Bread and Roses - 1993

Bread and Roses - 1993 Preston*Laing Productions - 194 min. Cast: Genevieve Picot, Mick Rose, Donna Akersten, Tina Regtien, Erik Thomson, Screenplay: Graeme Tetley and Gaylene Preston, based upon Sonja Davies' book of the same name; Director of Photography: Allen Guilford; Editor: Paul Sutorius; Music: John Charles; Vocals: Lisa Schouw; Producer: Robin Laing; Director: Gaylene Preston. Originally made for TV, but also released theatrically,this is an account of the life of activist and trade unionist (and later MP) Sonja Davies. The film covers her life up to 1956, when, at age 33, she was elected to the Nelson Hospital Board. During this period she develops strong socialist beliefs, marries and divorces, at age 17 trains as a nurse, has a romance (and a child) with an American marine who is killed in WWII action. She battles tuberculosis and marries a former boyfriend when he returns from the war. Toward the end of the film, she becomes part of a women's ill-fated campaign to save the Nelson railway line from closure and begins to be elected to political bodies. A well acted film with high production values. Recommended. Censor Rating: PG - Review rating: B+

AVAILABILITY OF VHS OR DVD COPIES

No source for NTSC copies. New PAL vhs copies, formated 1.33 with a 2.0 stereo English soundtrack, can be purchased from Aro Video for $50nz (Note: This is for two tapes).
14 OCTOBER SPECIAL NOTE TO NORTH AMERICANS - Given that both the vhs and dvd versions are PAL, I have an original NTSC VHS set that is my personal copy and therefore has only been played a couple of times. Now that I have a dvd copy, I will sell the ntsc vhs set for $20 + shipping; email me for questions or details.
SEPTEMBER 2011 - It is now available on an R0 PAL DVD, selling for $35-40nz from New Zealand sources, including gaylenepreston.com. Although organized into two equal 97 minute parts, the full film is contained on one disc. It has been formated 1.78:1 anamorphic with a 5.1 surround English soundtrack, as originally intended. There are no subtitles. A second disc contains: 'The Making of Bread & Roses' (44:55); 'Sonja Meets Genevieve' (2:24); Production Stills (1:35); Behind the Scenes Stills (:55) and four 30 second television video promos (2:07) - these videos promos are the same as the ones at nzonscreen.com