Probably the most atypical star in the history of popular music, Ian Dury overcame Polio to be one of the most iconic figures of the late punk movement. With his supercharged live performances and unique blend of sexually poetic lyrics, Ian Dury achieved critical aclaim from both his fans and fellow artists. From his early days with Kilburn and the High Roads to his superstardom with the Blockheads, Ian Dury was a complicated cocktail of warmth, wit, bile and bombast... quite simply he was unique and unforgettable. To discover the legend that is Ian Dury this DVD contains amazing live performances of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, What A Waste, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Sweet Gene Vincent and many other hits from his heyday, alongside in-depth interviews that give an insight to the man himself.
What happened when we built Utopia? New Town Utopia is feature documentary about the power of art, architecture, the state of the nation – and some rather angry puppets.
Picturesque scenes of land girls gathering hay on an Essex farm during WWI.
Ilford's Fairlop Plain provides the battlefield for ploughing matches between local hands and Essex outsiders.
Director Ken Loach explores the politics of race, class and charity in a capitalist society in this documentary funded by the Save the Children foundation.
Documentary exploring the effect of mass immigration on the dwindling white community of the East End, from the perspective of those who remain and those who chose to leave.
In her award-winning stand-up show, Esther Manito (Live At The Apollo, The Stand Up Sketch Show) looks back at the era of lad mags, landlines and cock-n-ball graffiti. A time where the media said her Middle Eastern heritage was filled with misogynistic men, whereas the West absolutely had (and still has) sexism sorted. Has lad culture really improved? Does 90s Essex have the answers?
The uplifting story of a seaside town transformed by a £17.3M lottery win. Meet the working-class community of Canvey Island, who won a fantastic opportunity to improve their lives.
Billy has just scored an entry-level position with the local crime cartel. His first job is to mind Jason, a newly released thug with a vicious temper. Jason thinks it's his job to teach Billy about crime, drugs and women. Little does he know that Billy has his eyes on Jason's own wife, Lisa. When an ecstasy deal goes bad, Jason vows revenge on the boss, while Billy looks to take out Jason. Before long, bodies start turning up
A trio of Essex girls offer their special brand of hospitality to a morose mysterious stranger.
In 1900, young Reverend Henry Bull and his sister, Kitty, are tasked with taking over the duties of their family home in Essex, a majestic Victorian mansion built on the site of an old monastery. Unaware of the sinister forces that lurk within, the pair are soon confronted by terrifying paranormal activities that threaten their loved ones. Desperate to protect themselves from the demonic intrusion, they call upon the services of a trusted family friend to investigate the origins of the vengeful ghosts which haunt their property. But these are spirits who will not rest, and Borley Rectory is doomed to gain a chilling reputation, as the most haunted house in all of Britain.
A dramatization of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.
Essex has been the central hub for many famous criminal activities. For generations Essex Boys have ruled the streets of Essex and East London in their underworld empires. Many people thought this ended in a Range Rover in 1995. They were wrong... Danny - an ex hooligan is driven back into a life of crime after his world is turned upside down on the streets of Essex.
A family is terrorised by a dark presence after they move into a quaint cottage, and discover it lies on the site of a medieval prison which once housed women accused of witchcraft.
Based upon Paul Gallico's delicate novel, Patrick Garland's Golden Globe winning The Snow Goose is a stark and hauntingly beautiful drama set amongst the striking scenery of the Essex salt marshes during the early years of WWII. A bearded Richard Harris leads the modest cast with his sensitive portrayal of tormented soul Philip Rhayader, a lonely misshapen man shunned by society but with a great love of life; Harris isnt overly bitter of his treatment and expresses his compassion through his paintings and love of the waterfowl that surround him. Harris is ably supported by the waiflike Jenny Agutter as Frith, who radiates the requisite amount of youthful innocence and naivety, and won a best supporting actress Emmy Award for her performance.
After an incident at her high school pulls her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year, “Essex Girl” Bisola is plunged into a journey to discover a whole new side of herself.
The Doctor contemplates a journey to see an old acquaintance and digs a well. Released in cinemas alongside the 3D double-bill of Dark Water and Death in Heaven.
Twenty years after Britain's most notorious gangland murders, the next generation of Essex Boys vie for control as revenge is sought by all sides.
An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." In the film, Kurt Cobain recounts his own life - from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame - and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public, and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood.
This film is the result of more than two years of work tracking down archive material and witnesses close to Mobutu in Africa, Europe and the U.S. More than 950 hours of footage have been seen by the world. Among the 104 hours selected as the basis for this film, are 30 hours of archives recently discovered in Kinshasa and never before released. Completing these exceptional documents, are more than 50 hours of interviews with those close to the former president and the events surrounding his reign, conducted by the director in Kinshasa, Brussels, Paris and Washington. Like a vast historical puzzle, this film pieces together the tragic history of a country, and its self-styled leader - the dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, "King of Zaïre".