The life of a young suburban housewife is transformed through a series of mishaps when her husband gives her a gun...
Although probably best remembered for the controversial and groundbreaking dramas Scum, Made in Britain and The Firm, the breadth of Alan Clarke's radical, political, innovative, inspirational work, along with his influence on generations of filmmakers, such as Gus Van Sant, Paul Greengrass, Andrea Arnold, Harmony Korine, Clio Barnard, Shane Meadows, should see him rightly regarded as one of Britain's greatest ever filmmaking talents. This long-overdue box set brings together all of the surviving stand-alone BBC TV dramas that Alan Clarke directed between 1969- 1977, including such neglected classics as Horace, Penda's Fen, Diane and Funny Farm, as well as the infamous Scum, which was banned for 14 years. Extensive extras include David Leland introductions, extracts from BBC discussion show Tonight, newly-produced documentaries and audio commentaries and the BBC Arena documentary When is a Play Not a Play?
Raw, violent and shocking, Scum is a compelling story set in a contemporary Borstal.
Meantime, made in 1983, was only Mike Leigh's second film to reach the big screen, though by now he was far from a novice director. Yet 10 years after his first movie, Bleak Moments (1971), he couldn't get funding for a single cinematic feature and was obliged to make films for television. Meantime, first shown on Channel 4, was given a limited theatrical release, heralding his eventual return to the cinema. The title is a double-edged pun. It suggests the waiting-around no-time-in-particular that the characters inhabit, but it's also Leigh's barbed comment on the mean-spirited politics of the Thatcher era, when millions of people were tossed on the scrapheap of unemployment. Leigh has sometimes been accused of caricaturing and being condescending to his characters, but Meantime is notable for wry compassion in its portrayal of a bunch of no-hopers stuck in their East End limbo. Not a lot happens. Mark (Phil Daniels) and his retarded brother Colin (Tim Roth) hang about the streets and pubs, banter with their skinhead mate Coxy (Gary Oldman), half-heartedly chat up local girls, bicker with their parents. Their aunt Barbara--who bettered herself and moved to the relative poshness of Chigwell--offers Colin a job helping her decorate, but he backs out of it. Nobody's going anywhere much. But the view's not totally forlorn. Leigh leaves us with a brief, unexpected moment of warmth and solidarity between the two brothers. On the DVD: It's paltry stuff. A so-called "trailer" proves to be a plug for other DVD releases in the same series. Otherwise it's just a scene menu, and English subtitles for the hard of hearing. The early 80s TV-quality images are badly shown up by the DVD's visual acuity. --Philip Kemp
An old, old story as told circa 1980, Breaking Glass, written and directed by Brian Gibson, follows the path of Stardust not to mention A Star is Born and most other films about showbusiness, by following the rise of a talented young hopeful who learns that success comes with strings. Kate Crowley (Hazel O'Connor) begins as a bleached New Wave ranter, fly-posting on the tube and yelling songs about dehumanisation over fascist chants in rowdy pubs, but ends up a stoned glam zombie dressed as a robot, packaging her anger for the benefit of corporate music biz baddies and retreating to a sanatorium. The plot may be familiar, but the film still works, thanks to persuasive central performances from O'Connor, who wrote her own songs and shows real acting muscle that sadly didn't lead to anything like a film career, and Phil Daniels as her hustling manager/boyfriend/conscience. The fine supporting cast includes Jon Finch and Jonathan Pryce as a Bond villain-style record producer and a deaf junkie sax player, with glimpses of later perennials such as Jim Broadbent and Richard Griffiths. Made and set at the start of the 1980s, it catches its times exactly: a "Rock Against 1984" outdoor gig that turns into a riot, a routine police harrassment of a band rehearsal, a power cut that transforms a concert into a before-its-time "unplugged" session. Credits trivia: the executive producer was Dodi al Fayed. On the DVD: A nice letterboxed transfer looks a bit soft and grainy--but that's the way it's supposed to be. The only extras are cribbed-from-the-IMDB filmographies, a trailer with a wonderfully unconvincing narration and an image gallery (posters, ads and stills). --Kim Newman
When local hero turned World Championship boxer returns to Midsomer a series of murders begin. Looking for a motive as well as the truth proves more difficult than ever and the murders continue... Nothing is as it seems behind the well-trimmed hedgers of the picturesque cottages in the idyllic English country of Midsomer. Beneath the tranquil surface of sleepy village life exist dark secrets scandals and downright evil. John Nettles stars as the humorous thoughtful and methodical Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
Raw, violent and shocking, Scum is a compelling story set in a contemporary Borstal.
