John Hodson
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mgcroadster.bsky.social
John Hodson
@mgcroadster.bsky.social
Journalist since '73, now retired, film geek for longer. Rejoiner, lefty, love films of all eras. Recovering Man Utd. fan of six decades. Uses admiration of John Ford as a Rorschach test. No followers without a profile - sorry!
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Great to see @gmmayorscharity.bsky.social is here! Please follow and support!
"...Just £30 covers the cost of a good night’s sleep, a hot meal and the vital wrap around support that can help people move onto more stable accommodation. It’s a lifeline that changes lives..." #homelessness
www.gmmayorscharity.org.uk
Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity
Homelessness has no place in Greater Manchester. Together, we can end homelessness. We need your help. Donate now.
www.gmmayorscharity.org.uk
Reposted by John Hodson
The reason it's important is that it raises a question about the independence of Ofcom. We've only looked in detail at the bits of the Prescott report that relate to trans issues but they're weak and partial and it's hard to imagine how a genuinely independent regulator could take them seriously.
One bit of the BBC story that needs more scrutiny - and which might be the most important - is, why did Michael Grade look at the 'report' produced by Michael Prescott and demand the BBC act rather than, as an independent regulator would have done, toss it in the bin?
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
Aaron Copland, BOTD in 1900 (d. 1990) brought a sense of vast openness and the outdoors to much of his music. His score for THE RED PONY (1949) exemplifies this perfectly.
Other composers of Hollywood Western film scores were greatly influenced by Copland's style:
#musicsky #moviesky #filmsky
November 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
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Thank you @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social! It’s so nice to have an ex-Guardian colleague being so vocally supportive.

We desperately need more journalists, more outlets, more resource, more reporting. We’re not in competition with each other. We’re in competition with bullshit.
November 14, 2025 at 1:54 PM
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"One of the greatest Blu-ray labels ever..."

Elliot Coen at Boutique Blu-rays dedicates a whole episode to Second Run in celebration of our 20th anniversary - we're suitably chuffed and delighted!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3-k...
Underrated Boutique Blu-ray Label Every Collector Should Know
YouTube video by Boutique Blu-rays with Elliot Coen
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
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Another brilliant Richard Burton-related gift courtesy of the BBC iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The Richard Burton Diaries
Documentary revealing the contents of hellraising Welsh actor Richard Burton's diaries, providing a unique opportunity to reassess the man behind the myth.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
🔴‘It’s Time for a Debate About Who Owns Our Media’ Says Leader of the UK’s Trade Union Movement

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak warns that tech and media billionaires are threatening our democracy, as they campaign to destroy the BBC

bylinetimes.com/2025/11/14/i...
'It's Time for a Debate About Who Owns Our Media' Says Leader of the UK's Trade Union Movement
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak warns that tech and media billionaires are threatening our democracy, as they campaign to destroy the BBC
bylinetimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:58 AM
This pretty much sums up how I felt after seeing his (then new) one man show a few years back...
November 14, 2025 at 12:57 PM
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It’s wet & miserable out so here’s an antidote
It’s Dudley Moore’s birthday.
One of the things that brings me a lot of joy is watching Dud start corpsing whilst doing a sketch with Peter Cook.
They brought out the best in each other in their 60s tv shows.
November 14, 2025 at 10:17 AM
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Hoping to see a few of you on Sunday. Please do come and say hello. Rare chance to meet Peter Harness, with bonus Rob Shearman and, hopefully Toby Hadoke.
Next Sunday. Screening an ultra rare BBC Christmas ghost story and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the superb A View from a Hill, plus a chat with its writer, Peter Harness.

Details and tickets:
A Birmingham Ghost Story + Peter Harness Q&A | Midlands Arts Centre
The BBC became well known in the 70s for producing popular anthology series Ghost Stories For Christmas, but Birmingham’s Pebble Mill had its own anthology
macbirmingham.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
this 40% discount is probably gonna make a huge difference for people who can't necessarily afford to drop $75 on a book right now (albeit a very beautiful, deserving one)
You can get @realgdt.bsky.social’s FRANKENSTEIN wonderful and beautiful making of / art book regular edition hardcover for 40% off directly from Insight Editions right now, use discount code BFCM, so good I’ve already gifted this to some friends insighteditions.com/products/fra...
Frankenstein
Dive into the mesmerizing world of the highly anticipated film Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, with the exclusive Art and Making of Frankenstein. This stunning volume offers an extensive...
insighteditions.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
"Nigel Farage's ubiquity isn't just about charisma or controversy. It's an indication of a very worrying transformation in British journalism."

