World in Action: Volume 4

Synopsis
This DVD collects a number of notable episodes from the ITV current affairs series which ran from 1963-1999. The Granada-produced series was trailblazing and hard-hitting, choosing subjects that other programmes would not touch and regularly getting into trouble with the ITV regulators and, at times, the Government.

This volume comprises 23 programmes covering major stories from the ‘60s to the ‘90s; these include the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, the assassination of Martin Luther King, the Angry Brigade trials in London, EXIT’s ‘suicide manual’, New York’s drug-fuelled crime wave, the Bhopal factory disaster, and the NHS in crisis.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Year of release
2014
Subjects
Social Studies; Media studies; Politics & government
Keywords
air crashes; Alzheimer’s disease; Bhopal; crime; fires; homosexuality; Hussein, Saddam; King, Martin Luther; Liberal Party; Middle East; National Health Service; politics; slum communities; South Africa; current affairs broadcasting; assisted suicide; pirate radio; miners’ strike (1984-5)

Credits

Contributor
Carmichael. Stokeley; L. Ron Hubbard; Mary Whitehouse

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 2 PAL
Price
£14.40
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
628 minutes
Year
2018

Sections

Title
Slums
Synopsis
World in Action looks at the plight of families living in squalor in the slums of London’s East End.

Title
After The War
Synopsis
Broadcast during the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, this episode includes interviews with political leaders of both sides.

Title
O’Rahilly File, The
Synopsis
Ronan O’Rahilly talks to WIA about his pirate radio ship, Radio Caroline, and why he rebels against the established laws of society.

Title
Listen, Whitey
Synopsis
Transmitted four days after his assassination, this programme examines the reaction of black communities and leaders to the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

Title
Life and Death of James Griffiths, The
Synopsis
A character study of Glasgow gunman James Griffiths. It includes a reconstruction of the rampage in which he shot several people, ending in a shootout between Griffiths and the police.

Title
Where Crime Is a Habit
Synopsis
A look at drug-related crime in New York, and the methods used in tackling it.

Title
22-Year Itch, The
Synopsis
A look at the cause and effects of the slump in the British film industry; interviewees include Tony Garnett, Bryan Forbes, Michael Caine, John Boulting and John Terry.

Title
Dumping Grounds, The
Synopsis
WIA visits the barren ‘homelands’ of South Africa where, without warning, entire townships of black South Africans had been forcibly transported from their homes and work.

Title
Square One
Synopsis
WIA looks at the bitter confrontation between Catholic Ireland and Protestant England for Ulster; at a time of fresh violence, it seemed Ulster was back to square one.

Title
Angry Brigade, The
Synopsis
A report on this English guerilla movement, including an interview with Anna Mendelssohn on the day she was sentenced to 10 years in jail for her involvement in a bombing plot.

Title
Conversations with a gay Liberal
Synopsis
When Sam Green stood for election to Durham City Council, he was elected despite announcing he was gay. WIA went to Durham to find out if social attitudes really were changing.

Title
Prison Children, The
Synopsis
A look at the problem of young offenders who are so far beyond control that they have to be sent to remand centres while awaiting trial.

Title
Starting on the dole
Synopsis
A look at youth unemployment, focusing on two typical Liverpudlian youngsters.

Title
Working for a pittance
Synopsis
WIA investigates the work, conditions and shockingly low pay of people with physical and mental disabilities employed in council and hospital workshops.

Title
Armchair inferno
Synopsis
A look into the dangers of polyurethane foam, commonly used in the manufacture of furniture, featuring interviews with survivors of house fires.

Title
Dignified exit, A
Synopsis
A film examining the issues raised by the planned publication of a ‘suicide manual’ by EXIT. -

Title
Silent epidemic, The
Synopsis
A report on a fatal disease long mistaken as an aspect of old age: Alzheimer’s. It is argued that medical research into the elderly is inadequate.

Title
National Health Service
Synopsis
A look at the crisis of confidence within the NHS, and looming industrial action.

Title
Softly Softly Strike Force
Synopsis
Nine months into the miners’ strike, WIA visits the pit villages of Yorkshire, comparing West Yorkshire Police’s softly-softly approach and the more offensive tactics in South Yorkshire.

Title
Last days of Juliet Lima, The
Synopsis
A film examining the last days of the British Airtours Boeing 737, which caught fire at Manchester airport in August of 1985.

Title
Bhopal Disaster
Synopsis
Three and a half years after the world’s worst industrial disaster at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, WIA returns to examine the plight of surviving victims awaiting compensation.

Title
Inside Saddam’s stronghold
Synopsis
After the invasion of Kuwait, WIA visits Iraq to assess the level of support for Saddam Hussein.

Title
World in Action: Thirty Years
Synopsis
A compilation encompassing three decades of World in Action: topics include The Great Food Scandal, Scotland Yard’s cocaine connection, Bloody Sunday and the trial of the Birmingham Six.

Production Company

Name

Granada Television

Distributor

Name

Network

Email
shop@networkonair.com
Web
http://networkonair.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone
01992 657707
Address
19-20 Blythe Road
Berghem Mews
Hammersmith
London
W14 0HN
Notes
Founded in 1997, Network specialises in distributing niche television programmes, predominantly licensed from Granada Ventures and Fremantle. They have recently branched into feature film distribution. Sale via retail outlets or direct via Network’s website, which has some’web exclusive’ offers.

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