As a 14-year-old boy from a mining community, he won a Bafta for his role in Ken Loach’s bleak film Kes. He explains why the sequel never got off the ground
David Bradley wants to meet in Barnsley. This is where he grew up. It is where Kes, the film that changed his life, was made, and where he still lives. He is waiting for me in the middle of the road as I come out of the station, waving exuberantly. He then drives me a few miles south to the village of Tankersley. It was here, in 1965, that author Barry Hines’s younger brother, Richard, trained a kestrel, homing her in the air-raid shelter at the bottom of Barry’s garden. Richard wanted to call her Kessy; Barry suggested Kes.
Related: Kes – review
Continue reading...
David Bradley wants to meet in Barnsley. This is where he grew up. It is where Kes, the film that changed his life, was made, and where he still lives. He is waiting for me in the middle of the road as I come out of the station, waving exuberantly. He then drives me a few miles south to the village of Tankersley. It was here, in 1965, that author Barry Hines’s younger brother, Richard, trained a kestrel, homing her in the air-raid shelter at the bottom of Barry’s garden. Richard wanted to call her Kessy; Barry suggested Kes.
Related: Kes – review
Continue reading...
- 10/27/2016
- by Alex Godfrey
- The Guardian - Film News
Louise Osmond’s documentary is an engrossing study of this mild-mannered giant of British social realism
Louise Osmond’s documentary tribute to Ken Loach could not have been better timed. His powerful, simple new movie, I, Daniel Blake, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and underlined a colossal international reputation. It’s an engrossing study of this gentle, mild-mannered director with a core of steely determination, who made his bones (as they say in Hollywood) in the BBC of the 1960s, which gave a new generation of working-class writers and film-makers their chance. This has excellent contributions from Tony Garnett and Alan Parker, though it could have given more space to the late Barry Hines, the novelist and screenwriter with whom Loach worked on Kes and other films. Loach emerges as diffident and almost donnish in interviews, although his uncuddly side is revealed in his continuing anger about the...
Louise Osmond’s documentary tribute to Ken Loach could not have been better timed. His powerful, simple new movie, I, Daniel Blake, won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and underlined a colossal international reputation. It’s an engrossing study of this gentle, mild-mannered director with a core of steely determination, who made his bones (as they say in Hollywood) in the BBC of the 1960s, which gave a new generation of working-class writers and film-makers their chance. This has excellent contributions from Tony Garnett and Alan Parker, though it could have given more space to the late Barry Hines, the novelist and screenwriter with whom Loach worked on Kes and other films. Loach emerges as diffident and almost donnish in interviews, although his uncuddly side is revealed in his continuing anger about the...
- 6/2/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
As a teacher there were three literary passages that forced me to work hard at maintaining my composure while reading them aloud in class. First, that moment in To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout Finch regains consciousness and says “Hey, Boo” to the neighbour who saved her life. Second, when Macbeth realises all that he has lost in his “troops of friends” speech towards the end of his life. And, just as powerful, that bleak scene in A Kestrel for a Knave when Billy Casper, after discovering his brother’s killing of Kes, takes flight to the wrecked cinema because that’s where he knew happiness and security with his absent father.
Barry Hines (Obituary, 21 March) vividly captured the unvarnished realities of a working-class adolescence in his great book: the futility of school life, the good and bad teachers, the untapped potential and curiosity in boys too easily dismissed by the system,...
Barry Hines (Obituary, 21 March) vividly captured the unvarnished realities of a working-class adolescence in his great book: the futility of school life, the good and bad teachers, the untapped potential and curiosity in boys too easily dismissed by the system,...
- 3/23/2016
- by Letters
- The Guardian - Film News
Special Mention: Un chien andalou
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Written by Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel
France, 1929
Genre: Experimental Short
The dream – or nightmare – has been a staple of horror cinema for decades. In 1929, Luis Bunuel joined forces with Salvador Dali to create Un chien andalou, an experimental and unforgettable 17-minute surrealist masterpiece. Buñuel famously said that he and Dalí wrote the film by telling one another their dreams. The film went on to influence the horror genre immensely. After all, even as manipulative as the “dream” device is, it’s still a proven way to jolt an audience. Just ask Wes Craven, who understood this bit of cinematic psychology when he dreamt of the central force behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film intended to be an exploration of surreal horror. David Lynch is contemporary cinema’s most devoted student of Un chien andalou – the severed ear at...
