''Winstanley'' is a 1975 British black-and-white film about social reformer and writer

Gerrard Winstanley Gerrard Winstanley (19 October 1609 – 10 September 1676) was an English Protestant religious reformer, political philosopher, and activist during the period of the Commonwealth of England. Winstanley was the leader and one of the founde ...

. It was made by

Kevin Brownlow Kevin Brownlow (born Robert Kevin Brownlow; 2 June 1938) is a British film historian, television documentary-maker, filmmaker, author, and film editor. He is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era, having become inter ...

and

Andrew Mollo Andrew Mollo (born 15 May 1940 in Epsom, Surrey, England)Kevin Brownlow: ''How It Happened Here.'' UKA Press, London/Amsterdam/Shizuoka 2007, , p. 201. is a British expert on military uniforms, which has led him into a career in motion pictures ...

(creators of '' It Happened Here'') and based on the 1961

David Caute John David Caute (born 16 December 1936 in Alexandria, Egypt) is a British author, novelist, playwright, historian and journalist. Background Caute was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Wellington College, Wadham College, OxfordJames Vinson, D. ...

novel ''Comrade Jacob''.

Plot

The film details the story of the 17th-century social reformer and writer

, who, along with a small band of followers known as the

Diggers The Diggers were a group of religious and political dissidents in England, associated with agrarian socialism. Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard, amongst many others, were known as True Levellers in 1649, in reference to their split from ...

, tried to establish a self-sufficient farming community on

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

at St George's Hill ("Diggers' Hill") near Cobham, Surrey. The community was one of the world's first small-scale experiments in

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a ...

, and its ideas were copied elsewhere in England during the time of

the Protectorate The Protectorate, officially the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, refers to the period from 16 December 1653 to 25 May 1659 during which England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and associated territories were joined together in the Co ...

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

, but it was quickly suppressed, and in the end left only a legacy of ideas to inspire later generations of socialist theorists.

Cast

* Miles Halliwell –

* Terry Higgins – Tom Haydon *

Jerome Willis Jerome Barry Willis (23 October 1928 – 11 January 2014) was a prominent British stage and screen actor with more than 100 screen credits to his name. Willis had a leading role in the ITV drama series ''The Sandbaggers'' as Matthew Peele. He ...

– Lord General Fairfax * Phil Oliver – Will Everard *

David Bramley David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

– Parson Platt *

Alison Halliwell Alison may refer to: People * Alison (given name), including a list of people with the name * Alison (surname) Music * ''Alison'' (album), aka ''Excuse Me'', a 1975 album by Australian singer Alison MacCallum * "Alison" (song), song by Elvi ...

– Mrs. Platt *

Dawson France Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...

– Captain Gladman *

Bill Petch Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

– Henry Bickerstaffe * Barry Shaw – Colonel Rich *

Sid Rawle Sidney William "Sid" Rawle (1 October 1945 – 31 August 2010) was a British campaigner for peace and land rights, free festival organiser, and a former leader of the London squatters movement. Rawle was known to British tabloid journalists as ...

– Ranter * George Hawkins – John Coulton * Stanley Reed – Recorder *

Philip Stearns Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

– Francis Drake *

Flora Skrine Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms ''gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. Ety ...

– Mrs. Drake

Filming

Great efforts were made to produce a film of high historical accuracy. Armour used was real armour from the 1640s, borrowed from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. Real-life activist

played a Ranter (i.e. a member of one or other of several

English Revolution The English Revolution is a term that describes two separate events in English history. Prior to the 20th century, it was generally applied to the 1688 Glorious Revolution, when James II was deposed and a constitutional monarchy established unde ...

-period anarchist-type groups). The film was reissued on DVD and Blu-ray in 2009 by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

(BFI), which had funded the original project.

References

External links

*
Dennis Schwartz review of 'Winstanley'Book 'Winstanley: Warts and All'
by Kevin Brownlow (about the making of the film) 1975 films 1975 drama films Films based on British novels English Civil War films British drama films Films directed by Kevin Brownlow 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-UK-film-stub