Director Ken Loach's new film revisits the year that Britons turned to socialism – and ushered in the NHS, public ownership and the concept of public (not private) good. We trace the spirit of '45 and speak to some who remember the dawn of a new life
Ray Davies, robust, articulate and dignified, aged 83, veteran campaigner, a Labour councillor in Caerphilly for 50 years, sits in a Spanish civil war beret and recalls the time, in 1945, when he was 15 and had already worked two years underground in Welsh mines.
"In those days, it wasn't safety that came first, it was coal," he says. "We were in the pit and the message came down – 'Labour's won by a landslide!' Tough, hard miners had tears streaking down their faces, black with dust. They said, 'Ray, this is what we've dreamed about all our lives. Public control of the railways and mines and banks,...
Ray Davies, robust, articulate and dignified, aged 83, veteran campaigner, a Labour councillor in Caerphilly for 50 years, sits in a Spanish civil war beret and recalls the time, in 1945, when he was 15 and had already worked two years underground in Welsh mines.
"In those days, it wasn't safety that came first, it was coal," he says. "We were in the pit and the message came down – 'Labour's won by a landslide!' Tough, hard miners had tears streaking down their faces, black with dust. They said, 'Ray, this is what we've dreamed about all our lives. Public control of the railways and mines and banks,...
- 3/2/2013
- by Yvonne Roberts
- The Guardian - Film News
The success of The Artist and Hugo may spark a renewed interest in prioneering movie magic, but – just as the Kodak Theater is no more – their Oscars shine could fade into cinema history
In accepting her Oscar, Meryl Streep claimed to hear people all over America say: her? Again? Whatever! That might be a good way of describing the form of an Oscar ceremony: the again-whatever syndrome, the final iteration of a consensus that has been exhaustively rehearsed in all the other ceremonies that precede the Academy Awards.
The big win for The Artist – is it a novelty one-off, like the once garlanded and talked-about Life is Beautiful or The Crying Game? Or will it herald a renewed interest in the silent genre? Could it, conceivably, generate a desire among other directors to make silent movies: that is to say, silent movies on some subject other than the death of the silent movie?...
In accepting her Oscar, Meryl Streep claimed to hear people all over America say: her? Again? Whatever! That might be a good way of describing the form of an Oscar ceremony: the again-whatever syndrome, the final iteration of a consensus that has been exhaustively rehearsed in all the other ceremonies that precede the Academy Awards.
The big win for The Artist – is it a novelty one-off, like the once garlanded and talked-about Life is Beautiful or The Crying Game? Or will it herald a renewed interest in the silent genre? Could it, conceivably, generate a desire among other directors to make silent movies: that is to say, silent movies on some subject other than the death of the silent movie?...
- 2/27/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
• Andrew Lansley's interviews on NHS data sharing deal
• Lunchtime summary
• David Cameron on the Merkel/Sarkozy EU plan
• Afternoon summary
9.00am: It's a big day for Europe. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting to thrash out details of a plan that could set up a fiscal union in Europe and may (or may not) lead to some sort of resolution of the debt crisis. But this blog - like the UK - is sitting on the sidelines. My colleague Alex Hawkes will be covering the Merkozy meeting on the business live blog. And I'll be covering events at Westminster, where the most lively before 4pm will be Leveson - The Sequel, a star-studded committee hearing featuring Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and Max Mosley who may well spend an hour telling MPs and peers exactly what they told Leveson.
Here's the diary for the day.
10am: Ed Miliband will campaign in Feltham and Heston,...
• Lunchtime summary
• David Cameron on the Merkel/Sarkozy EU plan
• Afternoon summary
9.00am: It's a big day for Europe. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy are meeting to thrash out details of a plan that could set up a fiscal union in Europe and may (or may not) lead to some sort of resolution of the debt crisis. But this blog - like the UK - is sitting on the sidelines. My colleague Alex Hawkes will be covering the Merkozy meeting on the business live blog. And I'll be covering events at Westminster, where the most lively before 4pm will be Leveson - The Sequel, a star-studded committee hearing featuring Hugh Grant, Steve Coogan and Max Mosley who may well spend an hour telling MPs and peers exactly what they told Leveson.
Here's the diary for the day.
10am: Ed Miliband will campaign in Feltham and Heston,...
