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Amazon.co.uk Review
Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff gripped television audiences in 1982 with its bleak, fiercely funny exploration of the effect of the UK's economic depression on a group of Merseyside characters, originally introduced in his 1978 play, The Blackstuff. Bleasdale's writing is unsparing in both its pain and its unconditional affection for characters being pushed to the very limit of civilisation. Yosser Hughes (the outstanding Bernard Hill) is still, and rightly, recognised as one of the great creations of modern television drama: a man on the brink of madness, unlikeable, ostracised, digging a deeper hole with every desperate act, but ultimately a human being deserving our sympathy.
The performances are wonderful throughout: particularly Peter Kerrigan as Malone, the once giant union leader reduced to a shadow but still with the spark that commands love and respect; Michael Angelis as Chrissie and, in a typically sharp cameo, Julie Walters as his wife. "My dreams still give me hope and faith in my class. I can't believe there's no hope," says Chrissie towards the end. And it's testament to Bleasdale's skill and the resilience of his characters that somehow, that flicker of hope remains unextinguished.
The blackstuff--the tarmac--of the title becomes increasingly ironic. There is none. The boys have no work. The dole office scenes have a grimly nostalgic, documentary quality. Each second drips another droplet of disillusionment on people whose expectations are crushed by every effort to haul themselves up. Thatcher's Britain was a cruel place for many people. The unspoken question that hangs in the air after watching Bleasdale's poetic dissection of ruined lives is, have things really changed that much? Television drama doesn't come any more powerful or honest than this.
On the DVD: Boys from the Blackstuff is presented in standard 4:3 TV format with a mono soundtrack that often suffers from a muffled quality. There's only one additional feature, but it's a treasure: The Blackstuff, Alan Bleasdale's original 90-minute play, is presented as a prelude to the series with the bonus of an insightful commentary from the author and the director, Jim Goddard. --Piers Ford
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: 3-DVD Set, Box Set, Commentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Jobs For The Boys: Chrissie assembles an unofficial building gang but their moonlighting is being watched by the Department of Employment's investigators. A raid by the fraud squad leads to tragedy... Moonlighter: Dixie, father of four and once the proud foreman, is working illicitly on the docks when he discovers happenings that he'd rather not see. Meanwhile, after threats from the Department of Employment, his wife Freda is too scared to open the door. Shop Thy Neighbour: Chrissie's dole money has been stopped pending the enquiry into the 'moonlighting' affair. With no food in the cupboard the scene is set for a showdown with his wife Angie - this, after all, was going to be her time... Yosser's Story: Once Yosser dreamt of making it big. Now his manic search for work alternates with fruitless efforts to avoid eviction and keep his three children from being taken into care. George's Last Ride: A lifetime of adversity has left George's beliefs unbroken. When the end comes Chrissie discovers a legacy and finds that something must be said. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Boys from the Blackstuff - Complete Series - 3-DVD Box Set
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In the depths of despair, a masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Boys from the Blackstuff [DVD] (DVD)
I was old enough to remember what Liverpool was like in the early eighties. The city was trying to cope with mass unemployment and seeing the slow painful death of a port made famous by the slave trade. The riots that took place in Toxteth in 1981 had made national news, and yet it hardly registered here as the whole city was in such a state of rapid decline that a few buildings gutted by fire hardly registered.And it is extraordinary that in this period Liverpool had a football team that swept all before them, a music scene that produced some of the most critically acclaimed acts of the decade (Japan and Echo and The Bunnymen, for example) and a vibrant local theatre scene. Out of this, and with a help with a few visionaries from down the M6 at Pebble Mill, came a series that followed the fortunes of Chrissy, Dixie, George and of course, Yosser. It has been said that no drama captured the essence of early eighties deprivation like Boys From The Black Stuff, even though Alan Bleasdale claimed he had written it before Thatcher came to power. This does it a slight disservice, only because it suggests that this should only be seen by those with an interest in that period of seismic social change. Boys From The Black Stuff is not only a gripping drama but also one of the blackest comedies you are ever likely to see. It is a must see. End of. What is so special about this programme is that it shows in considerable depth the unravelling of each of the main characters (no leads here either, just a fine ensemble of actors in tune with the writing and the roles they played) as they try and cling on to their last bit of pride as they fall into the poverty trap. This spirit leads to further confrontations with the officials from the DHSS, Social Services and even the law. Their descents into despair (and in one harrowing case, madness) is painfully compelling to watch. And the humour that came out of these darkest moments is testament not only to the quality of writing but the spirit of those who have no choice but to keep fighting on. Liverpool has moved on since then, with it being the European capital of culture this year. However, despite the massive regeneration in the city and (so we're lead to believe) a new dawn for Liverpool, the once mighty Liverpool has fallen down the pecking order in terms of footballing invincibility (the battle for fourth place? do me a favour), musical talent (Atomic Kitten - spare me) and even the drama comes courtesy of Hollyoaks. If this is progress, you can keep it. Note: this DVD features the Play for Today that preceded the series. It's just as fascinating, but nowhere near as strong as the main series. You could watch it as an appetiser as it kind of sets the scene for what happens during the series, but it isn't compulsary (which is why it's on Disc 3).
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lest we forget,
By dogme "dudkin" (scotland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boys from the Blackstuff [DVD] (DVD)
This is the closest British television has come to the brilliance of 'The Wire', a coruscating view of a betrayed and dying class, its members scrabbling in the wreckage just to live, while maintaining a heartbreaking pretence that they are preserving some shreds of dignity, until they're brutally forced into total humiliation. Bleasdale's honesty, wit, compassion and anger seem to inspire perfectly pitched contributions from everyone involved, but of course it's Bernard Hill's Yosser which stays in the mind, perhaps the greatest tragic figure ever created for television.
70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grity early 1980's Television,
By
This review is from: Boys from the Blackstuff [DVD] (DVD)
Some 23 years after its broadcast, The Boys From The Blackstuff remains an intense and powerful drama which highlighted the grim realities of being working class in Margaret Thatcher's Britain in the early 1980's. Although the series is forever associated with Liverpool, the actual original Play For Today "Boys From The Blackstuff" broadcast several years before the series was made in 1982, is mainly set in Middlesborough, and concerns a group of memorable characters travelling to the North East for work. Events do not go to plan whilst they are there. In the subsequent series we see the characters now back in Liverpool, unemployed, and claiming dole. Each episode centres on different characters, and the individual struggles they face. For example Chrissy, brilliantly potrayed by Michael Angelis, wants to work legitamelty as opposed to moonlighting whilst claiming dole money. However his employer wishes to save money and only pays him cash in hand. The series most famous character, Yosser Hughes, is in the midst of a breakdown, as he copes with feeding his children, and desperately seeks work asking anyone who will listen to 'gisse us a job". Although his circumstances of his character are tragic, his catchphrase uttered by many would be impressionists, helps highlight the bleak and dark humour which can found throughout the series, culminating in the series final scenes in a Pub, in which an assortment of characters who no longer have any place in the employment market have assembled with nothing else to do other than drink. The far reaching influence of the drama, can be seen in many subsequent series such as Brookside, Yosser Hughes is in particular a forerunner of Jimmy Corkhill. Liverpool has changed immensely since the series broadcast, the Albert Dock here seen as a decaying and barren wasteland, is now a thriving shopping and restaurant district, and the Liverpool pierhead has been regenerated. In this way therefore, Boys From The Blackstuff does feel like a history programme in some respects, a snapshot of life many years ago.
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