Chris Morris' Brass Eye is a brilliantly funny spoof on current affairs media that carries on where his previous The Day Today left off. The show ran for one single, contentious series in 1997, to be followed by an even more controversial one-off in 2001. While these episodes might cause offence to those not versed in Morris' satirical methods, and while one occasionally suspects his work is informed by a dark seam of malice and loathing rather than a desire to educate, Brass Eye remains vital satire, magnificently hilarious and, in its own way, fiercely moral viewing. Brass Eye satirises a media far too interested in generating dramatic heat and urgency for its own sake than in shedding light on serious issues. Morris mimics perfectly the house style of programmes such as Newsnight and Crimewatch, with their spurious props and love of gimmickry. Meanwhile his presenter--an uncanny composite of Jeremy Paxman, Michael Buerk and Richard Madeley among others--delivers absurd items about man-fighting weasels in the East End and Lear-esque lines such as "the twisted brain wrong of a one-off man mental" with preposterously solemn authority. Much as the media itself is wont to do, each programme works itself up into a ridiculous fever of moral panic. Most telling is the "drugs" episode, in which, as ever, real-life celebrities, including Jimmy Greaves and Sir Bernard Ingham, are persuaded to lend their name to a campaign against a new drug from Eastern Europe entitled Cake. The satirist's aim here isn't to trivialise concern about drugs but to point up the media's lack of attention to content. A response to the ill-conceived News of the World witch-hunt, in the wake of the Sarah Payne affair, the 2001 "paedophilia" special was the most supremely controversial of the series. It followed the usual formula--duping celebs such as Phil Collins into endorsing a campaign entitled "Nonce Sense", urging parents to send their children to football stadiums for the night for their own safety and mooting the possibility of "roboplegic" paedophiles--and prompted the sort of hysterical and predictable Pavlovian response from the media that Brass Eye lampoons so tellingly. On the DVD: Brass Eye on DVD includes brief outtakes, such as "David Jatt" interviewing celebrities about breeding hippos for domestic purposes, an hilarious exchange with Jeffrey Archer's PA ("He's a very wicked little man") as well as trailers for the paedophilia special.--David Stubbs
A motley crew of British characters ride the 'San Ferry Ann' from Dover to the shores of Calais where they embark on a weekend of calamity. A campervan family led by Dad and Mum (David Lodge and Joan Sims) cause chaos from the moment they set their tires on the shore resulting in frequent run ins with the Gendarme. Lewd Grandad (Wilfred Brambell) finds his own misadventures with a newly acquainted friend a crazy German ex-soldier (Ron Moody). Also aboard for the ride is a saucy hitchhiker (Barbara Windsor) who causes a few heads to turn including that of a fellow traveller (Ronnie Stevens) who pursues her affection with comic results. By the end of this weekend though the French may well be wishing to say 'au revoir' to these trouble making tourists.
Jungle Street: The voluptuous Jill Ireland stars as Sue a striptease artist in this tough British crime drama that sees her playing opposite to her real-life husband of the time David McCallum. Jungle Street has McCallum playing Terry Collins a small time thug constantly at war with his family employers and the world. Whilst his friend Johnny (Kenneth Cope) is in prison taking the rap for a robbery they both committed Terry tries to muscle in on his girlfriend Sue. But when Johnny is released and comes looking for Terry and the money from the robbery the two men are on a collision course that can only end in murder... A Matter of Choice: Five people are soon to find their lives inextricably entwined for the worse. Two youths (Malcolm Gerard and Michael Davis) have been searching for girls and end up in a fight with a policeman. The policeman falls and is hit by a car driven by Lisa (Jeanne Moody) and her secret lover John (Anthony Steel). When Lisa's husband Charles finds the police waiting to interview his wife the tangle of lies and deceit that the night started with begins to slowly unravel.
A young actress becomes totally obsessed with the part she is playing and before long art and reality start to blur. Based on a song by Leonard Cohen (which is used in the film).
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