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Written by Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel
France, 1929
Genre: Experimental Short
The dream – or nightmare – has been a staple of horror cinema for decades. In 1929, Luis Bunuel joined forces with Salvador Dali to create Un chien andalou, an experimental and unforgettable 17-minute surrealist masterpiece. Buñuel famously said that he and Dalí wrote the film by telling one another their dreams. The film went on to influence the horror genre immensely. After all, even as manipulative as the “dream” device is, it’s still a proven way to jolt an audience. Just ask Wes Craven, who understood this bit of cinematic psychology when he dreamt of the central force behind A Nightmare on Elm Street, a film intended to be an exploration of surreal horror. David Lynch is contemporary cinema’s most devoted student of Un chien andalou – the severed ear at...
- 10/28/2015
- by Ricky Fernandes
- SoundOnSight
Every year, we here at Sound On Sight celebrate the month of October with 31 Days of Horror; and every year, I update the list of my favourite horror films ever made. Last year, I released a list that included 150 picks. This year, I’ll be upgrading the list, making minor alterations, changing the rankings, adding new entries, and possibly removing a few titles. I’ve also decided to publish each post backwards this time around for one reason: that is, the new additions appear lower on my list, whereas my top 50 haven’t changed much, except for maybe in ranking. Enjoy!
Special Mention:
Outer Space
Written and directed by Peter Tscherkassky
Austria, 2000
Outer Space has gained a reputation over the years as being a key experimental film alongside the works of such legends as Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. Horror buffs will recognise the actress in the short as Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey.
Special Mention:
Outer Space
Written and directed by Peter Tscherkassky
Austria, 2000
Outer Space has gained a reputation over the years as being a key experimental film alongside the works of such legends as Stan Brakhage and Michael Snow. Horror buffs will recognise the actress in the short as Oscar nominee Barbara Hershey.
- 10/13/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
Throughout the month of October, Editor-in-Chief and resident Horror expert Ricky D, will be posting a list of his favorite Horror films of all time. The list will be posted in six parts. Click here to see every entry.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
As with all lists, this is personal and nobody will agree with every choice – and if you do, that would be incredibly disturbing. It was almost impossible for me to rank them in order, but I tried and eventually gave up.
****
Special Mention:
Shock Corridor
Directed by Samuel Fuller
Written by Samuel Fuller
1963, USA
Shock Corridor stars Peter Breck as Johnny Barrett, an ambitious reporter who wants to expose the killer at the local insane asylum. In order to solve the case, he must pretend to be insane so they have him committed. Once in the asylum, Barrett sets to work, interrogating the other patients and keeping a close eye on the staff.
- 10/28/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Ken Loach's new film The Angels' Share is one of the big contenders at Cannes. Will its star – Glaswegian binman Gary Maitland – finally give up the day job?
Like many people, Gary Maitland juggles two jobs. For both, he must wake at 6.30am. But it's only when he's working as a movie star that he gets chauffeur-driven to work. South Lanarkshire council does not, as yet, extend this service to its binmen.
The Glaswegian's days of merely moonlighting on the big screen – he has already appeared in two Ken Loach films – look to be drawing to a close, though. This week, he will emerge into the limelight: his latest collaboration with Loach, The Angels' Share, is in competition at the Cannes film festival, and he will be there to promote it.
Maitland has been to France before, travelling through by coach to see Rangers play in the Netherlands. This...
Like many people, Gary Maitland juggles two jobs. For both, he must wake at 6.30am. But it's only when he's working as a movie star that he gets chauffeur-driven to work. South Lanarkshire council does not, as yet, extend this service to its binmen.
The Glaswegian's days of merely moonlighting on the big screen – he has already appeared in two Ken Loach films – look to be drawing to a close, though. This week, he will emerge into the limelight: his latest collaboration with Loach, The Angels' Share, is in competition at the Cannes film festival, and he will be there to promote it.
Maitland has been to France before, travelling through by coach to see Rangers play in the Netherlands. This...
- 5/15/2012
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
In our writers' favourite film series, Simon Hattenstone finds real meaning in Ken Loach's film about a boy and a kestrel
Are your feathers ruffled by this review? Then write your own here or take flight to the comments section below
We didn't come from a very filmy family. I'd only seen two movies before Kes. One was The Poseidon Adventure – all I can remember is going in my pyjamas (I was ill) and being cold – and the other the film of Steptoe and Son. It was a friend's birthday, and I think (my memory might be playing a sick trick here) Albert Steptoe takes a bath in a tin tub and I found it weirdly thrilling.
Then came Kes. By now I was 12 years old, and at a special school, Crumpsall Open Air – or, as we pupils called it, Crumpsall Open Air for Mongs (no, I won't attempt...
