Let's start with a goodie, and a now classic Brit flick to boot - Withnail and I

Despite being set in the low-rent world of struggling actors, more out of work than in, the magic of film (yes, I uttered that dread cliche, godammit) renders the sets within this film with a warm and inviting desirability; from the warm glow of Uncle Monty's home to the shabby chic of the holiday cottage (arggh, can't believe I used the SC term either, but for want of a better phrase it will have to do for now) these sets make you want to just to be part of their world rather than just spectators. Let's start with...

OOps...Ok, I admit, this was just an excuse to sneak in a pic of the devine Mr Mcgann's cheek bones - a feature in themselves

Seriously now...Uncle Monty's place

"As a youth I used to weep in butcher's shops."

Uncle Monty's as we know it from the movie

How delightfully old-fashioned and traditionally English, a litle bourgeois, a little eccentric, and probably totally unlivable, but look how great it looks on the film, how beautifully lit it is. That sofa says, "Come, sit on me. Have a sherry".

Here's the real home as it looks in real life.

And here's how it looks from the outside.

Pretty darn desirable, inside and out. The real home is 35, Glebe Place, Chelsea, London. Designed by Philip Speakman Webb for the Pre-Raphaelite artist George Boyce, it was built in1868-71. Think I like Withnail's cosy take on the place best.

Credit here should be due to the magnificent Monty, brilliantly played by Richard Griffiths. His finest hour.

Moving on now to the bleak yet wonderful Sleddale Hall....

Sleddale Hall in Penrith, Cumbria was built in the Mid 18th Century and features in the film as Uncle Monty's cottage, Crow Crag. The building is two miles from the nearest public road, and over a mile from the nearest inhabited home. The exterior and downstairs rooms of the Hall were used for filming, but the staircase and upstairs rooms were filmed at Stockers Farm in Rickmansworth. Sleddale Hall went up for sale at auction in 2009 (at a guide price of £145,000), much interest was rumoured to shown by celebrity fans such as the UK TV personality Chris Evans and Kate Moss, as well as a collective of Withnail fans anxious to preserve such a meaningful piece of film history. The home sold for £265,000 to a local publican, but the sale eventually fell through and the property was bought by another bidder at the auction, an architect who plans to restore the Hall to a private home whilst staying true to the Withnail spirit of the place.

Here it is in all its Wuthering Heights-esque beauty.

Did someone say beauty?

Now we've finished admiring its exterior let's take a look inside.



Lovely bedroom. Look at that classic brass bed, I wonder if you rub the knobs anything special happens? I'm sure Monty hopes so.

Cosy, n'est pas?

I'm pretty sure I saw this is Homes & Gardens last month. The Featherstone-Hawkneys welcome you to their beautiful country abode.

Little did the Withnail team know that their shabby chic kitchen would spark a huge interiors trend.

But what mention of Withnail would be complete without a mention of:

The man himself, Withnail - the terrific Richard E. Grant. Just look at that expression!

Those curls! Oh, why did you shear those beautiful Pre-Raphaelite curls?! Whhhhyyyyyy?

All credit due to to the excellent cast and crew of Withnail and I:

Directed By:
Bruce Robinson

Written By:
Bruce Robinson

Starring:
Michael Elphick
Ralph Brown
Richard Griffiths
Paul McGann
Richard E. Grant

(an excellent) Soundtrack By:
Rick Wentworth
David Dundas

And, especially as we are focussing on the film design here, in particular the look of the film and sets,

Director of Photography:
Peter Hannan

Costume Designer:
Andrea Galer

Production Designer:
Michael Pickwoad

And a special mention here to the much missed

Executive Producer:
George Harrison

If you can't get enough of Withnail related stuff then check out the Withnail inspired outfits this blogger has created for the characters. Cute!

http://theglitterchild.blogspot.com/