I was living abroad when this film came out and so didn't have much of an idea of what it was about. In fact, the only reason I got round to watching it was because someone lent me a copy and reading the blurb on the back of the DVD reminded me of the lady who used to serve us coffee in the ... Read review
It's 1992 and the miners of Grimley Colliery are facing uncertainty. Not only is their ... more
pit under threat but the Grimley Colliery Band is on the verge of breaking up - that is until Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) arrives. As the only female member of the ...
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It's 1992, and the miners of Grimley Colliery are facing uncertainty. Not only is their ... more
pit under threat, but the Grimley Colliery Band is on the verge of breaking up - that is, until Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) arrives. As the only female member of the band, she somehow manages to rekindle their enthusiasm for the forthcoming National Championships, as well as rekindling a childhood romance with Andy (Ewan McGregor). Led by the passionate Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) the band play on. Danny has his pride and his trombonist son, Phil (Stephen Tompkinson), has his problems. Problems which even Mr Chuckles, the clown, can't seem to help him solve.With the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall looming, can they hold it all together and secure a famous victory for Grimley?
Mark Herman's tragi-comedy set among the fictional coal-mining community of Grimley ... more
revolves around the exploits of the local colliery's brass band and its struggle to survive imminent pit closure. Among the film's virtues are a bitter-sweet (with an emphasis on "bitter") script, strong performances all round--including Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor--and a superb soundtrack. Grimley's real-life counterpart is the Penine town of Grimethorpe, and, entirely uncoincidentally, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band were chosen to perform the music. Having themselves survived pit closure to become one of the top brass bands in Britain, the Grimethorpe band know all about playing from the heart. But the script's subject-matter aside, the album is actually an uplifting, entertaining selection of classic "lollipops", including the Floral Dance, Colonel Bogey, and a meltingly good arrangement of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez ("That's Orange Juice to you", says Postlethwaite in the movie) for solo flugelhorn. Trevor Jones contributes an attractive and pleasingly low-key score, but it's the band tracks that are the real selling-point here, making Brassed Off an ideal introduction to popular brass band music. --Mark Walker
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Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: A touching, very British story Disadvantages: Nothing particularly outstanding about it
I was living abroad when this film came out and so didn't have much of an idea of what it was about. In fact, the only reason I got round to watching it was because someone lent me a copy and reading the blurb on the back of the DVD reminded me of the lady who used to serve us coffee in the common room at university in Durham. Marie was her name. She and her husband ran a small convenience store during the Miner's Strike in the 80s and kept many ... ...tab. Once the strike was over though and everyone began to slowly get back on their feet, Marie and her husband went bankrupt. Her husband later died of heart problems. She was a wonderfully brave woman and she never complained. I have always remembered her and it is with her in mind that I watched this film. Somehow, it made it all the more poignant and understandable.
The story
It is the early 1990s and the men who work at ... more
I was living abroad when this film came out and so didn't have much of an idea of what it was about. In fact, the only reason I got round to watching it was because someone lent me a copy and reading the blurb on the back of the DVD reminded me of the lady who used to serve us coffee in the common room at university in Durham. Marie was her name. She and her husband ran a small convenience store during the Miner's Strike in the 80s and kept many a family going by allowing them to run up a tab. Once the strike was over though and everyone began to slowly get back on their feet, Marie and her husband went bankrupt. Her husband later died of heart problems. She was a wonderfully brave woman and she never complained. I have always remembered her and it is with her in mind that I watched this film. Somehow, it made it all the more poignant and understandable.
The story It is the early 1990s and the men who work at Grimley colliery are still reeling from the after-effects of the Miner's Strike. Eve worse, it seems that the colliery is under certain threat of closure. The colliery band members are so disillusioned with life that they see no point in carrying on with the band. It is only the determination of the band's leader, Danny and the appearance of a new recruit, the beautiful Gloria. Together, they manage to rekindle the interest of the other band members and they agree to at least try to carry on.
