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Stiff Upper Lips[Widescreen] - DVD

SKU: 3984745 | Release Date: 9/12/2000

Rating: R for Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Adult Humor

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Rating: R for Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language, Adult Humor
Format: DVD
Theatrical Release: 1997
Length: 87 minutes
Screen Formats: Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV
Genre: General Comedies
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Synopsis

This 5.7-million-dollar British comedy from writer/director Gary Sinyor satirizes the now-familiar Merchant-Ivory style of period dramas. So no one will miss the joke, the central setting is Ivory Hall, the Ivory family mansion in rural England. In 1908, young twit Edward Ivory (Samuel West) plans to match his bookwormish friend Cedric (Robert Portal) with his 22-year-old sister, Emily (Georgina Cates), and introduces the two at Ivory Hall. However, Emily is instead attracted to gamekeeper George (Sean Pertwee), the son of a peasant (Brian Glover). Emily's aunt Agnes Ivory (Prunella Scales), in favor of Cedric, suggests an Enchanted April-type excursion to Italy with George along as a servant. Eventually, Emily and George become a couple, but class differences are a barrier. When Aunt Agnes becomes bored with Italy and yearns to go "somewhere more English," the vacation party is off to India, where Agnes has her own romantic encounter with lecherous tea-planter Horace (Peter Ustinov). Other short satirical send-ups recall Chariots of Fire, Brideshead Revisited, Upstairs, Downstairs, The Shining, and Gandhi, while humorous references also are heard in the soundtrack of classical excerpts. Stiff Upper Lips was shown at the 1997 London Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Version Details

Sound

Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel/stereo

Screen Formats

Enhanced Widescreen for 16x9 TV

Subtitle Languages

Eng

Additional Features

[None specified]

Chapters

Side #1 --
0. Chapter Selection
1. Opening/Cambridge 1908 [5:24]
2. Socially Acceptable [4:29]
3. No Intention of Marrying [3:10]
4. Bittersweet Revenge [1:52]
5. Latin Villager [5:28]
6. Butler Blues [2:34]
7. George the Imbecile [4:26]
8. Italy! [4:36]
9. Sexual Awakening [2:15]
10. The Lady and the Beast [6:05]
11. Some Things Never Change [2:13]
12. Cedric's Desire [1:15]
13. Day Off [5:06]
14. India! [2:51]
15. Don't Drink the Water [1:47]
16. Strange Feelings [1:47]
17. Emily's Pregnant? [1:40]
18. "Damn Flies!" [:38]
19. Emily Leaves [2:13]
20. The Search Is On [2:06]
21. Hand in Marraige [3:06]
22. The Setup [1:59]
23. The Trial [3:18]
24. Future of the Baby [1:35]
25. Back Home [2:54]
26. Nightmares [1:26]
27. Convict [1:23]
28. The Big Day [5:35]
29. End Credits [3:31]

Cast

David Ashton - Dr. Henry
Mac McDonald - American
Sean Pertwee - George
Peter Ustinov - Horace
Samuel West - Edward Ivory
Robert Portal - Cedric Trilling
Richard Braine - Mr. Tweeb
Prunella Scales - Aunt Agnes Ivory
Georgina Cates - Emily Ivory
Frank Finlay - Hudson Jr.
Brian Glover - Eric
Kate Harper - American

Crew

Composer (Music Score): John Murphy
Editor: Peter Hollywood
Executive Producer: Stephen Margolis
Art Director: Aradhana Seth
Co-producer: Bobby Bedi ,Keith Richardson
Art Director: Francesco Chianese ,Moving Jim
Producer: Jeremy Bolt
Screenwriter: Stephen Deitch
Costume Designer: Stephanie Collie
Art Director: Marcus Wookey
Executive Producer: Babs Thomas
Screen Story: Paul Simpkin
Screenwriter: Paul Simpkin
Director: Gary Sinyor
Producer: Gary Sinyor
Screenwriter: Gary Sinyor ,Richard Sparks
Executive Producer: Nigel Savage
Associate Producer: Ricky Posner
Composer (Music Score): David A. Hughes
Sound/Sound Designer: Danny Hambrook
Production Designer: Mike Grant
First Assistant Director: Richard Lingard
Executive Producer: Andrew Cohen
Editor: Sarah Thomas
Cinematographer: Simon Archer

Stiff Upper Lips: AMG Review
Derek Armstrong , AMG

It's easy to see why Stiff Upper Lips was not a bigger hit. Traditional parody movie fans would gravitate toward broader target genres -- action movies, mob movies -- rather than Merchant-Ivory fare, and ardent fans of British period pieces may not naturally enjoy seeing their sacred cows lampooned. But Gary Sinyor's film contains some very witty observations about the stuffed shirts who populate films like A Room With a View and Howards End -- and, implicitly, the screenwriters who create such characters. It's not possible to recommend it without reservation, as the film does suffer from inconsistent quality. Fortunately, the best parts are better than the dull patches are dull. Even though Peter Ustinov gets top billing, and it's great to see him take his turn at comedy, Robert Portal steals the show. Portal plays a suitor who's so stodgy that he goes swimming in a full suit, likens the most mundane happenings to Homer's poetry, and prefers to communicate in Latin or hieroglyphics to demonstrate his erudition. Although not everything works, the most consistently funny material involves the perennial misuse of servants. One servant (Sean Pertwee) is compelled to carry a box of English turf on his back throughout Italy and India, unrolling it whenever the aristocrats desire to have tea, while another (Frank Finlay) is so fearful of impropriety that he consults a primer on permissible facial expressions for butlers. Because Stiff Upper Lips is not constructed as a series of exact spoofs of classic scenes from the genre, it actually runs the risk of being too subtle. But that fits well with a target audience that's generally disinclined toward slapstick. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

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Stiff Upper Lips[Widescreen] - DVD

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Stiff Upper Lips[Widescreen] - DVD

Financing:

Need Help?

Synopsis

Version Details

Cast

Crew

Related Movies

Order Support

Community

Product Support

Credit Cards

Reward Zone® Program

Corporate Info

More Best Buy Sites

Need help? We're available 24/7 at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289)