Pride

Last Update: 05 Oct 2004 (You need a browser capable of viewing tables to see this page properly)

 

Pride is a poignant and thrilling adventure about family and growing up ...

from directly inside the lion's den.

 

Kate Winslet heads the cast of celebrated international talent as the voice

of the young, rebellious Suki, with Sean Bean as Dark, her dangerous yet

magnetic suitor, and Helen Mirren as Suki's mother Macheeba, the wise

matriarch of the pride. Rupert Graves joins the production as Linus,

Suki's brother.

 

The two cubs, Suki and Linus, are young lions on the cusp of adulthood

who, along with their mother Macheeba, are finding their way in the world.

Soon the tranquility of the pride is cruelly disturbed by an attack from a

group of lions recently moved in to the land across the river.

 

Pride follows Suki and Linus through adventure after adventure, ultimately

uncovering them as two youngsters dealing with hopes, fears, love and pain,

and coming to grips with the realities of adult life.

 

Click on the thumnails to see larger pix of Sean recording the voice of "Dark" Thanks to Lori for these screen grabs from the Pride DVD.

 

Shot on location in South Africa and England, this two-hour A&E Original

film utilizes a revolutionary cinematic device known as a boulder-cam to

capture the wild beasts from only inches away. Pride combines cutting-edge

computer images with actual habituated lions, all to depict the very human

traits of real lions in a close community.

 

Sean provided the voice of Dark in three sessions recorded in 2003.

 

John Downer (who made the acclaimed documentary Lions: Spy in the Den),

is one of the world's most prominent natural history film makers. He teamed

up with leading television writer Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, How Do

You Want Me, Beast) to create the captivating live action tale.

 

Click on the thumnails to see larger pix of Sean recording the voice of "Dark" Thanks to Lori for these screen grabs from the Pride DVD.

 

Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, says: "Pride, like

The Canterbury Tales, is part of a growing slate of original, ambitious

pieces for BBC ONE that work alongside our new and established popular

dramas."

 

"It fuses the BBC's core strengths with our desire to extend drama into

new areas."

 

With the aid of computer manipulated images as well as some habituated

lions, Pride depicts the almost human traits of real lions in a close

community. Family, love and loyalty are tested in a conflict with another

pride of marauding wanderers over ultimate control of the Pride lands.

 

Click on the thumnails to see larger pix of Sean recording the voice of "Dark" Thanks to Lori for these screen grabs from the Pride DVD.

 

Simon Nye, best known for penning sharp comedies but also responsible for

bringing the cherished childrens series The Railway Children and Pollyanna to

television, understands the need for engaging family programmes:

 

"I've got four children so I wanted to write something we could all sit down

and enjoy together. Pride is a rip-roaring tale, a fusion of comedy, drama

and natural history."

 

"This genre is a completely new thing for television, in the manner of Babe,

using real animals and animation techniques," says John Downer.

 

"The main story focuses on a pride of lions, fantastic unique animals, who

live in human type set-ups. They defend each other and form allegiances.

It's more biologically accurate than The Lion King, and the starting point is

natural history."

 

Pride, which was shot in lush African savannah in 2003, is a BBC and A&E

Networks co-production, in association with ProSieben and John Downer

Productions.

 

The director is John Downer, the producer is Christopher Hall (The Hound of

the Baskervilles, The Lost World), and the executive producers are John

Downer, Simon Curtis, Laurie Mackie, Head of BBC Drama Serials and

Delia Fine for A&E.

 

The world-renowned Jim Henson's Creature Shop is responsible for the

animation.

 

Visit the Pride Press Archive

Visit A&E's Pride website

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS:

Sean Bean Helen Mirren Rupert Graves Kate Winslet Martin Freeman John Hurt Kwame Kwei-Armah Robbie Coltrane Jim Broadbent

Dark Macheeba Linus Suki Fleck Harry Lush Eddie James

PRODUCTION CREDITS:

Executive Producers

John Downer, Simon Curtis, Laurie Mackie, Head of BBC Drama Serials (BBC One) and Delia Fine for A&E

Producer Director Writer Cinematography Animation Film Editor Music by Running time Transmission date DVD

Christopher Hall John Downer Simon Nye Michael W. Richards Jim Henson's Creature Shop Stuart Napier George Fenton 2 hours June 21, 2004 A&E (US and Canada) 07 Sep 2004 (BBC Video) (Region 1) 27 Dec 2004 (BBC Video) (Region 2)

x

Return to Films & TV Return to The Compleat Sean Bean Main Page