London Line No. 373

Look at Life: Goodbye, Piccadilly

November 1967 •English

This documentary in the Look At Life series – made by the Rank Organisation for screening in Odeon and Gaumont cinemas – was released in 1967 and anticipated a radical redevelopment of Piccadilly Circus, which never actually happened.

A Living Culture

September 2022 •English

A short documentary with funk, fashion and noise, with intimate stories from students and artisans from New Zealand and India pursuing a responsible fashion future.

Kim Kardashian Theory

January 2024 •French

Look at Life: Down London River

January 1959 •English

Take a history tour on the River Thames. Lots of famous footage: Parliament, Big Ben, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, Port of London, Cleopatra's Needle and much more!

Look at Life: Report on a River

January 1963 •English

A look at the River Thames, its past and present, from source to the sea. An examination of what has been done and is being done to modernize port services and to keep traffic moving—from holiday pleasure seekers to bustling commerce.

Look at Life: Members Only

January 1965 •English

A look at the "private clubs" of London. From the famous political clubs of the 18th century to the gambling clubs and the bohemian night clubs of the West End.

Look at Life: Fire over London

January 1966 •English

The film Fire Over London is about the operation of the London Fire Brigade. In an office's switchboard room we see one of the hideous T&N green and ivory telephones supplied by General Telephone Systems. Another shot deep in the bowels of St Paul's Cathedral gives a glimpse of a two-tone grey ATE 'Coffin Phone' as used on Communications Systems private exchange systems.

Look at Life: Change at the Tower

January 1967 •English

A look at the day-to-day running of the historic Tower of London and coping with up to 16,000 visitors each day. A stunning display of the Crown Jewels.

From Local to Social

January 2024 •English

Using local media footage from the London Borough of Southwark spanning the past 20 years, this documentary discusses complex social issues including gang violence, knife crime, and mental and sexual health.

Harry Styles: The Finishing Touch

January 2023 •French

Hit after hit, pop-icon Harry Styles, once the centerpiece of the world's biggest boy bands has grown into someone who isn't afraid of self-expression, continuing to reject the traditional confines of masculinity.

A&C to S

June 2014 •English

As the modernisation of London Underground continues, long serving A-Stock and C-Stock trains have been withdrawn from service, and their differing characters will slowly become a memory. London Transport Museum commissioned Geoff Marshall to record the transition between old and new trains.

Hollywood Rated 'R'

June 1997 •English

A roller-coaster ride through the history of American exploitation films, ranging from Roger Corman's sci-fi and horror monster movies, 1960s beach movies, H.G. Lewis' gore-fests, William Castle's schlocky theatrical gimmicks, to 1970s blaxploitation, pre-"Deep Throat" sex tease films, Russ Meyer's bosom-heavy masterpieces, etc, etc. Over 25 interviews of the greatest purveyors of weird films of all kind from 1940 to 1975. Illustrated with dozens of films clips, trailers, extra footage, etc. This documentary as a shorter companion piece focusing on exploitation king David F. Friedman.

Chubai. Speaking Again

January 2023 •Ukrainian

A theatrical documentary about Hrytsko Chubai, a genius of Ukrainian poetry, a connoisseur of literature, art and music and the brightest representative of Lviv underground culture of late 60s early 70s.

Mudflat

August 1980 •English

Years ago, artists would walk around the muck at the edge of the San Francisco Bay in Emeryville, and build loads of sculptures out there on the flats, created from driftwood and found objects that drivers would enjoy as they motored south on the old Highway 17 (known in numerous radio ads as 'Highway 17, The Nimitz'). Grabbing material off someone else’s work was considered fair game and part of the fun, and contributed a kinetic dynamic to the ongoing display. Now the place is a park, and the sculptures are gone, but you can see what it used to be like in this neat and funny documentary by Ric Reynolds, augmented by Erich Seibert’s wonderful musique-concrète/time-lapse sequences. The flashback circus sequence includes Scott Beach and Bill Irwin. Sculptors interviewed include Walt Zucker, Tony Puccio, Robert Sommer, Ron & Mary Bradden, and Bob Kaminsky.

Fashion As A Social Control

January 1976 •English

A look at the ways fashion has been used to socially control women in Canada, both historically and in the 20th century.

Jean Paul Gaultier : Freak & Chic

December 2018 •French

Inspired even as a boy by the Folies Bergere, the legendary Paris cabaret venue, couturier Jean-Paul Gaultier always wanted to stage a show there. "But what story can I tell?" he muses in this doc about the six months of preparation that went into the show. "Mine." Combining fashion with film, dance, theater, and unapologetic over-the-top-ness, the revue offers a 40-year career retrospective of the designer who is practically never spoken of without using the phrase enfant terrible. Notorious among cinephiles for his costumes for The Fifth Element and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover and among pop fans for Madonna's pointy cone brassiere, he also incorporated teddy bears and S&M fetish gear as design motifs. In the show, the fanciful and outrageous meets the naughtily witty (a skit sending up Vogue dragon lady Anna Wintour) and the poignant (a tribute to his partner Francis Menuge, who died in 1990).

La Bréa

Invalid date •Portuguese

Documentary about Brazilian actress Sandra Bréa.

Look at Life: Market Place

January 1959 •English

A look into London's street markets and how they're suffering to compete with supermarkets.

The Pedway: Elevating London

September 2013 •English

A documentary on the post-war redevelopment in the City of London — focusing on the attempt to build an ambitious network of elevated walkways through the city. Featuring interviews with professor of town planning Michael Hebbert (UCL), architecture critic Jonathan Glancey, city planning officer Peter Wynne Rees and writer Nicholas Rudd-Jones (Pathways), the film explores why the 'Pedway' scheme was unsuccessful and captures the abandoned remains that, unknown to the public, still haunt the square mile.

Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?

Invalid date •English

George Clinton's somewhat absurdist take on Parliament-Funkadelic history. Features never-before-granted access to his archive and spotlights his alter egos and friends