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Hunky Dory [DVD]

Minnie Driver , Aneurin Barnard , Marc Evans    Suitable for 12 years and over   DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
Price: £4.50 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Hunky Dory [DVD] + Man on a Ledge [DVD]
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Product details

  • Actors: Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard, Danielle Branch, Robert Pugh
  • Directors: Marc Evans
  • Format: PAL
  • Language: English
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Entertainment One
  • DVD Release Date: 25 Jun 2012
  • Run Time: 110 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B007432MDO
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,669 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Product Description

It s the long hot British summer of 1976 and Viv (Minnie Driver) has left London and her thespian aspirations, to work as a drama teacher in the local high school of her south Wales home town. Determined to fire up her hormonal, apathetic teenage charges, she sets about staging a rock musical based on Shakespeare s The Tempest for the school s end of year show. Battling the summer teenage distractions of love, lust and the local lido, Viv perseveres and rallies the group to express themselves through music and drama. The shy and sensitive Davy (Aneurin Barnard) shows talent and promise as male lead Ferdinand, but his crush on the beautiful, yet flighty Stella (Danielle Branch) who plays female lead Miranda , only adds to the behind-the-scenes drama. Spurned by Stella, Davy transfers his adoration to Viv, Stella discovers older boys, skinhead Kenny (Darren Evans) fights ridicule and self-doubt about being involved in the show at all and Evan (Tom Harries) is confused about his sexuality. Only the school s jovial headmaster (Robert Pugh) seems to be genuinely enjoying his role as Prospero and when the school hall burns down, the entire show looks likely to fall apart. Adversity eventually pulls them together and all the angst and excitement of being on the brink of adulthood, is played out in an emotional, evocative and rousing musical climax...

Product Description

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Dolby Digital Stereo ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: It's the long hot British summer of 1976 and Viv (Minnie Driver) has left London and her thespian aspirations, to work as a drama teacher in the local high school of her south Wales home town. Determined to fire up her hormonal, apathetic teenage charges, she sets about staging a rock musical based on Shakespeare's The Tempest for the school's end of year show. Battling the summer teenage distractions of love, lust and the local lido, Viv perseveres and rallies the group to express themselves through music and drama. The shy and sensitive Davy (Aneurin Barnard) shows talent and promise as male lead Ferdinand, but his crush on the beautiful, yet flighty Stella (Danielle Branch) who plays female lead Miranda, only adds to the behind-the-scenes drama. Spurned by Stella, Davy transfers his adoration to Viv, Stella discovers older boys, skinhead Kenny (Darren Evans) fights ridicule and self-doubt about being involved in the show at all and Evan (Tom Harries) is confused about his sexuality. Only the school's jovial headmaster (Robert Pugh) seems to be genuinely enjoying his role as Prospero and when the school hall burns down, the entire show looks likely to fall apart. Adversity eventually pulls them together and all the angst and excitement of being on the brink of adulthood, is played out in an emotional, evocative and rousing musical climax... ...Hunky Dory

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best British films for a few years. 15 Mar 2012
By Graham TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
This is worth watching just for Minnie Driver's performance. She is fantastic as a Welsh school teacher trying to get her class interested in Shakespeare by using modern pop music of the seventies. The film is based on a school in the Welsh valleys in the mid-1970's. It has many sub-plots and each story works well together to build the bigger picture.

The music is remarkable - i.e. it isn't the original singers but the class singing and they sound fantastic.

I may be biased as this is around the date I left school I I loved the cool music from ELO, David Bowie et al.

This isn;t Grange Hill or Waterloo Road, though it is more in the Waterloo Road mode. Its engaging and a great story.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Hunky Dory - Glam Glee with a Welsh accent 6 Feb 2013
By Victor HALL OF FAME TOP 50 REVIEWER
It's hard to review this film, as the framing scenes are so awkwardly done it was half way through before I really realised what was going on. Essentially it follows the lives of a radical teacher and her nearly adult charges as they try to put on a staging of the Tempest, complete with soundtrack from the era. Set in the late seventies in Wales, the soundtrack is a decent mix of music form the era. The film follows them as they deal not only with the tribulations of putting on the play, but the problems of growing up and entering into adult life.

It's really quite dull, with not a lot to hold the interest. The basic story has been done before, and done better. The setting of time and place adds nothing really new to it. It is lazily directed in such a way as to leave the audience confused for the first half and bored for the second half of the film.

