'The Price of Coal' is a rare two-part Play for Today, and the final BBC television drama directed by Ken Loach. Written by occasional Loach collaborator Barry Hines, it's an odd beast, consisting of two linked episodes set around the fictional Milton Colliery near Barnsley and featuring many of the same characters, but with very different tones. The first episode (Meet the People) is a satirical comedy revolving around the absurd preparations being made for a royal visit to the coal pit; in stark contrast, the second episode (Back to Reality) is far more serious and deals with a pit disaster when an underground explosion kills several miners.
The comedy in Meet the People is of a drily humorous type, dealing with the inherent silliness in trying to make a coal mine and its workings presentable just because Prince Charles is due to pay a visit. This is realised through an extensive program of tree planting, new signs (boasting Latin slogans), and men painting the pit head. Colliery Manager Forbes attempts to plant grass on the spoil heap, a plan ruined when it rains and washes the seed away, and at one point a worker is assigned to paint a brick that has long been used to prop open a window with a broken sash. Hine's dialogue manages to be naturalistic rather than overtly witty, partly due to the unusual but effective decision by Loach to cast various stand-up comedians from South Yorkshire, including Bobby Knutt, later a soap-opera actor: as in Hines and Loach's Kes, the use of Yorkshire dialect adds authenticity. Many of the actors are relatively unknown, but everyone gives a convincing performance. Jackie Shinn is great as Mr. Forbes, the pit manager who spends a great deal of time and attention on preparing for the royal visit, much to the derision of the workers, whilst the more recognisable Edward Underdown plays Sir Gordon Horrocks, having previously been cast as a posh landowner in Loach's Days of Hope two years earlier. It's all quite whimsical and gentle, and although Hines includes plenty of social commentary (Walter is complemented on his forty-one years of loyal service to the pit: "Loyal service? I'd no other bloody choice!", and there's an angry debate in the pub about the royal visit) it lacks the grinding "grim up north" misery of some of his and Loach's other work.
So the change in tone for Back to Reality comes as a quite a shock when the two episodes are watched back-to-back. When a gas explosion traps (and kills) several miners underground, it leads to a tense, claustrophobic and politically charged slice of drama, that becomes increasingly tragic and growingly angry, as the miners' loved ones learn of their losses, and suspicion grows amongst the miners that safety has been compromised to increase productivity. Everyone starts blaming everybody else before the rescue attempt is even complete. Hines aims his ire at pit managers (of course), but the reporters sent to cover the disaster also incur his wrath. It's far more action-packed than the sedate first episode, as everyone answers the call to action, and if it feels padded at times, this has the effect of conveying the agony of waiting for news felt by the families of the trapped miners. Notably, the same core cast that handled the light-hearted first episode so well do an equally good job with this much more dramatic material.
Loach shot both episodes on location at Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham and Wakefield, and it looks great. Cinematographer Brian Tufano makes extensive use of long and wide-angle shots, which makes good use of the locations, and strikingly when he does use close-ups, he tends to shoot actors from the side or slightly behind rather than the front. The actual explosion is clearly realised on a budget, with sound effects and lights, but it's still highly effective due to Tufano's careful camerawork and Loach's direction. The grimy, claustrophobic confines of the pit are well realised on screen, as the rescues shift rubble in the hope of finding anyone who isn't a corpse.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the disjoint between the two episodes, 'The Price of Coal' makes a strong final dramatic outing for Loach after a respectable career at the BBC. He would make one final drama film for television, before leaving the medium for the cinema and returning only for an infrequent string of controversial, left-wing documentaries. Perhaps the most notable thing about 'The Price of Coal' is that whilst everyone is aware that Loach can direct drama, it proves that he can also demonstrate the lightness of touch required for comedy, serving as a reminder that his career behind the camera is more varied and interesting than he is sometimes given credit for.
The comedy in Meet the People is of a drily humorous type, dealing with the inherent silliness in trying to make a coal mine and its workings presentable just because Prince Charles is due to pay a visit. This is realised through an extensive program of tree planting, new signs (boasting Latin slogans), and men painting the pit head. Colliery Manager Forbes attempts to plant grass on the spoil heap, a plan ruined when it rains and washes the seed away, and at one point a worker is assigned to paint a brick that has long been used to prop open a window with a broken sash. Hine's dialogue manages to be naturalistic rather than overtly witty, partly due to the unusual but effective decision by Loach to cast various stand-up comedians from South Yorkshire, including Bobby Knutt, later a soap-opera actor: as in Hines and Loach's Kes, the use of Yorkshire dialect adds authenticity. Many of the actors are relatively unknown, but everyone gives a convincing performance. Jackie Shinn is great as Mr. Forbes, the pit manager who spends a great deal of time and attention on preparing for the royal visit, much to the derision of the workers, whilst the more recognisable Edward Underdown plays Sir Gordon Horrocks, having previously been cast as a posh landowner in Loach's Days of Hope two years earlier. It's all quite whimsical and gentle, and although Hines includes plenty of social commentary (Walter is complemented on his forty-one years of loyal service to the pit: "Loyal service? I'd no other bloody choice!", and there's an angry debate in the pub about the royal visit) it lacks the grinding "grim up north" misery of some of his and Loach's other work.
So the change in tone for Back to Reality comes as a quite a shock when the two episodes are watched back-to-back. When a gas explosion traps (and kills) several miners underground, it leads to a tense, claustrophobic and politically charged slice of drama, that becomes increasingly tragic and growingly angry, as the miners' loved ones learn of their losses, and suspicion grows amongst the miners that safety has been compromised to increase productivity. Everyone starts blaming everybody else before the rescue attempt is even complete. Hines aims his ire at pit managers (of course), but the reporters sent to cover the disaster also incur his wrath. It's far more action-packed than the sedate first episode, as everyone answers the call to action, and if it feels padded at times, this has the effect of conveying the agony of waiting for news felt by the families of the trapped miners. Notably, the same core cast that handled the light-hearted first episode so well do an equally good job with this much more dramatic material.
Loach shot both episodes on location at Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham and Wakefield, and it looks great. Cinematographer Brian Tufano makes extensive use of long and wide-angle shots, which makes good use of the locations, and strikingly when he does use close-ups, he tends to shoot actors from the side or slightly behind rather than the front. The actual explosion is clearly realised on a budget, with sound effects and lights, but it's still highly effective due to Tufano's careful camerawork and Loach's direction. The grimy, claustrophobic confines of the pit are well realised on screen, as the rescues shift rubble in the hope of finding anyone who isn't a corpse.
Despite (or perhaps because of) the disjoint between the two episodes, 'The Price of Coal' makes a strong final dramatic outing for Loach after a respectable career at the BBC. He would make one final drama film for television, before leaving the medium for the cinema and returning only for an infrequent string of controversial, left-wing documentaries. Perhaps the most notable thing about 'The Price of Coal' is that whilst everyone is aware that Loach can direct drama, it proves that he can also demonstrate the lightness of touch required for comedy, serving as a reminder that his career behind the camera is more varied and interesting than he is sometimes given credit for.
