakes) Talent Contest (Fun Palace outtakes)
Amateur film 1963 10 mins Silent Location: London
A compelling glimpse inside an unnamed East End pub in 1963 where a talent show takes place featuring singers and strippers.
Victorian Pub Victorian Pub
News 1974 6 mins Location: Aston
Music hall ghosts haunt the Bartons Arms pub in Birmingham; a temple to drink and a rare survivor in a city that has destroyed much of its Victorian architecture.
Bellamy on Beer Bellamy on Beer
Promotional 1982 9 mins Location: Hartlepool
David Bellamy puts his head into hops, then into a fermenting tank, watches it mash into wort and has a pint – all grist to our engaging presenter.
Mild & Bitter: Portsmouth & Plymouth Mild & Bitter: Portsmouth & Plymouth
Amateur film 1963 15 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
A polemical film where two men in a pub compare and contrast the post-war resurrection of both Portsmouth and Plymouth after their pummelling by the Luftwaffe.
Teenage Mocktailers Teenage Mocktailers
Current affairs 1980 2 mins Location: Burnham-on-Sea
A non-alcohol-serving pub offers somewhere to go and something to do for teenagers in Burnham-on-Sea.
In One End In One End
Documentary 1977 28 mins Location: Southwold
Real ale and folk music in the pub – performed by Fairport Convention – are celebrated in this portrait of Southwold on the Suffolk coast and the work of the Adnams brewery.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.