Rating: 
Summary: Very deceptiv cover.........
Review: The cover makes it look like a light-weight romantic comedy... That it is NOT... When I first came across it in my Public Library, though I love Ewan McGregor I dismissed it as a disposable predictable romantic comedy(I read the back, but I didn't really pay much attention to it due to the cover... Stupid I know.). But when I saw it was going to be on IFC(Independent Film Channel) I HAD to catch it. And I did... TWICE.! :D I loved it. It is just as good the second viewing, and the music is mezmerizing. Its amazing. Emotional and beautifull. And the movie is NOT in the least bit a cheesey romantic comedy, its not a romantic comedy at all. Yes it one of the story-lines running through it is romance, but that's only one of them. But it has to do with how these people deal with the closing of a coal mine(which IS the town basiclly.) how it effects their everyday lives. And how they keep playing with their brass band(though they keep wanting to or do give up.). It is the one thing that seems to keep them somewhat sane... The ones most effected that are in the Brass band, is the bands leader Danny and his son Phil. Both do absolutely fabolous. Bringing humour to this tragedy. Really the less you know the better. Mgnificent movie, RENT, BUY, or WHATEVER JUST SEE IT.! God Bless ~Amy
Rating:
Summary: A Dose Of Reality
Review: I watched this film one night through interest as a musician. I was delighted to discover a film that showcases not only fabulous music, but a relevant political message too. Living, as I do, in a former mining community in the Midlands, I see the effects of the pit closures every day. This film serves as a sobering reminder to those who are not in the same situation, of how Thatcher's economic rebuilding of the South sacrificed thousands of jobs in the North. Danny (Postlethwaite) is so preoccupied with having the colliery band win the national contest, that he does not realise the dire straits his players are in. McGregor and Fitzgerald have the obligatory romance subplot, but this does not detract from the film as a whole. The movie provides lasting images, from the pathetic protests by the miners' wives to the final bitter rendition of 'Land Of Hope And Glory.' The performances from Postlethwaite, Fitzgerald, McGregor and Tompkinson are superb, the latter shining as a man whose memories of the 1984 mining strike drive him to extraordinary lengths to avoid the same happening again. Those who believe Britain has moved on from the times of Charles Dickens should watch Danny, lying in a hospital bed, coughing up coal dust from his lungs. It will make them reconsider.
Rating: 
Summary: Good film but wasn't exactly for me
Review: "Brassed Off" is a film that I didn't appreciate to the fullest. This is probably because I'm not into the politics that are involved in business, economics, and trade unions. And I'm from the culture either. For me this was just a typcial drama. Still, "Brassed Off" does some things very well. For one, the entire cast, which includes Ewan MacGregor and Pete Postlethwaite, is great. Seems like all UK films have good acting in acting in them. Perhaps because they're all lower budget, they have to rely on good acting and storytelling. I have to say for a film that is supposed to be a fun comedy (like the description on the back cover says), it's very grim and even dark. The miners are hit real hard by not having their jobs to support their families. But still even in the tough times the men (who are part of a brass band lead by Postlethwaite, hence the title) hang tough. In the end "Brassed Off" didn't strike me as superb but thanks to a good story and excellent acting, it is still worth watching. And if you're British this is a must-see.
Rating:
Summary: Good film but wasn't exactly for me
Review: "Brassed Off" is a film that I didn't appreciate to the fullest. This is probably because I'm not into the politics that are involved in business, economics, and trade unions. And I'm not from the culture either. For me this was just a typcial drama. Still, "Brassed Off" does some things very well. For one, the entire cast, which includes Ewan MacGregor and Pete Postlethwaite, is great. Seems like all UK films have good acting in them. Perhaps because they're all lower budget, they have to rely on good acting and storytelling. I have to say for a film that is supposed to be a fun comedy (like the description on the back cover says), it's very grim and even dark. The miners are hit real hard by not having their jobs to support their families. But still even in the tough times the men (who are part of a brass band lead by Postlethwaite, hence the title) hang tough. In the end "Brassed Off" didn't strike me as superb but thanks to a good story and excellent acting, it is still worth watching. And if you're British this is a must-see.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost undone by cheesy marketing
Review: Once again, here's a terrific movie almost undone by the cheesy and, frankly, idiotic marketing campaign that accompanied the release of the video. Hopefully, you'll pay little attention to the cover box shot of Ewan MacGregor and Tara Fitzgerald. Yes, they're excellent here, but their sappy sub-plot represents only a small part of the movie. It's far from the best part, and their upbeat mugs are not at all representative of the main themes and prevailing mood of the film. This film can be best described as a pre-Full Monty Full Monty. But it wears its heart on its sleeve far more prominently than The Full Monty does. You may not agree with the politics espoused here (which are virulently anti-Thatcher), but you have to admire a film with the guts to lay its emotions out so honestly like this one does. Reminds me of "Three Kings" in that way. Here are four good reasons to pick up this film for a viewing: 1. For an American viewer, it's a good primer on the UK coal industry and the "changes" (quotes intended) undertaken to it during Margaret Thatcher's administration. 2. Fantastic music. Even if you don't regard yourself as a brass band fan, the presentations of the songs in this film are quite stirring. 3. Tara Fitzgerald. Certainly better here vs. the bizarre setting that was "Sirens." She really looks great in this film. 4. Peter Postlethwaite. The center around which this movie revolves. This is one amazing actor. To think this same guy is Kobayashi in "The Usual Suspects." Boy, talk about range.
Rating:
Summary: A sublime modern British gem--sadly overlooked
Review: I'll bet you don't remember this little gem of a British film at your local cinema...it passed us by quickly and quietly, and I only hope it can have a strong life in video. But the video's cover is just another sign that the studio just didn't know what to make of this movie or how to promote it. Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan MacGregor on the cover make it look like a love story, which is certainly an element of the plot, but one of many, and certainly not the most important. A British mining town is threatened with closure of the mines, which will put much of the population out of work. Unconcerned with this all is Danny (a brilliant Pete Postlethwaite), the leader of the mine's brass band group, so intent on winning the national championships that he doesn't see at first the turmoil as the members of his band face unemployment--including his own son. There's a triumph at the end, but a bittersweet one, when, at the end, Danny declares that music doesn't matter...it's people that matter (a sound bite you probably already recognize--it was sampled at the beginning of Chumbawamba's hit "Tubthumping"). The most logical comparable to this film (and one nearly everyone makes) is "The Full Monty," but this movie came first, and doesn't sacrifice the realities of the British unemployment problem at the expense of laughs. And if you think you don't enjoy brass band music, "Brassed Off" will go a long way towards changing your mind--this is *not* oompah-pah-pah music of your high-school marching band. Music dramatically underscores the lives of the characters and the tone of the movie. As proof, this movie features one of the most absolutely gorgeous wordless sequences in contemporary British film: while the brass band plays an exquisite version of "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor," the scene cuts back and forth from their practice to the breakdown of negotiation talks between the miners and management--a sublime moment that comes early in the film but sets the scene for many other such moments. Don't miss this one, and don't let the goofy love-story video jacket throw you: this is simply one of the best and most bittersweet British films of recent years.
Rating:
Summary: What matters more: music or people?
Review: This excellent movie suffered from some dodgy marketing. Ewan MacGregor was splashed all over the publicity as a result of his role in "Trainspotting", and while he plays a central role in it very well indeed, he's only one of a superb ensemble of actors. The Yorkshire miners' strike of the mid-80s was, so far, the last great stand of the British working-class against the encroaching forces of capital and "economic efficiency". The mines were the source of not just wealth, but the dignity of entire communities. Coal mining is a back-breaking, filthy, dangerous and ultimately murderous job, and it was the danger and the sweat that gave the communities their pride. One of the things that this pride fostered was the incredible virtuosity of the brass bands. I was never a great fan of brass band music until I saw this movie, but the music in it (played by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, one of the most distinguished bands in the country) is not dull marching music but fantastically intricate and moving stuff. These guys weren't academy-trained musicians, they were mine workers who learned it in their spare time. And yet, one of the central points of the film is that we can all sit back and enjoy the music but little was done by anyone but the miners themselves to stop the destruction and demoralisation of the communities that produced it. That's what gives the film its tragic force, despite the resilience and good humour displayed along the way. (This is also a funny film, if a very sad one.) Much of the weight of the tragedy falls on two characters - Danny, the bandmaster, and his son Phil, a trombone player in the band. Danny is played by Pete Postlethwaite, a stunning actor who seems to able to incarnate an unbelievable range of figures (he was also the sinister Kobayashi in "The Usual Suspects" and the dying father in "In The Name of the Father"). Postlethwaite's character has been a miner all his life, and his frailty is terribly evident, yet he convinces us with his realisation that the music that he has always loved is, in the end, only the swansong of a whole way of life. Phil is played by Stephen Tompkinson, who had previously been visible as a good light comedy actor. Here, his red-eyed, desperate performance is a revelation. Phil moonlights as a children's entertainer, and the sight of him in clown costume being beaten up by the bailiffs emptying his home is fiercely ironic. This is a great movie; the point of it is even greater. The pits were closed down, not because they weren't profitable (most of them were), but because they represented a threat to the new economic order. The final irony is that, with the closure of so many pits and the drop in fossil fuel consumption, the UK is going to have to build lots of nuclear power stations over the next twenty years if they want to maintain the national electricity grid at its current level. Having seen the country of my birth (Britain) being systematically despoiled and demoralised over the course of most of my life by a long Conservative administration, I can only cheer a movie like this, which counts the cost of it all.
Rating:
Summary: Best of British
Review: This is a wonderful film with good characters, the right mix of humour and pathos. I'm not sure how it would fare outside of Britain but I'm sure some people might be able to sympathise with the various characters and situations that crop up throughout the film. For my money the best best British film this decade, easily beating Four Weddings and The Full Monty. When I first heard about this film I wondered why I would want to watch a film about a brass band. Now I not only enjoy the film but I also enjoy the music. This film came before The Full Monty and has similar themes - people dealing with unemployment in their own way. Featuring a first rate British cast - the ever excellent Pete Postlethwaite, the brilliant Ewan McGregor and the totally gorgeous and talented Tara FitzGerald. If you must buy one British movie then get this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not just about a brassed band!
Review: 'Brassed Off', as the name suggests, is a movie about a Brass Band from a coal mining pit in Yorkshire (in Northern England). If you do not consider yourself a big brass band fan then do not let this put you off because for one reason, unlike most movies based in England, this movie does not contain Hugh Grant, and, therefore, does not contain a soppy love story about a brass band worker who meets some nice lass and after some trials and tribulations ends up getting married. Instead this movie gets to the nitty gritty of life in England during Thatcher's administration, and the impact that her conservative government not only had on the brassed band, but also the whole communities that the coal mines supported in the U.K.
Made up of some fine actors, the band not only performs some fantastic musical pieces, but also reflect the tightness of the communities that supported the mining pits across the UK during the 80s and 90s in Britain. Brassed Off is a tragic comedy about a band that plays through the turmoil of the political situation at the time that not only threatens the mere existence of the band, but also their livelihoods at the mine pits and the entire community that the mine supports. As a movie about a brassed band this is a great show, but as a movie about a true reflection of life in Britain this is a fantastic piece. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: See It
Review: It will make you like brass band music, you will laugh and cry every time you see it, and of course, Ewan McGregor. What more could you want?
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