Absolute Beginners [DVD]

"I remember that hot wonderful summer, when the teenage miracle reached full bloom, and everyone in England stopped what they were doing to stare at what had happened."--opening narrationI also remember the number of times I tuned into MTV for David Bowie's video, which included clips from that movie. I finally saw it on TV and I was blown away.Colin is the main character and narrator of this story. It's the long hot summer of 1958. Rationing was over, and Britain was rebuilt, thanks to the Marshall Plan--now it was time for Britain to have fun with their own pop culture explosion. Colin has a lot of colourful friends. There's Wizard, pickpocket and entrepreneur out for a fast pound, Cool, the African trumpet player, the flamboyant Fabulous Hotlife, described as "our own Oscar Wilde," Dean Swift, "a modern jazz creation," and Big Jill, a hefty but friendly lesbian. And yes, there's the luscious Suzette, Colin's love interest, whose wanting to make it to the fashion big-time causes a rift between them.Suzette does make it big, attracting the attention of her boss, Henley of Mayfair (James Fox). She comes onstage in a daring glittering black mini, and does the hot jazz number "Va Va Voom" with some African dancers.Colin spends time taking snaps at the neon glitter and sights of the London nightlife, but doesn't want to go mainstream. "It's not that I've got anything against money. It's just what you have to do to get it." He eventually does pictures for Harry Charms (Lionel Blair), an oily talent searcher and agent with a penchant for young boys. It's actually gratifying when his protege Baby Boom shoves a microphone full force in his happy sacks. And I don't know if anyone noticed, but early in the movie, BB's the schoolboy who ends up picking up Charms' card that Colin throws away. It took me a while to finally realize.Kinks frontman Ray Davies plays Colin's father, a man who lives with his "pre-war photo albums and sad memories." Colin's half-brother Vern is a disgusting, barely human cretin. And his mother (Mandy Rice-Davies of Christine Keeler fame), disillusioned with life, has affairs with the numerous lodgers. The cutaway tenement for the "Quiet Life" number is a brilliant touch, as is the chaos going on in there.David Bowie has only a small role as Vendice Partners, that seller of dreams, but his musical number "That's Motivation," where he successfully tempts Colin into selling out has a wowser of a set including giant typewriters, a globes with an airplane attached at the equator, an Everest mockup marketing frozen vegetables, and a floor painted to look like a giant 78 record.Speaking of musicians, Sade doesn't look out of place singing "Killer Blow." She's simply exquisite!Patsy Kensit is so much more ravishing here than she ever was before she went on to Lethal Weapon 2 and Angels And Insects. Eve Ferrett is wonderful as the bubbly Big Jill.Notable cameos include Steven Berkoff (Clockwork Orange, Beverly Hills Cop) as a Neo-Nazi fanatic presumably modelled after Enoch Powell, Colin Jeavons (House of Cards) as the fanatic's pamphleteer, Julian Firth (Brother Jerome in the Cadfael series) is the Misery Kid, dressed in the skeleton suit, and Robbie Coltrane (Krull, Harry Potter) as Mario the store owner.The hot swing jazz sets the pace of the movie, replicating a slice of England sadly long gone. A real blast of a movie.

Brings back memories

There's a movie musical somewhere in David Bowie's talent, but I'm not sure this is it. Don't be deceived by the cover, David's only a minor bit in this.The sets and lights are spectacular here, and the music's pretty good. I like the Sade song. Some of the British accent's a bit hard to catch, (I turned on the captions for the "Ted's not Dead" song)Disappointing extras, and not even a copy of the film's preview. I'm never really partial to slide shows of promotional photos.I think this film just came out at a time when musicals weren't popular. It probably would have fared better if released today. I'm sure some Broadway producer will be ... over it soon, given their proclivity to turn movies and TV shows into Broadway musicals.

As previously mentioned ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS is a absolute required view for the 'serious film buff'. Every aspect from production to lighting is flawless! It follows the style of the infamous David Lynch or Oliver Stone. This film was so ahead of it's time, it's hard to believe it was made in 1986. The films actors were flawless as was every aspect of the film, including unreal sets, property managment and aquisition, fabulous direction, and a chart topper for Bowie with the single ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS. I highly recommend this as a permanent addition to the archives of Film Noir enthusiasts everywhere!

This is a wonderful and unusual movie. Not only is the score and the choreography outstanding, the movie touches upon the issues of youth movements being coopted by the powers that be and racism with 1958 London serving as the backdrop. Sort of like a British version of West Side StoryThe transfer is very good.

Good movie..good soundtrack

Amazing Movie. The music is exceptional. The aesthetic is on point. And the story is universal.

Great movie with amazing musical performances and dancing. Ray Davies' performance of the song "Quiet Life" alone makes the price for the DVD worth the money. I would put this on a par with Quadrophenia or perhaps better. The film quality was quite good IMO. No complaints here.

No contains subtitles in spanish or audio

Bonne réception !

I had forgotten just how good this film was.

bel film

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