Interspersed with the story of the colliery and the band is the story of the band members and how they cope with life. Danny's son, Phil, was imprisoned for 18 months during the Miner's Strike and is still hugely in debt. He has four children and his wife is about to leave him. Andy, an old flame of Gloria is delighted to see her again and they restart their relationship. But will the colliery be saved? And will the band make it through to the National Championships at the Albert Hall.
The characters There are a lot of familiar faces in this film, including Ewan McGregor, Tara Fitzgerald, Stephen Tompkinson, Sue Johnston, Philip Jackson (Poirot's Inspector Japp) Peter Martin (Len from Emmerdale Farm) and Melanie Hill (Aveline Boswell from Bread). For me, the star of the film was Pete Postlethwaite who plays the band leader, Danny. His sheer determination to hold the band together although he is aware that his health is failing comes shining through and he gave an excellent performance. Stephen Tompkinson also does a superb job as Phil. I wasn't particularly impressed at first, but his talent eventually comes shining through in his obvious frustration with life and the way that it is panning out. I also really liked Philip Jackson as Jim and wish he had had a more prominent role. Philip Jackson is a very talented actor, who always seems to be pushed into the sidelines.
To be honest, the rest of the cast, although there are some well known names there, are nothing like as good. Ewan McGregor does an OK job as Andy, but that is about as far as it goes. Tara Fitzgerald plays Gloria and again, apart from providing some eye candy for the men, doesn't really stand out at all. To be fair, this is not a lot to do with their acting skills, but rather that there are so many cast members that apart from Danny and Phil, none of them really get the chance to shine. Having said that, there is no-one that gives a bad performance.
Technical bits
Classification: 15. The only reason for this that I can think of is the language and the general hardness of life that the miners and their families are forced to lead.
Running time: 103 minutes
Conclusion I did really enjoy this film. I am old enough to remember the Miner's Strike; what is often forgotten is that life didn't immediately revert to normal and that many families continued to suffer for some time afterwards. I do not really think that this film is likely to be enjoyed by anyone other than the Brits; it is very down to earth and filled with British humour and cynicism that is probably hard for other nationalities to understand unless they have a particular desire to, but as a Brit, I found it both heart-warming and emotional.
The film is an intelligent mixture of both comedy and drama. The film could all too easily have been deeply depressing; there is nothing like the drama of a pit about to close to make a film dismal and disheartening. However, the odd bit of comedy, for example, Phil dressing up as Mr Chuckles the clown, lightens the atmosphere enough to make it bearable.
Being primarily a story about a brass band, the film is naturally interspersed with brass band music played by the real Grimley Colliery Band. I'm not a big fan of brass band music, but this added to the Britishness of the film and made me feel proud to be British!
This isn't an outstanding film by any stretch of the imagination. However, I enjoyed it and I think that most of my generation and older will like it and probably those younger will too. Recommended.
I watched the film only version, but the DVD is available from Amazon at the enormous cost of £20.99 in the new and used section. Ouch. It is not available on play.com or blahdvd.com, so I guess there is not much call for it these days.
Brassed Off was shown the other evening on More 4 and as there was not much else on I thought I would give it a go and I was so glad I did. It is a beautiful emotional film which will call on a whole range of emotions as you watch it! I felt that it was two hours watching which was time very well spent.
'Brassed Off' is a film set in the early 1990s at a time when there was a lot of political unrest and Margaret Thatcher, the then prime minister, ... ...reason for this was the relentless push to close the coal pits, putting countless miners out of work with very few prospects of finding new employment.
The film is set at Grimley Pit where the miners are facing the same threats of closure. Also, as was a very strong tradition, many of the miners were also members of the pit's brass band. The film tends to take two parallel strands - the closure of the pit against the activity of the band who are ...
kingfisher111 10.02.2008 (12.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brassed Off (DVD)
Advantages: Great acting. Unusual subject brilliantly dealt with Disadvantages: Loses itself at a couple of points
This film set in the early nineties is set in Northern England where Mining for coal was a way of life, with hundreds of thousands of families depending on the pits’ income to survive, especially with the extra taxes created by Mrs Thatchers' Conservative Government. Based around the mining community of Grimley, the story revolves around the various characters that make up the Grimley Colliery Band. Led by conductor Danny (Postlethwaite), the ... ...to break up when it is announced that their pit is to close. Danny knows that he is too old to find employment anywhere else, so his last hope is to make something if “his” band, although it’s members are under extreme pressure to quit and find other work, including Danny’s son Phil (Tompkinson) who has to take on a part time job as a children's entertainer called Mr Chuckles.
