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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 17, 2020 15:26:45 GMT
Had a look at BBC4's schedule for the week ahead & they're showing another PFT, 'A Hole In Babylon' this Tuesday 10pm. I wrote a bit about this play on page 8 of this thread, it's concerned with the Spaghetti House Siege in 1975 detailing events leading up to it & the siege itself.
What struck me when I saw it a few years ago was its amazing similarity to the first Minder episode 'Gunfight At The OK Laundrette'. Both programmes were shown just a month apart, 'Gunfight' on 29th Oct 1979 & 'Hole' on 29th Nov 1979. Obviously both are based on the siege but even so it's strange how similar they are in terms of treatment & both feature Trevor Thomas as one of the gang of Black Nationalist robbers.
They even made a 1982 Italian film, 'Spaghetti House', on the subject with 'Love Thy Neighbour''s Rudolph Walker & Derek Martin of all people in the cast.
According to the BBC genome site 'A Hole In Babylon' has been shown twice, the original broadcast in 1979 & in 1992.
I notice on bbciplayer that another PFT 'Just A Boy's Game' is on the following Tuesday 27th, this is an excellent, violent, depressing & very gritty film directed by John 'Long Good Friday' McKenzie set on the mean streets of Glasgow. It features Ken Hutchison who gives a brilliant performance as a Glasgow waster and, in one of only 2 acting appearances he ever made, singer Frankie Miller who is also very good indeed.
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Sparky
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Post by Sparky on Oct 17, 2020 16:14:45 GMT
Had a look at BBC4's schedule for the week ahead & they're showing another PFT, 'A Hole In Babylon' this Tuesday 10pm. I wrote a bit about this play on page 8 of this thread, it's concerned with the Spaghetti House Siege in 1975 detailing events leading up to it & the siege itself.
What struck me when I saw it a few years ago was its amazing similarity to the first Minder episode 'Gunfight At The OK Laundrette'. Both programmes were shown just a month apart, 'Gunfight' on 29th Oct 1979 & 'Hole' on 29th Nov 1979. Obviously both are based on the siege but even so it's strange how similar they are in terms of treatment & both feature Trevor Thomas as one of the gang of Black Nationalist robbers.
They even made a 1982 Italian film, 'Spaghetti House', on the subject with 'Love Thy Neighbour''s Rudolph Walker & Derek Martin of all people in the cast.
According to the BBC genome site 'A Hole In Babylon' has been shown twice, the original broadcast in 1979 & in 1992.
I notice on bbciplayer that another PFT 'Just A Boy's Game' is on the following Tuesday 27th, this is an excellent, violent, depressing & very gritty film directed by John 'Long Good Friday' McKenzie set on the mean streets of Glasgow. It features Ken Hutchison who gives a brilliant performance as a Glasgow waster and, in one of only 2 acting appearances he ever made, singer Frankie Miller who is also very good indeed.
Finally caught up with the PFT documentary. It was a good documentary - though I wasn't keen on all this "split screen" crap they kept using - I found it distracting.
What's kind of ironic about many of the PFT's - they were highlighting topics - Racism, Homophobia, Class Divide, Workers Rights, Sexism etc - the same ruddy topics which are still hot topics some 50 years later. Show's how little things have changed in some ways.
The documentary never mentioned that "Rumpole of the Bailey" started as a PFT - before Mortimer was offered a series with Thames on ITV.
I was hoping "A Hole in Babylon" was going to be repeated - as I always have wanted to see this; esp as it is said to have influenced Minder "Gun Fight..." episode.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 17, 2020 17:38:25 GMT
Yes Sparky I was thinking the same thing, there's nothing new about prejudice & people's struggles though back then I imagine it wasn't talked about nearly as much. Things have changed a lot but the same sort of problems remain & likely always will.
The use of split screen & text reminded me of 'Drama Connections', the BBC series that looked at the origins of various tv shows. The documentary was a bit sketchy but it was to be expected I suppose as there are so many plays to cover, plus in these times of protest it wasn't surprising that they went down the 'issues' route. Ironic though that a few contributors to the programme made a point of saying that PFT wasn't just about 'issues', that it covered a broad range of subjects & that it quoted one of the few Black contributors to PFT, Horace Ove ( director of 'A Hole In Babylon' ) saying that he didn't just want to make films about racism & problems facing Black people, understandably arguing that White writers/directors are able to make films on any subject so why shouldn't he?
I think that's the point, whilst it's right to highlight social problems you risk associating groups of people solely with these problems. There's more to Black people's lives than being victims of racism. In fact Horace Ove made a film called 'Playing Away' about cricket that addressed this. He also directed The Professionals episode 'A Man Called Quinn' which had nothing to do with Black issues.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 17, 2020 19:57:48 GMT
Thanks for the heads up on these PFT's Arthur 'Just A Boy's Game' I'll definitely have a watch of.
