Adventures Of Greyfriars Bobby, The
Like Burke and Hare, Greyfriar’s Bobby is woven into the mythos of Edinburgh and has become one of the enduring symbols of the city for tourist and citizen alike. Bobby is a small Skye Terrier who implacably refuses to leave his master’s grave in Greyfriar’s cemetery. Bobby spent 14 years at the grave of his master, only leaving for food once a day that was donated by the kind people of Edinburgh
Movie
Like Burke and Hare, Greyfriar’s Bobby is woven into the mythos of Edinburgh and has become one of the enduring symbols of the city for tourist and citizen alike. Bobby is a small Skye Terrier who implacably refuses to leave his master’s grave in Greyfriar’s cemetery. Bobby spent 14 years at the grave of his master, only leaving for food once a day that was donated by the kind people of Edinburgh.
This touching story may seem somewhat melancholic for a children’s adventure yarn and at first glance has little to offer in terms of a potential narrative or plot. After all, a small dog that spent 14 years rooted to the spot, in deep mourning does not lend itself to thrilling family adventure. To overcome this obstacle the screenwriter’s have created a number of onscreen contrivances to tempt Bobby away from the graveside for various action set pieces complete with stereotype villainy at the hands of Sean Pertwee and Ronald Pickup. Throw a young orphan into the mix and all the ingredients are in place to concoct a formulaic Disneyesque adventure. There are no surprises in the revelation that this is indeed a remake of a 1960 Disney live action extravaganza.
In many ways however, this modern treatment pulls no punches in its depiction of mid 19th century Edinburgh with its open sewers, filth and appalling poverty which afflicted the common man. This was an Edinburgh of the have and have-nots where opulence and oppression were only a few streets apart. The screenwriters have clearly done their research and where possible injected realism into the proceedings without overstepping the mark of family viewing. It is ironic in their quest for realism that the production team have accurately portrayed the owner of Bobby as John Gray, an Edinburgh police officer and as a result suffered criticism from reviewers who believed Bobby to have a different owner entirely, in the guise of Auld Jock a shepherd. In reality, John Gray the police officer was indeed the owner of Bobby and Auld Jock is a characterisation from Eleanor Atkinson’s 1912 fictionalised novel of Greyfriars Bobby, which is commonly mis-interpreted to be the genuine story. John Gray was a gardener and dog lover who had difficulty in gaining employment in Edinburgh and joined the Police force in 1847 to escape poverty, becoming Constable no. 90 in the Edinburgh force. This is accurately reflected in the movie, down to the details of Grey’s service number on his lapels, which after such research underpins perhaps the greatest flaw in the production. We see Bobby here as a West Highland Terrier, when in reality Bobby was a Skye Terrier. After such obvious research into the original history of Bobby this stands out as a jarring oversight.
Perhaps such an oversight is forgivable considering this piece of cinema sets out to be a children’s adventure romp and few of the intended audience are likely to have Crufts guide to dog breeds in their hand as they view. Viewed as a children’s adventure the whole experience hangs together competently, albeit with the set-pieces giving a rather episodic feel to proceedings. This is not a cinema classic in terms of plotting or performance but a yarn that zips merrily along under its own steam that neither excels or offers offence. The human cast all turn in workmanlike performances with Pickup and Pertwee clearly revelling in the role of a “boo-hiss” baddie and Oliver Golding making his mark as the young urchin Ewan. All human performances, however, play second fiddle to the antics of Bobby, and rightfully so for this is his story.
Adults and children alike will find much to enjoy in this charming family drama and there are definite moments as the narrative unfolds when a box of Kleenex becomes a pre-requisite for further viewing. Certainly this is not oscar material, but nevertheless is solid family entertainment. The underlying subtext that explores loyalty through adversity, the horrors of poverty and social injustices, provides a solid bed of morality on which to lay the plot. Portraying this through the eyes of an adorable terrier ensures that the overall effect is one of entertainment for the playstation generation rather than an overt heavy handed social moralising that would have the child of today reaching for the off button quicker than Bobby can chew a bone. The overall result is a 2 hour rollercoaster ride of fun interspersed with moments of pathos that will keep the entire family glued to their seats. What more could we ask of a movie.
Presentation
As might be expected from a new cinematic release to DVD the quality and sound (Dolby Digital 2.0) is superb and watched on a large screen television one might be forgiven for believing that this is a window on the real Edinburgh of the period, such is the clarity of both audio and video. Careful colour balancing of the anamorphic DVD transfer also does much to enhance a feeling of authenticity of the image.
Extras
After such a strong presentation of the main feature it is something of a let down that the DVD does not contain extras. It seems almost obligatory for a new feature to have a “making of” documentary making the omission all the more prominent. It is also hugely surprising that the story of Greyfriar’s Bobby has not been further mined with a documentary visit to Edinburgh and Greyfriars Cemetery and a discussion of the historical basis of this remarkable little dog. As such we are left with a DVD of wasted opportunities. It may be that a special edition will appear on shelves at a holiday period such as Christmas or Easter, loaded with extras in an attempt to have us purchase the movie a second time, or is that just jaded cynicism?
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