Children of the Stones (1977)

Brilliant and touching

best movie i've ever seen.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Scientist Adam and his bright son Matthew move to the small, sleepy, happy village of Milbury. An attractive little place, slap bang on the site of an Ancient Stone circle, with a secret. The villagers are nice, too nice, creepy in a way, with a greeting of Happy day. Those that aren't members of the Happy day group are treated as outcasts, they're not as involved, nor as clever. One by one the people begin changing, becoming members of the Happy day group, even Margaret, the local Museum creator that Adam has become very fond of. Soon only Adam and Matthew are left, it falls on them to discover what's been going on, and stop the plans of Rafiel Hendrick.A really enjoyable series for people of all ages, I find it such a shame that series such as this aren't made for today's youngsters, back in the 70's there seemed to be a wealth of programmes made for teens, some pretty memorable, iconic programmes.I'm sure those that watched this during its transmission remember it fondly, and for good reason, it's a very watchable and enjoyable series. Enough good stuff going on for first time viewers too.Very 70's in terms of production values, music and clothing, so expect plenty of dodgy ties and haircuts.8/10 definitely one to watch.

The music for this, which mainly consists of a choir of people singing wordless dischords, is certainly disquieting - especially as the music supervisor seemed to have the mic levels too high! The acting is really quite bad, especially by the child actors, but I thought this added to the charm of this eerie series, which I bought on DVD. Both my girlfriend and my former house-mate thought the series was scary and the music horrible. In fact, my girlfriend told me it gave her nightmares, and she is 20, and this was a children's show! Overall, a great slice of old British TV at its best - quirkily unusual and essentially 'English'.

Many years ago, when ITV in the UK was an amalgamation of separate TV companies (like HTV, the makers of this show along with many other great series, serving the west of England and Wales), which used to make their own shows for local consumption, before submitting them to the network for a national screening, they used to come up with gems like this.It's a bizarre story of a kid and his dad entering a strange place in the west of england (the Dad is a Historian on a research trip, but his son finds out more than his Dad was expecting), only to find that everything is not as it seems. The locals are being drawn into a strange cult which revolves around an ancient stone monument in the locality (actually the ancient monument which still stands in Avebury, Wiltshire, UK)...I really couldn't tell you any more without spoiling things, but my description of this series would be: If that great cult movie "The Wicker Man" had been made as a children's programme, it might have looked something like this. It's a true hidden gem, which caught the imagination of kids across the UK upon its original transmission in the UK in early 1977.If any overseas viewers (who like something a bit out of the ordinary) want to check it out, then I certainly wouldn't hesitate to recommend the UK DVD release by "Second Sight" - and if you ever find yourself in the UK, take the time out to visit the location used in the series... It's a truly mystical place, with a truly strange atmosphere which will stick in your mind long after your trip...ITV in the UK these days is a very different operation, and they just don't make shows like this anymore. If ITV made a show called "Children Of The Stones" today, it would probably be a reality show starring Jade Jagger and Theodora Richards.... Watch and enjoy what once was, in the days when we Brits were truly proud of the programming we produced, as opposed to these days, when we are frankly embarrassed by 95% of it... :-(

