User Reviews

The makers of the Dennis Skinner documentary Nature Of The Beast pay tribute to another leftist landmark in this homage to the Durham Miners' Gala, an annual parade of banners and brass bands that has been a fixture of the Trade Unionist calendar for more than 100 years. Incorporating footage from 1963's Gala Day, the last film to chronicle this north-east tradition, Daniel Draper's feature vividly portraits both the pageantry and the politics. It would probably be more appealing to the unaffiliated, however, if there was at least one interviewee who didn't sing from the same socialist hymn sheet.

A documentary following the events, people and history of 'The Big Meeting' in Durham. Organised by the miner's trade union; it's a festival, carnival, parade, fete and general celebration of all things working class.

In my cinema viewing there was one other guy in the audience. We didn't speak.

When a film starts with a ten second shot of some weedy grass following by another long shot of some cobble stones you know you're going to have to be patient. It would have been better to start with the proper working-class art that is does cover later on. There are some interesting articles, well meshed historic film scenes and good interviews. It's also heavily over laid with Labour politics. I found myself day dreaming a lot.

If you're attending the Labour conference in Brighton this week you need to get your excuse ready as to why you missed this. 'My dog ate my cinema ticket,' might receive sympathetic nods. I wish mine had.

I've never been to the big meeting but it looks a lot of fun.