An actor pal of mine sent me this article from a while back which I was surprised and happy to read. It still surprises me the way Withnail & I touches people’s hearts. MC
https://www.redonline.co.uk/reviews/what-to-watch-tonight/a516310/jack-whitehall-my-favourite-thing/
I’m excited to announce that I am finally able to offer the 30 x 40” pieces from Iconic Photoshoot #1 & #2 again. These 2 contact sheets show the famous images together with the less well known ones and are great examples of how the synchronicity of the actors and myself achieved the final results. Shot at Uncle Monty’s cottage and outside of the boy’s flat during gaps in filming, the exterior flat location on Chepstow Villas was never featured in the film but has become a Withnail shrine due to this photo shoot.
These Giclee prints will be made in collaboration with master printer, Francois Le Blond. I withdrew these images from the portfolio some time ago because I couldn’t find a printer that I had confidence in to print in this large format. We made some trial prints last week and the results were stunning. These images are truly statement pieces.
My spirits soared this week when I read that Esquire UK are hosting a Bruce Robinson live commentary of a screening of ‘Withnail and I’ on May 17 at 7pm BST followed by a Q&A. This is truly ‘one off’ event and I urge anyone who has the slightest interest in this tired old film to join in. I’ll be getting a few ales in and hopefully remain sober enough to remember I watched it.It’s not as if you have much else to do..Chin Chin!**UPDATE**Video below
Press articles globally celebrated our PM’s Covid recovery aided by viewing Withnail & I featured this image. In a moment of rare clarity today I recalled that I made a series of prints of said image signed by Bruce, Richard, Paul and myself and had stored them in the wine cellar.. so I have added them to the shop. It’s amazing what you can find when the pubs are closed. Chin Chin! MC
Now that the pesky Covid bastard has got us between the eyes I have no excuses left not to update the ‘Withnail Photos’ blog, I bet you couldn’t wait…It is remarkable looking back on a single black and white contact sheet of 36 exposures to see how a scene was created and even more extraordinary that 2 iconic images came from that one roll of film. Back in the day an average shooting day would be 3 rolls of film, on my current assignments those numbers are blown out of the water with an average of about 1000 images (approx. 28 rolls of film) per day. Maybe it’s the lack of booze on set or the association with ‘digital is free’, which couldn’t be further from the truth.We were only in Stony Stratford for a day’s shooting and covered 2 classic scenes, ‘The Tea Room’ and ‘Booze or Boots?’, starting with the exterior scene with Monty and the Rolls in the drizzling rain and then moving into the Penrith Tea Room.The Tea Room scenes were always going to be shot quickly as we anticipated that the local middle aged extras could well have issues with Withnail’s foul language which is why the coverage is concise, we never even see Mrs Blennerhassit. I think I shot the scene on 50 f1.4 lens on a Nikon FM2 body, wedging myself into a spot between the camera dolly and a boom operator. I’m still amazed by that day.
I spent a rainy weekend finally beginning to archive my past work and of course started with Withnail, Kubrick can wait…I don’t enjoy revisiting my old work but sometimes a forgotten image or moment can transport you directly back to the moment the exposure was made. A number of unseen Withnail images came to light and I thought I would share this shot of a final rehearsal of one of the two scenes we filmed in Regent’s Park. I don’t remember specifically whether Richard was ad libbing or even quoting from the script at all but whatever he said caused Paul to break character and giggle. For a limited time only we are offering this exclusive unseen image of 'Withnail & I' in my online shop presented in a soft white acid free mount and signed by me all ready to drop into a standard 10 x 8” frame plus free UK delivery making it the perfect Christmas gift for any Withnail fan. Chin Chin! MC
What cameras did you use?
I was using Nikon FM2s with fast F1.4 lenses as a lot of the scenes particularly Monty’s cottage and the Camden Town flat had very low light levels. In the pre-mirrorless camera age I had to use a sound blimp which resembled an oversized lunchbox to muffle the shutter noise during filming. My film choices were limited due to extreme exposures and in the 1980s I had to shoot colour and black & white in order to supply the press with both.
At the time of filming did you have any inkling that it might become the cult classic it is today?
It is almost impossible during production to forecast the success or failure of any film I have worked on and if I could I wouldn’t be hanging around on rainy mountaintops capturing images. However one thing was certain that the script and characters were something I had never encountered before and the tightly knit creative group together with the dedicated cast made me feel like we were making something unique. Whilst this feeling is great for ones creative juices it does not necessarily mean the cinema going public will reach for their wallets.
People have come to associate your photographs so closely with the film that it is easy to mistakenly remember the film in black & white. Is that something you were conscious about at the time?
To this day I think of Withnail as a black and white film and I am always taken aback when I watch it and it turns out to be in muted colour. I shot a lot of black and white photographs on Withnail as I knew the results would be better due to the faster emulsions and the push developing. I shot an equal amount of colour but Kodak Ektachrome in 1980s had a low ISO number and was prone to a contrast build up when push developed. Given my choice I would always choose black and white Withnail versus colour Withnail but then again I would choose black and white over colour any day.
You exhibited your W&I collection at the BFI in 2007. How did this come about, where were the negatives and did you think there would be such interest in your photos when you eventually exhibited them?
Due to the untimely demise of Handmade Films and the regular reselling of their catalogue I became the defacto source for photographic needs in the 1990s when Withnail & I was not available on VHS or DVD and whilst the film remained dear to many of our hearts a new audience was only introduced to it by watching a scratchy VHS cassette tape made in the late 1980s. With the advent of digital photography, photographic labs were closing every week around the world and when the lab I was using in London was closing down, they reminded me that they still held a lot of my original material including the Withnail negatives and asked If I wanted them back. The answer was yes. By 2007 after Criterion Collection had finally released Withnail and I as a DVD attracting brand new audiences I was persuaded that their would be an interest in an exhibition. I was taken aback with the turnout to see the photographs and reunite with Paul, Richard & Bruce.
Welcome to my new ‘Withnail & I’ photography site. Clearly I have set out to showcase my fabulous work of course but also to provide a safe forum where Withnail aficionados can visit to get updates on Withnail related events, catch up with my Withnail blog and even to answer the odd question or two. Let me know what you think in the comments.. Chin! chin! Murray. P.S. For all my other work visit my Website and Instagram. Links below: