This boxset (a long overdue chance to see Woolley's films on DVD) is well worth getting hold of and contains at least two of my favourite films from the late 70s and early 80s - 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'Telling Tales'. The former is an excellently shot, directed and acted left-field thriller centred on the murder of a prostitute in a Northern city. It was made at the time of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, if I remember rightly, but is very much a critique of oppressive male attitudes to women, as well as violent sexploitation films, at the same time as remaining an engrossing and well-told tale. 'Telling Tales', the earlier of the two films, is a unique mix of classy art movie and down to earth soap with some tour de force performances and continuous stylistic humour leavening serious social points about wealth, class and gender, which are as applicable in 2011 as they were in 1978. I also especially recommend one of Woolley's later films 'Waiting for Alan' - included in this boxset - a beautifully constructed look at the loneliness of a middle-class housewife, who decides to give her complacent husband the shock of his life. Carolyn Pickles' performance as the long-suffering wife is spot on (as it is in 'Brothers & Sisters', where she plays both sisters superbly) and through her enigmatic face, Woolley manages to magic tension and suspense out of the most mundane situations. So, this boxset is a highly recommended addition to any collection, and/or an ideal introduction to a filmmaker of considerable talent whose work has been hidden away too long. Finally, may I also recommend his recent novel Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands (avaialble through this site), a sophisticated whodunnit set in the murky depths of 90s Amsterdam - and very much in the 'Unflinching Eye' tradition.

This boxset (a long overdue chance to see Woolley's films on DVD) is well worth getting hold of and contains at least two of my favourite films from the late 70s and early 80s - 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'Telling Tales'. The former is an excellently shot, directed and acted left-field thriller centred on the murder of a prostitute in a Northern city. It was made at the time of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, if I remember rightly, but is very much a critique of oppressive male attitudes to women, as well as violent sexploitation films, at the same time as remaining an engrossing and well-told tale. 'Telling Tales', the earlier of the two films, is a unique mix of classy art movie and down to earth soap with some tour de force performances and continuous stylistic humour leavening serious social points about wealth, class and gender, which are as applicable in 2011 as they were in 1978. I also especially recommend one of Woolley's later films 'Waiting for Alan' - included in this boxset - a beautifully constructed look at the loneliness of a middle-class housewife, who decides to give her complacent husband the shock of his life. Carolyn Pickles' performance as the long-suffering wife is spot on (as it is in 'Brothers & Sisters', where she plays both sisters superbly) and through her enigmatic face, Woolley manages to magic tension and suspense out of the most mundane situations. So, this boxset is a highly recommended addition to any collection, and/or an ideal introduction to a filmmaker of considerable talent whose work has been hidden away too long. Finally, may I also recommend his recent novel Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands, a sophisticated whodunnit set in the murky depths of 90s Amsterdam - and very much in the 'Unflinching Eye' tradition.

This boxset (a long overdue chance to see Woolley's films on DVD) is well worth getting hold of and contains at least two of my favourite films from the late 70s and early 80s - 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'Telling Tales'. The former is an excellently shot, directed and acted left-field thriller centred on the murder of a prostitute in a Northern city. It was made at the time of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, if I remember rightly, but is very much a critique of oppressive male attitudes to women, as well as violent sexploitation films, at the same time as remaining an engrossing and well-told tale. 'Telling Tales', the earlier of the two films, is a unique mix of classy art movie and down to earth soap with some tour de force performances and continuous stylistic humour leavening serious social points about wealth, class and gender, which are as applicable in 2011 as they were in 1978. I also especially recommend one of Woolley's later films 'Waiting for Alan' - included in this boxset - a beautifully constructed look at the loneliness of a middle-class housewife, who decides to give her complacent husband the shock of his life. Carolyn Pickles' performance as the long-suffering wife is spot on (as it is in 'Brothers & Sisters', where she plays both sisters superbly) and through her enigmatic face, Woolley manages to magic tension and suspense out of the most mundane situations. So, this boxset is a highly recommended addition to any collection, and/or an ideal introduction to a filmmaker of considerable talent whose work has been hidden away too long. Finally, may I also recommend his recent novel Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands, a sophisticated whodunnit set in the murky depths of 90s Amsterdam - and very much in the 'Unflinching Eye' tradition.

