Letter to Brezhnev
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Janet Goddard
Catherine Spack
| Letter to Brezhnev | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Chris Bernard |
| Written by | Frank Clarke |
| Produced by | Stephen Woolley Janet Goddard Catherine Spack |
| Starring | Alexandra Pigg Margi Clarke Alfred Molina Peter Firth Tracy Lea |
| Cinematography | Bruce McGowan |
| Edited by | Lesley Walker |
| Music by | Alan Gill |
| Distributed by | Channel Four Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £50,000[2] or £379,000[3] |
| Box office | £450,000 (UK)[2] |
Letter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British romantic comedy film about working-class life in Liverpool, written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It stars Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke, Alfred Molina, Peter Firth and Tracy Marshak-Nash (credited as Tracy Lea). Letter to Brezhnev presents Margaret Thatcher-era, high-unemployment Liverpool as a depressed and tough city fallen on hard times.
Two young women from Kirkby, a rough suburb of Liverpool, Teresa and Elaine, meet two Russian sailors, Sergei and Peter, and hook up for a night of fun and frolics. Teresa is looking for sex and a smile; Elaine wants love, romance and the dream of a life far away from the grime of Liverpool.
Among other themes, it reflects the constraints on working class women's dreams. It also shows that many people do not get the chance to aspire to anything other than the humdrum lives they find before them as they finish school. Some of the characters work in a chicken factory, a slaughterhouse.[4] It also reflects hope and ambition as despite awful odds, the protagonists pursue their dreams.
Cast
- Alexandra Pigg – Elaine
- Margi Clarke – Teresa
- Peter Firth – Peter
- Alfred Molina – Sergei
- Tracy Lea – Tracy
- Iggy Navarro – President of Soviet Union
- Ken Campbell – Newspaper reporter
- Angela Clarke – Josie (Elaine's sister)
- Ted Wood – Mick
- Sharon Power – Charlie's Girl
Production
The film was shot in three weeks on a small budget with fees deferred to those involved.[5] Scenes were filmed in the State Nightclub, a prominent Liverpool venue in the 1980s.[6] It assisted Liverpool in becoming the second most filmed city in the UK after London.[5] For the soundtrack, Sandie Shaw re-recorded the song "Always Something There to Remind Me", and Bronski Beat's "Hit That Perfect Beat" was also used.