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Working Class Heroes

 A collection of films lit up by the charisma  of working-class stars; a celebration of fine actors and remarkable leading roles.

In Britain (for a time at least) film stars came from comprehensives and council houses. The story begins in the socially mobile 1960s as young working-class talent exploded through music, fashion and film. In the hard-edged 80s Bob Hoskins became a popular male lead. Then in the 90s a new mood saw a series of inventive British films built around working-class faces. Beyond angry young men, our heroines stretched from Carol White to Katie Jarvis, while modern British cinema spotlit the junction of race and class.

This collection brings together the bold, powerful and provocative films that can  be made when working-class stars have the chance to shine

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Poor Cow Poor Cow

Drama 1968 101 mins Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach’s perceptive, personal, and moving debut feature film tells the story of a young mother’s struggles while her husband is in jail.

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The Long Good Friday The Long Good Friday

Gangster 1981 109 mins Director: John Mackenzie

Bob Hoskins charms as a London mob boss brokering a development deal with the American mafia – but somebody wants to see him dead.

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Mona Lisa Mona Lisa

Gangster 1986 100 mins Director: Neil Jordan

An ungainly cockney chauffeur navigates the seedy streets of London, gradually falling for the elegant and mysterious prostitute who is his passenger.

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Journeyman Journeyman

Drama 2018 92 mins Director: Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine directs and stars with Jodie Whittaker in this emotional knockout - the story of a boxer rebuilding his life after a near-fatal injury.

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Catch Me Daddy Catch Me Daddy

Thriller 2015 112 mins Director: Daniel Wolfe and Matthew Wolfe

A young couple whose relationship has divided a community are forced on the run through the streets and moors of nocturnal Yorkshire.

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Harry Brown Harry Brown

Crime 2009 103 mins Director: Daniel Barber

Michael Caine’s storming return to an action role finds him as a retired marine confronting local hoodlums on his housing estate.

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Vera Drake Vera Drake

Drama 2005 120 mins Director: Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh’s acclaimed story of a selfless woman who performs unlawful abortions in 1950s Britain; both an affecting drama and vital social history.

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The Violators The Violators

Drama 2016 96 mins Director: Helen Walsh

In this spiky and stylish debut from novelist Helen Walsh, two girls from different backgrounds form an unlikely bond, setting off on a dangerous course.

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'71 '71

Thriller 2014 99 mins Director: Yann Demange

A young British squaddie is caught behind enemy lines in bomb-torn Belfast, in Yann Demange’s riveting suspense thriller.

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Attack the Block Attack the Block

Crime 2011 88 mins Director: Joe Cornish

Aliens wage war on a tower block after one of their number is bludgeoned by a street gang in this witty, action-packed feature debut by Joe Cornish.

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Urban Hymn Urban Hymn

Drama 2016 114 mins Director: Michael Caton-Jones

In the wake of the London riots, teenager Jamie (Letitia Wright) finds herself at a crossroads; until music offers an unexpected path to salvation.

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Venus Venus

Comedy 2007 95 mins Director: Roger Michell

Peter O’Toole in one of his last, finest performances in this story about an aging actor who thought he’d seen it all – until he met her.

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Control Control

Biopic 2007 122 mins Director: Anton Corbijn

The life story of Ian Curtis, the tortured singer of Joy Division who suffered epilepsy and crippling self-doubt, filmed in stunning monochrome.

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The Stone Roses: Made of Stone The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

Performance 2013 96 mins Director: Shane Meadows

Avid Stone Roses fan Shane Meadows records the reunion of the pivotal 1990s rock band, in this heartfelt and inspiring documentary

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Supersonic Supersonic

Documentary 2016 117 mins Director: Mat Whitecross

Relive the stratospheric rise of the kings of Britpop in this rousing nostalgic trip from the producers of Amy.

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The Proud Valley The Proud Valley

Drama 1940 77 mins Director: Penrose Tennyson

Deeply moving mining drama that provided the legendary American singer/actor Paul Robeson with his best British film role.

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Mr. Turner Mr. Turner

Biopic 2014 150 mins Director: Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh’s Cannes-winning account of the later years of J. M. W. Turner, brilliantly played by Timothy Spall.

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Tyrannosaur Tyrannosaur

Drama 2011 92 mins Director: Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine’s powerful feature debut, featuring astonishingly strong performances from Olivia Colman and Peter Mullan.

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Marnie Marnie

Crime 1964 130 mins Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Sean Connery stars as the man who marries a kleptomaniac who has some strange psychological problems, played by Tippi Hedren.

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Thriller 2011 127 mins Director: Tomas Alfredson

Gary Oldman leads an all-star cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy, in this acclaimed adaptation of John Le Carré's esteemed spy novel.

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I, Daniel Blake I, Daniel Blake

Drama 2016 100 mins Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach’s powerful, Palme d’Or-winning invective against welfare injustice captured the mood of modern Britain and became his biggest box office success.

