Parting Shots (1998)

After learning he is dying from cancer an failed photographer illegally buys a pistol and decides to go vigilante and get his revenge on all those who have made his life a misery.

Director:

Michael Winner

Writers:

Michael Winner (story), Michael Winner (screenplay),

Stars:

Chris Rea, Felicity Kendal, John Cleese

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Rea	...	Harry Sterndale
Felicity Kendal	...	Jill Saunders
John Cleese	...	Maurice Walpole
Bob Hoskins	...	Gerd Layton
Diana Rigg	...	Lisa
Ben Kingsley	...	Renzo Locatelli
Joanna Lumley	...	Freda
Oliver Reed	...	Jamie Campbell-Stewart
Gareth Hunt	...	Inspector Bass
Nicholas Gecks	...	Detective Constable Ray
Patrick Ryecart	...	Cleverley
Peter Davison	...	John
Nicky Henson	...	Askew
Caroline Langrishe	...	Vanessa
Edward Hardwicke	...	Dr. Joseph

Storyline

Harry Sterndale, a failed photographer, is told that he has only three months to live due to him getting cancer. After thinking things over he decides that since he is dying anyway that he will kill or destroy all the people that has ever crossed or hurt him during his entire life. So Parting Shots becomes literally the shots fired by Harry when he knows he is parting this earth. After all, he will be dead anyway long before he can come to trial and get his just desserts from society. Harry even falls in love with Jill and hires an assassin to kill him in style. However there is just one small problem with Harry's master plan - the cancer diagnosis is totally inaccurate and now he's got a hitman on his trail and several policemen want to talk to him over some murders...

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | photographer | love | murder | dying | 

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Taglines:

When Harry found out he had six weeks to live, something snapped...and it wasn't his camera.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Vine International Pictures Ltd.

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (UK)

Also Known As:

Aspondoi filoi

Filming Locations:

Albury, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Scimitar Films, Michael Winner Ltd.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Former Doctor Who actress Nicola Bryant appears 29 minutes into the film, in a small role as Beverley, a prostitute hired by Harry and John. In the original series of Doctor Who, Nicola Bryant played Peri companion to the 5th Doctor (Peter Davison) and 6th Doctor (Colin Baker). In the film, John is played by Peter Davison.

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Connections

References Blind Date (1985)

User Reviews

terrible

I thought that actors like John Cleese, Oliver Reed, Diana Rigg would be a recommendation for this piece. Unfortunately it's not. Only Rigg (perhaps better known as Emma Peel) is shown longer than some others. And her performance is stifled at best. It's a pity. Chris Rea is not an actor and judging from this he should refrain from an actor career. But maybe it is the sole fault of the director why this thing fails so miserably. While the story shows promise, the implementation is so shoddy that it actually hurts seeing this. Best summarized at the end of the scene where John Cleese's character closes the door after he had a painful talk with Rea. He bends over, holds his head with his hands and cries out loud: "Oh my God!" Apparently with great pain. That was really convincing and the best performance throughout the whole movie. Apart from that John Cleese is just John Cleese -- nothing more, which is good enough. The man can just withdraw himself and don't act at all and still makes himself at least bearable. The same goes for Oliver Reed. His character is a stoic killer. Reed did not even have to draw a face to deliver his part, which is good, because you can study him in one of his last roles. This movie only has these good points: you can watch the actors while they don't act at all or only give excuses for acting and see the people behind the masks. My conclusion: never watch a movie by Winner again.