N.B. Requires a Blu-ray player: will NOT play on a DVD player.
A Panamint Cinema high-definition restoration from original 35 mm film materials, exclusively available direct from Panamint Cinema.
Blu-ray Region B. Venus Peter was chosen for the "Un Certain Regard" showings at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989.
Young Peter’s world is populated with magical thoughts and fantasies, as he grows up with his elderly sage-like grandfather (Ray McAnally), a fisherman, in the Orkney Islands during the 1950s. Peter (Gordon R. Strachan), baptised with sea-water, becomes the sea child of ancient legend, dreaming frequently, often about his absent father. Sometimes he fancies he is a boat, while his grandfather decries the avarice of the human race and rails against the uncontrolled exploitation of the seas which threatens his livelihood. Peter’s experiences are influenced by the poetry readings of his aunt, and the appreciation of beauty taught him by his teacher (Sinéad Cusack).
Venus Peter is based on Christopher Rush’s semi-autobiographical novel A Twelvemonth and a Day, set in St Monan’s, Fife. On scouting the East Neuk village, the fishing industry’s obvious decline led the producers to search for a thriving fishing town, and Stromness in Orkney was finally chosen.
DIRECTOR: Ian Sellar
PRODUCER: Christopher Young
ACTORS: Ray McAnally, Gordon R. Strachan, David Hayman, Sinéad Cusack, Juliet Cadzow, Caroline Paterson
WRITER: From the novel by Christopher Rush
SCREENPLAY: Ian Sellar
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Gabriel Beristain
MUSIC:Jonathan Dove
EDITOR: David Spiers
SPECIAL FEATURES: Reversible inlay; 16 page illustrated booklet written by director Ian Sellar; Theatrical trailer
SUBTITLES: In English for the deaf and hard of hearing
BBFC CERTIFICATE: 12: moderate sex references, nudity
FORMAT: Blu-ray Region B | Aspect ratio 1.66:1 | colour
ENCODING: Video: 1080p AVC MPEG4 | Audio: LPCM stereo lossless
THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: 1989
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 93 mins
