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Brassed Off

  • 1996
  • R
  • 1h 48m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
22K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,458
8,195
Ewan McGregor, Pete Postlethwaite, and Tara Fitzgerald in Brassed Off (1996)
Trailer
Play trailer1:41
1 Video
56 Photos
Workplace DramaComedyDramaMusicRomance

The coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.The coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.The coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.

  • Director
    • Mark Herman
  • Writer
    • Mark Herman
  • Stars
    • Pete Postlethwaite
    • Tara Fitzgerald
    • Ewan McGregor
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.2/10
    22K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,458
    8,195
    • Director
      • Mark Herman
    • Writer
      • Mark Herman
    • Stars
      • Pete Postlethwaite
      • Tara Fitzgerald
      • Ewan McGregor
    • 156User reviews
    • 33Critic reviews
    • 60Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards
      • 10 wins & 7 nominations total

    Videos1

    Brassed Off
    Trailer 1:41
    Brassed Off

    Photos56

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    Top cast64

    Edit
    Pete Postlethwaite
    Pete Postlethwaite
    • Danny
    Tara Fitzgerald
    Tara Fitzgerald
    • Gloria
    Ewan McGregor
    Ewan McGregor
    • Andy
    Stephen Tompkinson
    Stephen Tompkinson
    • Phil
    Jim Carter
    Jim Carter
    • Harry
    Philip Jackson
    Philip Jackson
    • Jim
    Peter Martin
    Peter Martin
    • Ernie
    Sue Johnston
    Sue Johnston
    • Vera
    Mary Healey
    Mary Healey
    • Ida
    Melanie Hill
    Melanie Hill
    • Sandra
    Lill Roughley
    • Rita
    Peter Gunn
    Peter Gunn
    • Simmo
    Stephen Moore
    Stephen Moore
    • McKenzie
    Kenneth Colley
    Kenneth Colley
    • Greasley
    • (as Ken Colley)
    Olga Grahame
    Olga Grahame
    • Mrs. Foggan
    Toni Galacki
    • Gary
    Sky Ingram
    • Kylie
    Luke McGann
    • Shane
    • Director
      • Mark Herman
    • Writer
      • Mark Herman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews156

    7.221.5K
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    Featured reviews

    xxhayelzxx

    An inspiration

    Brassed off is an amazing film and all the way through, a smile was kept on my face. Although I am only fourteen, I love films which are based on reality, just like the pit closures around England.

    I play in a brass band my self called Frickley South Elmsall band, and trust me, they have all the facts right; I have been to five contests in all and nearly every band member has had a drink or two before the contest it's self.

    I first watched this film when i was eleven and loved it. I was inspired by this movie, to actually try and make it to a colliery band, (obviously not Grimethorpe as they don't accept girls) and I have actually met the flugal player which played concerto De aran jeux, Alan Morrison.

    Overall, I loved this movie and have seen it more than twenty times; simply fantastic!
    bob the moo

    Solid British drama – bit depressing but makes good political statements and good human drama

    The Colliery Brass Band has survived two world wars, depressions and is still playing. However the threaten closure of the pit itself puts the band under threat – although many of the band fear the wider implications. Danny Ormondroyd remains focused on his music despite sickness and his son's spiral of debt. While a relationship between of the band turns sour when she is found to be working with the pit's management. The band's music becomes an allegory for the plight of the workers.

    Released a year before The Full Monty made working class British comedy a Hollywood hit, this has a lot more realism and a lot more heart. The story deals mainly with the plight of the miners – betrayed and deserted by the Tory Government – and the bands corresponding struggle to survive and overcome. The metaphors are good but not heavy – basically the story can work if you don't see the parallels. The story works best due to the level of emotion the story carries. This has a lot of heart and builds to a wonderful standoff that brings a message without being preachy.

    The cast are excellent. Postlethwaite is top class as Danny and delivers a metaphor for the dying mine itself – not interesting in politics, just trying to keep producing the ethics he always has but all the time knowing his time is coming. Equally as good is Tompkinson – a complex role, full of emotion and he deasl very, very well with it – to me his was the performance of the film. Fitzgerald is a little weak but a pre-Jedi McGregor is solid in support. The rest of the band is fleshed out by solid UK faces and do well.

    Overall this is a great little film. It deals with heavy politics but mixes human drama effortlessly. It delivers message without preaching or shouting and it is driven by a fantastic cast.
    8climbingtuba2

    Banding - more than just a hobby

    I just want to correct a couple of things that the previous reviewer makes about the film.

    Firstly, from a musical point of view, Gloria does not enter the Grimley bandroom with an obligato cornet, it's a flugelhorn.

    The fact that a woman has entered the band room is important. For a long time, the brass band was the domain of men. Women weren't allowed to play in the bands and indeed, this is still the case today in two of the biggest names in the banding world.

