The Royal Albert Hall are hosting Brassed Off Live, showing the film with orchestral accompaniment and a Q&A with the cast.
Before Ewan McGregor saved a galaxy far, far away, and even before his Trainspotting antics, he picked up a Tenor Horn in Mark Herman’s comedy-drama film Brassed Off. Nearly 30 years after it’s release, the films themes still ring out – especially in the political climate.
Also starring the late, great Pete Postlethwaite and Stephen Tompkinson, Brassed Off revolves around a brass band and the devastating pit closures of the middle eighties. Gloria Mullins is sent to her hometown – the fictional Grimley – to assess the profitability of the mine in the community. She can also play the flugelhorn and gets involved with the Grimley Brass Band, as well as Tenor Horn player Andy. However, she soon discovers that the community are being torn apart by the government regime and it is effecting members of the band, particularly Danny, the conductor. Can they all band together for one epic performance?
Herman’s work is a staple of British cinema, coming before other iconic films in the same lieu such as The Full Monty and Pride. The film is a remarkable and sentimental movie that speaks to the power of music and community in adverse times. Full of courageous heart, as the music swells in the epitomes climax and makes you want to pick up your own flugelhorn.
The immutable Postlethwaite leads with a commanding performance as a band leader struggling with the weight of his world and determined for his team to succeed. One of the most iconic scenes sees Postlethwaite’s Danny deliver a stirring monologue about the state of the country (which, fun fact, has been used in Chumbawamba’s equally iconic song Tubthumping.) Plus, a young and scrappy McGregor is terrific, especially opposite Tara Fitzgerald as the pair convey a blossoming romance to the tunes of brass.
The final sequence sees the band win a contest at the spectacular Royal Albert Hall, with a stirring performance of the William Tell overture, and a fantastic monologue by Postlethwaite about the importance of people. Above everything, people. It is an emotional finale that needs to be seen on the big screen.
And what better way to watch it than at the Royal Albert Hall itself. With live music! The band in which the film is based on – the Grimethorpe Colliery Band – will be returning to the Royal Albert Hall on Wednesday 25 May for a live accompaniment of the film. Plus, original cast members Peter Gunn, Mary Healey, Phillip Jackson, and Stephen Tompkinson will also be in attendance, speaking about the film in a live Q&A with film critic Mark Kermode. This will be an unmissable night for fans of brass music, inspirational British movies, and live music concerts! — Thank you for visiting! If you’d like to support our attempts to make a non-clickbaity movie website: Follow Film Stories on Twitter here, and on Facebook here. Buy our Film Stories and Film Stories Junior print magazines here. Become a Patron here.
