Ken Loach - the best of the rest?

[hjs45]

I have seen many of the higher-profile Loach films, including multi-award winning movies such as The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Land and Freedom. I noticed that an 18-disc collection had been brought out of his work and wondered if anyone could recommend a lesser-known film of his?

[batman]

Kes. A wonderful film about a boy and his kestrel, and many other things too. The political thriller Hidden Agenda and the historical drama Black Jack are also worth a look.

Bats.

[hjs45]

Thanks very much, I'll take a look at Kes as soon as I can. Fortunately, here in Barcelona they have taken quite a shine to Mr Loach.

[Steve Crook]

Also, Poor Cow (1967) about life for a young girl in the "swinging sixties" who, with such freedom all around her, continues to make bad choices. Based on the novel by Nell Dunn.

Two episodes of the BBC's Wednesday Play
The Price of Coal: Parts 1 & 2 (1977) based on the Barry Hines novel (same author as Kes).
The first part deals with the nonsense that happens when royalty visits a coal mine. The second part deals with the results of a disaster down t'pit and points out the true price of coal.

The Gamekeeper (1980) based on another Barry Hines novel.
A simple tale of a year in the life of a Gamekeeper. From the troubles involved in rearing the pheasants and dealing with predators (poachers and foxes). The gamekeeper shows us all the good things about living so close to nature. The end of his year comes with the organised shoot. He has the sudden pressure of dealing with a lot of people, (beaters, the guns and "the master") and ensuring that everyone has a good day and stays safe.

Riff-Raff (1990)
Life is harsh, but has moments of humour, for a young working-class couple, a construction worker and his unemployed musician girlfriend

Ken is a British Socialist and very proud of being both those things. Although he will often criticise what he doesn't like about the country and the government. His films, especially the early ones, tend towards the "social realism" style showing the hard, although not always terrible, life for the working class in Britain. Often not a bundle of laughs they were all very well made and many, especially the early ones, were often based on very good novels by great writers like Barry Hines who then joined with Ken to write the screenplay of the film.

Steve

[mushy747]

I am a big fan of Ken Loach and i really enjoyed It's a Free World shown recently on Channel 4.Raining Stones with Ricky Tomlinson and Bruce Jones is good too!
Lyn

[stevie boy]

Originally Posted by mushy747 I am a big fan of Ken Loach and i really enjoyed It's a Free World shown recently on Channel 4.Raining Stones with Ricky Tomlinson and Bruce Jones is good too! Lyn

Raining Stones was just fantastic.

[Bruce]

'The Navigators' is also very good indeed - a forensic examination of the folly of rail privatisation. Bleakly humorous for much of its length, but with a tragic conclusion.