Are your feathers ruffled by this review? Then write your own here or take flight to the comments section below
We didn't come from a very filmy family. I'd only seen two movies before Kes. One was The Poseidon Adventure – all I can remember is going in my pyjamas (I was ill) and being cold – and the other the film of Steptoe and Son. It was a friend's birthday, and I think (my memory might be playing a sick trick here) Albert Steptoe takes a bath in a tin tub and I found it weirdly thrilling.
Then came Kes. By now I was 12 years old, and at a special school, Crumpsall Open Air – or, as we pupils called it, Crumpsall Open Air for Mongs (no, I won't attempt...
- 12/2/2011
- by Simon Hattenstone
- The Guardian - Film News
Long time readers of the site will have seen this before as I’m reposting my love letter to Stephen Volk’s Ghostwatch on the occasion of Hallowe’en. A year shy of its twentieth anniversary it remains a landmark of paranormal drama and has just been reissued on DVD at a ridiculously low price.
Things have changed since the initial (and only) BBC broadcast. Reality TV has infected almost every aspect of television and Most Haunted and the recent Paranormal Activity films simply would not exist without it. Familiarity with the presenters may have made he suspension of disbelief a little difficult initially but nineteen years on there is no such problem.
Ghostwatch joins The War Game, Orson Welles’ Hallowe’en broadcast of War of the Worlds, and the Us TV programmes Special Bulletin and Without Warning as moments in broadcast history which signalled a shift in what was possible,...
Things have changed since the initial (and only) BBC broadcast. Reality TV has infected almost every aspect of television and Most Haunted and the recent Paranormal Activity films simply would not exist without it. Familiarity with the presenters may have made he suspension of disbelief a little difficult initially but nineteen years on there is no such problem.
Ghostwatch joins The War Game, Orson Welles’ Hallowe’en broadcast of War of the Worlds, and the Us TV programmes Special Bulletin and Without Warning as moments in broadcast history which signalled a shift in what was possible,...
- 10/31/2011
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon.
Ken Loach's calling card has remained one of the most revered British films since its release in 1969, and looks better than ever in its new print. A lyrical but heart-breaking adaptation of Barry Hines' mainstay of the English classroom, A Kestrel For A Knave, the film cleaves close to the book in many regards but also indelibly sets out its director's stall and style, examining socio-political concerns with the authentic air of a documentarian while never neglecting the human drama of a...
Ken Loach's calling card has remained one of the most revered British films since its release in 1969, and looks better than ever in its new print. A lyrical but heart-breaking adaptation of Barry Hines' mainstay of the English classroom, A Kestrel For A Knave, the film cleaves close to the book in many regards but also indelibly sets out its director's stall and style, examining socio-political concerns with the authentic air of a documentarian while never neglecting the human drama of a...
- 9/16/2011
- by David Graham
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Forty-two years on, Ken Loach's social-realist tragedy about a boy who trains a kestrel is still transcendentally powerful
Ken Loach's social-realist tragedy from 1969 looks more luminous, more impassioned than ever, a rich film of flesh and blood. Perhaps, 42 years on, now is the time to restore the co-authorial status of Barry Hines, who adapted his own novel and gave Loach such a great story to work with. Non-professional David Bradley plays Billy Casper, the lad with the unforgettably pinched, shrewd, hungry face at the Barnsley comp where brutal teachers cane kids for things they haven't done. The poster famously shows Billy flicking a V-sign, but that's something he never does in the film, his defiance being more complex. Billy discovers a wild kestrel and realises he can train it: like a Tudor emblem of underdog ambition and power. The scene where Colin Welland's kindly teacher coaxes him...
Ken Loach's social-realist tragedy from 1969 looks more luminous, more impassioned than ever, a rich film of flesh and blood. Perhaps, 42 years on, now is the time to restore the co-authorial status of Barry Hines, who adapted his own novel and gave Loach such a great story to work with. Non-professional David Bradley plays Billy Casper, the lad with the unforgettably pinched, shrewd, hungry face at the Barnsley comp where brutal teachers cane kids for things they haven't done. The poster famously shows Billy flicking a V-sign, but that's something he never does in the film, his defiance being more complex. Billy discovers a wild kestrel and realises he can train it: like a Tudor emblem of underdog ambition and power. The scene where Colin Welland's kindly teacher coaxes him...
