''Radio On'' is a 1979 British

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

mystery

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Christopher Petit. It is a rare example of a British

road movie A road movie is a film genre, genre of film in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the the ...

, shot in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

' assistant cameraman Martin Schäfer and featuring music from a number of new wave bands of the time, as well as established artists such as

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Plot

The film is a journey through late 1970s Britain by way of a road trip from London to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, with Robert, a DJ attempting to investigate the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

of his brother.

Cast

*David Beames as Robert * Lisa Kreuzer as Ingrid * Sandy Ratcliff as Kathy *Andrew Byatt as Deserter * Sue Jones-Davies as Girl * Sting as Just Like Eddie *Sabina Michael as Aunt *Katja Kersten as German Woman *Paul Hollywood as Kid *Adrian Jones *Cyril Kent *Bernard Mistovski *Nina Pace *Joseph Riordan *David Squire * Kim Taylforth as Girl Playing Pool

Trivia

* The radio station where Robert is a disc jockey was based on the United Biscuits Network, which broadcast to factories owned by

United Biscuits United Biscuits (UB) is a British multinational food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, Jacob's Cream Crackers, and Twiglets. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In ...

. * There are a number of references to the films of

, who is credited as associate producer. Early in the film, a copy of

Patricia Highsmith Patricia Highsmith (born Mary Patricia Plangman; January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character T ...

's '' Ripley's Game'' is seen on a table in Robert's flat. Wenders 1977 film '' The American Friend'' is based on this novel. The character played by Sting is called Just Like Eddie. In Wender's film ''

Kings of the Road ''Kings of the Road'' (, "In The Course of Time") is a 1976 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' " ''Road Movie'' trilogy" which included '' Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and ''The Wrong Move'' (1975). It wa ...

'', two of the characters sing along to the song

Just Like Eddie "Just Like Eddie" is a song by recording artist Heinz. The song was his second solo release after leaving the band The Tornados. Background The song was a tribute to American rock 'n' roll pioneer Eddie Cochran. The song was produced and engineer ...

Heinz The Kraft Heinz Foods Company, formerly the H. J. Heinz Company and commonly known as Heinz (), is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. ...

. And Lisa Kreuzer, who plays Ingrid, is looking for her daughter Alice. Kreuzer was married to Wenders for several years, and was in several of his films, notably '' Alice in the Cities''.

Legacy

* In his 2022 book ''Roadrunner'' Nick Gilbert revisits the film, the route and its resonances 43 years later and includes contributions from Petit and others involved in the film.

References

External links

* * *''Radio On'' a
Time Out London
ref> *''Radio On OST ''https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3tmvQ0LfQdk5ZEfdWGU6lg?si=678b9ef5f5534b69 1979 films 1979 drama films 1970s mystery drama films 1970s drama road movies British drama road movies British mystery drama films West German films English-language German films British black-and-white films Films set in London Films set in Bristol Films directed by Chris Petit 1970s English-language films 1970s British films English-language mystery drama films {{1970s-UK-film-stub