Gasman (1997)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Lynne Ramsay

Writer:

Lynne Ramsay (writer)

Genre:

Short | Drama

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Lynne Ramsay Jr.	...	Lynne
Martin Anderson	...	Steven
James Ramsay	...	Da
Denise Flannagan	...	Ma
Jackie Quinn	...	Woman
Lisa Taylor	...	Girl
Robert McEwan	...	Boy

Directed by
Lynne Ramsay

Writing credits
Lynne Ramsay		(writer)

Produced by
Gavin Emerson	....	producer
Barbara McKissack	....	executive producer
Oscar van Heek	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Alwin H. Kuchler

Film Editing by
Lucia Zucchetti

Production Design by
Jane Morton

Art Direction by
Chris Cull
Robina Nicholson

Costume Design by
Gill Horn

Makeup Department
Nikki Brannan	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Karen McConnel	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chi-shan Cheung	....	third assistant director (as Chi Shan Chung)
Anneli Downing	....	first assistant director
Nigel MacInnes	....	third assistant director
Marvin MacKenzie	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Andy Drummond	....	art department assistant
Vivien Mackay	....	assistant art director
Jamie MacWilliam	....	art department assistant
Tim Munro	....	art department assistant

Sound Department
Kenny Allan	....	boom operator
Stuart Bruce	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Lucien Grieve	....	grip
Ian Jackson	....	gaffer
Henrietta Larkin	....	clapper loader
Drew Mansell	....	electrician
David Taylor	....	electrician (as Dave Taylor)
Scott Ward	....	focus puller

Other crew
Margaret Graham	....	continuity
Leigh Hurst	....	production assistant
Joan Johnston	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Holy Cow Films
• Scottish Arts Council, The
• The Scottish Film Production Fund

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Isän salaisuus (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This short film is featured on the Criterion Collection DVD for Ratcatcher (1999).

Movie Connections:

Edited into Cinema16: British Short Films (2003) (V)

I like it, but I'm like that

Gasman is a proper short film - little plot, none of it told explicitly, but a larger story going on around the camera. Like most of Lynne Ramsey's stuff (Ratcatcher being the best and most enjoyable example, because it isn't a short)it feels like and probably is 1970s/80s East-end Glasgow, the struggling classes and a fairly grim outlook, but you see the little sparks of interest in real lives, and being a small story told very much from a child's point of view, it's much more hopeful, interesting and happy than it could have been. The characters, so few, and so little seen in the short still have immense believability and completeness. Most people will find this dull, but if you're the kind of person who knows how to get hold of a copy, you're probably the type of person who'd enjoy it. Arty, but not impenetrable, simple but thought-provoking.