This film is part of Rentals
Coal Face
A striking and significant film from the early days of the British documentary movement, chronicling the work of British miners.
Director: Alberto Cavalcanti
Overview
An important and influential British documentary from the GPO Film Unit, Coal Face is, on the face of it, a straightforward document of the daily routine of miners and their contribution to British industry. But the film is elevated by inventive editing and sophisticated sound design of its Brazilian-born Director Alberto Cavalcanti, who had recently been recruited by GPO head John Grierson to bring creative flair to the Unit's films.
The result is a striking example of early British documentary in which the relationship between sound and image is disrupted to dramatic effect. As with the GPO’s most famous film, Night Mail (1936), there are contributions to the narration and score from WH Auden and Benjamin Britten, respectively.
Related
Supersonic Supersonic
Documentary 2016 117 mins Director: Mat Whitecross
Relive the stratospheric rise of the kings of Britpop in this rousing nostalgic trip from the producers of Amy.
Gascoigne Gascoigne
Documentary 2015 87 mins Director: Jane Preston
Documentary portrait of the mercurial football genius who inspired the game’s modern renaissance while battling personal demons.
Bye Bye Tiberias Bye Bye Tiberias
Documentary 2023 83 mins Director: Lina Soualem
A daughter’s powerful love letter to her mother and the strength of four generations of a Palestinian family.
Together with Lorenza Mazzetti Together with Lorenza Mazzetti
Documentary 2023 55 mins Director: Brighid Lowe
Brighid Lowe’s intimate documentary about the Italian-born artist and filmmaker who became a vital part of the Free Cinema movement in '50s Britain.
Phantom Parrot Phantom Parrot
Documentary 2023 85 mins Director: Kate Stonehill
A top-secret surveillance programme is revealed in this razor-sharp analysis of technology, human rights and structural racism.
blur: To the End blur: To the End
Documentary 2024 104 mins Director: Toby L
Britpop legends Blur reunite for their biggest gig at Wembley Stadium, in this raw documentary steeped in nostalgia.
20 Days in Mariupol 20 Days in Mariupol
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Mstyslav Chernov
Vivid and harrowing account of life under siege, Ukrainian journalists try to fulfil their mission to capture what later become defining images of the atrocities of the 2022 Russian invasion.
Tish Tish
Documentary 2023 90 mins Director: Paul Sng
An essential portrait of a major photographer whose work provides a key record of lives lived on the margins of 1980s Britain.
Occupied City Occupied City
Documentary 2023 251 mins Director: Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen’s cinematic commemoration of the Holocaust offers a multidimensional experience full of gravity and sublimity.
Red Herring Red Herring
Documentary 2023 94 mins Director: Kitson Vincent
Following his terminal diagnosis, young filmmaker Kit Vincent sets out to document an intimate and darkly humorous journey in this BIFA nominated documentary.
Copa 71 Copa 71
Documentary 2023 90 mins Director: Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine
Buried for 50 years, this is the untold story of the 1971 Women’s World Cup – a tremendous, televised rollercoaster ride and a historic moment in football.
Wilding Wilding
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: David Allen
A dying landscape is healed against all odds, going on to thrive in astonishing ways, in this hopeful story of ecological regeneration.
Dead of Night Dead of Night
Anthology 1945 99 mins Director: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer
A group of guests assembled at a country house swap uncanny and supernatural stories in this classic Ealing chiller from 1945.
The Monster of Highgate Ponds The Monster of Highgate Ponds
Children's 1961 59 mins Director: Alberto Cavalcanti
A boy receives a mysterious egg, but when it hatches a baby monster, mayhem ensues.
Close To You Close To You
2023 99 mins Director: Dominic Savage
Simmering apprehensions surround a family get-together as Elliot Page’s Sam returns home for the first time since transitioning, in this highly collaborative feature.
The Light between Oceans The Light between Oceans
Drama 2016 132 mins Director: Derek Cianfrance
Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander star in Derek Cianfrance’s sweeping romance about a lighthouse keeper, his wife, and the baby they rescue from a drifting boat.
Jackie Jackie
Biopic 2017 100 mins Director: Pablo Larraín
Natalie Portman is exceptional as the iconic First Lady who has to quickly adjust to the world-shaking trauma of her husband’s assassination.
I, Tonya I, Tonya
Biopic 2017 120 mins Director: Craig Gillespie
Athlete. Champion. Villain. Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) played them all…
Tracks Tracks
Biopic 2014 113 mins Director: John Curran
Mia Wasikowska stars in this inspirational true story about one woman’s extraordinary odyssey through the Australian Outback.
Official Secrets Official Secrets
Thriller 2018 112 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Gripping political thriller with Keira Knightley as the intelligence officer who discovers a plot to rig a UN vote on the eve of the Iraq war.