I've just watched This Is England for the first time. Wow. Absolutely speechless. I was a bit dubious about the nature and subject of the film, but it was beautiful, everything about it. I don't watch many films but he seems to have this amazing talent for finding great actors, writing believable and intense stories with really personable characters and directing them wonderfully. I'm not sure i've seen a better British film than that, the only one that would run it close would be Dead Mans Shoes. Everything about This Is England, especially the ending, is an absolute triumph. What a film.
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Have you seen A Room For Romeo Brass?
That's bloody good as well. But yeah, the man's brilliant.
I've not got round to it yet.
Keep meaning to get it. Anything with Paddy Considine in it's bound to be brilliant, the man's a superb actor.
He's astounding in it.
His voice is the best part of the performance.
It veers between Nottingham, Elvis Presley and Gollum.
I like how he switches so effortlessly
and the voice thing comes into that, definitely.
Oh that film is actually fantastic
I really need to see This is England.
Not to be a wanker about this...
But can I just say, I've liked Shane Meadows since 'A Room For Romeo Brass'' was release. I was only 10 when I watched it with my brother and dad.
Didn't you say the other day
that you did some promotion work for him?
That was Chris Cunningham
Ahhh
Still: cool!
^wanker
that means nothing at all.
I'm sorry but it's the kind of thing only a nobber says. Dead Mans Shoes has been my favourite film for a long time, it doesn't make my opinion on it any more or less important than anyone elses.
That's where you wrong....
...because it means 'I win''.
Nope.
just means you're a bit of a dick.
Take the stick for your arse, mate.
I was joshing about.
Think this makes you look like 'abit of a dick''
oh no.
fuck
are you still pushing that one liam?
everyone knows that i told you about shane meadows and dead man's shoes.
let it go indiana. let it go.
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
I've heard that's a bit dodgy though.....shows he is human after all
I wasn't much of a fan of that one
:(
the montages
opinions
...
The one used at the beginning of This is England makes one of my favourite beginnings to any film I've seen. And I've seen this film a few times so this isn't really a snap decision...
He's a master of the montage.
I'm not sure why i thought they were so fitting, but they were, definitely.
Brilliant film, certainly the best I've seen in the past yearp
*year
'YARP', I'm turning West Country.
I just watched it as well
it's the first Shane Meadows film I've seen. It was absolutely fantatsic I will be looking at more of his stuff asap.
Watch Dead Man's Shoes next.
Then A Room for Romeo Brass
Then tewnetyfourseven (you get to see Bob Hoskins and Les Battersby have a fight)
Have you seen Raining Stones?
It's directed by Ken Loach, Battersby's in that aswell. It's pretty brilliant.
Is that the one where him and Ricky Tomlinson are meat traders, and they try to catch a sheep at the
and he has to turn to a loan shark to get his daughter a Baptism dress?
The very same.
It's pretty rough, not tremendously well acted, but i still really like it.
I thought it was a good old film.
Still prefer 'Riff-Raff'' and 'My Name Is Joe''.
Ok
I'll take your advice and watch in that order. I look forward to the battersby/Hoskins punch up :D
I dig the guy
but I wouldn't call him a genius. He's a talented film-maker who is great with actors but I don't think he's made a great film, yet. Room for Romeo Brass is probably my favourite of his.
^this
except i've only seen this is england.
"great with actors"
i dont know about his other films but at least in this is england he used a lot of amateur actors and their performances were really quite impressive, he did very well with that one
ace director
I really like Dead Mans Shoes and This Is Engerland
I thought they were a really simular story though just in diffrent settings.
First time I've seen (most of) 'This Is England'
I missed the first 15 minutes. 'A Room For Romeo Brass' is an incredibly moving film, worth impulse buying immediately. Do it.
Genius is a bit strong
but twentyfourseven, A Room for Romeo Brass, Dead Man's Shoes and This Is England are all really, really good films!
would you consider any directors geniuses?
(genii, whatever)
If so who, and why?
I don't really explore enough cinema
to rank anyone a genius.
I wish I had the motivation to go to The Broadway cinema in town more often as they show quite a few films I'd really like to see.
And that is how to avoid answering a question :)
leni riefenstahl,
reluctantly.
bless you.
he is very talented.
i think the dialogue is always the better than the story though. Hard to say which ones my favourite. This is England is prob my least favourite of the 3 ive seen though
yeah, probably my favourite director/writer
along with Wes Anderson
saw a Room for Romeo Brass a good few years ago, then Dead Man's Shoes when it came out, then saw This Is England at the cinema, and i was speechless for about 15 minutes after it finished, such a stupidly good ending. whenever i watch it on DVD now, the whole film feels so tense because i know what it's building up to.
dead mans shoes is shit
I will reserve judgement
if you think dead mans shoes is shit
you dont deserve to watch any of his other films
I dont really think it's shit
just going along with the whole hyperbole thing
it's wallowing, and slightly pointless, it tells me nothing about anything, the tension is created well, he's a talented filmmaker and paddy considie is fucking awesome as usual but it's just a non-film almost.
i've never watched any of his other films
but i love this is england, even wrote an essay about it and all, serious business man.
what other films should i watch?
the other main 3
if you ignore Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (which is shit) there is (in chronological order) TwentyFourSeven, A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes.