This boxset (a long overdue chance to see Woolley's films on DVD) is well worth getting hold of and contains at least two of my favourite films from the late 70s and early 80s - 'Brothers & Sisters' and 'Telling Tales'. The former is an excellently shot, directed and acted left-field thriller centred on the murder of a prostitute in a Northern city. It was made at the time of the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, if I remember rightly, but is very much a critique of oppressive male attitudes to women, as well as violent sexploitation films, at the same time as remaining an engrossing and well-told tale. 'Telling Tales', the earlier of the two films, is a unique mix of classy art movie and down to earth soap with some tour de force performances and continuous stylistic humour leavening serious social points about wealth, class and gender, which are as applicable in 2011 as they were in 1978. I also especially recommend one of Woolley's later films 'Waiting for Alan' - included in this boxset - a beautifully constructed look at the loneliness of a middle-class housewife, who decides to give her complacent husband the shock of his life. Carolyn Pickles' performance as the long-suffering wife is spot on (as it is in 'Brothers & Sisters', where she plays both sisters superbly) and through her enigmatic face, Woolley manages to magic tension and suspense out of the most mundane situations. So, this boxset is a highly recommended addition to any collection, and/or an ideal introduction to a filmmaker of considerable talent whose work has been hidden away too long. Finally, may I also recommend his recent novel Sad-eyed Lady of the Lowlands, a sophisticated whodunnit set in the murky depths of 90s Amsterdam - and very much in the 'Unflinching Eye' tradition.

The appearance of this boxset of Richard Woolley’s films is a unique opportunity for collectors to add the work of one Britain’s most original – but rarely seen – filmmakers in the seventies and eighties to their collections. Film titles such as ‘Telling Tales’ and ‘Brothers & Sisters’ were important landmarks in the development of independent filmmaking in Britain and received considerable critical acclaim at the time. Writing about Woolley’s work in 1981 the Times film critic, David Robinson, noted that, “Woolley has the rare gift of making you want to know what happens next,” and the Observer’s Philip French – still going strong thirty years on – said this of Brothers & Sisters: “Merging Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ with Bertolucci’s ‘The Grim Reaper’, it is a continuously interesting picture, formally adroit and persuasively acted.” Time Out writing about his work in general commented: “A serious and thorough artist, Woolley's films collectively encompass all those issues which are at the centre of critical debate". Deserved and well phrased praise in this reviewer’s opinion and though his later television films, ‘Waiting for Alan’ and ‘Girl from the South’, did not receive the same exposure to critical comment, they too show a sharp, original and – as the boxset title suggests – unflinching eye at work. Indeed, it is to the credit of the British Film Institute and the Yorkshire Film Archive that they have worked together to restore and reissue this valuable body of work. It will be greatly appreciated by film historians and film buffs alike as well as enjoyed by a wider public, whether already acquainted with Woolley’s work or, through this boxset, able to discover it for the first time.

The appearance of this boxset of Richard Woolley’s films is a unique opportunity for collectors to add the work of one Britain’s most original – but rarely seen – filmmakers in the seventies and eighties to their collections. Film titles such as ‘Telling Tales’ and ‘Brothers & Sisters’ were important landmarks in the development of independent filmmaking in Britain and received considerable critical acclaim at the time. Writing about Woolley’s work in 1981 the Times film critic, David Robinson, noted that, “Woolley has the rare gift of making you want to know what happens next,” and the Observer’s Philip French – still going strong thirty years on – said this of Brothers & Sisters: “Merging Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ with Bertolucci’s ‘The Grim Reaper’, it is a continuously interesting picture, formally adroit and persuasively acted.” Time Out writing about his work in general commented: “A serious and thorough artist, Woolley's films collectively encompass all those issues which are at the centre of critical debate". Deserved and well phrased praise in this reviewer’s opinion and though his later television films, ‘Waiting for Alan’ and ‘Girl from the South’, did not receive the same exposure to critical comment, they too show a sharp, original and – as the boxset title suggests – unflinching eye at work. Indeed, it is to the credit of the British Film Institute and the Yorkshire Film Archive that they have worked together to restore and reissue this valuable body of work. It will be greatly appreciated by film historians and film buffs alike as well as enjoyed by a wider public, whether already acquainted with Woolley’s work or, through this boxset, able to discover it for the first time.