Akenfield dvd and blu ray a film by peter hall based on ronald blythe's acclaimed oral history book akenfield portrait of an english village, peter hall's long un seen, extraordinary film offers a lyrical yet authentic depiction of british pastoral life. Akenfield tells the story of a farming family who have lived for generations in the bucolic suffolk village of the film's title. Real life local farmer garrow shand gives a compelling naturalistic central performance, in three roles, as farmhand tom rouse, his father and grandfather a lineage which has experienced hardship, happiness and love, and struggled with the pressures of mechanisation, world war and shifting social mores. A profoundly romantic work of sublime poetic realism, akenfield boasts compelling performances from its cast of non professional actors drawn from the living communities of several suffolk villages and a sweeping, rhapsodic orchestral score composed by michael tippett fantasia concertante on a theme by corelli. Special features brand new 4k digital restoration by the bfi national archive akenfield revisited rex pyke, 2004, 39 mins making of documentary with extensive interviews akenfield on location 1973, 19 mins 16mm footage capturing the film's production on set interview with ronald blythe 1973, 3 mins interview filmed on the first day of production an interview with sir peter hall 2004, 12 mins an interview with the film's director an interview with garrow shand 2004, 11 mins an interview with the film s star an interview with ronald blythe 2004, 15 mins an interview with the acclaimed writer an interview with rex pyke 2016, 37 mins newly filmed interview with the film's producer akenfield cast and crew interview at the national film theatre 2004, 27 mins on stage interview, presented with original mute 16mm location footage production stills gallery 4 mins fully illustrated booklet with essays by sir peter hall and ronald blythe uk 1974 colour english language, with optional hard of hearing subtitles 98 minutes original aspect ratio 2.351 bd50 1080p 24fps pcm mono audio 48k 24 bit region free dvd9 pal dolby digital 2.0 mono 192kbps region 0 running time 98 minutes region region 2 release date 25 07 2016