Production Year: 2001 - Drama - Director: Fred Schepisi - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Tom Courtenay, David Hemmings, Helen Mirren, Ray Winstone more
Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Graham Swift's prize-winning novel is a quietly graceful portrait of four working-class Brits, bound by years of friendship, that unites some of... more
Last Orders [2002] [DVD]
WithLast Orders, Australian-born writer-director Fred Schepisi has done a fine job of ... more
bringing Graham Swift's Booker Prize-winning novel to the screen. Schepisi simplifies the book's complex structure a little (we get flashbacks within flashbacks, ofte...
Last Orders DVD
Jack Dodds was a regular guy so why the strange last order to have his ashes thrown off ... more
Margate pier? And why did his wife refuse to do it? As his friends make the trip to the coast they try to understand Jack's death by reliving their lives through h...
Last Orders
Last Orders is a road trip with one urn of ashes and four old friends.Jack Dodds was a ... more
regular guy, so why the strange last order to have his ashes thrown off the pier at Margate? And why did his wife Amy refuse to do it?As their Mercedes speeds toward the sea, an emotional mystery unfolds, where the men try to understand Jack's death by reliving their life with him... the war, the children, the good times and the bad.The journey becomes a pub crawl full of drink-ups and punch-ups and the men discover that through it all, it's your friends who break your heart..and your friends who mend it.
Last Orders - 0330345605
From the author ofWaterlandandEver After,Last Ordersis a quiet but dazzling novel about a ... more
group of men, friends since the second world war, whose lives revolve around work, family, the racetrack and their favourite pub. When one of them dies, the survivors drive his ashes from London to a seaside town where they will be scattered, compelling them to take stock of who they are today, who they were before and the shifting relationships in between. Both funny and moving, this won the Booker Prize in 1996.
outside the corner-shop all day back to your place for a few drinks of a sunny Sunday, it can get quite embarrassing, not to mention irritating, when, after a good sleep, you awaken to find that theyre all still there, drinking your booze and moaning at you for not keeping them properly entertained.This bizarreness can descend from the merely farcical to the truly surreal when you return from work to find that your living room or bar area has become the neighbourhoods de facto local.As you cover your head with your hands in dismay, you wonder, fleetingly, why pubs don't have this problem. And then you remember: They have a bell! A last orders bell.And now so can you.This superbly finished brass bell is stylish enough to hang in any home or bar and is perfect for ensuring that the stragglers finish their drinks in good time to stagger home.Wall mounted with a diameter of 7 inches (190mm), you will never again awaken to findthat the tramps you call your friends have set up home after a few drinks at yours!Please Note: Wall bracket included. Screws and fixings are not included. Screw type is dependent on what you are screwing into.Dimensions:H 210 W 180mm Ø 180mm
Production Year: 1999 - Drama, Thriller - Director: M. Night Shyamalan - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Olivia Williams, Glenn Fitzgerald, Mischa Barton, Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Danny Boyle - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Kelly MacDonald, Ewen Bremner, Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller
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
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
A review by sunmeilan on Last Orders (DVD) December 1st, 2008
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Standard
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Some excellent performances, poignant story
Disadvantages:
No major ones
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Jack Dodd's death leaves a hole in the lives of his wife, son and friends, but before they can start to live their lives again, they have to carry out his last orders - to have his ashes scattered off Margate Pier. Son Vince arranges the car and travels down to Margate with Ray, Vic and Lenny - wife Amy, for some reason, doesn't want to go with them. On the trip, the four men recall their life with Jack, and reflect on what he meant to them, whilst discovering what is important in life. But why has Amy decided not to go? And what does the future hold for everyone?
Although Jack is already dead when the film begins, he nevertheless is an important character who frequently appears in the film in a series of flashbacks. Played by Michael Caine, we find that Jack is a man who is larger than life, and a great friend to many. He does, however, have at least one fault - the main one is that he refuses to admit that he has a daughter called Jean, who is mentally ill and has spent most of her life in a home. This is one of Michael Caine's understated performances - I didn't really feel that he was stretched in the role - but it is a moving one nevertheless, as the layers that make Jack up are revealed during the course of the film. JJ Feild plays the young Jack, looking enough like a young version of Michael Caine to be convincing.
Bob Hoskins gives another understated performance as Jack's close friend Ray. In some ways, I think this is the better performance - Ray is very much in Jack's shadow, but there is something very heart-warming about him, and I think Hoskins did a great job in portraying this. It is a while since I've seen Hoskins in anything, and this was a great reminder of what a fine actor he is, given half the chance. The young Ray is played by Anatol Yusef, who didn't particularly look like Hoskins - I would never have guessed it was him if he hadn't been introduced - but it didn't really stand out as a glaring fault.
