Clockwise is the classic 1985 comedy starring John Cleese in full Basil Fawlty mode, as Brian Stimpson, the headmaster of a comprehensive school. He's obsessed with punctuality and order, so the opening scenes show him watching over his playground with binoculars and stopping any trouble makers ... Read review
Mr. Brian Stimpson ran his life -- and everyone else's -- by the clock. Then one day at ... more
2:09 and 43 seconds... The clock decided to strike back. In this hilarious comedy hit written by Michael Frayn (Noises Off) John Cleese stars as the compulsively ...
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Comedy - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Tessa Peake-Jones, Buster Merryfield, David Jason, Nicholas Lyndhurst
Comedy - Director: Richard Boden, Mandie Fletcher, Martin Shardlow - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Brian Blessed, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Rowan Atkinson
Advantages: It's got John Cleese in! Disadvantages: It could have been funnier
Clockwise is the classic 1985 comedy starring John Cleese in full Basil Fawlty mode, as Brian Stimpson, the headmaster of a comprehensive school. He's obsessed with punctuality and order, so the opening scenes show him watching over his playground with binoculars and stopping any trouble makers with his PA system.
On this day, he's supposed to be speaking at a Headmasters' Convention in Norwich, because he has just been appointed chairman ... ...a monastery.
Clockwise is a good old-fashioned farce, something which John Cleese is practically made for. His character in this is the usual stuffy, well-spoken English persona who ends up descending from total order into total chaos.
The story does depend on a lot of coincidences and unrealistic situations, but you wouldn't really expect anything else from this kind of genre. The pacing of the film is very good, since ... more
Clockwise is the classic 1985 comedy starring John Cleese in full Basil Fawlty mode, as Brian Stimpson, the headmaster of a comprehensive school. He's obsessed with punctuality and order, so the opening scenes show him watching over his playground with binoculars and stopping any trouble makers with his PA system.
On this day, he's supposed to be speaking at a Headmasters' Convention in Norwich, because he has just been appointed chairman of the group for his excellent achievements. After an assembly which scarily recalls my current school mornings, even down to the hymn they sing (plus he does actually look my headteacher too) he leaves for the station in plenty of time, frequently looking at his watch as he goes.
However, there is a mix up with the platform attendant (who is played by Jim from Eastenders!), and Stimpson gets aboard the wrong train, which is leaving for Plymouth! He gets off just in time, but leaves his speech script in his seat, and from then on his day becomes a race against time as he struggles to get to Norwich for 4 O'clock.
His wife Gwenda (Alison Steadman) isn't home; she's taking three bickering, senile old ladies out for a day in the countryside. Stimpson literally runs into a skiving sixth form student, Laura (played by Sharon Maiden), who he forces to drive him to Norwich. They get into trouble with the police after vandalising a phone box, and along the way they kidnap a former partner, argue with an unhelpful farmer and get stuck in a monastery.
Clockwise is a good old-fashioned farce, something which John Cleese is practically made for. His character in this is the usual stuffy, well-spoken English persona who ends up descending from total order into total chaos.
The story does depend on a lot of coincidences and unrealistic situations, but you wouldn't really expect anything else from this kind of genre. The pacing of the film is very good, since there is always something going on but it's not too rushed either, so you can focus on one funny situation at a time.
Anyway, the plot isn't that important; it's all about the performance of John Cleese, and as others have said, if you don't like him, you aren't going to like this film, since he is the undivided focus of the film. He doesn't quite reach the high standards of Basil Fawlty, but that's mainly due to an inferior script, and he is still the best actor for this kind of role, with timing you could set your watch by. His character doesn't actually have that much charisma or charm, but there is a sort of pleasant, English sensibility there that we can empathise with, and I found myself cheering him on even though he starts off as a strict disciplinarian.
The rest of the cast supports him ably, including a good performance from Sharon Maiden as Laura; she's a great foil for Cleese's increasingly stressed character, and has some funny lines of her own.
There's a whole load of British talent in this film, such as Alison Steadman as Stimpson's wife, Stephen Moore (from The Queen's Nose!) as Mr Jolly, Joan Hickson (aka Miss Marple) as one of the old ladies, and Geoffrey Palmer (from As Time Goes By) as one of the headmasters at the conference. It also features Nadia Sawalha and Penelope Wilton (the female Prime Minister from Doctor Who), if you're interested!
Clockwise is fairly amusing due to the all the problems piling up, as farces tend to do. However, it's really not as funny as it could have been; there are no big laugh-out-loud parts, more often than not it just left a smile on my face and nothing more. This is mainly due to the average script. I can only recall the old ladies saying anything that really made me laugh, so that could have been improved upon.
It's also very dated now. The film is 21 years old, and you really can tell. Obviously schools have moved on enormously (apart from mine, it would seem) and an A Level student wouldn't let their head teacher anywhere near their car today, let alone driving them all the way across the country!
To sum up, Clockwise is a funny film, with a great performance from John Cleese, but it could have been better. If you like Fawlty Towers (which I'm sure most people do) or just farces in general, you could do a lot worse than watching this film. _____________________________________________
You can buy Clockwise on DVD for £5.95 from www.dvd.co.uk.
Directed by: Christopher Morohan
Starring:
John Cleese - Brian Stimpson Alison Steadman - Gwenda Stimpson Sharon Maiden - Laura Joan Hickson - Mrs. Trellis Stephen Moore - Mr. Jolly
...The problem is, is that Clockwise is 'farce' and that relies very much on your audience. The story is a classic farce scenario - pompous figure gets into all sorts of misunderstandings which threaten to tear the fragile fabric of British society apart (eh? Have you been reading that book thing again?). That we've seen it all before doesn't help but this film relies on just one thing: John Cleese. Now while many may find Mr Cleese hilarious I don't. ... ...shouldn't spell disaster but in Clockwise there's very little else. The story has very little to it and can be seen as a series of rather embarrassing 'coincidences'. It's dull, it's boring, and it's the kind of thing that those 'high up in the BBC' will find frightfully amusing. I don't like rubbishing those with a plumby accent (actually I do, just ask my good woman) but Clockwise just reeks of 'what ho'-ness and seems far too safe and sensible. ...
