Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
No-one will be neutral about Plunkett and Macleane. Either you go with its notion of cheeky, stylish fun or you want to grab first-time director Jake Scott by the ear and slap him silly. Your inclination may depend on whether you recall his dad Ridley's own directing debut, The Duellists (1977), and savour the correspondences. Dad took a Joseph Conrad tale of the Napoleonic Wars, cast it with the ultra-contemporary Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, and filmed it with a swooping, mobile camera. Son Jake has made a feisty period piece about a pair of thieves (Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller) in 1748 London and filled it with blatant anachronisms. A decadent aristo (Alan Cumming), asked whether he "still swings both ways," replies, "I swing every way!" A ballroom full of revellers dances the minuet (or is it the gavotte?) while our ears--if not theirs--are filled with a trance ballad. And so forth.
Is this sophomoric? Maybe. But it's also often fresh and inventive. Why shouldn't a filmmaker be allowed to speak directly to a contemporary consciousness, even flaunt it, as long as he also delivers startling imagery and convincing period detail? The solid cast includes Michael Gambon as a corrupt magistrate, Ken Stott as a very nasty enforcer named Mr Chance (who favours a thumb through the eye socket and into the brain as a mode of execution) and Terence Rigby as a philosophical jailer. Even Liv Tyler looks more interesting than usual. In the end pretty frivolous, Plunkett and Macleane is nonetheless a lively debut. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Set in the 18th Century, Plunkett and Macleane is the story of two notorious highwaymen based on real life characters. With Plunkett's (Robert Carlyle) brains and know-how and Macleane's (Johnny Lee Miller) social connections, they infiltrate wealthy society. After robbing the rich they line their pockets - for Plunkett to fulfill his dream and travel to America and for Macleane, to sustain his high cost of living. They hold up the coach of the Lord Chief Justice Gibson (Michael Gambon), Macleane falls in love with his beautiful and rebellious niece, Lady Rebecca Gibson (Liv Tyler). His charming manner quickly earns him the name "The Gentleman Highwayman". Gibson's second-in-command, Thief taker general Chance (Ken Scott) also pursues Rebecca's intentions in vain, but it is his relentless pursuit of the "Gentleman Highwayman" that edges Plunkett and Macleane nearer to capture and possible execution at the famous Tyburn tree, the partners' daring and loyalty are pushed to the limit... ...Plunkett & Macleane (UK)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Don't take this film seriously or you will be disappointed. I thoroughtly enjoyed it. This film is pure entertainment and has a surprising but excellent soundtrack that really polishes the film off. The extras on the DVD are okay with the trailer and some good cast interviews. The behind the scene filming is just that, a film about the filming but without any commentary and is not worth watching. However you can change the filming angle in some scene, although you will have to play and work out how to do it on your DVD.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
The actors in this film are wonderfully well chosen.Jonny Lee Miller is a sex-god, that's my first reason! Robert Carlyle is a first-class actor and together, they make an unlikely but compelling pair. Alan Cumming is superb as always in his role as Rochester - very sexually charged! The costumes are stunning, and I adored the music and have even bought the CD. This is worth it alone for the music to my favourite scene in the film, the ball. This is utterly engaging and the music throbs in a very suggestive way! Brilliant stuff... I liked the script which was not overly olde worlde and very funny in places. The storyline is not overly original (but what is, these days?) but I thought it was very well portrayed. Dashing highwaymen (especially a gentleman!) should always be a big hit. Oh, and George Dawes is in it, too! A very watchable film which is compelling in places.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Like a bright button on a dandy’s waistcoat, this film is real gem! Made with very 21st century sensibilities (and soundtrack) it is a true Restoration Period romp, and is like Hogarth’s paintings of the ‘Rakes Progress’ and ‘Gin Alley’ brought to vivid life on DVD. It’s a bawdy, squalid but glamorous world where the ‘respectable’ rich get their vicarious kicks from partying with villains and rubbing shoulders with roughtrade (not really so very different from nowadays - just ask Guy Ritchie and all those ‘Lock Stock’ wannabees, or take a look around any trendy West-end club!).
Stylised it might be, but the film evokes its 18th century period so well – this was a time when a member of the royal family was mugged in his sedan chair in Covent Garden, children were hanged for pinching a loaf of bread, and when the real highwayman Dick Turpin rode Black Bess into legend. That said, the story unfolds with a very ‘olde Englishe’ spin on all the elements and themes you’d expect to find in a classic Sergio Leone spaghetti western: two ‘heroes’ thrown into an unlikely and uneasy partnership, bound by thieves’ honour and greed; a beautiful girl; corrupt and avaricious officials; a psychopathic villain, suitably dressed in black; and the prospect of the last man standing getting the gold and the girl. The whole set-up and especially the finale at Tyburn gibbet is certainly a nod (whether conscious or not) to Leone’s ‘Good, the Bad & the Ugly’ – and I say this as a compliment, not a criticism.
All in all, a great romp, great entertainment and great fun. Pay your money and take the ride, enjoy this ripping yarn for what it is, and don’t take it too seriously!!! I would almost have given it full marks, but some roguish felon in the ‘Plunkett & Macleane’ film tie-in & merchandising department decided to omit the Tiger Lillies brilliant songs from the soundtrack CD – and that, my good man, is a hangin’ offence, to be sure!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Plunkett and Macleane (DVD)
A great film, rude, brutal, but at the same time hilarious.
The rock 'n' roll soundtrack goes great with this period action adventure.
The rock 'n' roll soundtrack goes great with this period action adventure.
Published 3 months ago by Dragoon47
plunkett & macleane dvd
set in highway men times funny,fun, surprises & revenge friendship & love exciting feel good fun steel from the rich & keep it too live the high life
Published 7 months ago by shaz
They robbed the rich...and that's it
Plunkett & Macleane caught me by surprise. The trailer opened with typical period drama pretentiousness before turning into a punkish, rebellious wild ride. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Inspector Gadget
Punk Rock Highwaymen.
Plunkett & Macleane is the debut movie of Jake Scott {son of Ridley}. It stars Robert Carlyle {Plunkett}, Jonny Lee Miller {Macleane}, Liv Tyler, Ken Stott, Michael Gambon & Alan... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Spike Owen
Light hearted fun but not for the squeamish
I saw this film about 10 years ago when it first came out and enjoyed it well enough. Seeing it again on DVD, I enjoyed it more. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Nobody Famous
Great Film shame about the transfer
Having seen the film previously, probably on the telly or round a mates, I was overjoyed to find it available on DVD. Read more
Published on 10 May 2010 by Wil Longman
Great fun
I saw this on its release in the cinema and loved the cheeky mix of the old with the new. A compelling and fun, sometimes a little gory, story with Robert Carlyle giving and good... Read more
Published on 26 April 2010 by Film Poad
Plunkett & Maclean DVD
Very enjoyable Film,liked the period Costumes and locations.
D Hudson
D Hudson
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by David E. Hudson
Loved it!
I saw this movie when it first came out and loved it then. It has not really aged when I watched it again on DVD all these years later. Read more
Published on 18 July 2009 by Mrs. S. E. Davies
dandy highwaymen
thank you very much for the replacement dvd its one my favourite movies a jolly old romp i rate your customer service excellent please keep up the good work best regards
Published on 10 July 2009 by Kevin Jones
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
