''Radio On'' is a 1979 film directed by

Christopher Petit Chris Petit (born 17 June 1949) is an English novelist and filmmaker. During the 1970s he was Film Editor for ''Time Out'' and wrote in ''Melody Maker''. His first film was the cult British road movie '' Radio On'', while his 1982 film '' An Uns ...

. It is a rare example of a British road movie, shot in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

' assistant cameraman

Martin Schäfer Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

and featuring music from a number of new wave bands of the time, as well as established artists such as

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock 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 ...

and David Bowie. It is a journey through late 1970s Britain by way of a road trip from London to Bristol, with Robert, a DJ (played by

David Beames David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

) attempting to investigate the

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

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

Cast

as Robert *Andrew Byatt as Deserter *Paul Hollywood as Kid *Adrian Jones * Sue Jones-Davies as Girl *Cyril Kent *Katja Kersten *

Lisa Kreuzer Lisa Kreuzer (born 2 December 1945) is a German television and film actress with credits for appearances in over 120 films and television series. Career Kreuzer co-starred with Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz in Wim Wenders's film ''The Americ ...

as Ingrid *Sabina Michael as Aunt *Bernard Mistovski *Nina Pace * Sandy Ratcliff as Kathy *Joseph Riordan *David Squire *

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

as Just Like Eddie * Kim Taylforth

References

External links

* * * *''Radio On'' a
Time Out London
ref> 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 {{1970s-UK-film-stub