They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit.
Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.
Kes (1970) is a drama film directed by Ken Loach, released on April 3, 1970 with a runtime of 1h 51m. It stars David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie and Colin Welland. Viewers rate it 7.4 out of 10 across 459 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Kes before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Kes.
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer
Featurette
David Bradley
as Billy
Freddie Fletcher
as Jud
Lynne Perrie
as Mrs. Casper
Colin Welland
as Mr. Farthing
Brian Glover
as Mr. Sugden
Bob Bowes
as Mr. Gryce
Bernard Atha
as Youth Employment Officer
Laurence Bould
Joey Kaye
as Pub Comic
Ted Carroll
Robert Naylor
as MacDowell
Agnes Drumgoon
Directed by Ken Loach, written by Barry Hines, Barry Hines and Ken Loach, produced by Tony Garnett.
Average viewer score of 7.4/10 from 459 ratings.
When I think back to my childhood, this is one of the few films that I ever saw that induced some sort of emotional reaction. It was it's last five minutes that achieved that, but building up to this denouement we watch the antics of the amiable working class lad "Billy" (David Bradley). He lives with his mum (Lynne Perrie) and his older, bullying, brother "Jud" (Freddie Fletcher) on a bit of a shoestring and is…
Reviewed on June 9, 2026
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Kes (1970) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus and Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Kes (1970) includes David Bradley, Freddie Fletcher, Lynne Perrie, Colin Welland and Brian Glover. The film was directed by Ken Loach. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Kes was released on April 3, 1970 and runs for 1h 51m.
Kes (1970) holds an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 459 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Kes trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