Helen Mirren and Ray Winstone are fabulous as Jack's wife, Amy, and foster son, Vince. Mirren is far from her glamorous self here, particularly around the time of Jack's death, and her London accent is very prominent. She pulls it off though, giving a totally believable performance as a grieving widow with some reservations about her dead husband. Kelly Reilly plays her younger self, and doesn't really look anything like Mirren, but is convincing enough in the short time that she is on the screen. I love Ray Winstone in more or less everything he does. Here, he has the chance to show his softer side in his grief for his father, and he does it brilliantly.
Tom Courtenay and David Hemmings play Jack's friends, Vic and Lenny. They gave solid enough performances, but I was a bit disappointed that we didn't find out more about their history with Jack - not the actors' fault of course. The film is based on Graham Swift's book of the same name, and it may be that their story is told in more detail there. Whatever, I kept waiting for their roles to be discussed in more depth, only to find that, apart from the odd flashback, we don't really find out much about them.
This is a film about death, life and the importance of our actions. However, it isn't really a deeply serious film. Of course, there is always the knowledge that someone has just died because his friends are carrying him around in an urn, but it is more a celebration of his life rather than a depressing 'what's the point of it all' story. There are odd moments of humour, particularly in the flashbacks to when Jack was virile and full of life, but it can't really be classed as a comedy either. I think it is a gentle, intelligent, poignant look at death and how we should live life to the full while it is still possible. At no point is it boring or dull, despite the subject matter.
The story is told in a really interesting way, and it is probably because of this that it isn't dull. The four men are in a car on the way to Margate; Amy is visiting her daughter, and they are all remembering Jack as he was. Meetings between Amy and Ray, who are obviously close, also fill in some of the gaps. At first, I found the story quite hard to follow because it keeps leaping around, not necessarily in chronological order, and because it isn't always obvious who the younger versions of the main characters are. After a while though, it all begins to make sense and I really enjoyed finding out snippets of information about Jack, his family and friends in this way.
There are a number of special features. The most interesting is a documentary made up of interviews with Fred Schepisi, the director, and the main characters - it isn't exactly ground-breaking, but it is worth watching if you get the chance. The others are rather mundane - a theatrical trailer (yawn), behind the scenes footage, a biography of Graham Swift, the author of the book on which the film is based, and an image gallery.
I really enjoyed this film. It is a gentle, compelling story of everyday peoples' lives, and I found it poignant and fascinating. Of course, if action is your thing, then you may be disappointed, and I suspect that it will be appreciated more by people in their thirties and over - death is not exactly a topic that the very young think of all that often. Don't be put off by thinking that it is going to be depressing though - it is really quite life-affirming and uplifting. Definitely recommended.
Advantages: very close adaptation from the novel... Disadvantages: ... though not quite as good.
...we were doing 'Last Orders' last week, I thought I should rent the film from our library.
I really enjoyed the book (as you can see from my review on it), I loved how intricately the characters were drawn; some parts of the narrative were so intimate you felt you could really associate and empathise with each of the characters. The novel is much more character based than plot based, so I was very interested to see how the novel could be translated ... ...film revolves around four men who travel to Margate to scatter the ashes of their friend, Jack Dodds. However, what originally seems like a very simple premise becomes more complicated as we learn more about the cahracters and how their lives are intertwined through a continuous series of flashbacks.
Whilst watching the film the first thing that struck me was how easy it was to watch. Much like the book is very easy to read, maybe I wouldn't say ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
very helpful
18.10.2005
Last Orders Review ofLast Orders (DVD)by
bluetack33
Advantages: Excellent characters, interesting Disadvantages: Not edge of your seat material
After receiving this DVD I was doubtful that I would enjoy it at all; it really didn't appear to be my cup of tea. Still, I had a few hours free so I sat down and decided to give it a chance.
At first, I wasn't impressed. I thought it was dull, maybe because the colours are not bright or the setting exciting. However, after only a few minutes my attention was soon caught as the plot unfolded.
The film is a fiction about a man names Jack Dodds, ... ...journey to the pier where her wanted his ashes scattered, we see the memories of his friends and family about the good times and the bad with Jack.
I thought it was cleverly constructed, with the flashbacks drawing you into the story and growing to love, or love to hate, the characters and their endearing qualities. As the full story gradually becomes clear, it gave me a feeling of sharing a secret with a close friend.
The change in lifestyle from ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Great way to end the series, same old fun as in the series. Disadvantages: Oh No its the end!!!
...Men Behaving Badly - LastOrders
I am writing a review on the last 3 ever Men Behaving Badly Episodes! :o( This triple episode pack contains 3 feature length episodes crammed with hysterical innuendos and original plots.
