67: Watership Down (1978)

Section 9: The Warren of the Snares

Scripted by Newell Fisher, with script assistance by John Ruths

This section covers from 26 minutes 10 to 29 minutes 20 and the equivalent Chapters from the book are Chapters 13-14 and 16-17

Chapter 15 does not appear in the film.

The dark subdued colours of the last scene are replaced with the orange and purple of the interior of this mysterious new warren.

We see Silver coming down a run. He joins Dandelion further off down another run as the latter comments that the place seems to almost smell of...man.

We see the group arrive in a large underground burrow. We see flayrah, or good quality food grown by humans, on the floor.

And now Cowslip, with Denholm Elliot’s wonderfully offhand manner, expresses politely faked surprise at their arrival.

I think it is Blackberry who comments on what a large warren this is, as the group look around them curiously.

Cowslip brushes past this comment and invites them to help themselves to the flayrah. He says that "the man" leaves fresh roots daily. Or "throws it out" as Cowslip puts it.

This is a large and significant contrast to the book, in which the food is left in a nearby pasture and carried back to the warren.

The ever vigilant Hazel questions this mention of a man, but Cowslip, again, brushes past the question by saying, in his casual offhand manner, that there are plenty of empty burrows for the group to sleep in.

Hazel's next question "Where are all the others?"  elicits an angry reaction from Cowslip. However, he immediately recovers and says they can eat all they like and will be left to themselves.

There is no hint of the friendly hospitality of the book. Here the group will only receive catering.

So now we cut to the other scene, besides Bigwig on the road, that I clearly remember being used to promote this film when it came out in 1978. And no wonder, as it is wonderfully shot.

We see the group feeding from behind. And now, as the camera pulls back,

As Pipkin speaks, the technique that makes this shot so special begins.

First the group are framed by an entrance to the burrow.

And now the camera tracks right to another entrance and now we are seeing the group from the side.

The camera tracks right again, to another entrance. Our view of the group is now nearly from the front.

The camera tracks right again.

We arrive at the last entrance, with a frontal view of the group.

The shot has lasted 30 seconds, a very long duration for a single shot in a cartoon, and is what must have been a very rare animated circular dolly shot.

Cowslip appears again. He says some of the warren rabbits are gathering and suggesting stories.

Silver suggests Hazel tells about their journey and how they came to the warren.

After an awkward pause, Hazel suggests Dandelion tells a story of El-ahrairah.

In the book, of course, this leads to Chapter 15. The Story of the King's Lettuce, but here Cowslip is not so polite. And here we lead straight into this film's equivalent of Chapter 16. Silverweed.

Only here there is no Silverweed the poet. To save time, Cowslip merely refers to him as "one of our poets".

And so Cowslip launches into a sumarised quotation of the poem from the book.

As Cowslip reaches the clear reference to death we see a terrified and disgusted Fiver. And then Fiver is off with "I've had enough!"

We see Fiver making his way towards a hedge-line followed by Hazel.

Fiver has time to say he is going away to the hills, to which Hazel responds he will die. But Fiver says Hazel is closer to death than he is.

Before anything else can be said, Bigwig arrives, again going around the edge of the hedge.

He is instantly angry. With a promise to make sure everyone has had enough of Fiver, as in the book, Bigwig runs off...but through the hedge this time.

And instantly there is a strangled cry...