By
Gareth Potts
About
the City Films blogs
A
couple of years back my wife and I had just bought our first home and I turned
to the top priority - a man-cave (or sunroom as my wife mistakenly calls
it). What to put on the walls of said cave was a central question. As a
film-loving Brit. now based in the U.S., I decided some British film posters
and/or stills might look good.
I
quickly realized that several of my favourite British films have strong
associations with cities and metro areas: Get Carter (Tyneside), 24-Hour
Party People (Greater Manchester) and The Full Monty (Sheffield). Get
Carter was especially important to me, as I’d lived in Newcastle for
four and a half years. But what about other places I had lived such as
Liverpool and London – what were their city films?
As someone
interested in most things cities related, I decided to widen the search to all of the U.K.'s cities and major towns. I devised a rough method for finding and short-listing
films and a scoring system for assessing which of the short-listed ones were
the best city-films. This method is outlined here.
The
key thing to note is that, for short-listing, films must have received a total
IMDb score of at least 6.5 from at least 100 votes. I do mention the films that
didn't meet this criterion - these are the ones indicated by LL (for 'Long
List'). I also limited it to the last 60 years - which, since I began this
in 2018, meant 1958 and after. And of course, I also tried to watch as many of
them as I could.
I
have already blogged for online magazine City Metric here on the city films for London
and here on the South, Midlands and
Eastern regions. However, I am now moving the blogs for the remaining UK
regions onto this site - starting with the North East. In time, I will
also be reworking those early blogs into the new format I'm using
here.
Anyway, enough chit-chat ... let's look at some films.
The
Films
Payroll
(1961), a well-acted,
well-scripted, and superbly scored story of an armed robbery, has lots of
terrific black and white shots of Newcastle, Gateshead and Tynemouth on the
coast. However, the complete absence of a North East accent, despite Newcastle
being the acknowledged setting, is, er, disappointing.
Michael Craig, star of Payroll - the riverside and the Tyne and Swing Bridges behind him |
Local
accents were again scarce in cult classic Get
Carter (1971) that, nonetheless, boasts terrific shots of Tyneside
and surrounds (most famously Owen Luder’s Brutalist Trinity Square car park in
Gateshead). Director Mike Hodges claims that ‘the Dolce
Vita murder’, committed locally a few years earlier, led him to some
of the locations used. There is also a brief shot of a South Asian-origin
family stood at their doorstep – a small sign of a changing city.
The
Likely Lads (1976),
a 'spin-off’ (cash-in?) from the Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? tv
series, was co-written by legendary (Tyneside born-and-bred) Ian La Frenais.
There are many Tyneside locations on display – notably North Tyneside – and the
late Gateshead-based comic, Alan Snell, even has a cameo as a Noda taxi driver. That there's also a lot of Northumberland's
beautiful countryside in it means it is a bit of a stretch to call it a true
city film.
Likely Lads James Bolam and Rodney Bewes - Spanish City, Whitley Bay (North Tyneside) |
No
account of North East films in the 1980s would be complete without discussion
of the work of the (Newcastle-based) Amber Films Collective which recently
celebrated fifty years in business and which is the subject of a new book by
Northumbria University's James Leggott.
James Leggott's new (April 2020) book on Amber Films |
The
Amber films drew on a range of local writing, directing and acting talent.
Regular actors included Brian Hogg, Betty Hepple (screen name Amber Styles!),
Art Davies, Ray Stubbs, Sammy Johnson, Maureen (Mo) Harold and Anna-Marie
Gascoigne. Gascoigne, sister of footballer Paul, has had support roles in many
North East films and a joint lead in Dream On (see ahead).
Double
Vision (1986), the
first Amber Film to make the list, is a 60-minute blend of documentary and
drama exploring the world of boxing, centred on a gym run by former miner and
boxer George Bowes in Hartlepool. LL.
T Dan
Smith (1987),
another Amber production, is an experimental mix of drama and interviews
about the high-profile former Newcastle City Council Leader. LL.
Stormy
Monday (1988),
about a prospective nightclub take-over and competition for a woman, sees
local-boy-made-megastar Sting in a lead role and features various city locations. My main memories of the
film are bad fluorescent lighting , the incongruity of Hollywood stars in
Central Newcastle and not really liking it. LL.
Women
in Tropical Places (1989) is
about an Argentinian expatriate who arrives in Newcastle to marry her fiancé.
One of the lead actresses is sometime Tyneside celebrity Huffty.
