Above Us the Earth (1977)
Director: Karl Francis
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
At times inclined to substitute special pleading for analytical fact, but extremely refreshing as a study of Welsh miners and their environment, especially given the alacrity with which the British cinema has usually retreated to defensive stereotypes to characterise the working class. Documentary footage concerning the closure of Ogilvie Colliery in 1975 and the miners' attitude towards this is intercut with staged sequences of the decline and death of an old miner from lung disease. The subject is sombre and its treatment reflective, as well it might be when the director, himself a miner's son, had to mortgage his home to help complete the film.Author: SM
Cast & crew
Director: Karl Francis
Producer: Karl Francis
Cast: Windsor Rees, Gwen Francis, Don Osmond, Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, Joe Gormley full cast
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 85 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
Gray's anatomy
James Gray wants to push buttons—again.
The next big thing?
Gigantic Releasing tries to rethink indie distribution…without movie theaters.
Red Diva: Lyubov Orlova, First Lady of Soviet Cinema
So you think you can dance, comrade?
Puppet master
Coraline director Henry Selick takes stop-motion animation into 3-D.
Socratic method
Laurent Cantet's approach on the set matches the message of his film.
Wander woman
Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy puts a Bush-era spin on the road movie.
Oscars
Read our interviews with the nominees, our reviews of the nominated films and more.



What do you think?
Post your review now