Nick Broomfield's 1971 film on Liverpool slum clearance
Nick Broomfield's documentaries might not be everyone's cup of tea. His observational style and frequent interruptions in his own work have made him one of the most recognisable film-makers working today.
His first film was a remarkable piece of work. Who Cares? was filmed in the then deprived Liverpool 8 area in Toxteth, and followed the demolition of working class slum housing, with a soundtrack of interviews with residents, talking about their lives before the rehousing, how the council turfed them out, and the rising cost of council housing in the new blocks they were put into.
On Broomfield's site he has this to say about the making of it: 'The first film I ever made. Borrowed the camera, got 'short ends' of film for free and set out with my friend Pete Archard to Liverpool. Pete is a sociologist and knew the subject really well. Took three months to shoot. Bernice Rubens the novelist helped me to piece it together. It took me one and a half years working nights to cut this 18 minute film. Sir Arthur Elton and the director Bruce Beresford got me £200 to finish it at the British Film Institute'.
You can see Bernice Rubens's influence here, the way the human stories interweave and are constructed in the film gives it a real deeply felt emotional heart, and an anger and political intent too. The finished film was used as evidence at the Royal Commission on Slum Clearance and Rehousing.
It's a tough watch. Bleak, uncompromising, at times sentimental, and right in there with the residents. There are optimistic tales of postwar rehousing. This is not one of them. But check out these photos of Liverpool 8 by Tricia Porter from the same time, for a rather less bleak approach.
His first film was a remarkable piece of work. Who Cares? was filmed in the then deprived Liverpool 8 area in Toxteth, and followed the demolition of working class slum housing, with a soundtrack of interviews with residents, talking about their lives before the rehousing, how the council turfed them out, and the rising cost of council housing in the new blocks they were put into.
On Broomfield's site he has this to say about the making of it: 'The first film I ever made. Borrowed the camera, got 'short ends' of film for free and set out with my friend Pete Archard to Liverpool. Pete is a sociologist and knew the subject really well. Took three months to shoot. Bernice Rubens the novelist helped me to piece it together. It took me one and a half years working nights to cut this 18 minute film. Sir Arthur Elton and the director Bruce Beresford got me £200 to finish it at the British Film Institute'.
You can see Bernice Rubens's influence here, the way the human stories interweave and are constructed in the film gives it a real deeply felt emotional heart, and an anger and political intent too. The finished film was used as evidence at the Royal Commission on Slum Clearance and Rehousing.
It's a tough watch. Bleak, uncompromising, at times sentimental, and right in there with the residents. There are optimistic tales of postwar rehousing. This is not one of them. But check out these photos of Liverpool 8 by Tricia Porter from the same time, for a rather less bleak approach.
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