The film's Buenos Aires-raised Writer-Director, Penny Woolcock, was raised in
Argentina, came to Europe in the late 60s and to Newcastle in the 1980s to work
on documentary films - a time outlined here and here. It was a TV movie and I can't
find it anywhere - including Penny Woolcock's website or Vimeo page. LL.
In
Fading Light (1989) is
set in the declining North Shields (North Tyneside) fishing industry and was
written by Tom Hadaway who, from 14 to 40,
had worked on the local fish quay. To make filming easier, the production
company, Amber Films, bought and ran a boat - with local fishermen auditioning
and training the mostly local actors. The Director was Newcastle-based Murray Martin who had been instrumental in setting up Amber. Actor
Ray Stubbs, a very accomplished musician, helped with the music. There is a lot
of tense at-sea action but the film also shows a great deal of the local area
and makes some important political points. I loved it. LL.
Still from In Fading Light. Left to Right: Dave Hill, Joe Caffrey and Sammy Johnson |
Dream
On (1991) is
about how pub darts matches offer three women an escape from hard personal
lives. Again, the location is North Tyneside, again the production company
was Amber and again they bought the main location used for filming - a pub on
the Meadow Well estate! The film drew on the Amber Collective's wider work
with local residents and was filmed on the estate in the year when it saw
major uprisings. The Director was Murray
Martin's wife Ellie Hare. The film is an absolute gem
- harrowing, funny and well-acted. LL.
Killing
Time (1998) is
about a detective who hires a beautiful female assassin to kill the
mobster who murdered his (the detective's) partner - an everyday North East
tale then! The writer was Newcastle-raised Neil Marshall, who gained his degree
at Newcastle Polytechnic Film School, and the Director was Bharat Nalluri,
who grew up in Newcastle and attended the city's Royal Grammar School.
The trailer makes me think Killing
Time might not be my thing - but it might be yours. LL.
Purely
Belter (2000),
about two teenagers’ search for a Newcastle United season ticket, is a
Tyneside-Wearside film as it: features locations in both places; derives its
title from a Geordie expression; is based on a novel (The Season Ticket)
by a former Gateshead teacher; stars two
lads from Sunderland; features a handful of Tyneside-raised actors in key
roles; and has a cameo by Alan Shearer. As further proof of the film's local
roots, many of the stars even attended a 2017 reunion to raise funds for a
local charity. It's a long time since I saw it, but I liked it - and the
amusing ending!
The Purely Belter title didn't quite survive the translation into French! |
The
One and Only (2002),
a remake of a Danish hit about love and adoption, was supported by Newcastle
City Council and other regional agencies to promote Tyneside. I haven't seen it
and can't find it anywhere. LL.
School
for Seduction (2004) is
about a Geordie girl who is coached in the art of seduction by an
Italian femme fatale. The local writer-director Sue Heel is a product of
a film foundation course at Gateshead College and one of the lead
actresses is Jessica Johnson, a drama student from Gateshead. Former
Newcastle-based company Ipso Facto produced the film. Passable
from what I remember. LL.
Goal!
The Dream Begins (2005) is
about a talented Latino footballer from L.A. and his move to Newcastle
United. Ian La Frenais was co-writer and
there are cameos from Newcastle players as well as (then) AC/DC lead singer
(Tyneside born-and-bred) Brian Johnson. Former United Chairman, Freddie
Shepherd, lured the project away from
Manchester United and hundreds of Newcastle fans turned out at St James’ Park
as extras. The premiere took place at the Sage Gateshead. I must confess that I
liked it - maybe Own Goal can be the Mike Ashley years?
Ways
to Live Forever (2010) is
an uplifting - and at times philosophical - ‘live life to the full’ story that
follows two terminally ill teenagers. The filming locations are all on Tyneside
and include coastal Cullercoats, the Marsden Rock, the Rosie pub in South Shields, Eldon
Square shopping centre, some obligatory shots of some of the Tyne bridges and
what look like suspiciously like the mean streets of Jesmond or Gosforth. Some
of the production was also done at the Hoults Yard film studios in Byker. The book upon which the
screenplay is based was written by Sally Nicholls from Teesside. The film is
very much an Anglo-Spanish initiative - the Director, Gustavo Ron, also wrote
the screenplay and many of the production staff were Spanish too. The (good)
film lacks any local accents and has the most egregious product placement I
have ever seen in a film.
