Ken Loach

I, Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake

An urgent response to the political realities of con­­tem­porary Britain, this bracing drama from celebrated filmmaker Ken Loach takes a hard look at bureaucratic injustice and ineptitude through the eyes of an unassuming working-class hero. After a heart attack leaves him unable to hold a job, the widowed carpenter Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) begins a long, lonely journey through the Kafkaesque labyrinth of the local welfare state. Along the way, he strikes up a friendship with a single mother (Hayley Squires) and her two children, at the mercy of the same system after being evicted from their home. Imbued with gentle humor and quiet rage and conceived for maximum real-world impact, the Palme d’Or–winning I, Daniel Blake is a testament to Loach’s tireless commitment to a cinema of social engagement.

Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 2016
  • 100 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #906

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Ken Loach, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary from 2016 featuring Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty
  • How to Make a Ken Loach Film, a 2016 documentary on the production of I, Daniel Blake
  • Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach, a 2016 documentary directed by Louise Osmond
  • Deleted scenes
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Girish Shambu

    New cover by Adam Maida

Purchase Options

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Ken Loach, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary from 2016 featuring Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty
  • How to Make a Ken Loach Film, a 2016 documentary on the production of I, Daniel Blake
  • Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach, a 2016 documentary directed by Louise Osmond
  • Deleted scenes
  • Trailer
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Girish Shambu

    New cover by Adam Maida
I, Daniel Blake
Cast
Dave Johns
Dan
Hayley Squires
Katie
Briana Shann
Daisy
Dylan McKiernan
Dylan
Kate Rutter
Ann
Sharon Percy
Sheila
Kema Sikazwe
China
Steven Richens
Piper
Credits
Director
Ken Loach
Producer
Rebecca O’Brien
Screenplay
Paul Laverty
Executive producers
Pascal Caucheteux
Executive producers
Grégoire Sorlat
Executive producers
Vincent Maraval
Cinematography
Robbie Ryan
Editor
Jonathan Morris
Music
George Fenton
Sound recordist
Ray Beckett
Sound editor
Kevin Brazier
Casting
Kahleen Crawford
Costume designer
Joanne Slater
Production designers
Fergus Clegg
Production designers
Linda Wilson
Assistant director
David Gilchrist
Line producer
Eimhear McMahon

Current

Casting I, Daniel Blake
Casting I, Daniel Blake

Casting director Kahleen Crawford and screenwriter Paul Laverty, both regular collaborators of Ken Loach’s, outline the unique casting process they’ve developed in lockstep with the director.

I, Daniel Blake: An Authentic Cinema
I, Daniel Blake: An Authentic Cinema

The ravages of poverty in contemporary Britain are translated with vivid authenticity in this drama from celebrated filmmaker Ken Loach.


By Girish Shambu