Project Detail

The Big Melt: How Steel Made Us Hard

Synopsis

A film by Martin Wallace and Jarvis Cocker, The Big Melt combines 100 years of footage from the BFI National Archive with a score recorded live at the Crucible Theatre on the opening night of Sheffield Doc/Fest in June 2013 to tell the story of steel, the story of the men in the steelworks and the story of Sheffield.
Taking us on musical journey into the soul of a nation, it brings to life the ghosts of our past, taking us into the belly of the furnaces and showing how our national character has been stamped from the mighty presses of our industrial heritage.
Featuring leading Sheffield musicians including Jarvis Cocker and Pulp band members, the City of Sheffield Brass Band, Richard Hawley and his band members, the Forgemasters, a string quartet and a youth choir, the live soundtrack has been edited by Cocker to create a phenomenal music score - a new kind of Sheffield heavy metal, with pictures.

Details

Year
2013
Type of project
Features
Running time
71 mins
Format
16mm, 35mm
Director
Martin Wallace
Producer
Heather Croall, Martin Rosenbaum, Mark Atkin
Executive Producer
Nick Frazer, Lizzie Franke
Editor
Martin Wallace
Sound
Andy Pink
Composer
Jarvis Cocker (musical director)

Production Status

Production Company

CrossOver Labs

Lone Star Productions

Sales Company

Crossover @Sheffield Doc/Fest

The Workstation
15 Paternoster Row
Sheffield S1 2BX
Tel: +44 (0)114 276 5141
Fax: +44 (0)114 272 1849

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

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