When Nighthawks was first released 30 years ago our world was undoubtedly a different place. Key gay rights had still yet to be won, and low-budget independent British films were influenced by international arthouse directors such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Wim Wenders.
Nighthawks defies categorisation, its compelling cyclical structure interspersing the daily work of schoolteacher with his documentation of changing urban spaces and nights spent cruising bars and clubs in search of Mr Right. Leading a mixed cast of actors and non-professionals, Ken Robertson excels in a brave performance that confounded critics at the time. This stunning restoration by the BFI reveals Nighthawks to be one of the great undervalued films of the 1970s.
Nighthawks II: Strip Jack Naked was made 13 years after Nighthawks. The film tells of the struggle to get Nighthawks made and released and the director's life as a gay man growing up in Britain. Two disc Blu-ray and DVD editions include fully restored presentations and a number of rare short films.
