Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2009


The Real Badlands

Buy The Real Badlands now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'The Real Badlands' is a 2009 documentary film produced by Current TV and Rockwood Pictures, by British filmmakers Tim Clark and Craig Ford. The film tells the story of a Newark-on-Trent couple (Simon Burgess and Susan Moran), who fed up with modern-day life, quit their jobs, sell all of their possessions, and move into the woods.

Controversy



The film was particularly controversial upon its release due to inaccurate claims that the film was staged; it was claimed that the film was in fact a mockumentary. The filmmakers publicly denied these claims in a written statement read out live on Current TV, minutes after the film was broadcast.[http://rockwoodpictures.com/latestnews/the-real-badlands-on-tv/ Stew Game, Current TV, Live Broadcast 2009].

Locations



The film was shot in Stapleford Woods and Kelham, near Newark-on-Trent, during the summer and winter of 2008.[http://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/articles/news/Life-in-woods-captured-for-TV Lucy Millard, Newark Advertiser, 13 February 2009].

Exhibition



'The Real Badlands' was broadcast by Current TV on 30 January 2009.[http://current.com/groups/on-current-tv/89769143_the-real-badlands.htm Badlands broadcast on Current TV, 2009]. It has been repeated numerous times since its initial broadcast in the UK, US and Europe. It was briefly made available for viewing in the UK on Virgin Media's on-demand services.

The film was released on DVD in late 2009.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602574/ IMDB Entry, 2009].

Reception



Upon its release, 'The Real Badlands' received almost universal critical acclaim. Current TV presenter Stew Game went on to describe the film as "brilliant" and compared it to 'The Office'. The film has gone on to develop a loyal cult following online, with fans affectionately describing the film's central character, Simon Burgess, as "Burge Grylls", in reference to the TV personality and survival expert Bear Grylls.

Remake



In 2010 principal photography began on a feature-film version, under the working title of 'Plan B'. It was later announced that the film, a joint collaboration between Rockwood Pictures, Death Ground Media and Devils Lake Films, would be released in 2022, with a new title; 'Once Upon a Time in the Wild'.

References




Buy The Real Badlands now from Amazon

<-- Return to movies from 2009



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1108669479.