Forgein Films

[phinn]

Does anyone know why Channel 4 put on these strange forgein film late at night?

[bernardo]

Do you mean "foreign"? It's so that people who want to watch them can watch them. Like "Il Postino" or "Sex Mission", both of which I like.

[andy hughes]

Channel 4 has the tricky job of trying to provide a wide range of entertainment, pleasing as many people as possible - including its advertisers. On the basis that there is a section of the viewing public who like non-English films, but not a massive share of the market - they play them late at night so that those who wish can view them, while leaving the main viewing audience to enjoy mainstream entertainment, which wattracts vital advertising revenue. If you meant that the films themselves are strange, that's really a matter of personal opinion.

[smorodina]

A number of these strange foreign films come right at the top of my list of the greatest films ever made. Films like 'Elvira Madigan' and most by Andrei Tarkovskii among others. We tend to see only the more 'literary' or 'arty' foreign films which is why they may seem 'strange', and it does require a little more concentration to watch a film in a language you may not understand. But these films are a welcome relief from the drivel that fills a large proportion of today's viewing schedules. And if the underlying implication of the question is that they should not be showing these films, I'd rather they went back to the policy they had during the opening years of the channel when they showed films like 'Solaris' and 'Stalker' in prime Sunday afternoon slots - thus giving people who don't want to stay up late or fiddle with their VCRs a chance to view them.

[craig_edward]

God knows... I was working nights once in hospital, came for my break at 1 AM and watched some random dutch film about an old bloke and a young girl who were about to top themselves... they ended up going off together... very wierd... guess you had to be there... C4 does get a bit wierd around 11PM though!!

[bernardo]

I've just realised there are two ways to interpret the question. (1) is that you do not like foreign films, and that you are complaining about their being shown at all; (2) is that you like them, but you are complaining that they are not on at a more accessible time for non-nocturnal people. My first answer was based on (1). But if (2) then it's because more popular and mainstream things are on at peak hours in the evening or afternoon.

[phinn]

No, I was just wondering why only late at night?