THE WINNERS
South Africa, 1973, 90 minutes, Colour.
Joe Stewardson, Richard Loring, Murray du Tuiat, Tony Jay, Madeleine Usher, John Higgins, Ken Leach.
Directed by Emil Nofal and Roy Sargent.
The Winners has become something of a classic South African film, produced by Emil Nofal who was producing films during the 1960s and 1970s. While the impact may be strong in South Africa, the film doesn’t travel so well.
The focus is on a white family and the domination by the patriarch, Will Maddox, played by Joe Stewardson. In his intense determination to win at everything, even wanting to defeat his sons at squash, he alienates his whole film, especially with his sons dying in accidents and crashes. Eventually, he has to come to terms with himself.
The film at times seems rather stilted. It also has on its soundtrack an incessant replaying of Frank Sinatra and My Way. The film was so popular it led to a sequel, Winners 2.
1. The meaning and irony of the title? The winners in the film? The gold statue and the trophies?
2. What did the film have to say about winning? About achievement and having a go? The importance of the song, My Way and its implications for the film?
3. How successful was the screenplay? Did it show real human situation"? Was it too contrived? Did it balance sentiment and reality? Realism and idealism? The use of the camera, photography, colour and landscaping, close-ups for sentiment?
4, Was it obvious that this was a South African film? What was your response to it as a South African film?
Comment on the opening of the film: the banquet, the happy faces, the list of achievements, and the sense of irony which the rest of the film had?
6. Did you find Will Maddox an attractive character? Did the film illustrate his life well? What drove him, his moving from nothing to everything? His relationship with his family, lack of communication, love for them as extensions of himself, selfish? Listening to Uncle Nat and taking his advice? His relentlessness in the sports field driving his children, timing them etc? His work in the firm and his pushing, his sense of achievement? The marathon being called after him, the effect of his children leaving him? The effect of going, in the marathon itself? His final throwing the stop watch, pacing his son his getting up and running to the end? How did he change during the film? What made him change? Could the audience like him or not?
7. What did the film have to say about family life? About expectations from parents and pressures? Which sequences and incidences best illustrated this?
8. Audience interest in Tony? His racing and paying for a win? His pursuit of Jillian and his love for her? The impact of his accident and his striving too hard? The courage of his walking again? His change in attitude by the end of the film? What point was being made via his character?
9. Did you like Paul? Why did he leave his father? The impact of his work dealing with ordinary people, meeting with Gina and her father, with Mario and the restaurant, his work on the wharves? The impact of Barry's death on him, the impact of Gina’s going back to Italy to the convent? Why did he run in the marathon? What paint was being made via his characterer?
10. How interesting was Barry? His American accent, his understanding of his father? Was his death too contrived or did it have a good impact in the film? The effect on the others?
11. The importance of Sandy, as a daughter, her relationship with her mother, her father’s driving her in swimming, her fear of losing and the impact of coming second?
12. What point was made via Will's wife? Her criticism of him, her standing by and supporting as a wife?
13. How attractive a character was Nat? The friend helping all of them, his standing by Wills his pacing of him, support? What point was being made about friendship here? Nat's response to the dirt digging journalist?
14. What did the film have to say about the tempo and quality of modern life. its effect on people and family. on love? Gillian and Gina?
15. The film’s point of view on achievement, on sport in itself, and as a symbol of achievement?
16. What values did the film stand for ? Was its moral convincing? What impact on audiences would it have? Make them better in their attitudes towards life and achievement?
WINNERS II
A sequel to the 1972 South African film 'The Winners’. The film is a rather sentimental, television type family drama with the recurring theme of the song ‘My Way'.
Its theme in winning in all fields especially with the focus on business and sport. Many of the game situations are repeated with variations in this sequel. The director, however, is different. Of interest as an example of film-making from South Africa in the seventies.
1. How interesting and entertaining a South African film? Its merits on its own, as a sequel to the original?
2. The South African production values: atmosphere, themes, way of life? For A South African audience, non-South African audience?
3. The basic appeal of the soap opera the human drama? Melodramatic touches, ordinary human touches? On what level did this drama work? serious drama or soap opera?
4. The contribution of colour, locations, local flavour?
3. The theme song of My Way and its implications and use throughout the film? The musical score, songs? The theme of winning? the critique of winning at all costs and yet the strong emphasis on winning and its approval?
6. The focus of the film on Joe? As a dynamic person, his push, his place in the building industry? His relationship with his family? His high expectations of them and demands? His reaction to Paul's illegitimacy? Letting him go but contriving for a girl to do the detective work? The clashes with Fran and her decision to leave him? The support from Nate and yet their clashes and Nate moving away from him? The pressurizing of Tony to come in on the job his admiration of him, his reaction to being edged out and taken literally by his son? The world of business deals, the hard line he took on his men, his family? His expectations of Sandy and the gymnastics? His sports background. taking achievement in sport as a basis for his expectations? His running? The decision he had to make for Paul at
the end? How credible a character? Typical of the hard self-made businessman?
7. Audience response to Paul’s story? The sudden Information about his illegitimacy, his decision to search out his father, the people he met at the bar especially the owner and the Orthodox priest, their help? The encounter with the suicidal girl and his being drawn in to help her? and the irony of falling in love and yet finding out the truth? Becoming a fisherman, sailing the boat, discovering his father? What kind of man was his father? Alone with the birds on the island? (the visual picturing of this way of life as a contrast to Paul's life in the family?) His judgment on his father and his running away, being reassured about his love for his mother, his decision to return to his family? The running and support of Joe?
8. Interest in Tony's story the pressures from his father and leaving motor racing, his interest and skill in sky diving? His return to the industry, his skill in his work, edging out his father and yet bringing him in on the success part of it? The bond with the secretary, potential for marriage? The irony of his sudden death? The strong visualizing of the sky diving and the alarm with the parachute not opening?
9. Sandy's story: her reaction to her father, his expectations, her skill as a gymnast, leaving her mother, her longing for her father, the decision to try her best at the gymnastics, the long presentation of the competition and her skill and achievement?
10. Fran's story - her love for her husband, support from Nate, love for the children, taking Sandy away the reasons for her return, the reconciliation? Was this credible?
11. The character of Nate and his continual presence – especially his involvement in the telegram about the birth of Paul? His strong words to Joes and his continued advice?
12. The romantic themes e*specially the place of the girl who was spying on Paul, falling in love? romantic subplot?
13. The use of sport as a symbol for winning? How ambiguous was the attitude of the film towards winning and the critique of people who make winning a be all and end-all? The significance of the final marathon and the father running with his son, the song?