Characters:
Gary - Gary is the middle aged alarm sales man who is generally a slob who enjoys to just sit down with a beer and watch the telly. He and Dorothy are partners. He owns a flat inn London.
Dorothy - Garys partner. They never actually get married but do have a wedding in the main series. They continue to stay together. Dorothy is a nurse who occasionally pops in to see Gary but in the beginning of this dvd is living with Gary and Tony.
Tony - Tony in the beginning of Men Behaving Badly becomes Gary's flat mate and ends up living there permanently. He falls in love with Dec's in the upstairs...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: The trilogy and the extra Bonus Material DVD. A nice box. Disadvantages: Not much.
...This box set contains 4 Indiana Jones Dvd's. Including a bonus material DVD. The DVD's in order are Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the lost ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of doom, Indiana Jones and the last crusade and finally a Bonus Materials DVD. As many of you know Indiana Jones are wonderful films for all of the family with some great and thrilling action adventures. With Harrsion Ford playing Indiana Jones in all three of the Indiana Jones movies it provides great comedy at times too. The DVD's are rated at a PG with occasional and mild language, moderate violence and rated as an action adventure. These films were fantastically directed by Steven Spielberg. In the 'Bonus Materials' DVD, there is 3 hours of one off bonus to all Indiana Jones fans. Including never seen before footage, how the movies were made, in depth...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
...Being a big fan of girly movies, when Two Weeks Notice was released at the cinema, for me it was a must see movie and I wasn’t disappointed. So when it was released on DVD at the end of last year I decided to add this to my growing DVD collection. I ordered this from the amazon website for around £15.99 but you can now get it for around £10.99 depending on where you purchase it from.
Two weeks notice is a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant. Sandra Bullock plays Lucy Kelson, she is a hippy with a law degree. She is trying to save a building from being demolished by the company that George Wade (Hugh Grant) owns.
Lucy ends up going to work for George’s company. She sorts out his divorce for him and she helps him to make lots of very important decisions such as what envelopes the company should use...
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Plot: Based on the novel by Graham Swift, this is the story of a group of friends come together to mourn the death of Jack Dodds, who last request was to have his ashes thrown off of Margate Pier.
Release details
DVD Region: DVD
Studio(s): PRISM LEISURE, IN2FILM; PINK ENTERTAINMENT; SONY DADC
Release date: 28/07/2003
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: PPA 1434
Barcode: 5014293143455
Screenwriter: Fred Schepisi
Composer: Paul Grabowsky
Executive Producer: Gary Smith, Rainer Mockert, Chris Craib
Fred Schepisi's adaptation of Graham Swift's prize-winning novel is a quietly graceful portrait of four working-class Brits, bound by years of friendship, that unites some of England's finest actors in a powerful and deeply moving ensemble production. Michael Caine stars as Jack Dodd, the charismatic leader of the group, whose death and last wishes sends his friends on a nostalgic journey from London to Margate to scatter Jack's ashes in the sea. After forty years of warming the seats at their favourite pub, long-time friends and WWII veterans Ray (Bob Hoskins), Lenny (David Hemmings), and Vic (Tom Courtenay) are forced to face the loss of one of their own as they make the "epic" journey accompanied by Jack's flashy, prodigal son Vince (Ray Winstone). Noticeably absent from the group is Jack's long-suffering widow Amy (Helen Mirren), who travels to visit her autistic daughter instead of accompanying her husband's ashes, in a painful journey of her own which sheds light on her complex relationship with Jack. As the four men make their way to Margate, going from pub to pub, they reflect on a lifetime of memories of Jack, which are recreated in a series of multi-layered flashbacks that explore the delicate interweaving of their friendships; full of secrets, resentments, and deeply rooted loyalty. Schepisi masterfully handles the multidimensional plot lines while deftly allowing his talented cast to portray their flawed and profoundly ordinary characters.
Technical information
Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Trailer Evolution Video, Behind The Scenes, Director And Main Cast Crew Interviews, Novelist Graham Swifts Biography, Director And Main Cast Filmographies, Production Notes, Marketing Evolution Image Gallery
Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Professional reviews
Review: "...[Mr. Schepisi] has succeeded beyond all expectation....Watching LAST ORDERS is like finding that perfect stage of moderate drunkenness in which the senses are sharpened rather than dulled, and time passes with leisurely grace..." (New York Times, p.E1, 15/02/2002)
"...A funny and touching film that is gorgeously acted by a British cast to rival GOSFORD PARK's..." (Rolling Stone, p.76, 14/03/2002)
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02.12.2007
25.03.2004
