User reviews

Interesting 47 minute short from a Shelagh Delaney short story. A girl quits her dull job, and goes on a surrealistic bus tour of a dilapidated Manchester. Along for the ride are a strange mix, including a lascivious vicar, lord mayor (Arthur Lowe, always great), etc. Many of the techniques that became part of 'If' and 'O Lucky Man' first show up here.(e.g. mixing color and B+W). It also follows 'O Lucky Man' in being a surreal journey of a somewhat passive, young lead character traveling through a world where they have little power. Enigmatic, sure, but it's interesting and entertaining in a Brechtian/Anderson sort of dark humored politically satirical way. Cleary it's making fun of the pathetic nature of modern society and our desperate need to justify all the glories of 'progress that really sap our humanity. Some terrific and haunting images. Anthony Hopkins appears very briefly singing in German (?!?).

This is a rather confusing situation in that generally it is held that Red White and Zero was a three part film with the involvement of Peter Brook, Lindsay Anderson and Tony Richardson as directors with only Anderson's White Bus segment being completed. Yet here we have a BFI release claiming discovery of the completed portmanteau film yet there are clearly three senate films complete with individual credits. Be all that as may be the Brook segment featuring Zero Mostel is a very 60s slapstick/surreal effort that barely succeeds and the luscious looking short film featuring Vanessa Redgrave (sort of) singing and cavorting about is not terrible but cries out for the participation of Jeanne Moreau, for whom it was originally intended, before Richardson switched ladies. The White Bus remains the most competent and fine looking film displaying the wonders of industrial Manchester in a jokey visitor tour that ironically probably does take place today. As might be expected, as well as the splendid photography we get social comment and politics mixed in with a fondness for the English rural landscape and a humane picture of life of the common man (or woman as rather surprisingly here presented).