- Actors: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Harcourt Williams, Wylie Watson
- Directors: John Boulting
- Writers: Graham Greene, Terence Rattigan
- Producers: Peter De Sarigny, Roy Boulting
- Language English
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Warner
- VHS Release Date: 1 Oct 1999
- Run Time: 92 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004CIDR
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 5,271 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Hard to imagine now but long before Richard Attenborough became Lord Dickie, benevolent patriarch of British moviedom, he specialised in playing weaselly little thugs and punks. Brighton Rock, adapted from Graham Greene's classic novel, offered him one of his best early roles as Pinkie, juvenile leader of a seedy gang of racetrack crooks in the Sussex seaside town. When it seems an innocent young waitress may know too much about one of their killings, Pinkie decides to keep her quiet by marrying her. But in Greene's world of guilt-ridden Catholicism and inexorable doom, it was never going to be that easy.
Is the famous twist ending a cop-out? That depends just how much irony you read into it. But the Brighton atmosphere, all tawdry gaiety shot through with a crackling undercurrent of fear, is so vivid you can smell it. Made with a cool, dispassionate eye by the Boulting Brothers (before they turned jokey with the likes of I'm Alright Jack, for instance) and superbly shot by Harry Waxman, this is one of Britain's few great contributions to the noir thriller cycle. Young Dickie, twitchy, vicious and terrified, is a revelation--and don't miss William Hartnell, the original Dr Who, as his cynical sidekick. --Philip Kemp
Amazon.co.uk Review
Rightly regarded as a genuine classic of British cinema, Brighton Rock has stood the test of time remarkably well to emerge as a tense, original thriller. Although there is much that is old-fashioned here (particularly the less than convincing East End accents), the tale of feuding gangster factions holds up favourably compared to modern-day efforts. In place of the now all-too-familiar violence is a quiet, brooding menace with much of the black and white film shot in the dark shadows of the underworld. Richard Attenborough holds it all together with his remarkable portrayal of young gangster Pinkie, exuding a threatening aura while often saying very little. Not surprisingly, given its base in Graham Greene's famous novel, the film has an exceptionally strong storyline that is matched by the directions and performances. A good lesson in timeless film making.
On the DVD: Brighton Rock on disc sadly is a package with nothing to offer over the standard video release. The black and white footage shows little sign of remastering, nor does the soundtrack. There are no extras whatsoever—this is surely a massive oversight given the classic nature of the film itself. --Phil Udell
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Brighton Rock, Graham Greene's novel about the British criminal underworld, has been improved by this adaptation for the screen. Most movies are worse than the book, this movie is better.
On the surface the story is easily told. Set in post-WW2 Brighton, the story revolves around the activities of teenage gangster "Pinkie". He commits murder, courts and marries the witness to prevent her bearing testimony against him.
For Greene this story seems to have had a wider meaning and his novel invites the reader to reflect on the moral, metaphysical and theological significance of these events. The movie invites this multi-layered analysis too and viewers can be as cerebral as they wish as they try to work out the "moral" in this morality tale set in the jolly-sinister carnival atmosphere of Bank Holiday Brighton.
But there are other pleasure too. Firstly, it has to be one of the best performances Attenborough has given. He is more memorable for this chilling performance as the demonic "Pinkie".
than anything else I've seen him in. Other performances also get under the skin, especially "Ida", Pinkie's nemesis.
Secondly, there is the pleasure of the black-and-white, highly atmospheric camera work, the lip-smacking scene setting, the delightful character acting, and a trip in time to a period in British history that is rarely represented in cinema (or any other format). This is one of those movies you watch over and over just to see the clothes people used to wear and how they used to hold their beer glasses or eat ice-cream.
Thirdly, there is the pleasure of contrasting this movie with other gangster movies e.g. from USA or Japan, especially those featuring teenage gangsters. You can never watch Marlon Brando or James Dean after this without contrasting them with Pinkie. Compared with the skinny, thread-bare, thoroughly nasty Pinkie the well-fed, well-dressed, terribly nice Americans seem like the boys-next-door and about as threatening as a used teabag and the Japanese, though more violent, are somehow far less malevolent.
But you should watch this great little classic of British cinema for yourself and reach your own conclusions and write your own moral. Highly recommended if you want to build a library of DVDs you'll watch over and over and gain something new every time you do. Worth every penny.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Fantastic film adaptation of the Graham Greene novel. I had read the novel prior to seeing the film and was not disappointed at all. Very realistic, sinister and disturbing gangster movie with a murder-mystery twist which makes it even more compelling. This film really blew me away!
The DVD package unfortunately has nothing to offer other than the "chapter selection". No subtitles, production notes or behind the scenes facts. Very disappointing for such a wonderful film but definitely worth adding to any serious movie collection.
The DVD package unfortunately has nothing to offer other than the "chapter selection". No subtitles, production notes or behind the scenes facts. Very disappointing for such a wonderful film but definitely worth adding to any serious movie collection.