Raw, violent and shocking, Scum is a compelling story set in a contemporary Borstal. It tells of life in an institution run by violence and brutality rather than reason, where the boy who can fight his way to the top of the heap and reign as 'Daddy' will gain the respect of the inmates and sadistic 'screws' alike. One of the most controversial films ever made in the UK, and one which caused a furore when it was first screened on TV, 'Scum' stars Ray Winstone as Carlin, the one man prepared t...
Jimmy is a teenager growing up in the first half of the 1960's; he rides through London on his scooter, pops pills, is mad about rock and roll and wears a Parka and Levis, nothing to extraordinary about that. But Jimmy's life comes to an aggressive climax during a violent Holiday weekend controntation between Mods and Rockers on Brighton beach. Special Features: Exclusive Artwork and Artcards
Meantime centres on a East End family the Pollacks - Mavis Frank and their sons Mark and Colin - and their experience of unemployment poverty and life in early 1980s Britain. When Colin comes under the influence of skinhead Coxy and when Mavis's better off sister Barbara offers Colin work family tensions erupt into conflict. Mike Leigh's first independent film for five years has a superb cast of rising stars including Gary Oldman Alfred Molina Tim Roth and Phil Daniels. First shown on television it is a memorable and closely observed account of life in Thatcher's Britain.
""We are the mods we are the mods we are we are we are the mods"" London 1964: two rival youth cults emerge - the mods and the rockers - with explosive consequences. For Jimmy (Phil Daniels) and his sharp-suited pill-popping scooter-riding mates being a mod is a way of life. It's their generation. Together they head off to Brighton for an orgy of drugs thrills and violent confrontation against the rockers. Jimmy never wants to stray from his maxim: ""I don't wanna be
Titles Comprise: Long Good Friday: In the savage and deadly world of the gangland king the man at the top is ruler but only as long as he controls everything in his territory. For that man the rewards can be infinate but so are the dangers. Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) is enjoying the height of his powers and he is on the verge of something which would make his current 'arrangements' small fry. But stronger forces than even he can control have moved in and taken over. Climaxing in one long bloody day of terror an Easter Good Friday he is to see his empire begin to crack and crumble. Withnail & I London. The '60s. Two unemployed actors-acerbic elegantly wasted Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and the anxiety-ridden I (Paul McGann) - drown their frustrations in booze pills and lighter fluid. When Withnail's Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths) offers his cottage they escape the squalor of their flat for a week in the country but soon realise they've gone on holiday by mistake when their wits - and friendship - are sorely tested by violent downpours less-than-hospitable locals and empty cupboards. An intelligent superbly acted and hilarious film. Freebird: Three London motorcycle couriers Fred (Gary Stretch) Tyg (Geoff Bell) and Grouch (Phil Daniels) set off from the capital in search of an elusive hippy and his cannabis farm in the Welsh mountains. Originally intended as a nice weekend in the country Fred has now found himself making a promise to his old friend the Chairman that whatever situations arise he will not return empty handed. Grouch has also made a promise that come Monday morning he'll be moving himself and his belongings into his new found love Lucinda's flat and finally making an attempt at the world of serious relationships. As for Tyg no such pact. This is a man who's never been further than the outskirts of London and as far as he's concerned an industrial unit near Heathrow Airport is pretty much the back of beyond. No Tyg's out to explore; to broaden his horizons; to lose any ignorance and soak up the hospitality of another nation. But what are those wild beast noises coming from the woods and why are there two gangs of bikers in the area about to settle an old score? Throw in a seven foot masked lovesick Russian wrestler and things could really get out of hand. That said it may also have something to do with the wild mushrooms they had for breakfast. It's a three and a half hour journey from London to the Welsh mountains but for Fred Tyg and Grouch it's just about to turn into the trip of a lifetime.
From the creator of Wallace & Gromit, the animated tale of chickens planning their great escape from a 1950s chicken farm.
Scum (1979): Raw, violent and shocking, Scum is a compelling story set in a contemporary Borstal. It tells of life in an institution run by violence and brutality rather than reason, where the boy who can fight his way to the top of the heap and reign as 'Daddy' will gain the respect of the inmates and sadistic 'screws' alike. One of the most controversial films ever made in the UK, and one which caused a huge furore when it was first screened on TV, Scum s...
Three motorcycle couriers take an impromptu road trip out of the city and in to rural Wales.
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