Director: Ridley Scott
UK/1958/27mins/16mm/b&w
Using a Bolex camera borrowed from art school
Ridley Scott (BLADE RUNNER, GLADIATOR)
shot his first film over the summer of 1956 in
his hometown of Hartlepool. Scott used his
brother, Tony, then 16 years old, and his mother
and father as actors. There are few signs of what
audiences could later expect from a Ridley Scott
film. It was shot over six weeks, with voice-over
and synchronised dialogue added later. The first
audiences for BOY AND BICYCLE were Scott's
teachers and fellow students in the Theatre Design
department of the Royal College of Art. Scott finished
the film in 1958 with a £250 grant from the British Film
Institute, following his graduation.
He cites the experience of making this short the
one that made him and his brother Tony Scott
(ENEMY OF THE STATE, SPY GAME) want to
become filmmakers.
"I was heavily into Kurosawa at the time.
I knew he used certain filters for his
monochrome films. So I was stuffing on
red filters every chance I got. I used a lot
of hand-held camera and even drafted
my father to act as a camera-car driver."
Ridley Scott on Boy and Bicycle
Commentary by Ridley Scott, recorded in Los Angeles
Courtesy of the British Film Institute
