My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi (written by)

Release Date:

April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for success and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat.

Plot Keywords:

England | Laundromat | Thatcher | Mistress | Pakistani

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Saeed Jaffrey	...	Nasser Ali
Roshan Seth	...	Hussein Ali
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Johnny (as Daniel Day Lewis)
Gordon Warnecke	...	Omar Ali
Derrick Branche	...	Salim N. Ali
Rita Wolf	...	Tania N. Ali
Souad Faress	...	Cherry N. Ali
Richard Graham	...	Genghis
Shirley Anne Field	...	Rachel
Winston Graham	...	Jamaican One
Charu Bala Chokshi	...	Bilquis (as Charu Bala Choksi)
Dudley Thomas	...	Jamaican Two
Garry Cooper	...	Squatter
Neil Cunningham	...	Englishman
Persis Maravala	...	Nasser's Elder Daughter
Walter Donohue	...	Dick O'Donnell
Nisha Kapur	...	Nasser's Younger Daughter
Stephen Marcus	...	Moose
Badi Uzzaman	...	Dealer
Ayub Khan-Din	...	Student
Gurdial Sira	...	Zaki
Chris Pitt	...	Kid One
Dawn Archibald	...	Gang Member One
Kerryann White	...	Kid Two
Gerard Horan	...	Telephone Man
Jonathan Moore	...	Gang Member Two
Ram John Holder	...	Poet
Colin Campbell	...	Madame Butterfly Man
Bhasker Patel	...	Tariq
Dulice Liecier	...	Girl in Disco (as Dulice Leicier)
Sheila Chitnis	...	Zaki's Wife
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Persis Khambatta	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Stephen Frears

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hanif Kureishi		written by

Produced by
Tim Bevan	....	producer
Sarah Radclyffe	....	producer

Original Music by
Ludus Tonalis

Cinematography by
Oliver Stapleton

Film Editing by
Mick Audsley

Casting by
Debbie McWilliams

Production Design by
Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski		(as Hugo Luczyc Wyhowski)

Costume Design by
Lindy Hemming

Makeup Department
Elaine Carew	....	makeup artist
Wendy Rawson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jane Frazer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Davies	....	third assistant director
Simon Hinkly	....	first assistant director
Waldo Roeg	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Mark Allett	....	stand-by props
Alison Dominitz	....	assistant art director
Alastair Gow	....	constructor
Ray Perry Sr.	....	property master
Raymond Perry	....	stand-by props (as Ray Perry Jr.)
Julian Rothenstein	....	graphic artist
Robin Thistlewaite	....	constructor
Jeanne Vertigan	....	production buyer

Sound Department
Albert Bailey	....	sound recordist
St. Clair Davis	....	boom operator
Peter Maxwell	....	dubbing mixer
Budge Tremlett	....	dubbing editor (as 'Budge' Tremlett)
Matthew Whiteman	....	assistant dubbing editor
Steve Hancock	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Jim Dowdall	....	stunt coordinator
Tracey Eddon	....	stunts (as Tracey Eddons)
Wayne Michaels	....	stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunt coordinator
Rocky Taylor	....	stunt coordinator
Tip Tipping	....	stunts
Bill Weston	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Fiona Cunningham-Reid	....	clapper loader
Malcolm Davies	....	gaffer
Martin Duncan	....	electrician
Tony Hare	....	electrician
Anthony James	....	camera trainee
Steve Keith-Roach	....	focus puller
Mike Laye	....	still photographer
Dave McWhinney	....	electrician (as Dave McWhinnie)
Jamie Monks	....	second camera grip
Jim Monks	....	camera grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karen Sharpe	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Jason Adams	....	first assistant editor
Chris Cook	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Stanley Myers	....	music producer
Hans Zimmer	....	music producer

Transportation Department
Harry Vincent	....	driver: property

Other crew
Ronald Bailey	....	national film school attachment
Jo Brown	....	national film school attachment
Chris Bruce	....	unit runner (was: Bruce, Chris 20030812)
Abdul Chowdray	....	national film school attachment
Bill Craster	....	production accountant
Anuree De Silva	....	national film school attachment
Tim Dennison	....	additional floor runner: dailies
Penny Eyles	....	continuity
Sam Garwood	....	production runner
Graime Marmion	....	assistant production accountant
Charlie McGrigor	....	unit runner
Rebecca O'Brien	....	location manager
Sarah O'Brien	....	production assistant
Andrew Young	....	projectionist

Production Companies

• Channel Four Films
• SAF Productions
• Working Title Films

Distributors

• Angel Films (2008-) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Angel Films (2008-) (Finland) (DVD)
• Angel Films (2008-) (Iceland) (DVD)
• Angel Films (2008-) (Norway) (DVD)
• Angel Films (2008-) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Homescreen (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Karl-Lorimar Home Video (KLV-TV) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2010) (Germany) (DVD)
• MCA Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Mainline Pictures (1985) (UK)
• Mundial Filmes (Brazil) (video)
• Orion Classics (1986) (USA)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1986) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Virgin Video (1986) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Film Lighting Services  lighting equipment
• Frameline Productions  titles
• Griptruck  camera equipment
• Technicolor  processing

Also Known As:

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | France:U | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Argentina:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

245 Queenstown Road, Battersea, London, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

Johnny's comment "The Laundrette as big as the Ritz ..." references the novella, 'The Diamond as Big as the Ritz' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnny:We're moving house.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blood Massacre (1991)

A Pleasant Surprise

We saw this movie when it was first released on the big screen. It just happen to start when we needed a movie to so we had no idea what to expect. What a pleasant surprise this film was. Daniel Day Lewis (in one of his earliest roles) stars with Gordon Warnecke in this unconventional love story. Warnecke plays young Omar, who is given the opprtunity to run his uncle's laundrette. He enlists the aid of his ex-lover, Johnny (played by Lewis) to get the business back on it's feet. The scene in the laundrette that includes Omar and Johnny in the foreground and Omar's uncle and his mistress in the background, is one of the most sensual celluloid scenes I ever scene.

If you are looking for something good and out of the ordinary, I would recommend this one.