#561: LOACH, Ken: Kes (1970)

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LOACH, Ken (United Kingdom)
Kes [1970]
Spine #561
Blu-ray


Named one of the ten best British films of the century by the British Film Institute, Ken Loach's Kes is cinema's quitessential portrait of working-class Northern England. Billy (an astonishingly naturalistic David Bradley) is a fifteen-year-old miner's son whose close bond with a wild kestrel provides him with a spiritual escape from his dead-end life. Kes brought to the big screen the sociopolitical engagement Loach had established in his work for the BBC, and pushed the British "angry young man" film of the sixties into a new realm of authenticity, using real locations and nonprofessional actors. Loach's poignant coming-of-age drama remains the now legendary director's most beloved and influential film.

111 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:66:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2011
Director/Writers


From the book A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines.
Screenplay by Hines and Ken Loach.
Loach was 34 when he directed Kes.

Other Loach films in the Collection:

#906: I, Daniel Blake (2016)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Twenty-four page booklet featuring an essay by film writer Graham Fuller.

Commentary

None.

Making “Kes”

A documentary featuring Loach, DP Chris Menges producer Tony Garnett, and actor Bradley.
The Southbank Show

“Ken Loach,” a 1993 profile.
Cathy Come Home (1966)

An early television feature by Loach, with an afterword by film writer Fuller.
Alternate

Internationally released soundtrack with postsync dialogue.
Original theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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