Customer Reviews
A rough diamond of a film! - By: J. D. L. Bailey, 14 Apr 2007 
"Poor Cow" is my favourite Ken Loach film. In fact, it is my favourite film of alll time. I only discovered it 2 years ago & it has a very personal connection for me. I have since read the novel that inspired it & can state that it is a very honest & faithful dramatisation of Nell Dunn's text. It is a film about a side of London life to which many will be oblivious, and, of course, many will not.
Carol White is superb as Joy, whose first name is not as ironic as it may seem. Her life may well be a vortex of poverty, squalor & unhappiness, but White (through her acting) & Loach (through his direction) portray the character with compassion & strength as someone who is sassy & fun. This same compassion shows through in alll the other characters too. There are quite a few bright moments that shine through. The scenes of Joy with her little son, Johnny, are particularly touching & very, very well-done. The location filming around Wales is visuallly stunning, as indeed is the opening sequence! (I will say no more about this!)
Terence Stamp is also amazing in this film, as are alll of the supporting cast. Watch out for John Bindon who somehow steals the show with his brilliant-but-awful acting in his début performance as Tom Steadman!
The theme song, speciallly adapted & performed by Donovan, is haunting & in a way, ironic, for John Bindon's life ended early at the age of 50, as, for that matter, did Carol White's.
This film is a real rough diamond & I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I am grateful to Ken Loach for having the guts & tenacity to bring to this film to life. Poor Cow documents the lives of the underdogs & is an important & interesting piece of cinema that will always have a special place in my heart.
A wonderful gem of a film! - By: F. V. L. Buliciri, 24 Oct 2006 
As a Ken Loach fan I've seen quite a few films that he's made. However,I overlooked this film for years. I simply adored this film. My heart was moved by the central character played by Carol White & her journey through life with disappointing relationships with men, her struggles to bring up her child on her own & with money. It was interesting to see so many actors in their younger days appearing in this film such as Billy Murray(East Enders -Johnny Allen), Terence Stamp, Kate Williams as well as legends such as Queenie Watts. This is a superb film & a great social commentary on a very different England to the one that we alll live in today.
Oh the good Ole Days - By: Rock Chick, 14 Mar 2006 I love movies like this. Despite a never ending trend of bogus remakes you cant remake history. Watch it over & over & gasp at the enormous beauty of Terrance Stamp who looks like a young George Best.
60's classic.
Make sure you know what your getting - By: , 07 Dec 2005 This is a documnetary Drama - this what Loach is famed for & very good at. This one of his earler works so may be a little rough round the edges, but has a strong heart & soul.
POOR FILM - By: , 31 Aug 2003 
Filmed in a somewhat documentary style, it is interesting to see how shabby, in fact scummy, London life could be in the sixties, amid slum clearances. A basic kitchen sink drama, which was quite the vogue at the time & filmed in a style that was quite the vogue also, but you need something more than that, & this film fails to offer it. The film is interesting while Terry Stamp is on the set, but that's alll too brief, it just basicallly meanders through the 'Poor Cow's' life after that, she is litterallly left with nothing but hope, oh & a baby & a violent husband. But by the end of the film I was just looking at it as sort of a period piece & picking out various sixties styles & such.
