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20 years before 'kitchen sink' came into vogue was this serious, committed film about life up north in a mining community. Based on AJ Cronin's novel this is a deeply affecting drama focusing on a small village's utterly reliance on the nearby coal pits and the consequences of their employer's amoral greed. The Stars Look Down is a heartfelt and influential film. find out more...

The story of a miner who becomes a champion rugby player, but who can't overcome his violent and aggressive personality, which ruins his personal life as he wins his way to success. Rugby League football as a metaphor for the rat race and real passion in the tormented affair between Harris's inarticulate demanding miner/footballer and his dowdily uncomprehending landlady. One of the great films produced by the English "realist" movement of the 50s/60s. find out more...

Movie version of the BBC TV 'Wednesday Play' that first addresses some of the major social issues of the day. A girl from a rich family in Chelsea is bored and decides to go slummingm it in depressed Battersea. She gets a flat, starts working in a factory and makes new friends. At the time of release, this portrait of the issues of increasingly liberal England was considered radical, tackling issues of abortion and a candid portrait of the burgeoning counter-culture. Dennis Waterman gives an out find out more...