MIKE LEIGH AT THE BBC Now Streaming on The Criterion Channel

In the seventeen years between his first two theatrical features (1971's BLEAK MOMENTS and 1988's HIGH HOPES), Mike Leigh, the great humanist of British cinema, sharpened his distinctive voice and famously improvisatory process at the BBC, where he directed a string of striking, bittersweet slice-of-life dramas built around sharply etched characters.

Infused with Leigh's trademark humor, empathy, and incisive class and social critiques, these oft-neglected early works are blueprints to Leigh's illustrious later career and brilliant showcases for many of the legendary actors who would become his most important collaborators, including Alison Steadman, Lesley Manville, Brenda Blethyn, and Timothy Spall.

Hard Labour, 1973

Nuts in May, 1976

Abigail's Party, 1977

The Kiss of Death, 1977

Who's Who, 1979

Grown-Ups, 1980

Home Sweet Home, 1982

Four Days in July, 1984

Since 1984, the Criterion Collection has been dedicated to publishing important classic and contemporary films from around the world in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements.

No matter the medium-from laserdisc to DVD and Blu-ray to streaming on the Criterion Channel-Criterion has maintained its pioneering commitment to presenting each film as its maker would want it seen, in state-of-the-art restorations with special features designed to encourage repeated watching and deepen the viewer's appreciation of the art of film.