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Kes [1969]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

This was only Ken Loach's second cinema feature but it still ranks as one of his finest and most moving films. Billy, a disaffected young lad living on a soulless Barnsley estate, finds a fledgling kestrel and, for the first time in his life, feels his imagination gripped. With infinite patience--and a book on falconry nicked from a local bookstore--he starts to train the bird.

There's no boy-and-his-pet sentimentality here: the relationship between Kes the bird and the puny, taciturn Billy is the kinship, full of wary respect, between two wild creatures, and when Kes for the first time flies free and returns to Billy's wrist, the sense of exhilaration is overwhelming.

Although Loach never rams his message home, it's clear that Billy stands for a whole generation of youngsters whose potential, barring some such chance event, will never be even fractionally realised. Chris Menges' photography brings out all the austere beauty of the Yorkshire locations, and Loach draws believable performances from his largely non-professional cast--especially the 14-year-old David Bradley, stunningly convincing as Billy. And anyone who has ever suffered under a bullying, self-satisfied sports teacher will squirm with recognition at the brilliant cameo from the late Brian Glover. --Philip Kemp


Amazing!
Review date: 2008-05-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

I first saw this beautiful and legendary film today and all I can say is, what a gem it really is!
The storyline is wonderful, the acting is truely unbeatable and "Kes" will make you both laugh and cry.
Lynne Perrie who later went on to play Ivy Tilsley in Coronation Street, deserves recognition as a fantastic actress, I loved her in "Corrie", "Queenie's Castle", "Follyfoot", "Leeds United" and of course, her infamous appearances on "The Word" and "Shooting Stars". But perhaps her best work is "Kes" where she plays the mouthy Mrs. Casper.
The other actors are also brilliant and the storyline is strong.
Above all, this film is a truely remarkable piece of work that I can fully recommened you see.

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Reviews


Schooldays.........
Review date: 2007-10-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

I had to read the book for my school english exams,'A Kestrel For A Knave' by Barry Hines. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and could not wait to see the film.
It is fantastic, as it sums up my school days only too well, I think most people can relate to this film, with fond memories of all that went on in the classroom, and on the football pitch (that bloomin games teacher) played by the late Brian Glover.(brilliant character)
Has to be director Kenneth Loaches best ever film, fantastic!
I can only remember seeing 'David Bradley' in one other film, 'Zulu Dawn'. Shame he could not have made some more, as he played the part of Billy Casper so well.......

Will always be a British Classic
Review date: 2007-09-11 Rating: 10 out of 10

You can probably overwatch this film and get bored with it over the years, but you will still have a soft spot for it and many will always have it in their top ten. And why not! It is just so well crafted for a small budget film based on a modest novel. It has inspired many film makers since, and if it were made today, it would clean up at the BAFTAS. Everyone has their favourite scene or performance from this film, mine has to be teacher Colin Welland's intervention in the playground bullying-that was pure class, and very old school northern. Films such as Billy Elliot could not have been made without this far superior film setting the brand a long time before.

Beautiful, Unpretentious and Naturalistic
Review date: 2007-07-07 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a beautiful little film about a young man at high school called Billy, who faces a grim future which was faced by his father and his father before him: working in the pits. Set against a backdrop of gritty northern locations, humour and unpretentious dialogue, the young man's befriending of a Kestrel (Kes) is sweet and captivating, whilst the dialogue is always witty and down to earth. Lynne Perrie, who famously played Ivy in Coronation Street, also makes an appearance as Billy's mother.

Watching Billy engage with Kes, and then talk about him in front of his classmates is moving and sweet, but oh so realistic. All of the acting is naturalistic, and the portrayal of working-class life in a Northern town during that era is vivid. More amusingly, the Yorkshire accents, which sound beautifully musical, are at times indecipherable, but this adds a very great charm.

What Ken Loach has created is a truly great film with lasting appeal, that of finding hope and being desperate for a ticket out of the miserable banality of nine to five, and the claustrophobic trappings of working-class life. For billy, it was a Kestrel. Loach has shown that goals, from the small to the large, realised or unrealised, are what we all must strive for. Wanting something better out of life is something we can all relate to.

Gritty, funny and witty
Review date: 2007-05-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

Plenty as been said about this film, but sometimes the humour is overlooked.

Some of the scenes in the school, with the kids filmed naturally talking the way they do, and improvising, and of course the classic football sequence, all add to the depth and fun of this classic.

All the themes stand the test of time and are always relevant: the battle between the individual and the needs of society, and the tragic neglect of talent brought about by dogmatic and unimaginative thinking.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Colin Welland
David Bradley
Lynne Perrie
Brian Glover
Freddie Fletcher

Creators:
David Bradley (Primary Contributor)
Brian Glover (Primary Contributor)
Chris Menges (Cinematographer)
Ken Loach (Writer)
Roy Watts (Editor)
Tony Garnett (Producer)
Tony Garnett (Writer)
Barry Hines (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 0933868300602
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-01-20
Universal product code (UPC): 933868300602
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1969
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: German (Unknown)
Language: Turkish (Subtitled)
Language: German (Dubbed)

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