Romeo Brass being my favourite of those.
oooooh ive heard about dead mans shoes
it might even have been one of the trailers on my this is england dvd, hehe. it looked great and i do really want to see it
A Room For Romeo Brass
I haven't actually seen Dead Man's Shoes, but everyone here and everyone I've spoken to who knows about this sort of thing seems to like it.
.
it's a brilliant film
I liked This Is England
but didn't love it, and after seeing Dead Man's Shoes, which was absolutely brilliant, I've decided it's not really that good at all. I think the ending sort of annoyed me, it finished just as I thought it should be properly getting started. But when I really think about it is good, just not as good as Dead Man's Shoes.
i'm not sure
if i understand what you mean by "it finished just as I thought it should be properly getting started", care to elaborate?
Hmmm.
I wish you could get Smalltime/Where's the money Ronnie? on DVD.
I thought This is England
was well made and well acted, but I didn't think it was that great. Seemed quite tired. Haven't seen any of his others though. Maybe Dead Mans Shoes will change my mind.
I've got in on DVD
come round. bring jokes.
*it
Bring It?
The scary clown or the disappointing spider?
Tough choice
They both sound like naff cartoon characters.
I'm going to go with scary clown.
Alright.
I was thinking I should come to Nottingham soon. Anything good coming up?
hmm..
Dead Man's Shoes screening at my place.
Frightened Rabbit, can't remember the date.
Twilight Sad, 18th June.
Drinks with me, available by appointment.
Dead Man's Shoes is aceness
and features the best comeback to the 'what are you looking at?' line.
"YOU YA CUNT!"
The 'you ya cunt' threat
is the only time I have ever felt threatened by a film.
Fucking menacing and brilliant!
How long in advance do I have to
book drinks with you?
THANK YOU
for reminding me about The Twilight Sad....
I have a problem with all Shane Meadows films
in that the stories are usually fairly pedestrian and the acting is so variable.
Paddy Considine is always very good, but (and this is probably because Meadows uses a lot of amateur/first time actors)that many other characters come across poorly, making the whole film uneven.
However, props to Tom Turgoose and Stephen Graham in This Is England. And Meadows does at least make original, British films, rather than crappy gangster or horror flicks with one eye on the US market.
It's the day after my birthday
if you're not there I'll take it very personally!
i like it more and more every time i see it
I really enjoyed it last night
Amazing atmosphere to it and the acting was great. It was a pretty uncomfortable subject matter but handled superbly.
I second that.
I think it just about called it right. I guess there's always a danger with films that tackle such sensitive issues that they might end up glorifying the characters views to a certain extent, but i thought that the ending in particulular kind of left you with more a sense of empathy with the characters than anything. I thought the relationships between the young boy and the other main characters; Combo, Woody, his Mother & Father, even the more peripheral characters, were absolutely brilliantly delivered and extremely touching, and for me much more important than the subject matter itself. Dead Mans Shoes aside i'm not sure i've been so gobsmacked after the closing scenes of a modern British film. I'd be greatful of any suggestions for stuff people judge to be as good?
Indeed
Or go the other way and just say "drugs are bad", "racism is bad" etc without actually looking at some of the reasons why people act/feel as they do.
The relationships and the way they were portrayed and delivered were really touching, and in a sense surreal but at the same time feeling incredibly real, and believable.
If that makes any sense.
awww i want to watch it again now
I enjoyed it a lot more
last night than I did in the cinema. It had loads of 'best british film ever' hype around the time and I felt a bit let down but it is an excellent film.
i got to watch his next film
for work - he uses thomas turgoose again & it's brilliant. short runtime (70-something minutes i think) and mostly B&W, but it'll get a release here anyway.
this is england did amazingly well in sweden of all places & won meadows a guldbugge award, think it was the first time it's been won by a british film.
has anyone seen paddy considine's short film? i wasn't so sure about it..
*guldbagge
paddy's short film was pure hilarity
quite possibly the funniest thing i've seen since irreversible
lolz
I'm really looking forward to Somers Town.
I've not seen Dog Altogether either, but i'm just reading that it won a Bafta. I'd love to watch it, but wouldn't really know where to find it to be honest.
yeah, again i saw it through work
& am not sure how you'd go about finding it.. maybe denise-richards has some idea..
I'm not going to disupte the genius thing
because I don't really believe in the concept so he is as entitled to it as anyone else. There aren't many other directors who have made so many good films.
This is England was the best film I saw last year, along with Lives of Others.
In other news, I didn't realise councils could overturn the ratings of the BBFC. I knew they could ban films but didn't realise they could overrule a decision. TIE was given an 18 but some councils overturned this, according to wiki.
There's a few British directors
who have made as many good films.
Personally, I think he's made four good films but not made a great one yet.
Of course he isn't a genius.
He's made some very good films (This is england and dead mans shoes, and romeo brass to a lesser extent), but I don't think he's capable of the cinematic scope of some directors.
Personally I think he is
This is England, Dead man's shoes and a room for Romeo Brass are all favourite films of mine. the ending to this is England is the most powerful thing i've seen along with united 93