- 12/5/2011
- by Andrew Sparrow
- The Guardian - Film News
Patients in NHS hospitals in England have been confronted with a looped video message from health secretary Andrew Lansley. The video can be switched off, but some have criticised the decision to play the clip until patients choose to change it, BBC News reports. On the video, the minister said: "Hello, I'm Andrew Lansley, the health secretary. I just want to take a few moments to say that your care while you're here in hospital really matters to me. "I hope it's as good quality care as we can possibly make it and I do hope you'll join me in thanking all the staff who are looking after you while you're here." The message from Hospedia is played as part of a looped video repeated every three to five minutes in 50,000 hospital beds across the country, though not those in intensive care or emergency wards. Patients can choose (more)...
- 11/22/2011
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
If you think machines have liberated us, think again, says film-maker Adam Curtis. Instead we have lost our vision
It was amateur footage of an event involving an early video game called Pong that gave Adam Curtis the idea for his new documentary series.
In 1991, a computer engineer from California called Loren Carpenter organised a mass experiment in a huge shed. Hundreds of people were each given a paddle, and told nothing. But on a big screen in front of them was projected a game of Pong – a very basic computer game, where a ball is knocked back and forth on a screen, like table tennis. Each half of the audience jointly controlled the bat on their side of the screen; they had to operate it together and, spontaneously and without discussion, they successfully played a game of Pong, whooping and cheering at their collective collaboration.
"It was like a switch went in my head,...
It was amateur footage of an event involving an early video game called Pong that gave Adam Curtis the idea for his new documentary series.
In 1991, a computer engineer from California called Loren Carpenter organised a mass experiment in a huge shed. Hundreds of people were each given a paddle, and told nothing. But on a big screen in front of them was projected a game of Pong – a very basic computer game, where a ball is knocked back and forth on a screen, like table tennis. Each half of the audience jointly controlled the bat on their side of the screen; they had to operate it together and, spontaneously and without discussion, they successfully played a game of Pong, whooping and cheering at their collective collaboration.
"It was like a switch went in my head,...
- 5/6/2011
- by Katharine Viner
- The Guardian - Film News
A focus on famous people risks blurring the message that mental illness can happen to anyone
In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media focused on mental illness. But we don't live in an ideal world, we live in a celebrity culture where Catherine Zeta-Jones being treated for bipolar disorder can soar to the top of news websites' "most viewed", and relegate Andrew Lansley's woes or even David Cameron's pre-election views on immigration.
I am an ambassador for Time to Change, the campaign to change attitudes on mental illness, to break down the stigma and taboo which still surround it. It appears to be having some success: when England cricketer Michael Yardy left the World Cup because of depression, the "pull yourself together ... what has he got to be depressed about?" brigade were in the minority. There is greater understanding, but still stigma.
In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media focused on mental illness. But we don't live in an ideal world, we live in a celebrity culture where Catherine Zeta-Jones being treated for bipolar disorder can soar to the top of news websites' "most viewed", and relegate Andrew Lansley's woes or even David Cameron's pre-election views on immigration.
I am an ambassador for Time to Change, the campaign to change attitudes on mental illness, to break down the stigma and taboo which still surround it. It appears to be having some success: when England cricketer Michael Yardy left the World Cup because of depression, the "pull yourself together ... what has he got to be depressed about?" brigade were in the minority. There is greater understanding, but still stigma.
- 4/14/2011
- by Alastair Campbell
- The Guardian - Film News
The ABC TV show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, follows British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver as he tries to convince residents of a West Virginia community to eat healthier. He begins by proposing a new menu for school lunches.
Oliver started a similar school lunch program in his homeland called School Dinners. According to U.K. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, Oliver's actions have driven the kids away from school food.
He said, "Jamie Oliver, quite rightly, was talking about trying to improve the diet of children in schools and improving school meals, but the net effect was the number of children eating school meals in many of these places didn't go up, it went down. So then the schools said: 'It's Ok to bring packed lunches but we've got to determine what's in the packed lunches.' To which the parents' response was that they...
Oliver started a similar school lunch program in his homeland called School Dinners. According to U.K. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, Oliver's actions have driven the kids away from school food.
He said, "Jamie Oliver, quite rightly, was talking about trying to improve the diet of children in schools and improving school meals, but the net effect was the number of children eating school meals in many of these places didn't go up, it went down. So then the schools said: 'It's Ok to bring packed lunches but we've got to determine what's in the packed lunches.' To which the parents' response was that they...
- 7/5/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.