@jamesbloodworth.bsky.social

youtu.be/pfl0mxXoQss
How Nigel Farage Took Over British Politics.
YouTube video by Byline TV
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
You can get @realgdt.bsky.social’s FRANKENSTEIN wonderful and beautiful making of / art book regular edition hardcover for 40% off directly from Insight Editions right now, use discount code BFCM, so good I’ve already gifted this to some friends insighteditions.com/products/fra...
Frankenstein
Dive into the mesmerizing world of the highly anticipated film Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, with the exclusive Art and Making of Frankenstein. This stunning volume offers an extensive...
insighteditions.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
Readers in the UK hoping to catch The Wild Geese 4K restoration in cinemas from today can check out the link below which lists every picturehouse screening the film, uncut, restored, and better than you've ever seen it before.

www.munrofilmservices.co.uk/movie/the-wi...

youtu.be/G6lHbzcvPDU?...
THE WILD GEESE (2025) UK THEATRICAL RE-RELEASE TRAILER
YouTube video by Severin Films / Intervision Picture Corp.
youtu.be
November 14, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
From @ericidle.bsky.social & Neil Innes' brilliant & criminally overlooked/unavailable RUTLAND WEEKEND TELEVISION, here's a truncated glimpse of George Harrison's Christmas 1975 guest appearance runner, where he didn't want to perform a song - He really just wanted to play a pirate...
November 14, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
James Whale’s thriller – released on this day in 1933 – remains one of the most chillingly effective of all classic horror movies. crookedmarquee.com/classic-corn...
Classic Corner: The Invisible Man
James Whale’s 1933 thriller remains one of the most chillingly effective of all classic horror movies.
crookedmarquee.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
Important point from the latest Private Eye - the chair of Ofcom was a Tory peer appointed by (now Reform member) Nadine Dorries.

He has joined the latest BBC bashing from the Right, appearing to endorse the Prescott dossier alleging left-wing bias.

Is he still a Conservative party member?
November 13, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
@generalwitch.bsky.social I’m just watching this on BBC iPlayer and thought you guys might enjoy it, Nicholas Lyndhurst just popped up.
November 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
Every man should get his PSA checked by GP practice, even if he has NO symptoms. Saved my husband’s life.
Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, symptoms may vary. In Ben's case it was a urinary tract infection.

This is his journey & shows early checks are vital for a cancer affecting 1 in 8 men.
The trouble with dribbles – a revealing prostate cancer journey
Prostate cancer can develop silently. Some have no classic prostate cancer symptoms. Early checks are vital – sometimes, the signs are hidden
eastangliabylines.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 7:53 AM
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Hi-De-Hi! - A Matter of Conscience (13th November 1982). Jeff has another letter from Joe Maplin.
November 13, 2025 at 5:03 PM
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Film-wise: at 8.40, Desert Rats on BBC4. At 9pm, Prey on Film4. At 10.35, Lethal Weapon 2 on ITV4. At 10.40, The Robe on BBC4. At 10.55, The Running Man on Film4. At 11.20, #StarWars: A New Hope on ITV1. At 11.55, The Fly on @talkingpicturestv.bsky.social At 12.55, Sicario 2: Soldado on Film4 #telly
November 13, 2025 at 5:21 PM
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Get your #BritNoir Christmas #FilmNoir hit here 👇
A real-time Hammer heist thriller, starring Peter Cushing, that's a loose adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and is widely regarded as one of Hammer's best films?

Withdraw Cash on Demand asap!
💰 tinyurl.com/5dp5w98e

Original theatrical trailer:
November 13, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by John Hodson
With Louis Malle's Damage now available on Amazon Prime, here's a FREE Substack post on the film, the unusual way in which it was financed and Jeremy Irons' incendiary leading turn... richardluck.substack.com/p/damage-und...
Damage - Under Review
A transgressive sex thriller funded by the National Lottery. Oh, how I miss the 1990s...
richardluck.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
I wrote one of the episodes for the newly relaunched Play For Today, which starts tonight (my episode is on in a couple of weeks). This is an article about that .

www.independent.co.uk/arts-enterta...
Play for Today: The revival hoping to save British TV from a class crisis
Play for Today’s one-off films were a seminal moment in television in the Seventies and Eighties, writes Hannah J Davies. Decades later, Channel 5 is bringing them back, and aiming to diversify small-...
www.independent.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
Joe Mantegna is 78
Seen here showing Lindsay Crouse how the confidence game is played & how you execute a short con (all the while a long con is taking place) in the excellent House of Games.
It’s a prescient movie that shows how Trump ended up a President.
youtu.be/Riy4God934c?...
House of Games (1987) - Short Con - Western Union Scene
YouTube video by Joel Helgeson
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by John Hodson
Each £32 donation provides 'A Bed Every Night', offering not just a safe place to sleep, but the support needed to help people move off the streets and rebuild their lives.

Please donate and help make sure no one is left in the cold this Christmas - www.justgiving.com/campaign/1000beds2025

(2/2)
www.justgiving.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM