Is That All There Is?
An exhibition of archive material from the Lindsay Anderson Collection

17 February – 31 March 2007

Is That All There Is? is the first public exhibition of material from the Lindsay Anderson Collection held by University of Stirling. It represents a unique and idiosyncratic overview of the life and career of one of Britain’s greatest filmmakers.

Anderson began his career by making documentary films in the 1950s and was a founder of the ‘Free Cinema' movement. He made a string of critically acclaimed films in the 1960s and 1970s including This Sporting Life, starring Richard Harris and If…. starring Malcolm McDowell. Anderson remains a unique figure in British culture; his attitude to art and life was committed, personal and socially engaged. He made some of the most remarkable films in the history of the British cinema and was one of this country's leading theatre directors. An eloquent and perceptive critic, he edited ‘Sequence’, still widely regarded as one of the most influential film magazines ever published in Britain.

University of Stirling holds the full archive of Anderson's personal and working papers, diaries, photographs, memorabilia, a collection of 700 VHS tapes recorded from TV and his library of over 2000 books on film and theatre.

The exhibition uses objects from the collection to provide insights into particular aspects of Anderson’s work. It is not a straight biographical / educational display. Instead, the selected artefacts are interesting items in their own right and when viewed as a whole, provide a fuller picture of Lindsay’s life and career. The selection was constructed through conversations between archivist Karl Magee, curator Kirsteen Macdonald and artist Stephen Sutcliffe.

Anderson’s extensive correspondence with others is used to illustrate both the influences on his work, for example the Hollywood director John Ford, as well as paying tribute to his own influence on subsequent generations of British filmmakers, writers and actors.

Highlights of the exhibition include letters and cards from cinema stars Gene Kelly, John Huston, Lillian Gish, Bette Davis, Jon Voight, Akira Kurosawa, as well as actors Sir John Guilgud, Ralph Richardson, Tony Richardson, Alec Guinness, Laurence Olivier and Rachel Roberts; writers Harold Pinter, Alan Bennett and David Storey; screenwriter’s agent Peggy Ramsay; theatre critic Kenneth Tynan and the writer Albert Camus. These letters offer a fascinating insight into British cultural life in the second half of the 20th century.

Alongside these letters and various personal artefacts illuminated with corresponding anecdotes from the Lindsay Anderson Memorial Foundation, is an area dedicated to the process of filmmaking. It illustrates a short sequence from the final scenes of O Lucky Man!, made in 1973 and starring Malcolm McDowell. Together with the short clip from the feature film, the exhibition details the evolution of the scene from the initial draft script to the development of the storyboard, production stills and final script, combined with behind-the-scenes photos from of the shoot. These are accompanied by Anderson’s own diary pages, shedding further insight into life behind, and in front of, the lens.

For information on the Lindsay Anderson Collection www.is.stir.ac.uk/libraries/collections/anderson/index

With thanks to the Lindsay Anderson Memorial Foundation www.lindsayanderson.com


Weekend events at The Changing Room – Admission free

Saturday 24 February / Saturday 10 March / Saturday 17 March all 3pm
Three screening programmes introduced by artist Stephen Sutcliffe, with selected material from Anderson’s VHS collection looking at cultural figures connected to his work.

Saturday 31 March 3pm
An illustrated talk on the Lindsay Anderson Collection by archivist Karl Magee, which also sheds light on the exhibition and specific stories about the selected objects.


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