This film is part of Free
Ten Years in an Open Necked Shirt
Discover the 'name behind the hairstyle', in this essential portrait of the bard of Salford, aka John Cooper Clarke.
Overview
The near-legendary bard of Salford, aka John Cooper Clarke, aka the 'name behind the hairstyle', is the focus of this essential documentary. Nick May's film wisely sets aside narration to give space to Clarke's sharp, take-no-prisoners words: in live performance, interviews and simple but striking impromptu 'videos' for tracks from his LPs with producer Martin Hannett. The film climaxes with a grim tour through Manchester slums to accompany Clarke's magnum opus, Beasley Street, a despairing hymn to the urban devastation and human casualties of the Thatcher era.
This is no conventional biography; the title comes from Clarke's surreal chronicle of his alter-ego Lenny Siberia, which he performs near the end (with a neat dramatisation of Lenny's school-aged encounters with The Knights of the Sacred Orchid). But we do learn about the competing influences of his leftwing parents and Catholic education, and that his machine-gun live delivery was (apparently) inspired equally by Futurist poetry and horseracing commentator Peter O'Sullevan. The film also serves as a useful introduction to the shortlived 'punk poetry' scene that rose up around Clarke at the turn of the 80s, with cameos from Attila the Stockbroker and Seething Wells (aka the late music journalist Steven Wells), plus dub poet master Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Related
Mining Review 25th Year No. 9 Mining Review 25th Year No. 9
1972 10 mins Location: Mayfair
A painterly profile of County Durham's brilliant miner-artist Tom McGuinness.
Figures in a Landscape Figures in a Landscape
Documentary 1953 17 mins Silent Location: St Ives
A poetic portrait of sculptor Barbara Hepworth and the otherworldly Cornish landscapes which inspired her.
Dancers Dancers
1978 29 mins
Impressionistic portrait of life as a dancer in London’s Ballet Rambert.
Giacometti Giacometti
Documentary 1967 14 mins
Spend a few intense minutes with Giacometti in his Paris studio and see him at work on his striking sculptures.
Portrait of David Hockney Portrait of David Hockney
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1972 13 mins
Filmed at the time Hockney was painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, this compelling study concentrates on the textures and light which surround the artist in his home and studio.
Odeon Cavalcade Odeon Cavalcade
Documentary 1973 37 mins
Cinema-goers escape their worries by stepping into the glorious Art Deco luxury of the Odeon picture palaces.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.