- Actors: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke, Derrick Branche
- Directors: Stephen Frears
- Writers: Hanif Kureishi
- Producers: Sarah Radclyffe, Tim Bevan
- Format: PAL
- Language English, Urdu
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Vci
- DVD Release Date: 10 Sep 2001
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CXW1
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 43,200 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
In case you'd forgotten, My Beautiful Laundrette will remind you of those mid-80s days when Thatcherism ruled the earth (or so it seemed) and money was king. Stephen Frears' low-budget realisation of Hanif Kureishi's subversively critical play captures the contradictions of that time in a way that's as fresh today as when it was new. Omar's wheeler-dealer uncle, Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey), sums it up when he says, "In this damn country, which we hate and love, you can get anything you want". He sets up Omar (Gordon Warnecke) with a rundown laundrette and the instruction to make it a success, which Omar temporarily does, with the help of his childhood friend Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis). When the film first came out, it was the gay content that dominated the column inches, whereas now it seems a sensitive and multi-faceted summation of its decade, exploring social, ethnic and sexual issues and contradictions. Bringing together two such different characters as Omar--Asian, ambitious, for whom success is defined by wealth--and former childhood friend Johnny--white trash, ex-National Front--was inspired. Watching their friendship develop into love, and the ensuing bitterness and misunderstanding that they suffer from friends and family is very poignant. All the lead roles are well taken, the contradictory character of Nasser in particular. By turns, funny, touching and anger-inducing, this is a movie that wears its age lightly and its era proudly.
On the DVD: the picture is in 4:3 ratio with a Dolby Digital soundtrack. There's an original trailer and filmographies of the four main characters, with an additional biography for Day-Lewis. --Harriet Smith
Special Features
4:3 Full Frame
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Full Motion Menus
Scene Index
Theatrical Trailer
Biographies
None
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Full Motion Menus
Scene Index
Theatrical Trailer
Biographies
None
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
unconventional, yet inspiring,
By dg@hotmail.com (london) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Beautiful Laundrette [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Despite the unconventional (for the mainstream audience) homosexual romance at the centre of the film, My Beautiful Laundrette is definately not an exploration of alternative sexuality. Instead, Kureidhi treats his gay couple as he would do any young lovers who have to struggle against the insurmountable odds to be togeteher. Omar and Johnny's romance successfully survives the racial battle between native Britons and Pakistani newcomers, the moral battle between liberalism and conservatism, the intellectual battle between idealism and pragmatic capatalism, and the political battle between Prime Minister Thatcher and the inner city, working class. In a summary, Jonathon Becks' performance was inspirational!
23 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful,
By A Customer
This review is from: My Beautiful Laundrette [VHS] (VHS Tape)
This film is incredible... The homosexuality is less important than the romance, the fantastic acting, and the other issues that the film deals with: greed, racism, repentance, the working class, and families. Although the film is a bit confusing at times, it really is worth watching, and then rewatching.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A film which hasn't worn well,
By Bill (Cornwall, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: My Beautiful Laundrette [DVD] (DVD)
Allegedly 'groundbreaking' when released, what's surprising today is how theatrical and shamelessly unrealistic this film is. Frears creates a surreal London night landscape which is mostly lit with coloured gels, peopled by bootshod racist yobs who would be more at home in A Clockwork Orange, and besuited Asian mafiosi who try (and fail) to look mean. All this could be quite entertaining, except the visuals are let down by a Kureishi's awful, clunking script and some very wooden acting - even Day-Lewis looks awkward and embarrassed. The synth-driven original soundtrack is wince-inducing.
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