Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Going somewhere local?, 15 Mar 2007
Delving into my somewhat dusty memory banks, I can vaguely remember the first time that I was introduced to the "League of Gentlemen". Having relentlessly talked about how great Mark Gatiss is in the brilliant "Nighty Night", my friend placed the first three series' of League on DVD into my hand and encouraged me to watch it. With hindsight, I was a little naive - "placed" is a euphemism; "shoved" would be a more adequate description. Similar to the way in which she forced me to grip a fistful of Bruce Springstein CD's prior to bribing me into going to Sheffield to see him in concert, I knew this was a sign - it was only a few weeks later that I was dragged to see this film.
Briefly, "The fictional world of Royston Vasey is familiar to the countless fans of award-winning TV comedy series "The League of Gentlemen". But something has gone disasterously wrong in the nightmarish town as a series of dark omens appear foretelling it's doom. Royston Vasey is facing apocalypse and the locals realise that the only way to avert disaster is for a small rescue party to find a way into the real world".
I am going to attempt to wave the white flag between the all of the lovers and the haters of this film that have gone before me. In the name of diplomacy, I shall describe this film as "hit and miss". On the one hand, there is no denying the fact that the idea behind the film is clever and original. Very few TV shows would be able to bridge the gap between fiction and reality so effortlessly - for achieving this "League" should be praised enormously. Praise must also go to the writers for attempting to add an element of intellect to the script - at the end of the film, the characters wrestle with the dilemma of killing off the writers and thus achieiving free will by breaking away from the stereotypes that they have become. Very few writers would be willing to break away from the foundation of their success in such a way, so full marks to the "League" for attempting this.
The problem with the film as a whole, however, comes with the film itself. Whilst I admire the fact that the writers have tried to move away from making a mere feature-length episode of League, many fans feel aggrieved at the unfamiliarity of the style: for anyone trying to convert their friends, don't start here. Although some fans of the show found the film to be too far-removed from the origins of Royston Vasey, ironically the film doesn't move far enough away from the series to make it (for want of a better word) "watchable" in it's own right. There are too many in-jokes, and for those of you who are not familiar with the grossly under-qualified vet, the scene where he is trying to catch the giraffe sperm in the plastic container will seem unnecessary and offensive.
Overall, a brave, and generally, successful piece of film. Just make sure that, if it is in your pile of "to watch" DVDS, it comes after the first three series' of the show.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The extraordinary League of Gentlemen!, 17 Oct 2005
Apocalypse is just made for repeated viewing, like all the League's work. There is so much packed into it that you miss so much first time round (I saw it once in the cinema & then was lucky enough to attend the Gents' Live Commentary screening too) but I didn't fully appreciate some of the things up there on screen until having watched it again on DVD.
It's a film, that in some ways, works better on DVD by the fact that you can re-watch it again & again to pick up on what you missed previously. The more you watch the more you 'get' what they're doing. Its that thing of private jokes made public;it's the importance of giving the three main characters - Hilary Briss, Herr Lipp & Geoff Tipps - a narrative arc in which they grow emotionally;it's the fact that this film is very ambitious & clever & defiantly ignores taking the easy option of a spin-off film .
The Gents work has such depth, due partly to the fact that the League's three performers, Mark, Steve & Reece are superb actors (apart from being, along with Jeremy Dyson, brilliant writers as well).
The film has one of the best opening five minutes that I've seen in a film - funny, tense, & intriguing! Its sets up the premise that this is definitely not going to be one of those TV series spin offs, where over-familiar material is diluted & spread thinly across a threadbare script.
The League's screenplay is complex, intelligent & multi-layered in which reality & fiction merge & come into conflict with each other to the point where the Apocalyse threatens the end for Royston Vasey & its creators' (the League) lives are at risk...
'The Kings Evil' section (C17th century, horror influenced, assassination plots, David Warner, an homunculous, with great use of stop motion animation rather than CGI...yes!!!!) looks fantastic, has some of the funniest moments in the film & works brilliantly. Where else would you see an ornate funeral for a pig with Bernard Hill as the king weeping buckets for his beloved 'Hannah' or Peter Kay & Simon Pegg being made to use very specific parts of their anatomy as unseen servants behind a wall in Dr Pea's lair!
The scenes set in London in which Herr Lipp, Geoff Tipps & Hilary Briss have to try & confront their creators in order to survive sees emotional depth afforded to the characters - an element that has always been a central feature of the League's work (& which is why they are infinitely superior to the pretenders that have come in their wake). Steve Pemberton's performance as Herr Lipp (including Herr Lipp pretending to be Steve) is especially touching.
The film's climax sees has the the real-life League, the Royston Vasey characters & the Kings Evil characters meet in the churchyard of Royston Vasey in the midst of the town's apocalypse. There's another homunculous (a three-headed monster, with the heads of the assassination plotters - again brilliantly played by the League) which Hilary Briss confronts as he unexpectedly turns hero; numerous deaths & what appears to be a happy ending (in which the Royston Vasey characters believe they have finally achieved free-will). The only quibble with the climax is that when the town's characters appear in the graveyard to meet their creators (a film reference nod to the Munkins meeting Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'?) you only see Pauline, Bernice & Dr Chinnery as established & recognisable Royston Vasey characters (this is a problem that the League fully acknowledge & was down to the matter of budget & time restrictions & so beyond their control).
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse succeeds on so many levels (I've read some of the previous Amazon reviewers' comments in which they moan about a lack of the most 'popular' characters - & that the film was barely set in Royston Vasey. But the League set out to make a film, not a series of television episodes strung together. As ascribed fans of the League's work, surely they must know by now that the Gents have never taken the easy option regarding their work - they've always progressed onwards & avoided repeating themselves) & is about as far away from a TV series' film spin-off as you can possibly get. Its very funny but also emotionally rewarding too as the characters learn about their limitations (as created by the League) & are moved to want to change themselves.
The film's multi-layered complexity treats its audience as intelligent in acknowledgment that they will have to put a bit of work in to get all the film's nuances.
All three acting members of the League shine in their roles - as their established Royston Vasey characters & in the newly created 'Kings Evil' plotters. Michael Sheen is excellent as Jeremy Dyson ( the non-performing member of the League) & the guest stars roles are used effectively & efficiently (in a minimum way so as not to unbalance the film).
I also have to mention Joby Talbot's film score - it is absolutely stunning, works superbly & just adds so much to the film (just like his work for the League in their television series) & Steve Bendelack's debut as a film director easily matches his excellence as the League's TV series' director.
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse is like nothing they are ever done before & probably the most ambitious thing they have tackled so far. It is testament to their brilliance as writers & performers & to the film's overall quality that is succeeds so well. It is a film debut that they should be rightly proud of.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Give this DVD a chance, 11 Jul 2007
I was expecting a terrible film, being I got it so cheap I thought why not! Being a 'League' fan right from the start I was surprised at the previous peoples comments, my wife and I sat down and started to watch this we were crying laughing right from the start, I was thinking when's it going to stop 'it did'nt' I'll grant you its very different from the series i.e. its away from Royston Vasey and don't expect to see all the characters but I am really chuffed whith this DVD..give it a go.
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