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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Radio On [DVD]

Radio On [DVD] [1979]

Radio On [DVD] [1979]
Directed by Christopher Petit

Price: £7.93 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery. Details

Customer Reviews

Turn the radio 'back on'4
Ignore the previous review if you like serious film, 'Radio On' is a key British film of the 70's. A compelling look at Britain on the cusp of Thatcherism, and a rare document of the desolate state of the nation at that time. The performances are fine, and you can spot familiar faces galore from the cast (Sue the punk from Eastenders anyone?).

Add to that, one of the finest soundtracks you could wish to hear, post-punk classics from Bowie, Devo, Lydia Lunch, Kraftwerk and more contribute to the overall feeling of nostalgia. Treasure this rarity available on DVD for the first time, and don't be put off with the fact that Mr Gordon Sumner stars in it, he doesn't get enough screen time to do his cameo spoilers a la Quadrophenia.

Turn on, tune in and you won't drop off!

Your DVD is filmic reality 24 times a second...5
Hard to believe this marvellous film is now thirty years old. I can't think of anything else like it. If you like DVDs, this is surely a must-have.

If the plot can be summarised as "A man drives his Rover from London to Bristol along the A4, then goes to the pier at Weston Super-Mare" it is also hard to believe it could be cool.

I'm not even mentioning getting the train from Minehead...

...because if it's in black and white with a Kraftwerk/ Bowie/ new wave soundtrack, it's different. What a film should be. Makes you look at things differently and think about them.

In fact, much of the film actually has less of a soundtrack than 2009's sporting highlights do!

And there's the shots of the Westway and the pylons.

Unmissable.

Ideas like "we are the children of Wernher von Braun" are interspersed with things like "Free Astrid Proll" graffiti. If you weren't there, it sounds like an advert.

Then there's the humour. "Why do people go to the sea to die?" "I suppose it's a kind of last resort".

A beautifully-made film. Is there a moral? Don't have a girlfriend who has 28 tellies - and make sure your car insurance is third party, fire and "abandoned in quarry"...? If you can't pigeonhole it, it's because it's a landmark...

Get it.

Definitely Radio ON!!!4
If you're looking for a movie to while away a dull couple of hours & want some "easy viewing" then look elesewhere.

However, if you a reminder of the bleakness of Britain in the early 80's then check this out. I was so taken with the photography & soundtrack that the plot & characters assumed a supporting role.

Look at how bleak (not to mention empty!)the A4 looks & also Bristol.This was very much the analogue age with cassette tapes, no mobile phones, service stations which were not self service, ....it's amazing.

Yep, this is Britain as it was....

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