Sixties British working-class films.

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Ghostworld, Jun 10, 2017.

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  1. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Haven't we all . ;)
     
  2. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Watched Straw Dogs the other night. Hopefully not a Coen brothers remake, perfect as it is.
     
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  3. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Robert Redford was going to star in this, but pulled out.
     
  4. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    That's been over a year now you said the same thing in 2017, not much of a gumshoe. :D
     
  5. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    The Family Way ( Pau McCartney soundtrack )
    Working class drama/romance.
     
  6. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    1971, has working class characters though.
     
  7. MortSahlFan

    MortSahlFan Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    Many favorites of mine have already been mentioned, but my very favorite is "Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner".

    As well as many movies by
    Ken Loach
    Mike Leigh
     
  8. Graham

    Graham Senior Member

    Location:
    Perth, Australia
    And it’s already been remade. As usual, apparently it was complete bollocks.
     
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  9. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Country setting gives it a sixties vibe.
     
  10. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Bleak Moments (1971)was Mike Leigh's first film.
     
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  11. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Doesn't sound like that in real life.
     
  12. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    Have to admit that I think there's only a fine line between between some of the early Carry Ons and some of Mike Leigh's work - same lovable working class families and the godawful middle class ones.

    I love Saturday Night Sunday Morning, Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Room at the Top, Billy Liar and Taste of Honey. Of Loach's films, I prefer Sweet Sixteen, Hidden Agenda, Kes, Angel's Share, My Name is Joe, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (granted, not really the same kind of film), Land of Freedom (ditto), Riff-Raff and I, Daniel Blake, apart from the bloody awful acting of the male lead. Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur is also good, but you get to the point with some of these films where you just tick off the generic tropes. Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank is another I quite like. I kinda draw the line at This is England, as I would imagine, anyone who'd been on the receiving end of a beating from skinhead thugs in the 70s.

    It's interesting the way the 'angry young man' films have been praised for their revolutionary approach whereas in reality, the films reflect elements of Italian Neo-Realism, French New Wave and the American cinema (often crime movies) of the 50s with their use of actual locations and jazz-inflected soundtracks. What they did do was to put working class characters front and centre, where in the past, they had largely been seen in supporting roles or in crime films or as comedy relief.
     
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  13. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Seen- A For Andromeda(1961) -the other day not really working class but stars Julie Christie.
     
    Last edited: Aug 8, 2018
  14. MortSahlFan

    MortSahlFan Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I love the Italian neo-realism.. The thing I liked most about "I, Daniel Blake" was that it was the first good movie to critique the problems with modern-life.
     
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  15. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    I watched "The Entertainer" on FilmStruck last week. I thought it was Mike Leigh before Mike Leigh
     
  16. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    Everybody's mentioning Susan George (and rightfully so !)
    But nobody's mentioned Judy Geeson !!! Oooh la la ...
     
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  17. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Yeah he was a actor first.
     
  18. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Here we go...... :D
     
  19. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Contemporary working class /kitchen sink? Can't get anymore realistic than
    Fish Tank.
     
  20. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    I'd say it's one person's view of a 'realistic' portrayal of working class life to make a more interesting movie rather than a realistic portrayal. The notion that all working class families have lives like this doesn't tie in with my own experience, though I'm not denying there are those with similar issues. I do think there is a left-leaning middle class critical view in the UK which gets off on that kind of view of working class life. My left-leaning view is that it reinforces the prejudices of the thoughtless. I suspect that when Daniel Blake was released part of the moronic criticism of it (in the UK) had to do with the fact he was a nice guy who gave a damn and those critics (I don't want to get into politics here, but if you're not sure, look it up) don't like to own up to the fact that there are way more people like Blake out there and they don't get a fair deal.
     
  21. MortSahlFan

    MortSahlFan Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    "Fish Tank" sounds interesting, I'll try to watch it soon. I like movies about isolation, they tend to be good.
     
  22. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    It was. I picked up a BD of the remake from Poundland a few months ago. That’s about all it’s worth.
     
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  23. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
    There's an obscure little caper film called Calculated Risk (1963) that kinda sorta fits the Kitchen Sink mold, in that all the characters are working class petty criminals. One of the things I like about it is its ear for dialogue, which feels genuine, and the acting is also effectively naturalistic. The only reason I know about this movie is because George Martin wrote the music (his second film score) and in doing research in London a few years back I went to the British Film Institute to watch a 35mm print on a moviola. I expected it to be awful but turned out it's pretty good. Available to watch on Fandor now, apparently.
     
  24. Robert Thomas

    Robert Thomas Baron Cello

    Location:
    Rugby UK
    The Family Way must be one of the most underrated films ever made, Marjorie Rhodes and John Mills are brilliantly funny as Hwyel Bennett's parents.
     
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  25. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Been meaning to get the blu ray.
     
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