Peter's Friends (1992)

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

Rita Rudner (written by) and
Martin Bergman (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Six former college friends, with two new friends, gather for a New Years Eve weekend reunion at a large English countryside manor after ten years to reminisce about the good times now long gone.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | New Year | College | Countryside | Weekend

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Hugh Laurie	...	Roger
Kenneth Branagh	...	Andrew
Stephen Fry	...	Peter Morton
Alphonsia Emmanuel	...	Sarah Johnson
Emma Thompson	...	Maggie Chester
Imelda Staunton	...	Mary Charleston
Richard Briers	...	Lord Morton
Phyllida Law	...	Vera
Alex Scott	...	Paul (age 7)
Edward Jewesbury	...	Mr. Gooch, Peter's Solicitor
Hetta Charnley	...	Carol's fan at Airport
Rita Rudner	...	Carol Benson
Bill Parfitt	...	Baby Ben Charleston
Ruby May Musto	...	Baby Ben Charleston
Ann Davies	...	Brenda
Magdalena Buznea	...	Old Lady
Tony Slattery	...	Brian
Alex Lowe	...	Paul (age 17)
Chris Pickles	...	The Benson's Chauffeur
Nicola Wright	...	Brian's Wife
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yasser Arafat	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Leonid Brezhnev	...	Himself (archive footage) (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Boy George	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mikhail Gorbachev	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rock Hudson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Michael Jackson	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ayatollah Khomeini	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
John Major	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nelson Mandela	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Pope John Paul II	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dan Quayle	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Salman Rushdie	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sylvester Stallone	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Donald Trump	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Kenneth Branagh

Writing credits
Rita Rudner		(written by) and
Martin Bergman		(written by)

Produced by
Martin Bergman	....	co-producer
Kenneth Branagh	....	producer
Stephen Evans	....	executive producer
David Parfitt	....	line producer

Cinematography by
Roger Lanser

Film Editing by
Andrew Marcus

Production Design by
Tim Harvey

Art Direction by
Martin Childs

Costume Design by
Susan Coates
Stephanie Collie

Makeup Department
Peter Frampton	....	makeup supervisor
Martin Samuel	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Mark Cooper	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christopher Newman	....	first assistant director
Carl Oprey	....	third assistant director
Keith Young	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Brian Aldridge	....	property manager
Micky Bacon	....	property master
Celia Bobak	....	property master
Martin Kingsley	....	property manager
Alf Newvell	....	rigger
Terry Newvell	....	stagehand
Trevor Nicol	....	carpenter
Andy Soane	....	property chief
Brian Western	....	painter

Sound Department
Mark Auguste	....	sound editor
Orin Beaton	....	sound assistant
Gary Beckerman	....	jobfit sound trainee
Jeremy Child	....	assistant sound editor
David Crozier	....	production sound mixer
Martin Evans	....	sound editor
Dominic Lester	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bettina McCaul	....	assistant sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andrew Sissons	....	sound maintenance
Tommy Goodwin	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Pete Hanson	....	studio manager: CFC (uncredited)
Mark Nelmes	....	digital artist (uncredited)
Janek Sirrs	....	digital artist (uncredited)
David Smith	....	optical cameraman (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Angela Conway	....	jobfit camera trainee
Clive Coote	....	still photographer
Kevin Edland	....	best boy
John Higgins	....	gaffer
Chris Mortley	....	electrician
Terry Mulligan	....	electrician
Toby Plaskitt	....	grip
Andy Shuttleworth	....	Steadicam operator
Simon Starling	....	clapper loader
Simon Starling	....	second assistant camera
Gary Turnbull	....	focus puller

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lisa Shanley	....	wardrobe assistant
Fiona Smithies	....	wardrobe assistant
Nancy Thompson	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Simon Cozens	....	second assistant editor
Kerry Kohler	....	associate editor
Lucy Maunsell	....	first assistant editor
Mark Waddell	....	color timer
Bob Wenokur	....	studio post-production representative (uncredited)