Still from Ways to Live Forever. Herd Groyne lighthouse (South Shields) in the background |
In
Our Name (2010) follows
a soldier who has returned home (supposedly to Middlesbrough despite
filming being done on Tyneside!) from serving in Iraq and struggles to
adjust back into her marriage and everyday life. The performance of lead
actress, Joanne Froggatt (of Downton Abbey fame), won her
the Most Promising Newcomer at the 13th British Independent Film Awards.
There are a few fleeting shots of recognizable places on Tyneside - Fenham
Barracks, Saltwell Social Club and the Tyne (looking west from a train crossing
over the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge), and the
pleasure park and beach at South Shields. LL.
A
mention is due here to County Durham-based Writer-Director Rob
Burrows who has made half a dozen features over the last decade - often
shot on Tyneside and mainly involving some combination of zombies, comedy and
the super-natural. If this sounds like your cup of tea (phial of blood?), you
can check his work out here.
Drunken
Butterflies (2014) features
24 hours in the life of eight older Newcastle teenagers. It was written and
directed by Garry Sykes who was raised in
Cramlington - nine miles north of Newcastle. I suspect it's a highly atypical
account of young women's social lives but the (now London-based) Sykes told the
local press that "it’s a bit of a romanticised version of what happened to
me as a teenager”. Some increased realism is added through real vox pops with
teenagers. The actors were recruited from the North East (mostly Newcastle) and
asked to make the 20-page storyline into a full-length feature. It was all shot
in Newcastle - mainly the centre. In one scene, which may yet go down in British cinematic history, one of the girls reads a helpful magazine article informing her that “my vajazzle set my bits on
fire”. There was a great scene where some of the girls get into a pub fight with a hen party - as a
classical version of The Blaydon Races plays as the
soundtrack. Local actor and magician Michael Grist also has an amusing role - one that allows him to
show off his magical talents. Drunken Butterflies is actually a great example
of a city film and I kinda liked it. LL.
Poster for Drunken Butterflies - featuring Tracy and the (apparently vajazzled) Chloe |
Bypass
(2014), about a
teenager who turns to crime after the tragic death of his mother, was shot in
and around Newcastle and Gateshead. The film was written and directed by Duane
Hopkins who is based in Newcastle and launched his own production company there
- Third Films (which made Bypass). The credits
indicate a lot of Tyneside institutions (police, universities, sports and
social clubs etc.) were involved in production yet the story seems much
more inspired by Hopkins' upbringing
on, and subsequent links to, a Coventry housing estate. There's also no local
accents or obvious North East landmarks. There's a brief night-time view of the
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and the gasholder that features briefly
may, I suppose, be one of the famous Dunston (Gateshead) ones. The only other
indication it might be Tyneside is a seagull cry that can be
heard outside! It's a dark but well-written and well-acted film and the ending
offers hope for the lead character. LL.
Ken
Loach’s I, Daniel Blake (2016) focuses on a man’s
dispiriting attempts to navigate the benefits system. The star is Tyneside
born-and-raised Dave Johns and there is also a good role for Zambian-born,
Newcastle-raised Kema Sikazwe. It was also good to see the shooting locations
properly listed in the end credits. I managed to catch it at the amazing Tyneside Cinema a few years back.
Daniel Blake (played by Dave Johns) outside a fictional Newcastle job centre |
Two
Graves (2018), a
Tyneside-shot tale about a doctor seeking vengeance for her murdered
son, was written, and directed by Newcastle-based Gary Young (best-known
for writing London-set Harry Brown). The talented cast includes Dave Johns
- hot off his I, Daniel Blake success. The trailer shows
a good bit of the Tyne but almost none of those featured have a local accent.
I've yet to see it. LL.
Ken
Loach’s latest film, Sorry We Missed You (2019), about a
self-employed delivery driver, is also set on
Tyneside – notably Gateshead’s Team Valley. Two of the four family members are
Tyneside-based, and the shoot had an artist-in-residence - Newcastle-based
Aidan Doyle who took photographs on location to use for an exhibition. It’s a powerful
film and it was amusing watching it with subtitles at my local cinema here in
the U.S.
So,
for what it's worth, my top-scoring North East city film (really a metro film
as it's Tyne and Wear) is ... Purely Belter. The Likely Lads, I, Daniel Blake and Get Carter followed in the scoring. I'd also add a very
honourable mention for three on my long list: In Fading Light, Dream
On and Drunken Butterflies.
The
author, a Brit. based in Washington DC, is on Twitter at @newbarnraising.
bliss 2017 shot on the coast in South Tyneside
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