A Long Day's Life The Art of Harold Riley

From the collection of

North West Film Archive at Manchester Metropolitan University
Established in 1977, the North West Film Archive preserves moving images made in or about the North West of England for the education and enjoyment of the region’s people. Part of Manchester Metropolitan University Library’s Cultural Collections, and based within Manchester Central Library’s Archives+ partnership, we are a specialist resource dedicated to saving and growing our region’s rich filmed history.

A Long Day's Life The Art of Harold Riley


Topography and the passage of time - the renowned Salford artist turns a keen but affectionate eye upon his home city.

This absorbing film portrait reveals how the Salford painter and photographer, a self-described "topographical artist", has devoted himself to recording his home city. We see how the love-hate attitude of the artist to his subject has informed his work, and how a decaying industrial area undergoing great change can indeed be an aesthetically worthy subject for an artist's observant eye.

This film was produced by postgraduate film students at Manchester Polytechnic, now Manchester Metropolitan University.


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