In the 1980s Channel 4 was a major force in British cinema, and financed some great films. When Film 4 began ten years ago, I'm sure I wasn't the only to assume that giving a platform for these films was what the channel had been set up for.

So where are they?

Someone will tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the following have ever been shown on Film 4:
1) "Comrades" (1987): Bill Douglas's last film, and one of the great films of British cinema. Shown on Channel 4 only twice (1988 and 1993) and, I think, never once on Film 4. A truly gobsmacking omission.
2) "Venus Peter" (1989): A beautiful film by Ian Sellar, a sort of Orkneys version of Fellini's "Amarcord". Shown two or three times on Channel 4 only.
3) "Mit meinen heissen tranen" (1986): Fritz Lehner's fantastic and moving trilogy about Schubert. Shown only once on Channel 4, in 1987. They didn't even remember to re-show it for Schubert's bicentenary in 1997, though they did find time for a lot of pretty inferior Schubert programming.
4) "Rocinante" (1987): Eduardo Guedes poetic, dreamlike evocation of post-miners' strike Britain, with a great John Hurt performance. Shown only once on Channel 4.

I repeat: **All of these films were actually produced or co-produced by Channel 4**. So, Film 4 planners, why not give some of the dross you show a rest ("Doctor in Clover", anyone?), and start programming some of the gems **from your own back catalogue**.

Anyone else got any requests from the golden age of Channel 4 films?

Heavenly Pursuits, Angel, High Season, and any of the Greenaway stuff would be smashing - it's criminal how much British stuff out there isn't available on DVD, especially if it has been released on that format abroad!

You're right Gary, DVDs are another black hole for British cinema. There doesn't seem to be any kind of systematic approach to releasing these films on DVD, marketing them, or promoting them. The choices of what *are* released, when you know the classics that aren't, often just seem absurd. Whoever makes these decisions simply doesn't have a clue about what's actually there in the back catalogue.

4) "Rocinante" (1987): Eduardo Guedes poetic, dreamlike evocation of post-miners' strike Britain, with a great John Hurt performance. Shown only once on Channel 4.

I wish you hadn't mentioned ROCINANTE. At the time, I was very taken with its music, and I dubbed the main theme to audio cassette. Your post prompted me to dig out the cassette. It still plays, after 20 years (Maxell UDXLII). Now I can't get the theme out of my head - again!