Rating: 
Summary: Unknown Should-Be Classic!
Review: See this movie ASAP! This is what the Full Monty aspired-to! This is the best English film of the 1990's. Pete Postlethwaite is brilliant! Ewan McGregor is great! Tara Fitzgerald is gorgeous! This film is real! This film will move you and make you appreciate the working-classes. It's dark, but not too dark - that's not the point. Obsession is the point, and I'm obsessed with films of this quality! Great Great Movie!!! a true 90's sleeper!
Rating:
Summary: A serious film, 5 star rating.
Review: I'm not going to elaberate on what has already been said by others here. This IS a worthy film, and a MUST HAVE.
The quality of the DVD is excellent, colors are rich and vibrant, with very sharp images.However, I feel compelled to comment on the way this film is promoted. It is being called a comedy, it is NOT! Far from it. Yes, there are funny lines, but, they are meant to be a stab at the government, and life in general, in the old fashioned British dry wit. This movie is about a brass band, a colliery about to be closed by the Tory government, and a man's dreams of "winning it all" with the band, quote: "It's music that matters". About the back cover .......... it doesn't even mention the band at all!!! (The plot) Nor the colliery!!! (The plot) Nor the actual Grimleythorpe Brass Band!!! If I were browsing my local store I would probably have placed this back on the shelf and MISSED a great movie!! For me, this is another example of misleading advertising we're all too familiar with these days. OK, that's said, go get the movie! Best money you'll ever spend! (in my opinion).
Rating:
Summary: CHARACTERS AND MUSIC PULL U IN!!!!!
Review: A MUST SEE FILM, EXCEPTIONAL ACTING, PROFOUND, HUMOROUS, AND HEART WRENCHING. YOU EMPATHIZE, AND TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE SELF WORTH, AND HOW THAT IS DISPLAYED. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS FILM AND HAVE SEEN IT NUMEROUS TIMES, UPLIFTING ME EVERY TIME, AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE LIFE OF A COAL MINER. BUY THIS FILM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THE MUSIC WILL PENETRATE YOU!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Most Pleasant Surprise
Review: Seldom do we in America have the opportunity to see such a first rate British film, that would never "make the rounds" in the States. Here it surfaced in the middle of the night, on a digital premium cable. Brassed Off is well acted, beautifully scored, and provides a first hand perspective of a Thatcher government, of which few Yanks are aware. We now know why she is "The Iron Lady." As is often the case, we can count on the Brits to understate the obvious. No broad scenic vistas of the Yorkshire countryside. Nevertheless, one immediately gains the feel for Grimley, and its townsfolk, quickly and thoroughly. The short takes, tight, brief closeups, of facial impressions, demonstate fine editing, and an ensemble of fine actors, though none better than Tara Fitzgerald, an absolute pro, as Gloria Mullins. Families facing redundancy, and worse, Danny, determined to make it to Albert Hall, all the while suffering from the deadly Black Lung, weave several plots nicely. A magic moment finds Gloria introduced to Danny and the Band, as she "dabbles" with the 2nd movement of Concierto de Aranjuez. If this doesn't move one, then one has no soul. I take umbrage at the text on the American VHS, indicating the reunion turns the town "hilariously upside down." As Danny indicates in his swan song at Albert Hall, there is little hilarious in the lives of these people, humans, about to be out of work, with little hope for the future. It causes one to become a bit "brassed off," since it's a pity that the best films of late receive so little press, for this one's a winner, a must see, for anyone who loves Britian, and or who loves music.
Rating:
Summary: Anger and Pathos in the Class Struggle
Review: Brassed Off is that rarest of beasts;a film about social class that , despite its somewhat hackneyed, class collaborationist love story strand(Ewan Mcgregor/Tara Fitzgerald), transcends sentimentality and reveals the viciousness that characterises Post-Fordist capitalism.
The film follows events in the early 90`s cull of the British mining industry, as the Tories kill off an entire industry, and whole communities,behind a facade of `reviews` and `consultation`.
