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Alan Clarke

Alan Clarke

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Alan Clarke (28 October 1935 – 24 July 1990) was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.

Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today. His subject matter tended towards social realism, especially with respect to deprived or oppressed communities.

As Dave Rolinson's book (see 'Further reading', below) on Clarke details, between 1962 and 1966 Clarke directed several plays at The Questors Theatre in Ealing, London. Between 1967 and 1969 he directed various ITV productions including plays by Alun Owen (Shelter, George’s Room, Stella, Thief, Gareth), Edna O’Brien (Which Of These Two Ladies Is He Married To? and Nothing’s Ever Over) and Roy Minton (The Gentleman Caller, Goodnight Albert, Stand By Your Screen). He also worked on the series The Informer, The Gold Robbers and A Man Of Our Times (but not, as Sight and Sound once claimed, Big Breadwinner Hog). Clarke continued to work for ITV through the 1970s but now made much of his work for the BBC. This included pieces for The Wednesday Play (Sovereign's Company 1970), Play for Today and Play of the Month. Distinctive work for these strands included further plays by Minton including Funny Farm (1975) and Scum (further details below), but also Sovereign’s Company (1970) by Don Shaw, The Hallelujah Handshake (1970) by Colin Welland and Penda’s Fen (1974) by David Rudkin. He also made To Encourage the Others (1972), a powerful drama documentary about the Derek Bentley case, and several documentaries, including Vodka Cola (1981) on multinational corporations.

A number of his works achieved notoriety and widespread criticism from the conservative end of the political spectrum, including Scum (1977), dealing with the subject of borstals (youth prisons), which was banned by the BBC, and subsequently remade by Clarke as a feature film in 1979 (the original television version was eventually screened after his death). His 1982 television play Made in Britain, starring Tim Roth (in his television debut) as a racist skinhead and his negative relationship with authorities and racial minorities, was based on a screenplay by David Leland. He directed the feature film Rita, Sue and Bob Too released in 1987.

Clarke's work in the 1980s is fiercely stark and political, including the David Leland plays Beloved Enemy (1981) on multinational corporations and Psy-Warriors (1981) on military interrogation. But he also directed David Bowie in Baal (1982) for the BBC, part of Clarke’s interest in Bertolt Brecht. His film work became more sparse, culminating in Contact (1984) on the British military presence in Northern Ireland, Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire (1985), Road (1987) and his short film (40 mins.) Elephant (1989) which dealt with 'the troubles' in Northern Ireland and featured a series of shootings with no narrative and hardly any dialogue; all were based on accounts of actual sectarian killings that had taken place in Belfast. The film took its title from Bernard MacLaverty's description of the troubles as "the elephant in our living room" - a reference to the collective denial of the underlying social problems of Northern Ireland. His final production, The Firm (1989), covered football hooliganism through the lead character played by Gary Oldman, but also the politics of Thatcher’s Britain.

Clarke inspired a generation of actors, writers and directors, including Paul Greengrass, Stephen Frears, Tim Roth, Ray Winstone, Gary Oldman, Danny Brocklehurst and Iain MacDonald. Filmmaker Harmony Korine has cited Clarke as a major influence on his work.

Clarke's son is Gabriel Clarke, an award-winning sports journalist with ITV.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Alan Clarke, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.​

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The Firm

The Firm

1989

Director

Elephant

Elephant

1989

Director

Road

Road

1987

Director

Christine

Christine

1987

Director, Writer

Rita, Sue and Bob Too

Rita, Sue and Bob Too

1987

Director

Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire

Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire

1985

Director

Contact

Contact

1985

Director

Stars of the Roller State Disco

Stars of the Roller State Disco

1984

Director

The British Desk

The British Desk

1984

Director

Made in Britain

Made in Britain

1983

Director

Tales Out of School

Tales Out of School

1983

Director

Brief Encounters

Brief Encounters

1983

Director

Baal

Baal

1982

Director

Psy-Warriors

Psy-Warriors

1981

Director

Beloved Enemy

Beloved Enemy

1981

Director

Vodka Cola

Vodka Cola

1980

Producer, Director

Scum

Scum

1979

Director

Nina

Nina

1978

Director

Danton's Death

Danton's Death

1978

Director, Writer

Scum

Scum

1977

Director

Bukovsky

Bukovsky

1977

Director, Producer

Fast Hands

Fast Hands

1976

Director

Diane

Diane

1975

Writer, Director

Funny Farm

Funny Farm

1975

Director

A Follower for Emily

A Follower for Emily

1974

Director

Penda's Fen

Penda's Fen

1974

Director

The Love-Girl and the Innocent

The Love-Girl and the Innocent

1973

Director, Adaptation

Man Above Men

Man Above Men

1973

Director

Achilles Heel

Achilles Heel

1973

Director

Horatio Bottomley

Horatio Bottomley

1972

Director

The Edwardians

The Edwardians

1972

Director

A Life Is Forever

A Life Is Forever

1972

Director

To Encourage the Others

To Encourage the Others

1972

Director

Horace

Horace

1972

Director

Under the Age

Under the Age

1972

Director

Everybody Say Cheese

Everybody Say Cheese

1971

Director

The Hallelujah Handshake

The Hallelujah Handshake

1970

Director

I Can't See My Little Willie

I Can't See My Little Willie

1970

Director

Play for Today

Play for Today

1970

Director

Sovereign's Company

Sovereign's Company

1970

Director

The Comic

The Comic

1969

Director

The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel

The Last Train Through Harecastle Tunnel

1969

Director

The Ladies: Doreen

The Ladies: Doreen

1969

Director

The Ladies: Joan

The Ladies: Joan

1969

Director

The Gold Robbers

The Gold Robbers

1969

Director

The Piano Tuner

The Piano Tuner

1969

Director

Gareth

Gareth

1968

Director

Stand by Your Screen

Stand by Your Screen

1968

Director

The Company of Five

The Company of Five

1968

Director

Thief

Thief

1968

Director

Nothing's Ever Over

Nothing's Ever Over

1968

Director

The Fifty-Seventh Saturday

The Fifty-Seventh Saturday

1968

Director

Stella

Stella

1968

Director

Never Mind How We Got Here, Where Are We?

Never Mind How We Got Here, Where Are We?

1968

Director

Goodnight Albert

Goodnight Albert

1968

Director

Got Yourself Sorted Out at All?

Got Yourself Sorted Out at All?

1968

Director

Sally Go Round the Moon

Sally Go Round the Moon

1968

Director

George's Room

George's Room

1967

Director

Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To?

Which of These Two Ladies Is He Married To?

1967

Director

The Gentleman Caller

The Gentleman Caller

1967

Director

A Man Inside

A Man Inside

1967

Director

Shelter

Shelter

1967

Director

The Informer

The Informer

1966

Director

Seven Deadly Sins

Seven Deadly Sins

1966

Assistant Unit Manager

BBC Play of the Month

BBC Play of the Month

1965

Director

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