Peter Watkins – MRQE

Culloden (TV)

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Culloden, Scottish Highlands, April 16th, 1746. It was one of the most mishandled and brutal battles ever fought in Great Britain. Its aftermath was tragic. The men responsible for such a disaster must be exposed. The men, women and children who suffered because of it must be remembered.

Edvard Munch (TV)

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

A biographical film about the Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch. It was originally created as a three-part miniseries co-produced by the Norwegian and Swedish state television networks, but subsequently gained an American theatrical release in a three-hour version in 1976. The film covers about thirty years of Munch’s life, focusing on the influences that shaped his art, particularly the prevalence of disease and death in his family and his youthful affair with a married woman.

70’ernes folk (TV)

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

The Seventies People is a 1975 television docu-drama that was produced by Danmarks Radio. The film explores the high suicide rate in Denmark, the many factors behind it and how the average citizen deals with the stress of life, work, school and family.

La Commune (Paris, 1871)

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

We are in the year 1871. A journalist for Versailles Television broadcasts a soothing and official view of events while a Commune television is set up to provide the perspectives of the Paris rebels. On a stage-like set, more than 200 actors interpret characters of the Commune, especially the Popincourt neighbourhood in the XIth arrondissement. They voice their own thoughts and feelings concerning the social and political reforms. The scenes consist mainly of long camera takes.

Resan

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Peter Watkins’ global look at the impact of military use of nuclear technology and people’s perception of it, as well as a meditation on the inherent bias of the media, and documentaries themselves.

Aftenlandet

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Denmark is in deep crisis: the country is hit by general strike, during the holding of a NATO summit in Copenhagen. Meanwhile, a minister is kidnapped by extremists, and state power cracks down against politically-active leftists.

Punishment Park

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

In this fictional documentary, U.S. prisons are at capacity, and President Nixon declares a state of emergency. All new prisoners, most of whom are connected to the antiwar movement, are now given the choice of jail time or spending three days in Punishment Park, where they will be hunted for sport by federal authorities. The prisoners invariably choose the latter option, but learn that, between the desert heat and the brutal police officers, their chances of survival are slim.

Gladiatorerna

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Some time in the future, East and West have stopped maintaining standing armies and nuclear weapons. Instead, to settle their differences they pit different teams of crack combat specialists against each other.

Privilege

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Britain’s biggest pop singer, Steven Shorter (Paul Jones), receives unwavering adulation and possesses total control over his rabid fans, which includes nearly the entire population. Yet Shorter is not an autonomous performer — he is little more than a puppet for the government, promoting whatever agenda they see fit. When a beautiful artist, Vanessa Ritchie (Jean Shrimpton), is commissioned to paint his portrait, she pushes Shorter to question his obedience to his manipulative handlers.

The War Game

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

A docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain. After backing the film’s development, the BBC refused to air it, publicly stating “the effect of the film has been judged by the BBC to be too horrifying for the medium of broadcasting.” It debuted in theaters in 1966 and went on to great acclaim, but remained unseen on British television until 1985.