TheNeil 19.07.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clockwise (DVD)
Advantages: Extremely funny, with a poignant touch which rounds it out fully; magnificent cast Disadvantages: None - though rather underrated by movie reference guides
This must be one of the funniest, yet most underrated, comedies of all. It has been criticised for having a thin plot, and it seems less popular than John Cleese’s subsequent (and in my view far less funny) picture ‘A Fish Called Wanda’. Give me this any day.
‘Clockwise’ stars Cleese as Brian Stimpson, a comprehensive headmaster obsessed with punctuality. All the action takes place within a few hours. He is due to address ... ...this honour, and all goes according to plan - not to mention putting in a brief appearance at school, summoning a few pupils to come and see him in his office at such and such a time - until he goes to the station and gets on the wrong train. Only a minor problem, you might think – after all, this was in the pre-Railtrack era. But no, for Stimpson is no ordinary headmaster. He loses his cool (as well as his speech) completely, and can’t ...
JOHNV 22.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clockwise (DVD)
Advantages: Totally hilarious Disadvantages: Not a lot!
...of comedian/actor John Cleese, then Clockwise (1986) is definitely a movie that you don't want to pass over.
The whole movie is really just a vehicle for Cleese's crazy antics, and though it obviously has a full cast, they are really only there as padding and foils for Cleese's next mad cap scenario.
Cleese plays Brian Stimpson, the fastidious and disciplinarian headmaster of a local comprehensive school, with a fetish for fastidious timekeeping. ... ...to deliver the keynote speech at a National Convention of Headmasters in distant Norwich, and somehow contrives to miss his train all hell breaks loose as he attempts by every means at his disposal to get to the conference on time, up to and including hitching a lift from one of his own teenage girl pupils called Laura, (Sharon Maiden) who just happens to be only a learner driver. Along the way he runs into madcap farmers, monks, and even an old ...
the_mad_cabbie 19.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clockwise (DVD)
Advantages: Very funny farce, Great cast. Disadvantages: May be too farcical for some.
Clockwise is a very funny, if not exasperating at times, British comedy film. It has a good cast but for some the most famous face will be John Cleese in the lead role of Headmaster. Clockwise was released in 1985, three years before A Fish called Wanda had cinema audiences rolling in the aisles. Other readers may remember Cleese more for his early performances in Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Clockwise is basically the tale of a school Headmaster ... ...Brian Stimpson, John Cleese, is normally a very punctual individual. He is a rather pedantic character who likes everything to run smoothly. He is constantly berating his school's pupils for even the slightest misdemeanours. On the day of the conference everything that can conceivably goes wrong does and we are treat to a farcical tale, which although over the top tends to be believable. Well mostly. Brian's journey starts in Hull train station which ...
grafter123 18.05.2008 (22.05.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clockwise (DVD)
Advantages: more great comedy from the great John Cleese Disadvantages: can be slow in parts
Director: Christopher Marahan
Producer: Michael Codron
Writer: Michael Frayn
Stars: John Cleese, Penelope Wilton, Stephen Moore, Sharon Mauden
This John Cleese classic comedy was released in 1986 and was an instant hit.
**BRIEF PLOT**
The headmaster of Thomas Tompion comprehensive school, Brian Stimpson, (played by John Cleese) has an obsession for punctuality, who has turned a failing school into a success.
His reward for turning the school ... ...conference in Norwich…. he just has to get there.
His military style planning to get to the conference soon unravels as everything starts to go wrong, starting when he gets on the wrong train.
With his plans in turmoil and the speech he wrote heading for Plymouth things go from bad to worse as he attempts to get to Norwich via other means.
When Brian seeks help from one of his pupils, Laura, (played by Sharon Maiden), to take him to Norwich things ...
blissman70 08.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Clockwise (DVD)
Stimpson, a stuffy English teacher obsessed with punctuality, begins a trip to the National Headmasters Conference as the newly appointed chairman, and becomes involved in a series of epic disasters. All of which leave him frantically trying to make up for lost time.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT; SONY DADC, WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
21/08/2006, 22/04/2002
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
OPTD 0577, D 038003
Barcode
5060034576303, 7321900380034
Screenwriter
Michael Frayn
Composer
George Fenton
Director of Photography
John Coquillon
Languages
Main Language
English
Professional reviews
Review
Clockwise will not disappoint fans of Cleese and British comedy (Sunday Telegraph, 24/08/2006)
Technical information
Sound
Dolby Digital Mono
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital Mono English
Special Features
Trailer - 1. Original Theatrical
DVD Description
John Cleese stars in this delightful comedy as Brian Stimpson, the headmaster of a British high school whose obsession with punctuality is a source of humour for his students and joy for himself. The timely Stimpson has been elected the chairman of a conference of headmasters from posh schools--a high honor. To give his keynote address, Stimpson must travel all the way to Norwich. However, when a semantic misunderstanding sends Stimpson in the wrong direction, he begins a journey that not only finds him racing against time, but also avoiding the police, losing his speech and clothes, destroying a pay phone, and generally railing against a society that seems intent on forcing him to be late for the most important day of his life. Written to perfection by Michael Frayn (NOISES OFF), CLOCKWISE features a pitch-perfect performance by Cleese that makes this one of his funniest non-MONTY PYTHON outings.
![Clockwise [DVD] [1985]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78476978.jpg)