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
`Brighton Rock' is essentially a tale of a teenage gangster, Pinkie Brown, and his attempts to silence a potential witness, Rose, to a crime. John Boulting (Thunder Rock, 1942; I'm All Right Jack, 1959) directed it in 1947 and was producer by his twin brother Roy. The screenplay was adapted from the Graham Greene novel of the same name by Terence Rattigan. There are significant differences at the ending of the film in relation to the novel (the book is more brutal) but I think that it takes nothing away from the film or the book. Due to BBFC rules at the time some changes had to made to the intended ending (the record scene) of the film because they wanted it to have a happy ending, which I think in retrospect made it better. The only feature really missing is the strength of character development one could only expect from a novel. However saying all that, the adaptation is excellent.
`Brighton Rock' featured two brilliant performances from Richard Attenborough (In Which We Serve, 1942; A Matter Of Life And Death, 1946) as Pinkie and Carol Marsh as Rose. Richard's performance is a career highlight for him, which could be regarded as the emergence of the `angry young man' in British cinema, but it was Carol's performance that I really loved. Her performance of innocence is something we so rarely see in modern cinema that it is remarkably refreshing to watch. One thing worth pointing out though is that Rose in the novel was not quite as pretty and we see more of her family life and the possible reason for her attachment to Pinkie. Carol Marsh never made many other significant films that I feel it's a bit of a shame because I think we've missed something there. I place her performance alongside Dorothy Malone's bit part in `The Big Sleep' (1946) who we also never saw enough of sadly.
Cinematography on `Brighton Rock' was by Gilbert Taylor who would later work on films such as `Repulsion' (Polanski, 1965) `Dr Strangelove' (Kubrick, 1964) and the much loved `Star Wars' (Lucas, 1977). Other films adapted from Graham Greene novels worth watching are `This Gun For Hire' (Tuttle, 1942) which has a similar theme and the excellent `The Third Man' (Reed, 1949). I loved this film and I loved the novel and I recommend both to you.
`Brighton Rock' is ranked No.15 in the BFI Top 100 British Films.
`Brighton Rock' featured two brilliant performances from Richard Attenborough (In Which We Serve, 1942; A Matter Of Life And Death, 1946) as Pinkie and Carol Marsh as Rose. Richard's performance is a career highlight for him, which could be regarded as the emergence of the `angry young man' in British cinema, but it was Carol's performance that I really loved. Her performance of innocence is something we so rarely see in modern cinema that it is remarkably refreshing to watch. One thing worth pointing out though is that Rose in the novel was not quite as pretty and we see more of her family life and the possible reason for her attachment to Pinkie. Carol Marsh never made many other significant films that I feel it's a bit of a shame because I think we've missed something there. I place her performance alongside Dorothy Malone's bit part in `The Big Sleep' (1946) who we also never saw enough of sadly.
Cinematography on `Brighton Rock' was by Gilbert Taylor who would later work on films such as `Repulsion' (Polanski, 1965) `Dr Strangelove' (Kubrick, 1964) and the much loved `Star Wars' (Lucas, 1977). Other films adapted from Graham Greene novels worth watching are `This Gun For Hire' (Tuttle, 1942) which has a similar theme and the excellent `The Third Man' (Reed, 1949). I loved this film and I loved the novel and I recommend both to you.
`Brighton Rock' is ranked No.15 in the BFI Top 100 British Films.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brighton Rock
As an ex Brightonian born there in 1953 I found it all fascinating - the views of old Brighton just six years before I was born amazing - my dad or his family could have been... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Paul Edwards
Of course it's true, these atheists don't know nothing.
Brighton Rock is directed by John Boulting and written by Graham Greene (also 1938 novel) and Terence Rattigan. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Spike Owen
A Classic of the Genre
The British gangster genre is one of which I have never afforded much time. A genre, which, for the most part, has developed an unforgivably lazy attitude towards each and every... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mr. D. Gumble
Psycho...
Pinkie (Richard Attenborough) heads a small gang in Brighton. I didn't understand the beginning and I was a bit annoyed that I had to try and figure things out. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Alex da Silva
Brighton Rock classic
I really enjoyed this, what a classic, I rate this along side any Hitchcock, oh Dickie you make a great psycho..
Plus, delivered quicker than a very quick thing.
Plus, delivered quicker than a very quick thing.
Published 17 months ago by 0113snakehips
Attenborough's finest hour
Forget the remake which pointlessly updates the story to the postwar years of the mods and rockers and reduces at least one character to a brainless fool. Read more
Published 17 months ago by W. Russell
Classic British Cinema
Graham Greenes novel is transformed from being a good book to being a good film by Carol Reed. Simple performances by the best of British actors including Trevor Howard, John Hurt,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Gregory Baser
Brighton Rock - rocks!
Great technical advancements in film-making have tended to spoil 'modern' film goers with all manner of 'special' effects and the wonders that are now possible due largely to... Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2009 by Roy Anderson
Brighton Rocks!
Great film and superbly acted, especially by Richard attenborough in the creepy lead role. I can't help feeling though, that it helped to have read the book before hand, as my... Read more
Published on 28 Oct 2009 by Mr. J. Perry
A British gem.
Classic British gangster drama.
A very young Richard Attenborough rips through the film as the psychotic, delusional thug 'Pinky' who runs a gang of petty crooks in sea-side... Read more
A very young Richard Attenborough rips through the film as the psychotic, delusional thug 'Pinky' who runs a gang of petty crooks in sea-side... Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2009 by Dave
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