Pete Postlethwaite takes the lead role as bandleader of Grimethorpe Colliery Brassband, the cultural symbol of dignified and creative struggle in the face of overwhelming opposition.His closing speech at the brassband competition at the Albert Hall is a masterpiece of awakened anger, that surely vindicates Percy Shelley`s `sleeping lion` interpretation of the proletariat in his `The Mask of Anarchy`.
Stephen Tompkinson is also superb as Postlethwaite`s son,crippled by debt and forced to spend his spare time as a kiddies entertainer.The tragic clown indeed.
This is tragedy dipped in anger and furious compassion however, and this film never allows the romantic cliches upon which it was marketed in the US to overwhelm it. Superb stuff
Rating: 
Summary: A Sad Yet Joyful Noise
Review: In the US we have little to compare with the closing of the British coal industry in the 1980s. Millions of miners and their families were left redundant, that is, no job, no hope, no future. Into this dismal situation a small group of men manage to bring an iota of dignity and brilliant music to their lives. Brassed Off is a political comment on Margaret Thatcher's government. It is a film that hides its political cheek in between the sheets of music played by the real Grimelythorpe Colliary Band. Ewan McGregor plays miner Andy Barrow, a small town boy whose nothing life goes nowhere. Tara Fitzgerald is the girl who left for school but returns to try and stave off the closing of the town's mine with her well intentioned but useless report. Veteran character actor Pete Postelwaithe is the band's conductor whose lungs are black, but his head and heart are in the music competition he desperately wants his band to win. The sentimentality in the film peaks as the miners gather to seranade their dying conductor to the strains of "Danny Boy." Kleenex was passing about the theater like popcorn when I saw the film. Brassed Off is a little film with humor and heart, and for those who relish a little political kick with their music.
Rating:
Summary: Coal Miners, Politics and a Big Brass Band!
Review: Brassed Off is a wonderful, thought-provoking movie that celebrates the common man and his efforts, if not always his triumphs -- over fat cat bureaucrats. Pete Postlethwaite is amazing. The characters are brilliantly cast and the brass band takes you from tears to cheers. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!
Review: This has to be one of the best films I have ever seen. It has something for everyone, drama, heartbreak, bare-faced northern British humour and a bit of romance. What else do you need? One of the reasons it works so well is that the humour takes the edge off the disheartening and hopeless situation thatthe characters find themselves in. It is through reality that humour of this type works best. The acting is wonderful by all who are in it. The music is a treasure. The atmosphere and the way you get involved with the characters in expertly done. All round, a fantastic film. If you don't see this, you are missing a rare treat!
Rating: 
Summary: DEPRESSING BUT HEARTENING
Review: Pete Postlethwaite and Ewan McGregor are excellent in this small and little known film about a band put together by a bunch of out of work miners in England. It is similar to the Full Monty in that economic depression does not dampen the spirit of people who strive to keep their spirits alive with more lofty or artistic pursuits. Of course, in the Full Monty, stripping is not necessarily touted as a more artistic venture, but it is something that lifts the men out of the monotonous and tedious task of searching for work and collecting checks from the government. Pete Postlethwaite delivers a passionate performance of a tireless man whose only goal is for the band to win a competition. Once they do win the competition, after much adversity, he delivers a scathing speech declining to accept the award. Must be seen to be appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Bad DVD
Review: I'm sure a lot of people will be a little bit upset with me for giving this movie such an average grade. My grade is for the DVD itself. As much as I like this movie(5 stars for the movie itself), the DVD is typical of so many discs rushed to market as the movie studios attempt to cash in on the new medium. Perhaps only a purist, or techno-weenie as I'm sure many would say, would notice, but the digital encoding of the picture was an inferior quickie that has resulted in "jaggies" visble in normal playback. Second, the extras. There are none. Despite the back of the box listing Dolby Surround, Theatrical Trailer, and Chapter Search as Special Features, these are all standard elements of any DVD. Give me a running commentary by Mark Herman, Ewan McGregor, Pete Postelwaite, and Tara Fitzgerald and I will change my rating to five stars.
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