Yet the ordinariness of the residents, highlighted through their humour, hypocrisy and carnal desires, ensures that the village remains a credible place, albeit viewed in a state of heightened reality, as though the audience is learning of its lively secrets through 90 minutes of intimate and lyrical gossip.

This is largely divulged through passages recited by Richard Burton who starred as the 'first voice' for the play's debut when it was broadcast by BBC Radio in 1954, two months after Dylan Thomas' death. He reprised this central role for the film version, delivering a more strident performance darkened by a sneering contempt for the world which his character examines. His then-wife, Elizabeth Taylor, appears at her most beautiful and the 'Who's Who' of a cast also includes Peter O'Toole, Victor Spinetti and a youthful David Jason.

DID YOU KNOW?
	The village in Under Milk Wood is called Llareggub, which spelt backwards hints at Thomas's mischievous approach to the play.   All the characters in the play are based on real people whom Thomas knew in Wales.   Peter O'Toole also starred in Rebecca's Daughters (Karl Francis, 1991) which was based on a screenplay that Dylan Thomas wrote in 1948.

The true star of the film, however, remains its poetic, vibrant language. Director Andrew Sinclair wisely allows the visuals to operate subserviently to Thomas's words, complementing these with scenes veering from surreality to sentimental romance and broad comedy.

Dylan Thomas, idolised by Richard Burton and generally considered Wales's greatest poet, died while working on Under Milk Wood. Fifty years after he first wrote about the vivid villagers immortalised in his final play, Andrew Sinclair's sensitive and entertaining version stands as a fitting memorial to this remarkable talent.

Gavin Collinson