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My Name Is Joe My Name Is Joe

Drama 1998 105 mins Director: Ken Loach

Ken Loach's intense drama boasts a majestic performance from Peter Mullan as a recovering alcoholic in Glasgow, struggling with his feelings for a local health worker.

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Neds Neds

Crime 2011 124 mins Director: Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan's forceful drama about a boy who becomes embroiled in gangland life in 1970s Glasgow, peppered throughout with a rich vein of black humour.

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Orphans Orphans

Comedy 1999 98 mins Director: Peter Mullan

Peter Mullan steps behind the camera for this pitch-black comedy surrounding a family who reunite for their mother’s funeral.

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Fish Tank Fish Tank

Drama 2009 118 mins Director: Andrea Arnold

BAFTA winner and coming-of-age story starring newcomer Katie Jarvis as disaffected teen Mia and Michael Fassbender in one of his earliest film roles.

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Morvern Callar Morvern Callar

Drama 2002 93 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay

Samantha Morton plays the enigmatic title character in Lynne Ramsay’s dreamy and atmospheric road movie.

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Shallow Grave Shallow Grave

Comedy 1995 89 mins Director: Danny Boyle

Ewan McGregor and Danny Boyle burst onto the scene with this dark crime caper about three friends and their rich, dead flatmate.

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Kidulthood Kidulthood

Drama 2006 91 mins Director: Menhaj Huda

Noel Clarke and Menhaj Huda’s explosive youth film follows the drug, sex and crime-fuelled antics of a group of West London teens over the course of a single day.

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Adulthood Adulthood

Drama 2008 99 mins Director: Noel Clarke

After being released from prison following a murder charge, Sam Peel (Noel Clarke) attempts to reboot his life and seek redemption.

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Brotherhood Brotherhood

Crime 2016 104 mins Director: Noel Clarke

A decade after the release of Adulthood, Sam (Noel Clarke) is trying to keep his family safe while simmering old grudges threaten to resurface.

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Rita, Sue and Bob Too Rita, Sue and Bob Too

Drama 1987 93 mins Director: Alan Clarke

A married man seduces two teenage babysitters in Alan Clarke’s mix of bawdy comedy and social comment, based on Andrea Dunbar’s Bradford plays.

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Gregory's Girl Gregory's Girl

Comedy 1981 92 mins Director: Bill Forsyth

The ultimate depiction of coming-of-age awkwardness, Bill Forsyth’s comedy about a teen who falls for the new female footballer on the school team.

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Brassed Off Brassed Off

Drama 1996 107 mins Director: Mark Herman

Pete Postlethwaite stars in this emotional drama about members of a colliery brass band who learn their mine may soon be closing.

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East Is East East Is East

Comedy 1999 97 mins Director: Damien O'Donnell

Damien O'Donnell's charming comedy-drama about Zaheed Khan (Om Puri), the patriarch of a Pakistani-British family whose children begin to reject their heritage and embrace UK life.

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My Generation My Generation

Documentary 2018 86 mins Director: David Batty

Michael Caine takes us back to swinging London in this engaging documentary on the 1960s cultural revolution, featuring over 50 interviews with the key players.

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Orthodox Orthodox

Drama 2016 94 mins Director: David Leon

Stephen Graham is the orthodox Jew tempted into a life of violence by his corrupt associate (Michael Smiley), in this riveting and complex crime drama.

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Meantime Meantime

Drama 1983 107 mins Director: Mike Leigh

Tim Roth, Phil Daniels and Gary Oldman star in Mike Leigh’s TV film about an East End family try to stay afloat during a recession.

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High Hopes High Hopes

Drama 1989 112 mins Director: Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh’s bittersweet comedy tells the story of Cyril (Philip Davis), an idealist who despairs at the societal changes of Thatcher’s Britain.

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Made in Britain Made in Britain

Drama 1982 76 mins Director: Alan Clarke

Tim Roth burst onto British screens with his coruscating performance as a teenage skinhead in this TV play from Alan Clarke and David Leland.

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Gone Too Far! Gone Too Far!

Comedy 2014 88 mins Director: Destiny Ekaragha

Riotous urban comedy adapted from the hit Royal Court play, about a Peckham teen affronted by the arrival of his long-lost Nigerian sibling.

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Grow Your Own Grow Your Own

Comedy 2007 97 mins Director: Richard Laxton

A group of Merseyside gardeners take umbrage to the arrival of some refugees, but they find common cause to resist a devious corporate takeover.

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Trainspotting Trainspotting

Drama 1996 90 mins Director: Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle's exhilarating, narcotic trip follows a group of heroin-addicted friends as they navigate their way through Glasgow's seedy 1990s drug culture.

