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Bleak Moments
''Bleak Moments'' is a 1971 British comedy-drama film by Mike Leigh in his directorial debut. Leigh's screenplay is based on a 1970 stage play at the Open Space Theatre, about the dysfunctional life of a young secretary. Leigh and Leslie Blair had formed their own production company, Autumn Productions, and Leigh wanted to adapt ''Moments''. He was able to realise that desire when Albert Finney and Michael Medwin's Memorial Films, which had recently made '' If....'' and was about to produce '' Gumshoe'', "delivered the main financial backing, as well as unused spare bits of film rolls." Plot Sylvia leads a quiet life caring for her sister Hilda who has complex care needs. Their lonely suburban existence is accentuated by a social awkwardness that detaches them from the community and fuels a life of seclusion and despair. Cast * Anne Raitt as Sylvia * Sarah Stephenson as Hilda, Sylvia's sister * Eric Allan as Peter * Joolia Cappleman as Pat * Mike Bradwell as Norman * Donald Sum ...
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Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design and the London School of Film Technique. He began his career as a theatre director and playwright in the mid-1960s, before transitioning to making televised plays and films for BBC Television in the 1970s and '80s. Leigh is known for his lengthy rehearsal and improvisation techniques with actors to build characters and narrative for his films. His purpose is to capture reality and present "emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, vulnerable films." His films and stage plays, according to critic Michael Coveney, "comprise a distinctive, homogenous body of work which stands comparison with anyone's in the British theatre and cinema over the same period." Leigh's most notable works include the black comedy-drama ''Naked'' (1993), for ...
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Nocturnes (Chopin)
Frédéric Chopin wrote 21 nocturnes for solo piano between 1827 and 1846. They are generally considered among the finest short solo works for the instrument and hold an important place in contemporary concert repertoire. Although Chopin did not invent the nocturne, he popularized and expanded on it, building on the form developed by Irish composer John Field. Chopin's nocturnes numbered 1 to 18 were published during his lifetime, in twos or threes, in the order of composition. However, numbers 19 and 20 were actually written first, prior to Chopin's departure from Poland, but published posthumously. Number 21 was not originally entitled "nocturne" at all, but since its publication in 1938 as such, it is generally included with publications and recordings of the set. Influences By the time of Chopin's birth in 1810, John Field was already an accomplished composer. Eventually, the young Chopin became a great admirer of Field, taking some influence from the Irish composer's play ...
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Films Directed By Mike Leigh
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photography, photographing actual scenes with a movie camera, motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of computer-generated imagery, CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still imag ...
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British Films Based On Plays
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton ...
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British Comedy-drama Films
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton (d ...
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1971 Films
The year 1971 in film involved some significant events. Highest-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1971 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events *February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, ''Eat the Document'', premieres at New York's Academy of Music. The film includes footage from Dylan's 1966 UK tour. *April 23 - Melvin Van Peebles film ''Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song'' becomes the highest-grossing independent film of 1971. *May - The first permanent IMAX projection system begins showing at Ontario Place's "Cinesphere" in Toronto. *May 10 - Frank Yablans becomes President of Paramount Pictures. *Britain's National Film School begins operation at Beaconsfield Film Studios. Awards Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival): :''The Go-Between'', directed by Joseph Losey, United Kingdom Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival): :''The Garden of the Finzi-Continis'' (''Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini''), directed by Vittorio De Sica, Italy ...
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Soda Pictures
Thunderbird Entertainment Group (formerly Thunderbird Films) is a Canadian film and television entertainment company with offices in both Canada and the United States of America. Thunderbird's multiple divisions develop movies and television programs for various demographics. Foundation of the company Thunderbird Entertainment Group was founded as Thunderbird Films in 2003 by Tim Gamble and Michael Shepard. In February 2012, it was announced that Lionsgate Founder, Frank Giustra, had made a significant investment to become a major shareholder in Thunderbird, and it was announced the company would make significant investment into scripted television. Corporate acquisitions and major partnerships Sea to Sky Entertainment In March 2012, Thunderbird Entertainment announced a new partnership with Lionsgate to form Sea to Sky Entertainment. The announcement came weeks after Frank Giustra became a major shareholder in Thunder Entertainment. Lionsgate and Thunderbird jointly manage t ...
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Hard Labour (film)
''Hard Labour'' is a 1973 television film, directed by Mike Leigh and produced by Tony Garnett which was broadcast as part of the BBC anthology series ''Play for Today''. The film stars Liz Smith in her first major role. The film is the most clearly drawn in all Leigh's work from the background in Higher and Lower Broughton where he grew up. "Though elements of autobiography are buried in all Leigh's films and plays, only ''Hard Labour'' is set in Salford, – the scenes in the Stones' house were shot in a house just two doors along from where the Leighs had lived in Cavendish Road." Cast * Liz Smith as Mrs Thornley * Clifford Kershaw as Mr Thornley * Polly Hemingway as Ann * Bernard Hill as Edward * Alison Steadman as Veronica * Vanessa Harris as Mrs Stone * Cyril Varley as Mr Stone * Ben Kingsley as Naseem Theme "The polarity between the worlds of Mrs Stone and the lady who cleans her house (the central figure, Mrs Thornley, the Catholic house-cleaner) is icily delineated. ...
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Tony Garnett
Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director Ken Loach, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century. Early life and career Born Anthony Edward Lewis in Birmingham, he lost his parents when young: his mother Ida (''née'' Poulton) died when he was five from septicaemia following a Unsafe abortion, back-street abortion, and his father Tom Lewis, a garage mechanic turned insurance salesman, committed suicide nineteen days later. Tony was raised by his maternal aunt and uncle, Emily and Harold Garnett, whose surname he adopted in his late teens (while also simplifying his forenames), and his younger brother Peter was raised by other relatives.Jason Deans and Maggie Brow"Up the Junction's Tony Garnett reveals mother's backstreet abortion death" ''The Guardian'', 28 April 2013 Garnett attended the Central Grammar School for Boys (Birmingham), Central Grammar ...
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Chicago Sun Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago Tribune''. The modern paper grew out of the 1948 merger of the ''Chicago Sun'' and the ''Chicago Daily Times''. Journalists at the paper have received eight Pulitzer prizes, mostly in the 1970s; one recipient was film critic Roger Ebert (1975), who worked at the paper from 1967 until his death in 2013. Long owned by the Marshall Field family, since the 1980s ownership of the paper has changed hands numerous times, including twice in the late 2010s. History The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' claims to be the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city. That claim is based on the 1844 founding of the ''Chicago Daily Journal'', which was also the first newspaper to publish the rumor, now believed false, that a cow owned by Catherine O'Le ...
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Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the ''Los Angeles Times'' called him "the best-known film critic in America." Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing voice and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. While a populist, Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, which often resulted in such film ...
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New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members of the socialist Fabian Society, such as George Bernard Shaw, who was a founding director. Today, the magazine is a print–digital hybrid. According to its present self-description, it has a liberal and progressive political position. Jason Cowley, the magazine's editor, has described the ''New Statesman'' as a publication "of the left, for the left" but also as "a political and literary magazine" with "sceptical" politics. The magazine was founded by members of the Fabian Society as a weekly review of politics and literature. The longest-serving editor was Kingsley Martin (1930–1960), and the current editor is Jason Cowley, who assumed the post in 2008. The magazine has recognised and published new writers and critics, as well as e ...
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