Bloomfield (film)

Bloomfield (released in the United States as The Hero) is a 1971 British-Israeli drama film directed by Richard Harris[2] and Uri Zohar. It was entered into the 21st Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

Bloomfield
Film poster
Directed byRichard Harris
Uri Zohar
Written byWolf Mankowitz
additional material
Richard Harris
Story byJoseph Gross
Produced byJohn Heyman
Wolf Mankowitz
StarringRichard Harris
Romy Schneider
Kim Burfield
CinematographyOtto Heller
Edited byKevin Connor
Music byJohnny Harris
Maurice Gibb
Production
companies
Cenfilco Tel Aviv
Limbridge
World Films Company
Distributed by20th Century Fox (UK)
Embassy Pictures (US)
Release dates
9 November 1970 (world premiere)
  • June 1971 (1971-06)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Israel
LanguagesEnglish
Hebrew
Budget£800,000[1]

Plot

A footballer in Israel is offered a bribe to lose a match. But when he meets a child who is a fan of his, the footballer decides to win the game.

Cast

Production

Development

The film was originally called Knights of Bloomfield and was to be directed by Uri Zohar. At one point the film was going to be shot in Italy and was known as Viva Higgins.[4] Another title when the film was to be shot in Italy was Arrividerci, Thompson.[5]

Harris called the story "very autobiographical. It's a story about freedom and man's success and moments of failure."[6] Harris made it after Cromwell.

The film was financed by the Investor's Overseas Service, a mutual fund run by Bernie Cornfeld. It was their first investment in moviemaking although Cornfeld had invested in the short lived Commonwealth United Company.[7] There were ten individual investors along with the banks.[8]

Filming

Filming started in October 1969 in Israel, in Tel Aviv and Jaffa. Two weeks into filming director Uri Zohar left the production. After a week Harris took over as director.[1] Since Harris was not a member of a technical union a crew union ordered its members to stop working but they continued anyway.[9] "No other director would take over without months of preparation," claimed Harris.[10]

Harris was meant to be in Israel for five weeks and ended up staying five months, causing him to miss out on playing the title role in the film Scrooge (Albert Finney took the role).[11]

After he made the film Harris said he felt like putting an ad in Variety apologizing to all the directors he had worked with.[12] Cinematographer Otto Heller died two weeks after filming.[13]

Location shooting took place around Tel Aviv, particularly at the Bloomfield Stadium. Interiors were shot at Twickenham Studios in London. The film's sets were designed by the art director Richard Macdonald.

Richard Burton wrote in his diaries he was told the film "was meant to be a sweet film about a small boy’s adoration for a great veteran footballer but" then Romy Schneider "raped Mr Harris and by means of the bedroom literally fucked the film up into a love story between herself and Mr Harris, the footballer."[14]

Steven Berkoff was invited to work on a documentary about the making of the movie. He called the film "a ghastly shlock piece of sentimental junk conceived by quite a talented writer."[15]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film composed and produced by Johnny Harris includes a short version of "The Loner", a song co-written by Maurice Gibb and Lulu's brother Billy Lawrie. Johnny Harris was MD for Lulu at the time this song was composed and recorded in 1969. It was released on a Pye Records single in 1972 performed by The Bloomfields when the film was finally released in Great Britain. The soundtrack also includes 3 tracks by Heads Hands & Feet.

Reception

The film was to have had its world premiere on Friday, November 6th, 1970, at the Savoy cinema in Harris' hometown of Limerick. Some big names attended the premiere, including Roger Moore and Honor Blackman. But just as the show was about to start, a phone call was received saying that a bomb had been planted in the cinema and the building was hurriedly evacuated. No bomb was found but Richard Harris was understandably very angry about the incident. Screened at the 1971 Berlin Film Festival, Rex Reed who was a judge called it "an appalling piece of self indulgent garbage."[16]

The film was not released in the US until 1972 where it was screened under the title The Hero.

References
  1. HARRIS MAKES HIS DIRECTING DEBUT The Irish Times 10 November 1969: 16.
  2. "Bloomfield (The Hero) (1971)". Rotten tomatoes. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  3. "IMDB.com: Awards for Bloomfield". imdb.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  4. MISCELLANY: Hush-hush demo The Guardian 23 August 1969: 9.
  5. "Screenplay". The Guardian. 28 January 1969. p. 9.
  6. Film: Harris's 'interpretive art': Only the Irish... History-shaker Fled 'Red Desert' By Louise Sweeney. The Christian Science Monitor 26 August 1970: 6.
  7. Sherwood Wrote Big Finish for F.D.R. Los Angeles Times 19 March 1970: g20.
  8. Callan, Michael Feeney (2004). Richard Harris : sex, death & the movies : an intimate biography. p. 206.
  9. Union Blacklists Movie Directed by Richard Harris Los Angeles Times 15 December 1969: g27.
  10. Richard Harris in Harness for Directing Job Blume, Mary. Los Angeles Times 23 August 1970: q16.
  11. Having a Scrooge loose Walker, John. The Guardian 12 December 1970: 7.
  12. Versatile Richard Harris Isn't One of the Tin Gods Pearce, Sterling. Chicago Tribune 13 December 1970: g6.
  13. Actor Harris' 'Bloomfield' Brass, Sally K. Los Angeles Times 9 July 1971: g14.
  14. Burton, Richard (2012). Richard Burton Diaries. p. 486.
  15. Berkoff, Steven (1996). Free association : an autobiography. p. 124.
  16. Berlin Festival Ends with Laugh--and Argument Reed, Rex. Chicago Tribune 18 July 1971: e2.
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