Ken Loach Films

May 1, 2010 2:43 PM

Ken Loach Films

Ken Loach is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs. He has made his films available to watch on YouTube.

The films "Ae Fond Kiss", "Hidden Agenda", "Kathy Come Home", "Kes", and "Poor Cow" are available to view already. New films are to be added each week until the entire collection of eight are available... so keep checking back.

posted by jonesor (19 comments total)

Well, I'll be Bobby Charlton!
posted by Abiezer at 2:48 PM on May 1, 2010 [2 favorites]

Huh. Uncut, too. Interesting how YouTube's content rules don't seem to apply when a Real Motion Picture Director is involved.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:53 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

i love you. 'cathy come home,' when i saw it a long while back (i think on TCM), was one of the most soul-wrenching thing i had ever seen on television, and i've been looking for a copy ever since.
posted by fallacy of the beard at 3:19 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thanks for this, jonesor. While Loach can get a little preachy sometimes, he's a hell of a lot better than most of the dreck out there, and I'm sure I'll have fun checking these out. Cheers!
posted by koeselitz at 3:33 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Thank you for this.
posted by war wrath of wraith at 4:06 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Kes is one of my fave films of all time. Thanks.
posted by Skygazer at 4:31 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Wow. Making all of his films available like this is like a political statement about sharing his talents with us by allowing his art to be seen for free. Good for him.
posted by Rashomon at 4:58 PM on May 1, 2010 [2 favorites]

Loach's It's a Free World is a remarkable movie. If I described it to you as 'an engrossing critique of capitalism,' or 'the best Marxist movie you'll ever seen,' you'll think

(a) sounds boring and didactic, and
(b) jackbrown, what a commie!

But you'd be wrong.

It's a low-key, low-budget movie, looks like it was made with a digital camcorder, about a couple of women who get laid off from their jobs and start a temping agency, and end up making a big pile of money. Watching (one of) them evolve into a successful and brutal little capitalist is, seriously, one of the most well-done character evolutions I've seen on film. It's a totally absorbing movie, and one which this particular not-Communist found to be a really amazing study of capitalism writ small.

Whenever It's a Free World makes it into this Youtube collection, I hope a few of you watch it. Loach is one of a kind, and that he is doing this is really great, and totally in character.
posted by jackbrown at 5:04 PM on May 1, 2010 [6 favorites]

Another one to look out for is The Wind that Shakes the Barley. One of my favorite films ever - a moving and sad realist piece about the Irish War of Independence.

Thanks for posting this.
posted by graymouser at 5:51 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh man. I've been wanting to see Kes forever, since I read that it was Krzysztof Kieslowski's favorite film—but it's always been out of print. Thanks for this!
posted by cirripede at 6:51 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is amazing. Thanks, jonesor.

By the way, is the timing of the post deliberate? International Workers Day is of some importance to Loach; I'm wondering if you chose today for that reason. (As an aside, I saw Loach give a great May Day talk a few years back, before a screening of Kes at the Prince Charles Cinema in London. He was awesome.)
posted by hot soup girl at 7:37 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Sweet Sixteen and My Name is Joe are great pieces of just-nip-out-and-shoot-myself cinema.
posted by scruss at 8:05 PM on May 1, 2010 [2 favorites]

Scenes from Poor Cow were used in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey to depict flashbacks to the youth of Terence Stamp's character.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:39 PM on May 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is amazing, jonesor! I've been looking for Kes for ages but haven't been able to get my hands on it--among other things, I'm on the wrong side of the pond--and had just about given up on ever seeing it. Thanks for finding this!
posted by colfax at 12:57 AM on May 2, 2010

Wow, thanks! Just saw Looking for Eric -- brilliant!
posted by AwkwardPause at 5:06 AM on May 2, 2010

Excellent. I'll be waiting eagerly for Looks and Smiles.
posted by essexjan at 6:36 AM on May 2, 2010

Land and Freedom!
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 12:45 PM on May 2, 2010

George_Spiggott: Scenes from Poor Cow were used in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey to depict flashbacks to the youth of Terence Stamp's character.

I thought they were taken from The Collector.

Last film I saw by Loach was a collaboration with two other amazing directors in their own right, Abbas Kiarostami, Ermanno Olmi on a film called Tickets. Which you might think might be too many cooks, but they really make it work and in the end I think it's Loach that really brings together the pan-European zeitgeist of it. Amazingly Abbas worked through an interpreter. The making of it on the DVD extras is a pretty awesome look into how such a heady collaboration like this with three distinct visions is made to work. Ultimately, though it speaks to the humility (especially Kiarostami) and intelligence of all three of them as they split the work up according to their natural strengths, anyhow I digress, Tickets. See it.
posted by Skygazer at 2:35 PM on May 2, 2010

This is fantastic. My Name Is Joe is one of my favourite movies, as is Sweet 16. Kind of depressing, though.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:06 PM on May 3, 2010