Not So Much a Facelift…
“A quirky look at urban improvement in 1970s Britain”
1976•25m•Released
DocumentaryHistory
A short documentary exploring the UK’s 1970s approach to urban renewal through General Improvement Areas. Mixing location footage from Blackburn, Norwich, and Oxford with unexpectedly quirky presentation, the film contrasts small-scale housing improvements with the sweeping redevelopment schemes of the post-war era. Produced as a government public information film and shown at meetings between planners, architects, and residents, it stands as a modest, humane entry in Britain’s civic-minded documentary tradition.
Director
Philip Harland
Writer
Philip Harland
Languages
English
Studio
World Wide Pictures
Production
Company
World Wide Pictures
Company
Department of the Environment
Producer
Peter Bradford
Recommended
7.5
Feminists: What Were They Thinking?
2018
7.6
42 Up
1999
7
My Generation
2017
7.6
35 Up
1991
7.7
Beyond Utopia
2023
6.9
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019
6.4
Fuck
2006
7.2
56 Up
2012
8.5
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
2022
6.6
The Beach Boys
2024
7.5
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
2016
7.7
The Last Waltz
1978
6.6
The U.S. vs. John Lennon
2006
6.9
9/11: Inside the President's War Room
2021
7.4
21 Up
1977
8.3
S4: The Bob Lazar Story
2026
7.2
Come See Me in the Good Light
2025
7.5
The Last Repair Shop
2024
7.1
David Bowie: The Last Five Years
2017
7.9
A Decade Under the Influence
2003
Similar Movies
6.5
All the Money in the World
2017
7.5
The Killing Fields
1984
7
The Post
2017
6.2
Stories Our Cinema Did (Not) Tell
2017
10
Dandara: Enquanto Morar for um Privilégio, Ocupar é um Direito
2013
7.1
Munich
2005
7.2
El Cantante
2006
De Kinderen van Amsterdam
0
7
1974, l'alternance Giscard
2019
7.9
The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo
2025
4.9
American Swing
2009
10
9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero
2026
7
Pirates of the Airwaves
2014
Prime Farmland
2020
7
Sechs Tage Eiszeit - Der Katastrophenwinter 1978-79
2019
7
Good Morning, Night
2003
Fight for the F.A. Cup
1963
The Lost World of the Seventies
2012
10
Unarmed Verses
2017
7.5
Misty - The Erroll Garner Story
2024