Rent I Start Counting (1969)
3.5 of 5 from 83 ratings
1h 45min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Growing up in a new-town tower block at the tail end of the 1960's isn't easy for awkward adolescent schoolgirl Wynne (Jenny Agutter). She has a bad case of puppy love for her much older foster brother, George (Bryan Marshall). And to add to her anguish, might he even be the crazed killer of teenage girls known to prowl the woods nearby?
- Actors:
- Jenny Agutter, Bryan Marshall, Clare Sutcliffe, Simon Ward, Gregory Phillips, Lana Morris, Billy Russell, Madge Ryan, Michael Feast, Fay Compton, Lally Bowers, Charles Lloyd-Pack, Lewis Fiander, Gordon Richardson, Fanny Carby, Phil Collins, Jim O'Brady
- Directors:
- David Greene
- Producers:
- David Greene, Stanley R. Jaffe
- Writers:
- Richard Harris, Audrey Erskine-Lindop
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 19/04/2021
- Run Time:
- 105 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- A Kickstart: Jenny Agutter Remembers
- I Start Counting! (2020, 20 mins): a new interview with the actress
- An Apprentice With a Master's Ticket (2021, 40 mins): acclaimed screenwriter Richard Harris looks back over an eclectic career in television and film, ranging from The Avengers to A Touch of Frost
- Worlds Within Worlds (2021, 33 mins): Jonny Trunk, founder of cult label Trunk Records, revisits the life and art of ambient music pioneer Basil Kirchin
- I Start Building (1942-59, 25 mins): a selection of rare archive films recalling the 'New Town' dream
- Danger on Dartmoor (1980, 57 mins): plucky kids face peril in this full-length Children's Film Foundation bonus feature, written by Audrey Erskine Lindop
- Don't Be Like Brenda (1973, 8 mins): the perennial problem of teenage promiscuity is explored in this cautionary film designed for adolescent viewers
- Loss of Innocence: a video essay on I Start Counting! by filmmaker Chris O'Neill
- Audio commentary by film historian Samm Deighan
- Theatrical trailer
- Image gallery
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Reviews (1) of I Start Counting
Times gone by ... - I Start Counting review by NP
David Greene's beautifully directed film starring Jenny Agutter as 14-year-old Wynne has been described as a horror, but I would suggest it's really a dark - a very dark - coming-of-age film.
Agutter is as charming as she always is, giving her typically unaffected, honest performance as an adolescent fascinated by, and in love with, her stepbrother. His name is George, he is played by Bryan Marshall, and he is twice her age. Annoyingly, Wynne's friend Corinne (Claire Sutcliffe)may also have designs on the rugged charmer. Simon Ward, who was a prolific film and television actor around this time, is also on hand as the unnamed Conductor.
This is one of those films that could only really exist in the late '60s/early '70s. Naivety is mixed with sexuality, and even when under the influence of excessive alcohol, do the youngsters ramble in perfectly received English. It's a charming story in many ways, despite the dark twists and turns it takes, and there's a genuine sense of jeopardy towards the end.
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