There are high points. Haydn Gwynne's very proper school marm descending into apoplectic rage was a great moment. But for the mkost part it's an unengaging film that did little for me. And I grew up not far from the area depicted in that era, so if it doesn't strike a chord with me I hold out little hope for others even further distant from the time, place and characters.

2 stars. Not quite bad enough to be unwatchable, but certainly not a film that I could recommend.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Tommy D TOP 100 REVIEWER
This brilliant film from Wales is set in the long hot summer of 1976, when we had it like the Mediterranean every day for months (except in Ireland where it pelted down and I had to go for a `holiday'). We meet Vivienne May (Minnie Driver) who has returned from a failed career in London to become a teacher at a not so progressive South Wales school. She is one of those teachers who feel you should get more from education than just a tick box mentality to passing exams. And as such she wants to encourage the kids to `express' themselves.

In order to help in this process, she intends to put on the school musical, and she chooses Shakespeare's `The Tempest', but with up to date and `with it' music such as Bowie, Roxy, Music and ELO. I was intrigued straight away especially with a very school like version of `Life on Mars' with a xylophone and jars filled with differing amounts of water - brilliant. Well her efforts are received with mild disfavour to outright hostility. The rugby coach says acting is effeminate and won't let his `boys' take part, the splendid Hayden Gwynn as Mrs Valentine, is a sublime cow in her efforts to undermine Vivienne, who seems to let herself down through being caught at being pally with the kids, smoking, drinking, swearing and getting stoned.

The kids themselves are all played brilliantly especially the lad who plays the only gay in the village/ school. Then there is Davy who has a crush for Miss and more mixed hormones than most of his age, but he can fair belt out a tune. The arrangements and treatments of the songs are all at the high end of excellent especially a fairly obscure Roxy number. They are also rubbish at turning up for dress rehearsal and more akin to bunking off down the Lido than learning their lines. Well as the heat rises, so do the hormones, jealousies and the accusations which will all lead to an inevitable clash, albeit with a load of laughs along the way.

To say I enjoyed this is an understatement akin to saying Stalin might have been a bit naughty, it is just great, funny, human, and entertaining and it's Welsh. This is the best Welsh film since `Twin Town' and I have seen a fair few. Minnie Driver is not only great she is totally lovable and not any of the supporting cast puts in a bad performance. Special mention to the headmaster played by Robert Pugh (`Master and Commander' and `Robin Hood'), he plays the bumbling but kind hearted teacher in a virtuoso performance of under statedness. If you loved the seventies, you will love this, if you love musicals then look no further and if you want to see some home grown life affirming cinema then, with this you have struck gold.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars Hunky Dory DVD
Trailers for this looked good but was disappointed by film. Its about a music teacher battling the politics of her school and trying to keep the teenage schoolchildren interested... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Riberac
4.0 out of 5 stars The Tempest this is not ...
... but this production is a lovely bit of froth; The Tempest-as-Musical put on by a Welsh high school. Read more
Published 2 months ago by T. A. Davies
4.0 out of 5 stars Glee meets Swansea.
This film is a bit like a Welsh version of Glee or maybe even Grease, but a bit cooler, a bit less polished & a bit more, well, British. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lorna
3.0 out of 5 stars No rival
If this DVD was meant to be a British take on 'GLEE' then the plot fails to come close. Americans do High School musical/dramas so much better and a mid-70's setting didn't really... Read more
Published 2 months ago by K. C. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars 70's magic
Anyone who likes musical films, hard drama, and easy on the eye leading actors will be drawn to Hunky Dory or at least should be. It was the best £5 I ever spent thanks to Amazon.
Published 2 months ago by johng
5.0 out of 5 stars Great, underrated, nostalgic film....
I would definitely recommend this move. We hires it on lovefilm and like it some much that we bought the DVD. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gilly
3.0 out of 5 stars Good story
A lot of swearing which I confess I really don't like.... just spoils things. I know it's realistic etc, but I won't be watching the film again!
Published 3 months ago by L. Gibson
5.0 out of 5 stars Good nostalgic fun
Loved the film, unpretentious and easy going. Although I was only 7 in 1976 it was still a nostalgia trip with the music, the long hot summer and the way people lived.
Published 4 months ago by Lou
5.0 out of 5 stars Best &)'s movie
This movie was brilliant looking at the summer of 76 through the eyes of year 10/11 pupils. Its gritty, witty and captures the m.ood of the times. Read more
Published 4 months ago by tricia southwell
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Loved the whole idea of the story, wasn't as funny and uplifting as I had originally hoped from seeing the trailer. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cossie212
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