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 18, 2020 14:38:16 GMT
Thanks for the heads up on these PFT's Arthur 'Just A Boy's Game' I'll definitely have a watch of. Think it will be right up your street Dirty.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Oct 18, 2020 19:54:07 GMT
BBC4 is having a celebration of PFT next week, didn’t catch what day it’s on. There is a 90min documentary
It was a bit good, wasn't it? Some stories to relish about the determination to televise and be damned, and of the spirit of artistic freedom. It seems that the same arguments continue 50 years on, despite our claims that we're living in far more enlightened times. Drama out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today is still on iPlayer... Play for Today was a series of single dramas broadcast by the BBC between 1970 and 1984. These were years of crisis, a time when the consensus politics of Britain’s postwar world had begun to unravel. Industrial relations, education and the health service faced fundamental challenges, the country was struggling with the end of empire, and the personal had become increasingly political.
Play for Today reflected and responded to all of this and more in 300 dramas, shown in primetime on BBC One to audiences numbered in millions. Many of the best actors, writers and directors of the time contributed to the series, with some of the best-remembered broadcasts being Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party, Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills and the strange fantasy, Penda’s Fen, written by Alan Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke.
The series was contemporary, often controversial and occasionally censored. But it was also immensely varied, showcasing social realism with comedy, costume drama with fantasy, and personal visions with state-of-the-nation overviews. It was mischievous, critical and challenging, and unafraid to tackle taboos.
Marking the 50th anniversary of the first Play for Today in October 1970, this film is a celebration of the series, told by a number of its producers, directors and writers. It explores the origins of the series, its achievements and its controversies. Presenting a rich range of often surprising extracts from the archive, the film features interviews with, among others, producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, film-makers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, and writer and director David Hare.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Oct 20, 2020 14:35:55 GMT
When I saw the "Drama Out Of a Crisis" documenatary I thought that... A Hole in Babylon....looked well worth a watch Great news - it's being repeated 10 pm tonight folks on BBC4 Play by Jim Hawkins and Horace Ove based on the events surrounding the ‘Spaghetti House’ siege, an armed robbery that went disastrously wrong.www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0424x3z
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Oct 23, 2020 18:42:51 GMT
Colin Welland's 'Leeds United!' first shown 31st October 1974 is showing on 3rd Nov. In black & white and nearly 2 hours long it's a film rather than a play, Granada tv were approached first to make it but they turned it down due to the cost of £150,000, I think I read that it was the most expensive tv production ever at the time. "Expertly filmed, sensitively edited, masterly direction" according to a Sunday Times review.
Last time it was shown on the BBC was in August 1976 according to the genome Radio Times listings site.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Oct 27, 2020 8:15:53 GMT
Coming up tonight (10 pm on BBC4) is Just A Boy’s Game, the Peter McDougall play starring Frankie Miller Frankie had a t-shirt that asked on the front "Frankie who?" whilst the back stated "Frankie f*cking Miller, that’s who" Peter McDougall was also responsible for Just Another Saturday, Elephants’ Graveyard, and Down Among The Big Boys (all featuring Billy Connolly) as well as Just A Boy’s Game Ahead of tonight's screening of Just a Boy's Game and from today's Glasgow Herald....
"THE Diary is looking forward to this evening’s BBC4 broadcast of the classic Peter Mcdougall drama, Just a Boys’ Game, a play so gritty it should be sprinkled on icy roads this winter.
Peter is a rather rugged fellow himself. We recall the time the Glasgow writer enjoyed a lengthy drinking session with old chum Billy Connolly, which culminated with Billy inside a phone box unable to figure out where the door was.
The confused comedian eventually phoned his agent to come and release him. Two conclusions can be deduced from this.
1) Boozing with Peter Mcdougall is a discombobulating experience.
2) Showbiz agents really do earn their 15 per cent cut."
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Post by Sparky on Oct 27, 2020 18:21:28 GMT
When I saw the "Drama Out Of a Crisis" documenatary I thought that... A Hole in Babylon....looked well worth a watch Great news - it's being repeated 10 pm tonight folks on BBC4 Play by Jim Hawkins and Horace Ove based on the events surrounding the ‘Spaghetti House’ siege, an armed robbery that went disastrously wrong.www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0424x3zI watched "Hole in Babylon" - and the first 3 minutes had me waiting for it to cut to the titles to the "Sweeney". The whole first 3 or 4 minutes could easily have been a pre-titles teaser for any Sweeney episode.
I can see where Leon Griffiths "Gun Fight at the OK Launderette" came from. Also - I thought the inclusion of the actual News Footage was a great idea too.
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