The Black Stuff

TV Movie
1980
TV-PG
1h 50m

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Michael Angelis, Gary Bleasdale, Tom Georgeson, Bernard Hill, Alan Igbon, and Peter Kerrigan in The Black Stuff (1980)

A group of Liverpudlians goes to Middlesborough to lay a tarmac road.A group of Liverpudlians goes to Middlesborough to lay a tarmac road.A group of Liverpudlians goes to Middlesborough to lay a tarmac road.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.0/10

604

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

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Trivia
The programme was filmed in 1978 and was ready for broadcast by the end of that year, but an internal dispute within the BBC led to a postponement of over a year. While most people assume that it was written in response to Margaret Thatcher coming to power, it was in fact written over 18 months before this happened.

Quotes
[McKenna has just sacked Yosser. Yosser says he is going to go it alone, but McKenna threatens that he will make sure that Yosser never works again]
Yosser Hughes: [ranting] We'll see about that, McKenna. I'm gonna have more than one stinking shirt. I'm gonna have a suit for every day of the week. I'm gonna have a plane, McKenna.
George Malone: [to himself] And I'm gonna go to Lourdes, get cured, come home, divorce the missus and marry Rita Hayworth. God knows, there's nothing like hope.

Connections
Featured in What We Were Watching: Christmas 1979 (2019)

Soundtracks
Beautiful Lover
Performed by Brotherhood of Man
Written by Martin Lee, Lee Sheriden and Tony Hiller

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Review

Featured review

10/10

A tribute to the evil Margaret Thatcher.

The dire conditions of early-80's Britain was exacerbated by AWFUL Prime Minister and chief salesperson of taxpayers assets, Margaret Thatcher, who happily became working-class Britain's arch-enemy.

Former working class herself (a grocer's daughter) Thatcher turned like a semi-automatic cobra on anyone less-fortunate than herself which including the hundreds of thousands of Britain's unemployed many of whom she had sent, or would send, to war with Argentina.

In stark contrast to one reviewer; I say that their is no real ha-ha humour in this excellent dramatic series which describes the atrocious conditions imposed on the British working people.

The individual characters created by Tony Bleasedale are masterful, the cast are incredible, and this gripping series deserved every accolade and recognition it received and will continue to receive.

As a Brit, I say it is a superb watch, accurate, and thoroughly recommended A1+++++.