- 9/8/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Long Shadows: The Late Work of Satyajit Ray opens this evening and runs through April 26 at the Film Society of Lincoln Center: "Of special interest is Home and the World [1984; image above], his final, wonderful adaptation of a work by his mentor, Rabindranath Tagore (whose 150th anniversary we celebrate this year), as well as his final, luminous work, The Stranger, an extraordinary summing up of so much of Ray's worldview graced with a sensational lead performance by Utpal Dutt." Plus, "we asked some friends of the Film Society: what film would you recommend seeing, and why?" Meantime, Paul Brunick posts a roundup on Distant Thunder (1973) at Alt Screen. Update, 4/20: Salman Rushdie for the Fslc on The Golden Fortress (1974): "The film is a true delight and the moment when the Golden Fortress is discovered — when it is revealed not to be a child's fantasy but a real place, shimmering on...
- 4/20/2011
- MUBI
Kes Quick Thoughts:
Just who is Ken Loach? What are his films about? Why is he so highly regarded? Honestly, I can't answer these questions without any great amount of knowledge, but after watching Criterion's treatment of Loach's second feature film, Kes, I'm beginning to have a greater understanding of the man and why Loach has remained a director appreciated by many since the mid-1960s.
Last year at the Cannes Film Festival I saw my first Ken Loach film, Route Irish. Kes was my second, and considering the British Film Institute named it the seventh best British film of the century my expectations were quite high.
To begin with, you are most likely going to want to turn on the subtitles for this one. The Yorkshire accents are so strong in the opening scene I couldn't understand a word. Things improve as you go along, but the dialect adds to the difficulty.
Just who is Ken Loach? What are his films about? Why is he so highly regarded? Honestly, I can't answer these questions without any great amount of knowledge, but after watching Criterion's treatment of Loach's second feature film, Kes, I'm beginning to have a greater understanding of the man and why Loach has remained a director appreciated by many since the mid-1960s.
Last year at the Cannes Film Festival I saw my first Ken Loach film, Route Irish. Kes was my second, and considering the British Film Institute named it the seventh best British film of the century my expectations were quite high.
To begin with, you are most likely going to want to turn on the subtitles for this one. The Yorkshire accents are so strong in the opening scene I couldn't understand a word. Things improve as you go along, but the dialect adds to the difficulty.
- 4/19/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Billy Liar, a story of smalltown frustration, captivated a generation, pre-empted the 60s – and even inspired Oasis. As the stage play returns, Laura Barton asks Tom Courtenay and Julie Christie why it endures
'I don't think about Billy Liar very often." Tom Courtenay's voice hovers on the line. We have been discussing his upcoming holiday to the north-east coast, splashing about in the warm shallows of the present-day; at this detour into the past, he pauses, and retreats a little. "If I read it now, it would make me laugh," he concludes lightly, distantly. "But I honestly don't know why it's lasted. Who can say why some things are successful?"
It is now 50 years since Keith Waterhouse's novel transferred to the stage, casting in its title role first Albert Finney and later, Courtenay. Published in 1959, Billy Liar has, over those five decades, enjoyed a rich and varied existence,...
'I don't think about Billy Liar very often." Tom Courtenay's voice hovers on the line. We have been discussing his upcoming holiday to the north-east coast, splashing about in the warm shallows of the present-day; at this detour into the past, he pauses, and retreats a little. "If I read it now, it would make me laugh," he concludes lightly, distantly. "But I honestly don't know why it's lasted. Who can say why some things are successful?"
It is now 50 years since Keith Waterhouse's novel transferred to the stage, casting in its title role first Albert Finney and later, Courtenay. Published in 1959, Billy Liar has, over those five decades, enjoyed a rich and varied existence,...
- 9/2/2010
- by Laura Barton
- The Guardian - Film News
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
There are many theories, ideas or should I say 'schools of thought' on how the world would end. At the height of the Cold War, nuclear annihilation ranks at the very top. While others argue it will not be man who will destroy the world (directly) but - an epidemic of global proportions (most probably from a potent strain of virus - think: I am Legend) or severe climactic change (another ice age perhaps? That would be Day After Tommorow right?) or mechanical uprising (The Terminator, anyone?) or even attack from the outside - conquering aliens (Mars Attacks!) or perhaps an asteroid. And let's not forget zombies!
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- - -
- - - Inspired by the upcoming release of Roland Emmerich's latest disaster epic 2012, tMF listed down 10 of the most fascinating 'end of the world' movies.
Before looking at the list, you need to know that it's not based...
- 11/8/2009
- by modelwatcher@gmail.com (Jed Medina)
- The Movie Fanatic
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