A Private Function

Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Palin Director: Malcolm Mowbray Original UK Premiere: 1984 Dvd Release: 24th March, 2003 Number Of Discs: 1 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Region 2 Encoding

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Absolutely classic portrayal of English manners in a small town in the post-war period, but most of the humour is timeless & side-splittingly funny; some of it is pure slapstick, but there is a lot of sly wit behind the wonderfully-written script . Circumstances may change, but people dont & you will recognise all the character types.

Maggie Smith is in fine form as the wife of a chiropodist, prepared to do anything to climb the ladder of social success - although Keeping a pig with diarrhoea in the kitchen of a small house tests her resolve to the limit! Richard Griffiths & Michael Palin excel in their different ways as mild-mannered men oppressed by their womenfolk. Denholm Elliot delivers a classic performance as the extrovert, charming leader of the social elite. Absolutely delightful and, like the previous reviewer, I can only beg for this to be released on DVD to delight a new audience .

Dame Margaret Natalie Smith Cross, better known as Maggie Smith, is a British film, stage & television actress. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1990. She started her career at the Oxford Playhouse Theatre with Frank Shelley & first appeared on the movie screen in 1956. In 1969 she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She has been married twice, first to Robert Stephens & then to Beverley Cross. She has two sons by Stephens, actors Toby Stephens & Chris Larkin. She played the title character in the stage production of Alan Bennett s Lady in the Van & starred as Peter Pan in Sir JMBaries fairytale story Peter Pan She won a Tony Award in 1990 for Actress in a Play for Lettice & Lovage Posters Of Maggie Smith

Editors Choice: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone, Ladies In Lavender, My House In Umbria, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, Sister Act, A Room With A View, Lily In Love, View DVDology

Michael Edward Palin is a British comedian who was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire. He is famous for being a member of Monty Pythons Flying Circus in which he generally played roles that called for manic enthusiasm, or unflappable calmness. As the latter, he was often the perfect foil to the rising ire of characters portrayed by John Cleese. Michael Palin was educated at Birkdale prep school & Shrewsbury public school. He went on to read History at Brasenose College, Oxford. After Monty Python, Palin subsequently collaborated with Python writing partner Terry Jones on the television comedy series Ripping Yarns. In later years, Palin rejoined Cleese for the movies A Fish Called Wanda & Fierce Creatures & played an information retrieval specialist in fellow Python Terry Gilliam s Brazil. He has assisted Transport 2000 & others with campaigns on transport policy issues, particularly those relating to urban areas. More recently, he has presented several series of travel programmes on television; Michael Palin. Posters Of Around The World In 80 Days

Editors Choice: Around The World In 80 Days, Sahara, Full Circle With Michael Palin, A Fish Called Wanda, The Wind In The Willows, Pole To Pole With Michael Palin, The Missionary, A Private Function, View DVDology

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