Give the gift of Criterion!
Live stream preview

Watch this video and more on The Criterion Channel

Watch this video and more on The Criterion Channel

Start your free trial

Already subscribed? Sign in

Mike Leigh at the BBC

The Kiss of Death

1h 15m

Directed by Mike Leigh • 1977 • United Kingdom
Starring David Threlfall, Kay Adshead, Angela Curran

Cited by Mike Leigh as one of his personal favorites among his own works, THE KISS OF DEATH is a mordantly funny portrait of Trevor (David Threlfall), a terminally shy mortician’s assistant who stumbles awkwardly into a would-be relationship with Linda (Kay Adshead), a more assertive young woman whom he meets through his buddy’s girlfriend. Trevor’s bumbling attempts at intimacy culminate in one of the most unforgettable and searingly honest “love scenes” ever captured on film.

Up Next in Mike Leigh at the BBC

  • Who’s Who
    1:16:29
    Who’s Who

    Who’s Who

    Directed by Mike Leigh • 1979 • United Kingdom
    Starring Richard Kane, Joolia Cappleman, Phil Davis

    With this caustically observed comedy, Mike Leigh crafted a scathingly funny satire of a group of wealth- and image-obsessed London yuppies. Centering on Alan (Richard Kane)—a social-climbing emplo...

  • Grown-Ups
    1:36:47
    Grown-Ups

    Grown-Ups

    Directed by Mike Leigh • 1980 • United Kingdom
    Starring Phil Davis, Brenda Blethyn, Lesley Manville

    One of the finest of the films that Mike Leigh produced for the BBC early in his career, GROWN-UPS focuses on the relationship between Dick (Philip Davis) and Mandy (Lesley Manville), a young, new...

  • Home Sweet Home
    1:32:20
    Home Sweet Home

    Home Sweet Home

    Directed by Mike Leigh • 1982 • United Kingdom
    Starring Eric Richard, Lorraine Brunning, Kay Stonham

    The dysfunctional home and romantic lives of three postal workers spill over into their work in this tragicomic slice of life from Mike Leigh. Gordon (Timothy Spall, in the first of his celebrate...

×