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Absolute Beginners [DVD] [1986] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Price: £4.40
Average customer rating:
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780792855187
ISBN : 0792855183
Label : MGM
Manufacturer : MGM
Publisher : MGM
Release date : 2003-04-15
Title : Absolute Beginners [DVD] [1986] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actor : Array
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1986-01-01
Region code : 1
Running time : 108
Studio : MGM
Theatrical releaseDate : 1986-04-18
MPN : MGMD1004377D
Average customer rating:
Binding : DVD
EAN : 9780792855187
ISBN : 0792855183
Label : MGM
Manufacturer : MGM
Publisher : MGM
Release date : 2003-04-15
Title : Absolute Beginners [DVD] [1986] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]
Actor : Array
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1986-01-01
Region code : 1
Running time : 108
Studio : MGM
Theatrical releaseDate : 1986-04-18
MPN : MGMD1004377D
Customer reviews
review by: date: 2009-05-15 rating:Absolute Turkey
This was one of the films that brought Goldcrest to its knees. Anyone remember Revolution, or The Mission? br / br /Buckets of money were poured into this fiasco on the assumption that the more elements you added (and the more you spent) the better the final film. In the end it is failure on a jaw dropping scale that sank several careers. And really - didn't anyone think to screen test the leads for acting talent..? br / br /Imagine a mish-mash of stuff stolen from West Side Story, A Star is Born, Singing In The Rain, Oliver... you get my drift? Basically nothing at all cohesive. br / br /There is a massive Soho set, which proves to be such a disappointment. This could have been a reconstruction of Soho as it was in 1958 (the money was clearly there!) but everything is in the wrong place, and important elements are missing. The happy-go-lucky mood is just so completely wrong. The secondary characters are all cliches, like all black people in those days were cool (one is even named Cool!) lesbians are fat, cuddly, and lots of fun, prostitutes are tarts with a heart, knife fights are only 'between friends' (but about what?) etc. And just how could an unemployed working class teenager, who is the focus of this film, ever afford a 2x2 film camera...? They weren't cheap. br / br /It's hard to believe that this was based on Colin McInness's novel - which I haven't read but assume must have had some kind of decent plot that got junked along the way. Singer Sade's night club set piece isn't too bad though, but even Bowie's one turn looks ridiculous. br / br /Still, what lifts this movie immeasurably is Oliver Stapleton's sumptuous lighting. It turns the film into eye candy, as do the costumes and set design. And there's several amusing guest appearances - like Mandy Rice-Davies as Ray Davies' (no relation!) haggard suburban wife. br / br /Fact is, there's plenty to watch, so I didn't get bored, or feel I'd completely wasted the evening, but I did spend the time awe-struck at all this mis-conceived extravagance and bad acting. br / br /As an aside, I'm very much looking forward to the overdue re-release of Jez Butterworth's excellent Mojo, which did a very convincing re-construction of that same era. Watch out for it.
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Similar categories
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . DramaVideo . DVD Blu-ray . Categories . Science Fiction Fantasy . Fantasy Futuristic
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Special Features . Region 1
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . DVD
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Region(feature_browse-bin) . Region 1
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1980 - 1989
Video . DVD Blu-ray . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English