    Underpinning all this is the fact that the film is (at least) semi-biographical. The events unfolding in the film mirror in no small way the same events which befell the Grimethorpe pit in 1992, and impacted on the world-famous Grimethorpe Colliery band. Thatcher's Britain did result in the pit closing down, and threatened the band's future. The band did take the stage at the National Final, and so the reason that the band don't turn professional is because there is no room in the banding movement for a professional band.

    For a point of information, there are 4 basses in a Brass Band, 2 Eb and 2 Bb (not 2 or 3). Oh yes, and bandsmen most certainly do carry there instruments through the street without a case, especially bass players.

    On a slightly different point, Phil does not have a gambling habit. He is still paying off the loan that he took out in 1982 to cover the loss of earnings because "suspended I were. 18 b****** months it took that lot to sort it out. 18 b***** months on strike pay. That's how big a f***** deal it is mate."
    didi-5

    the miners' political kick to the establishment

    'Brassed Off' came at just the right time for British politics, just as the death knell for the Conservative Party as the main political force sounded; the story fictionalises the troubles of the real-life Grimethorpe Colliery Band (who you hear playing the great brass band tunes throughout).

    There are pit closures all over Yorkshire, and 'Grimley' Band has one last chance to triumph in the various band contests to end up playing at the Royal Albert Hall. This being drama of course the path to victory isn't a smooth one - there is bankruptcy, illness, broken marriages, and a clash with the new executive power (represented by Tara Fitzgerald, also taking a place in the band for her father). Romantic interest for Tara is present in cute Ewan McGregor - an unusually quiet role for him.

    Say what you like about the way this film portrays the North of England, there is no denying the power of the final sequences as the triumph of 'William Tell' turns into Postlethwaite's power rant against the Government and into the trip home's 'Land of Hope and Bloody Glory'. It really couldn't have been done better.
    9ToldYaSo

    Matters of music and of people

    You don't have to be a fan of brass bands to enjoy "Brassed Off", but it couldn't hurt. The music is a central focus of the film, but not as a compromise to the story of a town in turmoil. Coal mines being shut down in the name of progress puts many men out of work which naturally also jeopardizes the existence of the colliery band. The music combined with brilliant storytelling (and editing) is merely a platform for some superb acting, particularly from Pete Postlethwaite.

    Having lived all my life in a large metropolitan city, I cannot relate first hand to the plight of a small town community. Despite that, I found the story intriguing even though it may seem the outcome is somewhat predictable.

    Having just purchased the DVD, I found the brief write-up on the box to be way off the mark. It touts this film as some kind of romantic and hilarious comedy, never once even grazing past the real subject matter of the film. This is another perfect example of the continued miscalculated promotion of a truly well crafted film that "Muriel's Wedding" also fell victim to. I'm not sure what the promoters were thinking, but if you set someone up for a hilarious romantic comedy and what they receive is a thoughtful serious and sometimes depressing film, are they going to be happy just the same? There are graciously some light moments and humourous turns in this otherwise sombre subject matter, but this film doesn't have a happy ending. But it sure does have a moving one. Postlethwaite's performance hits you in an unexpected way and you'd have to have a heart of stone to not be moved by it.

    Any success that the film enjoys now that's it's strictly on video, is likely to come from very strong word of mouth. I had been told how good it was and enjoyed it immensely. Now that I've seen it twice, and thus been twice moved, I wait for a reasonable time to pass so that I may watch and enjoy it again as I am bound to do.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Pete Postlethwaite was heavily criticized by ex-miners for claiming he supported the 1984 strike, but believed people should never burn coal. The last remaining coal mines in the UK closed largely as a result of the 2008 Climate Change Act.
    • Goofs
      The result of the vote for redundancy seems to take place on a Saturday, when the regional final for the brass band is also held. Some miners are shown leaving their shift. Saturday work had been eliminated from the National Coal Board long before the film is set. An announcement as important as a redundancy vote would not have been made on a Saturday.
    • Quotes

      Danny: The truth is, I thought it mattered - I thought that music mattered. But does it bollocks? Not compared to how people matter.

    • Crazy credits
      On some prints, the words "The End" remain onscreen as three additional lines of "definitions" are added one by one underneath:
      • 1. closure (as in 140 pits since 1984)
      • 2. termination (as in 250,000 jobs)
      • 3. conclusion (as in draw your own...)
    • Alternate versions
      The British release does not have the dictionary definitions at the start or end of the film. These were added to the American release to introduce the US audience to British slang. The end of the film has the same information, but just as normal text.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Addicted to Love/Gamera: Guardian of the Universe/The Van/Brassed Off (1997)
    • Soundtracks
      Death Or Glory
      Written by Robert Browne Hall (as R. B. Hall)

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    FAQ19

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1, 1996 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tocando el Viento
    • Filming locations
      • High Street, Grimethorpe, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, UK('In Cod We Trust' fish and chip shop and Spar supermarket)
    • Production companies
      • Channel Four Films
      • Miramax
      • Prominent Features
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,576,331
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $52,534
      • May 26, 1997
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,597,310
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 48 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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