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Letter to Brezhnev Letter to Brezhnev

Comedy 1985 94 mins Director: Chris Bernard

Two Liverpudlians hook up with a pair of Russian sailors only to wonder if they might be better off behind the Iron Curtain.

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Gascoigne Gascoigne

Documentary 2015 87 mins Director: Jane Preston

Documentary portrait of the mercurial football genius who inspired the game’s modern renaissance while battling personal demons.

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Giro City Giro City

Drama 1982 102 mins Director: Karl Francis

Glenda Jackson and Jon Finch play Welsh investigative journalists covering the Troubles in Northern Ireland only to unearth censorship and corruption back home.

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Intimate Relations Intimate Relations

Drama 1997 99 mins Director: Philip Goodhew

Julie Walters and Rupert Graves are at the centre of a sordid love triangle in this pulpy melodrama about seedy shenanigans in 1950s suburbia.

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Riff-Raff Riff-Raff

Drama 1991 96 mins Director: Ken Loach

Robert Carlyle plays a homeless construction worker who falls for an unemployed pop singer in Ken Loach's hilarious yet potent paean to working class London life.

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Scrubbers Scrubbers

Drama 1982 93 mins Director: Mai Zetterling

1980s borstal drama – billed as the female Scum – featuring Amanda York and Kathy Burke as inmates in a ruthless women’s prison.

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Quadrophenia Quadrophenia

Drama 1979 120 mins Director: Franc Roddam

The ultimate Mods vs Rockers clash, based on The Who’s double-album rock opera, stars Phil Daniels as a mod on an odyssey to Brighton.

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Hummingbird Hummingbird

Thriller 2013 100 mins

An alcoholic ex-special forces soldier (Jason Statham), down on his luck, assumes another man’s identity and pursues redemption.

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Babymother Babymother

Musical 1998 77 mins Director: Julian Henriques

Neeta and her crew rise to dancehall fame in North West London's Caribbean community, in the first Black British musical.

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Sparrows Can't Sing Sparrows Can't Sing

Drama 1963 97 mins Director: Joan Littlewood

Barbara Windsor’s first starring role is a paean to East End life.

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The L-shaped Room The L-shaped Room

Drama 1962 126 mins Director: Bryan Forbes

Bryan Forbes directs the Oscar-nominated story of a French woman (Leslie Caron) moving to London while unmarried, pregnant, and alone.

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Lunch Hour Lunch Hour

Drama 1962 63 mins Silent Director: James Hill

Shirley Anne Field stars in this stylish, highly enjoyable story of simmering tensions and sexual conflict in the work place.

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A Kind of Loving A Kind of Loving

Drama 1962 113 mins Director: John Schlesinger

John Schlesinger makes his feature film debut with this adaptation of Stan Barstow’s novel about a factory worker (Alan Bates) and his complicated relationship to a typist (June Ritchie) who he doesn’t fully love.

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The Angry Silence The Angry Silence

Drama 1959 95 mins Director: Guy Green

Richard Attenborough plays a factory worker who’s ostracised after refusing to support a strike, in this gritty industrial drama.

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Room at the Top Room at the Top

Drama 1958 117 mins Director: Jack Clayton

Jack Clayton directs this romantic, love-triangle drama featuring Simone Signoret in an Oscar-winning performance.

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Waterfront Waterfront

Drama 1950 80 mins Director: Michael Anderson

A tough and gritty drama detailing the turbulent life of hard-drinking Liverpudlian seamen, with Richard Burton in only his third film role.

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Payroll Payroll

Crime 1961 106 mins Director: Sidney Hayers

Billie Whitelaw stars in this tough Tyneside-set crime drama about a gang of criminals who turn against each other following a payroll heist.

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Cosh Boy Cosh Boy

Drama 1953 75 mins Director: Lewis Gilbert

Lewis Gilbert’s shocking and controversial 1952 drama focuses on a gang of juvenile delinquents and their dangerous exploits in post-war London.

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Pool of London Pool of London

Crime 1951 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden

Earl Cameron plays a naive Jamaican sailor who's dragged into a botched diamond robbery when trying to help a friend.

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Pink String and Sealing Wax Pink String and Sealing Wax

Crime 1946 90 mins Director: Robert Hamer

Gordon Jackson stars in a seething tale of family conflict, murder and blackmail in Victorian Brighton.

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Floodtide Floodtide

Drama 1949 90 mins Director: Frederick Wilson

The son of a Scottish farmer get a job in a shipyard and shows an unexpected flair for design, conceiving a revolutionary ship.

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Blue Scar Blue Scar

Drama 1949 97 mins Director: Jill Craigie

A stirring tale of love, music, and coalmining in Abergwynfi, South Wales.

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Millions Like Us Millions Like Us

War 1943 103 mins Director: Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat

The finest example of British wartime fictional propaganda follows a group of women who take on factory work to support the war effort.

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