2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 5, 2014

Despite a long career that has resulted in several prestigious awards (including this year’s Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival), Ken Loach continues to be oddly underappreciated and in fact largely unknown on this side of the pond. His class conscious social realism would seem to be a perfect fit in a nation noted for its supposed lack of “caste” strata, but Loach’s films have generally been consigned to the Art House circuit over here and have therefore perhaps not had the wider recognition they deserve. Those curious about Loach had a recent opportunity to experience one of his 1970s outings when Cohen Film Collection released Black Jack, and now Twilight Time has released a double feature of two relatively more recent films from Loach’s enduring oeuvre, 1991’s Riff-Raff and 1993’s Raining Stones, both dealing with disaffected lower class folks caught in the vagaries of less than desirable working conditions or in fact unemployment. Both films offer an unsurprisingly dour perspective on the disastrous British economy of that era, but as with most Loach films, there are glimmers of hope scattered throughout the ashes of these lives.

Please click on the links below to access full reviews of both titles in this double feature:

Riff-Raff Blu-ray review

Raining Stones Blu-ray review

2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Video quality for each release is addressed in the individual reviews linked above.

2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Audio quality for each release is addressed in the individual reviews linked above.

2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Supplementary material for each release is addressed in the individual reviews linked above.

2 by Ken Loach: Riff-Raff / Raining Stones Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ken Loach is certainly an acquired taste, and his gritty naturalism won't be everyone's cup of tea. But for those who worry about hot button issues like income inequality and workers' rights, not to mention the tenuous connection between religion and socioeconomic standing, these two films are thought provoking even if they are occasionally screed like. Raining Stones is the much easier pill to swallow here, but Carlyle is unforgettable in Riff-Raff. Recommended.