British Comedy Films
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British Comedy Films
British comedy films are comedy films produced in the United Kingdom. In the early 1930s, film adaptations of stage farces were popular. British comedy films are numerous, but among the most notable are the Ealing comedies, the 1950s work of the Boulting Brothers, and innumerable popular comedy series including the St Trinian's films, the ''Doctor'' series, and the long-running Carry On films. Some of the best known British film comedy stars include Will Hay, George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers and the Monty Python team. Other actors associated with British comedy films include Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford, Irene Handl and Leslie Phillips. Most British comedy films of the early 1970s were spin-offs of television series. Recent successful films include the working-class comedies ''Brassed Off'' (1996) and ''The Full Monty'' (1997), the more middle class Richard Curtis-scripted films ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994) and ''Nottin ...
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Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially — he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon de ...
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Margaret Rutherford
Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'', and Oscar Wilde's ''The Importance of Being Earnest''. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role as the Duchess of Brighton in '' The V.I.P.s'' (1963). In the early 1960s, she starred as Agatha Christie's character Miss Marple in a series of four George Pollock films. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1961 and a Dame Commander (DBE) in 1967. Early life Rutherford's early life was overshadowed by tragedies involving both of her parents. Her father, journalist and poet William Rutherford Benn, married Florence Nicholson on 16 December 1882 in Wandsworth, South London. One month after the marriage, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was admitted to Bethnal House Lunatic Asylum. Released ...
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Shaun Of The Dead
''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The film co-stars Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Bill Nighy, and Penelope Wilton. It is the first installment in the ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy, followed by ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007) and '' The World's End'' (2013). ''Shaun of the Dead'' developed from ideas Pegg and Wright used for their television series ''Spaced'', particularly an episode where Pegg's slacker character hallucinates a zombie invasion. The film references the ''Dead'' films directed by George A. Romero. Principal photography took place across London and at Ealing Studios between May and June 2003. The film premiered in London on 29 March 2004 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2004 and in the United States on 24 September. It was met w ...
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Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy
The ''Three Flavours Cornetto'' trilogy (also sometimes referred to as the ''Cornetto'' trilogy or the ''Blood and Ice Cream'' trilogy) is an anthology series of British comedic genre films directed by Edgar Wright, written by Wright and Simon Pegg, produced by Nira Park, and starring Pegg and Nick Frost. The trilogy consists of ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004), ''Hot Fuzz'' (2007), and '' The World's End'' (2013). The trilogy of films does not share a storyline or broad themes, and is named after its repeated passing references to Cornetto ice cream cones. They were produced on a total budget of $38 million, and the films have grossed more than $156 million worldwide, and all three films have garnered widespread critical acclaim. In addition to brief references to the Cornetto ice cream brand, the films have other common elements: each one depicts romance and struggles with maturity as recurring themes. The name is also a reference to the French ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993- ...
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Notting Hill (film)
''Notting Hill'' is a 1999 romantic comedy film directed by Roger Michell. The screenplay was written by Richard Curtis, and the film was produced by Duncan Kenworthy. The film stars Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, with Rhys Ifans, Emma Chambers, Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee, and Hugh Bonneville in supporting roles. The story is of a romance between a London bookseller (Grant) and a famous American actress (Roberts) who happens to walk into his shop. Released on 21 May 1999, ''Notting Hill'' was well-received by critics and became the highest-grossing British film of all time. The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, with Roberts and Grant also receiving nominations for their performances. The film also earned two BAFTA nominations. It also won a British Comedy Award and a Brit Award for the soundtrack. Plot William Thacker owns a travel book store in Notting Hill, London. Divorced, Will shares a flat with Spike, a flaky and sl ...
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Four Weddings And A Funeral
''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of friends through a number of social occasions as they each encounter romance. Andie MacDowell stars as Charles's love interest Carrie, with Kristin Scott Thomas, James Fleet, Simon Callow, John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, David Bower, Corin Redgrave, and Rowan Atkinson in supporting roles. The film was made in six weeks, cost under £3 million, BBC Radio 4 – The Reunion – Four Weddings and a Funeral, 13 April 2014 and became an unexpected success and the List of highest-grossing films in the United Kingdom, highest-grossing British film in history at the time, with worldwide box office total of $245.7 million, and receiving Academy Awards, Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Picture and Acade ...
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Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), ''Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' (2001), ''Love Actually'' (2003), '' Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason'' (2004), '' About Time'' (2013) and '' Yesterday'' (2019). He is also known for the drama ''War Horse'' (2011) and for having co-written the sitcoms ''Blackadder'', ''Mr. Bean'' and ''The Vicar of Dibley''. His early career saw him write material for the BBC's ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ITV's ''Spitting Image''. In 2007, Curtis received the BAFTA Fellowship for lifetime achievement from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He is the co-founder, with Sir Lenny Henry, of the British charity Comic Relief, which has raised over £1 billion. At the 2008 Britannia Awar ...
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Middle Class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Common definitions for the middle class range from the middle fifth of individuals on a nation's income ladder, to everyone but the poorest and wealthiest 20%. Theories like "Paradox of Interest" use decile groups and wealth distribution data to determine the size and wealth share of the middle class. From a Marxist standpoint, middle class initially referred to the 'bourgeoisie,' as distinct from nobility. With the development of capitalist societies and further inclusion of the bourgeoisie into the ruling class, middle class has been more closely identified by Marxist scholars with the term 'petite bourgeoisie.' There has been significant global middle-class growth over time. In February 2009, ''The Economist'' asserted that over half of the ...
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The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is set in Sheffield, England during the 1990s, and tells the story of six unemployed men, four of them former steel workers, who decide to form a male striptease act (à la the Chippendale dancers) in order to make some money and for the main character, Gaz, to be able to see his son. Gaz declares that their show will be much better than the renowned Chippendales dancers because they will go "the full monty"—strip all the way—hence the film's title. Despite being a comedy, the film also touches on serious subjects such as unemployment, fathers' rights, depression, impotence, homosexuality, body image, working class culture and suicide. ''The Full Monty'' was a major critical success upon release and an international commercial success, gr ...
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Brassed Off
''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own struggles against pit closures. It has been generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. Parts of the film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry in Britain, and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances. In the United States, the film was promoted simply as a romantic comedy involving McGregor and Fitzgerald's characters. Context The film is set ten years after the year-long strike in 1984–85 by the National Union of Mineworkers in Britain. Before the privatisation of British Coal, a wave of pit cl ...
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Working Class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colour") include blue-collar jobs, and most pink-collar jobs. Members of the working class rely exclusively upon earnings from wage labour; thus, according to more inclusive definitions, the category can include almost all of the working population of industrialized economies, as well as those employed in the urban areas (cities, towns, villages) of non-industrialized economies or in the rural workforce. Definitions As with many terms describing social class, ''working class'' is defined and used in many different ways. The most general definition, used by many socialists, is that the working class includes all those who have nothing to sell but their labour. These people used to be referred to as the proletariat, but that term has gone out of ...
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Television Series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television advertisement, advertisements, or Trailer (promotion), trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often broadcast programming, scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic program guide, electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show can be produced with different methodologies such as taped variety shows emanating from a television studio stage, animation or a variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies. Television shows can be viewed live (real time), b ...
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