Brassed Off on DVD

• Cat.no: VCD 0006
• Cert: 15
• Running time: 103 minutes
• Year: 1996
• Pressing: 1998
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 27 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: None
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Price: £19.99
• Extras : Scene index, Sub-plots, Theatrical trailer, Interviews,Biographies, Photo Library

Director:

Mark Herman (Blame It On The Bellboy)

Producer:

Steve Abbott

Screenplay:

Mark Herman

Music:

Trevor Jones (with Brass Band Music by the Grimethorpe CollieryBand)

Cast:

Danny: Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects, The Lost World- Jurassic Park, Crimetime, Dragonheart, Romeo and Juliet (1996), Suite16, When Saturday Comes, TV: “Sharpe’s Company”, “Sharpe’s Enemy”)
Gloria Mullins: Tara Fitzgerald (Sirens, Hear My Song, TV:”The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall”, “The Camomile Lawn”)
Andy: Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary,Shallow Grave, Star Wars Episode I, The Pillow Book, TV: “E.R.”)
Phil: Stephen Tompkinson (TV: “Drop The Dead Donkey”, “Ballykissangel”)
Harry: Jim Carter (A Private Function, Blame It On The Bellboy,The Madness Of King George, Richard III)
Sandra: Melanie Hill (TV: “Bread”)
Vera: Sue Johnston (Face, TV: “Brookside”)
McKenzie: Stephen Moore (Clockwise, Under Suspicion, TV:”Middlemarch”, “Sharpe’s Sword”, “The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, aged13 3/4”)

Set in 1992, Brassed Off tells the story of theimpending closure of the Grimley Colliery pit, and the fact that the GrimleyColliery Band is on the verge of breaking up.

Enter Gloria, who becomes the only female member of the band andmanages to rekindle their enthusiasm for the forthcoming National Championships,as well as rekindling a childhood romance with Andy.

The show must go on, and despite everyone’s troubles, the band haveto keep it together as the National Finals at the Royal Albert Hall arelooming…

Seasoned British actor Pete Postlethwaite is one of the most prolificaround to date, and his performance in this film certainly rates as oneof his best. While his character hides a serious medical condition, healso gets some choice dialogue, such as that when the band does badly ina contest while they re-establish their band in the community. In the localcommunity hall he tells off the rest of the band by pointing to black-and-whitephotos of previous band members with :

The two young leads in the film are also well-known in cinema circles.Ewan McGregor has followed British triumphs such as TrainspottingandShallow Grave by making an assault on the American market withan appearance as a gunman in hit series E.R. and with the directorof the above two British films in A Life Less Ordinary. The gorgeousTara Fitzgerald, playing the daughter of Arthur Mullins, one time a memberof the band, hasn’t made it to Hollywood yet, concentrating more on homegrowndrama, plays the band’s new arrival, and as they realise they’re meantfor one another, Gloria leads the conversation in which the words of lovespeak their name…

“Do you want to come up for a coffee?”
“I don’t drink coffee”
“I haven’t got any…”

The rest of the cast is filled out with British regulars such asStephen Tompkinson whose love of the brass band raises his hopes when everythingelse in life is falling apart including his marriage as he fails to keepup with the repayments despite also keeping a job as Mr. Chuckles the clown.

Jim Carter’s character’s marriage is in equal dire straits as theywork completely opposite hours and the only time they see each other isas they cross the doorstep. Sue Johnston, recently seen in the Britishcrime thriller Face as the mother of Robert Carlyle, and MelanieHill are the best of friends, while the always-welcome Stephen Moore playsa local council official.

The picture quality of the disc is very good indeed. Any artifacts aren’treally noticeable, but when the band are practicing, the green walls look ratherhazy. The average bitrate is 5.3Mb/s and the disc is 16:9-enhanced, allowingextra resolution for those with widescreen TVs.

The sound is nothing short of excellent, with the best use made bythe rousing performance of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, the real talentbehind the Grimley Colliery Band’s performance.

To those who know the film, you’ll have an idea of what to expect,but to those who don’t I won’t spoil what’s in store. However, to summarise,each heading contains three or four small clips strung together which showhow that aspect of the film develops. It’s worth noting that you shouldonly view these after seeing the whole film so as not to spoil any surprises.

Menu :The interactive menu works well, is animated and contains music from the brassband.

The only annoying thing is that on loading the disc you can’t skip pastthe VCI logo and copyright info, which is then followed by a Film Four intro,all lasting well over a minute. Stop the disc at any time and you’ll have tostart this intro from scratch.