Brassed Off (1997)
83%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: 10 wins & 7 nominations total
Brassed Off combines inspiring drama with populist socioeconomics to create a film whose familiar outlines are filled in with genuine and surprisingly palpable emotion
Brassed Off” is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and maybe even want to pick up a flugelhorn (although maybe don’t quit your day job just yet). The film’s depiction of a tight-knit community facing the harsh realities of Thatcherism is both audacious and agreeable, and the performances from the cast, including Ewan McGregor and Pete Postlethwaite, are remarkable. Sure, the movie can get a bit gushy at times, but for the most part, it strikes a perfect balance between humor and heart. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready to be brassed off in the best possible way.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
British Waterways Wharf, Friars Gate, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 23, 1997 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2011
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, Jim Carter, Philip Jackson, Peter Martin, directed by Mark Herman, written by Mark Herman, produced by Steve Abbott, Comedy, Drama, R, Miramax Films, $2.6M, reviewed by Lisa Alspector, Paul Tatara, Quentin Curtis, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Derek Elley, Nell Minow, Mal Vincent, Tracey Petherick, Leah Rozen, David Parkinson, Dennis King, Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor, brass band, coal mine, Northern England, economic future, Gloria, Andy, national competition, Viability study, Grimley, miners, redundancy package, Trevor Jones, The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, dying town, poor politicians, emotional orchestrator, satisfying ending
Worldwide gross: $2,583,621
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,816,078
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,188
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 525,199
US/Canada gross: $2,576,331
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,802,489
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,822
US/Canada opening weekend: $52,534
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $97,928
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,941
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Tara Fitzgerald – Gloria
Ewan McGregor – Andy
Jim Carter – Harry
Philip Jackson – Jim
Peter Martin – Ernie
Director(s)
Mark Herman
Writer(s)
Mark Herman
Producer(s)
Steve Abbott
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
10 wins & 7 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (39) | Rotten (10)
Pete Postlethwaite is moving as the bandleader, whose dream of taking his players to compete at the Albert Hall nearly eclipses his appreciation of the dire issues they face.
September 9, 2020
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
“Brassed Off” is about as sloppy as it gets, but for nearly two-thirds of the movie the gushiness is pretty much kept in check. And those two thirds are quite a treat.
September 9, 2020
Paul Tatara
CNN.com
TOP CRITIC
It survives through its never-failing sense of humour and the fact that by its loving depiction of alternative values — of warmth and community — to the ones it assaults, you feel it has earned the right to turn attacker.
November 22, 2017
Quentin Curtis
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Herman has come up with a neat idea in a setting he knows and understands, and the script, helped along by an excellent selection of Brit character actors, has a generally taught, well-worked-over feel.
July 6, 2010
Derek Elley
Variety
TOP CRITIC
May 5, 2005 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Brassed Off’ should not be missed.
March 28, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Mal Vincent
The Virginian-Pilot
You’ll definitely laugh, you’ll probably cry, and you might even want to take up the flugelhorn.
October 21, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Tracey Petherick
Common Sense Media
The movie delivers way too much doom-and-gloom-pah-pah.
September 9, 2020
Leah Rozen
People Magazine
The edgy pace writer/director Mark Herman brings to the drama and his presentation of the musical sequences can’t be faulted, and he draws remarkable performances from a cast that includes Ewan McGregor and Pete Postlethwaite.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
David Parkinson
Radio Times
[An] audacious, angry but oddly agreeable screed on the social evils of Thatcherism in 1992 Great Britain.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Dennis King
Tulsa World
The film is sentimental and its politics black-and-white. Still, “Brassed Off” is as rousing and immensely likable as a superb brass band, which the film is ostensibly about.
September 9, 2020
Michael Ollove
Baltimore Sun…
Plot
In existence for a hundred years, Grimley Colliery Brass band is as old as the mine. But the miners are now deciding whether to fight to keep the pit open, and the future for town and band looks bleak. Although the arrival of flugelhorn player Gloria injects some life into the players, and bandleader Danny continues to exhort them to continue in the national competition, frictions and pressures are all too evident. And whose side is Gloria actually on?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy, funny, or odd comments were made by Fresh Kernels about Brassed Off.
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