Music Department
Bob Bryan	....	vocal coach
Clive Farrell	....	music supervisor
Gavin Greenaway	....	musical director

Transportation Department
Peter Allison	....	driver
Mike Crawley	....	driver
Richard Moore	....	driver

Other crew
Liz Barron	....	production accountant
Joyce Branagh	....	unit runner
Hugh Cruttwell	....	production consultant
Graham Kern	....	montage openeing title sequence design & production
Randal McDonell	....	production assistant
Annie Penn	....	script supervisor (as Annie Wotton)
Iona Price	....	production coordinator
Al Senter	....	production notes
Paul Shersby	....	location manager
Neris Thomas	....	production secretary
Tamar Thomas	....	assistant: Mr. Branagh
Peter Thompson	....	press representative
David Toguri	....	choreographer
John Trevithick	....	unit runner (as Jonathan Trevithick)
Richard Turner	....	financial controller

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Channel Four Films
• Renaissance Films
• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Distributors

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC) (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Cine Company S.A. (Spain)
• Entertainment Film Distributors (UK)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Look Filmes (199?) (Brazil) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (end title)

Other Companies

• ARRI Lighting Rental  light equipment
• Film and Television Completions  completion bond
• Five Star Location Services  caterer
• Media Film Services  Arriflex 535 camera and Zeiss Lenses
• Peerless Camera Company  titles and optical effects
• SVC Television (London)  post-production for montage opening title sequence
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Technicolor  processing
• Twickenham Studios  sound re-recording (as Twickenham Film Studios)
• Walton & Parkinson  insurance

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and for some sexuality

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14A | Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade)

Filming Locations:

Wrotham Park, Barnet, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Rita Rudner wrote the screenplay in just five days.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning of the film, Mary and Roger's nanny Brenda refers to Mary as "Mrs. Anderson", but according to the credits, Mary and Roger's last name is Charleston

Quotes:

Peter:It's not going exactly as I planned.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Special Collector's Edition: Especial Navideño (Top Películas Navideñas) (#5.5)" (2012)

Soundtrack:

Orpheus In the Underworld

Not being able to like the characters was a bit of a problem but generally it is well written and engaging

It has been just about ten years since Peter last saw his group of University friends and, after his father died, he has inherited the family manor and decided to throw a reunion party for them. Of his friends, Sarah is still pretty much the same and has brought along her latest lover with her. Andrew has long ago sold out and moved to America where he met his wife Carol. Roger and Mary are married but life lives of quiet panic and worry since the death of one of their twin babies. Maggie meanwhile is so alone that she throws herself into the slightest offer of companionship. The friends come together but the tensions and problems are barely hidden and quickly come out.

Opening with the type of privately educated people that I personally find very difficult to relate to, this film immediately had me on the backfoot and worried thanks to this and the sheer volume of luvvies in the cast. However the film manages to get past this for me because the writing is better than the very basic sitcom-come-melodrama that it is only ever a few steps away from being. It goes just where you expect it to though, and the fact that all the wheels fall off the various friends' lives will not surprise anyone but it is interesting and engaging enough. The sense of humour is quiet upper-class and it is sometimes hard to get into the characters because I did get the impression that they were very aloof but it was still solid enough to keep things moving.

The cast work well and indeed many of them have a background that is similar to their characters (in terms of University I mean, not the personal detail). Fry is good although I must admit not caring much for his character. Branagh does a so-so job as director (nothing particularly special) and also as actor he isn't that good here – his drunk act in particular being weak. Continuing the split responsibilities = weakness trend, writer Rudner is not great in her acting role. Laurie is strong but he is outdone by a convincing little turn from Staunton. Thompson is good even if her character could have been made more of. Emmanuel is good but only shows me how hard it is for black actors to get ahead – she has barely been seen again. Slattery is Slattery and those who like him will like him here – I don't but that is by the by.

Overall this is an engaging film despite the fact that I found the characters hard to like. The story may not be the most inspiring or shocking but it is involving nonetheless and comic if not really funny. A very British affair that is generally well written despite the rather pretentious and aloof material that runs across story, characters and performers.