In these days of ours, some say that nobody does dialogue and realism quite like Quentin Tarantino does, well, they obviously haven't seen much of Alan Bleasdales work then.
This is real, gritty and sometimes bleak stuff. I have never seen anything in film or on T.V that catches a moment in time and crystallises it so perfectly as 'Boys From The Blackstuff' does.
There is a sharp tinny sound quality and a graininess (even on DVD) to the picture that give this an almost documentary feel now. That coupled with the script and performances only add to the power of the piece as a whole. (this is not inaudible or unwatchable, just the look and sound of film and T.V from a time gone by)
Five main characters who are friends and five 50 minute stories around each character. Most notable of which is episode 4 'Yosser's Story' but that's not to undermine any of the other episodes, they are all equally good with strong performances in each.
Yosser's Story though is a pretty tough watch and for this reason, memorable.... very memorable. You sort of see his life spiral downwards in the three prior episodes but here his life and mental health completely disintegrates.
So don't be put off that this was made in 1982 or that you might not know the writer or some of the actors, this IS as real as real gets and as relevant now as was then.
This is real, gritty and sometimes bleak stuff. I have never seen anything in film or on T.V that catches a moment in time and crystallises it so perfectly as 'Boys From The Blackstuff' does.
There is a sharp tinny sound quality and a graininess (even on DVD) to the picture that give this an almost documentary feel now. That coupled with the script and performances only add to the power of the piece as a whole. (this is not inaudible or unwatchable, just the look and sound of film and T.V from a time gone by)
Five main characters who are friends and five 50 minute stories around each character. Most notable of which is episode 4 'Yosser's Story' but that's not to undermine any of the other episodes, they are all equally good with strong performances in each.
Yosser's Story though is a pretty tough watch and for this reason, memorable.... very memorable. You sort of see his life spiral downwards in the three prior episodes but here his life and mental health completely disintegrates.
So don't be put off that this was made in 1982 or that you might not know the writer or some of the actors, this IS as real as real gets and as relevant now as was then.