(Some spoilers)Children Of The Stones has been called 'the children's Wicker Man' - one indication of the high regard with which this seven-part 1977 British television series is still held. Resemblances between Robin Hardy's 1973 cult classic are certainly strong, notably the pervasive strength of the pagan cult which threatens to overwhelm Adam Brake (Gareth Thomas) and his son Matthew (Peter Denim). Other influences include that of Nigel Kneale, whose work had been so prominent in British TV science fantasy. Thomas had already appeared playing a minor part in Kneale's Quatermass And The Pit (1967). The year after the present series was aired saw a last Quatermass, which concerns an unknown alien force 'harvesting' the youth by leading them to ancient ritual sites. The parallels between the fatal rapture of Ringstone Round, the 'happiness' of Millbury's own initiates, and the ominous role of megaliths in both shows, are striking. Filmed on location at Avebury, Children Of The Stones follows the usual technical format of 1970s' kids shows (video used for internal studio sequences, film for the atmospheric scenes shot outside). Sidney Sager provided an especially effective score, using a mainly wordless chorus for the credits and ghostly female soprano soloist. The series shares some of the weaknesses of the time (somewhat under-directed acting, and ripe performances, notably that of Freddie Jones, who plays Dai, the Welsh inebriate) and strengths, chief of which is a complex storyline, one completely different from the contemporary transatlantic product. Millbury, where the action takes place, is at the apex of numerous lay lines, a hub of psychic activity, a place of power into which it proves much easier to enter than leave. Hendrick's (Iain Cuthbertson) Millbury house is situated at the middle of the ancient stone circle which astrophysicist Brake arrives to study. More than just the defunct 'prehistoric Jodrell Bank' he envisages, this impressive monument marks the coming together of a number of still-active forces and traditions, offering physical and mental challenges to investigators. These combine in the figure of Hendrick, and Hendrick's home, the focus of events. It is here that the transformation of mind occurs, where the villagers chant and dance. "There are more things in heaven and earth than I have philosophised in my dreams," admits Brake to Margaret (Veronica Strong), expressing somewhat awkwardly the confusion he feels. In Millbury as he discovers, pure mathematics and modern science rub shoulders with the mysterious workings of age-old mysticism and rural legend. Balancing everything, creating a coherent world picture, is what gives the plot most of its interest. Brake and his precocious son are both intellectuals, empiricists by instinct, gradually brought round by circumstance to a necessary belief in 'the existence of that which exists'. (The words on the enigmatic picture which originally inspired Matthew's interest in the site.) Former scientist Hendrick, discoverer of the supernova at the heart of the mystery, is one who has already crossed that line. As Brake rightly identifies with some distaste at the end, Hendrick has since moved from professional astronomer to visionary 'magus', exchanging the certainties of science for the excesses of egocentricity. Brake and son have the problem of interpreting and adapting to events, while remaining intellectually independent, something which imminent brainwashing ultimately threatens to destroy. Away from external dangers, at the core of the narrative is the quartet of relationships between the Brakes, Margaret, and Sandra (Katherine Levy). The romantic interest between Adam and the female curator is, understandably muted, although enough feeling remains to ensure that the fate of the mother and daughter has some emotional drama at the climax. Alone out of the 50-odd villagers (the outsider Dai excepted) it is they who stand out in our mind, and exclusively they whom the Brakes struggle to rescue from amidst the doomed chanters. Particularly as played by stodgy Gareth Thomas, Professor Brake proves a dull fellow, whose son is far more interesting. Thomas (whose screen presence sometimes reminds one of the 1950s' British actor John Gregson) often has to work hard to convince us that his character is anything like as intellectually nimble as we might expect. (He later went on to star in another cult TV show, Blake's 7.) By contrast, Matthew Brake is exceptionally bright and much more dynamic, recognised by Hendrick early on as a worthy adversary. It is the son who triggers many of the key discoveries driving the plot. But even the younger Brake is somewhat daunted by the abilities of the happy pupils in the village school, whose mental prowess recalls the alien prodigies in The Village Of The Damned (1960). Iain Cuthbertson, on the other hand, who had earlier worked with Thomas on another UK TV series, Sutherland's Law, acts the genially threatening Hendrick very skilfully, and does a good job. The end of the series has been dismissed as a cop out, and certainly the abrupt interjection of a parallel time, circular chronology universe is unexpected. After the astro-psychic events just witnessed it is, frankly, one twist too far. Admittedly it is difficult to think of another way to end with a point of interest once the circle has been broken, and tension dispelled. Clearly a downbeat ending, such as concluded The Wicker Man, would have been difficult in a children's show, but the result of the Brake's final questioning of all events is to undermine the careful investigations and deductions made before. The miraculous restoration of friends and villagers is reassuring but, although such events may suggest a hallucination, the defusing of earlier tension is a let off. The re-introduction of Hendrick and his butler Link (as a fresh purchaser of the house, and estate agent, respectively) does nothing more than further muddy narrative waters, and the show really demands a more satisfying conclusion. Despite this disappointment, Children Of The Stones continues to hold the attention, primarily because of the audacious plot. If the concepts are far-fetched, they are never less than interesting, and worth revisiting.