This film is part of Rentals
The Yellow Balloon
A young boy is coerced into helping a fugitive in J. Lee Thompsonβs taut crime thriller, set amid the bombed-out ruins of post-war London.
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Overview
Frankie is devastated when his friend Ronnie falls to his death while playing in a blitzed building, but is even more distraught when the only witness β a hidden fugitive - blackmails him on the basis that heβs implicated in the tragedy.
J. Lee Thompsonβs taut crime thriller was controversially given an X certificate by the British Board of Film Censors, only for the decision to be overturned following an outcry when its young lead (Andrew Ray) was unable to watch the film. With its copious images of post-war devastation it remains a highly evocative London film that deserves to be better known.
Related
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthamiβs gripping, pitch-black satire.
Official Secrets Official Secrets
Thriller 2018 112 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Gripping political thriller with Keira Knightley as the intelligence officer who discovers a plot to rig a UN vote on the eve of the Iraq war.
Dark Waters Dark Waters
Biopic 2019 126 mins Director: Todd Haynes
Mark Ruffalo plays an attorney trying to uncover the corporate scandal of a chemical company poisoning a local community, in this searching ecological drama from Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol).
Seven Psychopaths Seven Psychopaths
Comedy 2012 110 mins Director: Martin McDonagh
Three Billboards' director Martin McDonagh spins an epic and twisted tale of pets and gangsters, with an all-star cast.
Eye in the Sky Eye in the Sky
Thriller 2016 102 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman (in his last role) play the military commanders caught in the ethical crosshairs of drone warfare, in Gavin Hoodβs gripping military thriller.
2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey
Science Fiction 1968 149 mins Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick took science fiction cinema in a grandly intelligent new direction with this epic story of manβs quest for knowledge.
What Every Woman Wants What Every Woman Wants
Drama 1954 88 mins Director: Maurice Elvey
The trials and tribulations of 1950s working class family life are engagingly evoked in this warm-hearted drama of urban England.
Some People Some People
Drama 1962 90 mins Director: Clive Donner
Cult 1960s musical drama about a leather boy who forms a Shadows-style guitar band.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Small Things Like These Small Things Like These
Drama 2024 99 mins
Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy delivers a stunning performance as a coal merchant who discovers horrific secrets about his local convent.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.