The financial pressures of living in Grimley ...
1drunkbrit 08.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brassed Off (DVD)
Advantages: a great film with great acting Disadvantages: none
I’ve lived in Lincolnshire now for nearly 3 years. So much so that I now consider myself to be an honorary northerner. Now, before you start, I know that there are bound to be some pedantic folks out there who will state quite categorically that Lincolnshire is not ‘oop north’, but as I live a mere twenty miles from the picturesque South Yorkshire resort of Doncaster, please, please, PLEASE grant me a touch of artistic licence. Thanks! Now, as an ... ...yet and I feel that I should list these at the start:
1- I haven’t grown a prize-winning leek
2- I haven’t got a flat cap or a whippet
3- My garden does not boast a pigeon loft
4- I can’t stand northern bitter
Apart from that, I feel quite attuned to the society of the north.
Now there is one thing for which I have a liking, and I have had a liking for this for quite some time. Brass band music can be so stirring if it is played correctly, ...
Nolly 03.11.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brassed Off (DVD)
Advantages: Great acting, wonderful story, need I go on? Disadvantages: None whatsoever.
Brassed Off is one of my favourite films. I've seen it more times than I can count, yet it still manages to make me laugh and cry (well, almost - a big lump in the throat at the very least!) every time. I grewn up in a mining community, and I can say hand on heart that some of the situations shown in this film are real. People did struggle to pay off debts incurred during the miners' strike, marriages were pushed to breaking point, and whole communities ... ...What the film does show is that the spirit (and sense of humour) of these communities is hard to kill.
The story revolves around the fortunes of Grimley Colliery Band (Grimley is fictional, but it's based on the real community of Grimethorpe) as it's members struggle to cope with the threat to their livelihood and the demands made on them by the band itself. Doesn't sound too gripping, I know, but the film is greater than the sum of it's parts. ...
Victoria_R 08.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brassed Off (DVD)
A small English minning community is the backdrop for "Brassed Off", a gentle tragicomedy which primarily concerns the exploits of the local pit brass band. The films main theme is that of the relationship between two of the band's members, one played by Ewan McGregor. This strand of plot is entertaining enough, but the film's real strength lies in its ability to explore the consequences of pit closure on the surrounding people. The issue is sensitively, ... ...light relief, if it is sometimes painfully in contrast to the rest of the plot. Music is used as the medium which holds the community together at a time when it seems like it could fall apart and this remains an uplifting story at the end. The cast is excellent and full of well known British thespians who make the best of the well written script. ...
miss-swiss 18.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Brassed Off (DVD)
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Full Motion Menus, Scene Index, Sub Plots, Theatrical Trailer, Interviews, Photo Library, Interactive menu
Aspect Ratio
1.85 Wide Screen
Sound
Dolby Surround, Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Surround English
Professional reviews
Review
"...BRASSED OFF rings loud and clear....The music itself is surprisingly rousing and emotional..." (Sight and Sound, p.44, 01/11/1996)
"...A shining ensemble cast that hits all the right notes..." -- 3 out of 4 stars (USA Today, p.3D, 23/05/1997)
"There's a lot to enjoy in BRASSED OFF....[Fitzgerald] proves once again a striking screen presence and Postlethwaite brings natural dignity to the part..." (Variety, 28/10/1996)
DVD Description
When government cutbacks threaten a century-old Yorkshire mine, the brass band consisting of the miners and their families struggles to keep it together in the face of economic repression and emotional turmoil. The charming comedic drama stars Ewan McGregor, Pete Postlethwaite, and Tara Fitzgerald.
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![Brassed Off: film score [SOUNDTRACK] -](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/93484346.jpg "Brassed Off: film score [SOUNDTRACK] -")
