The League Of Gentlemens Apocalypse
Transfers to film were, for a brief period in the seventies, the done-thing for British comedy shows. Who could forget the voyages onto the Silver screen made by the plucky casts of ‘On the buses’, ‘Porridge’, ‘Steptoe and son’ and the rest? Well, ok, admittedly they are instantly forgettable and were, for the most part, irredeemably appalling, but that didn’t stop them having a crack at it....
Transfers to film were, for a brief period in the seventies, the done-thing for British comedy shows. Who could forget the voyages onto the Silver screen made by the plucky casts of ‘On the buses’, ‘Porridge’, ‘Steptoe and son’ and the rest? Well, ok, admittedly they are instantly forgettable and were, for the most part, irredeemably appalling, but that didn’t stop them having a crack at it. The tradition seemed to have died away years ago, our country preferring the less costly medium of the ‘Christmas Special’ as a feature length outing for TV stars. That was until ‘The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse’ appeared on our radar.
After all, the inhabitants of Royston Vasey had already occupied their own Yuletide extravaganza several years ago, when fan favourite ‘Papa Lazerou’ turned out to be ol’ Santa Claus. Having done that, there was only really one natural final place for Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gattiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith to take this host of characters – onto the big (and now small) screen.
Rather than a straight copy of what had gone before in the television series, the creators opted for a more skewed and altogether surreal plotline (it could be argued that only those four men have the ability to out-weird themselves). In ‘…Apocalypse’, the premise is as follows; as their hometown of Royston Vasey comes crashing in around them in a biblical display of Armageddon-style destruction, the Characters from the show realise that the only way to stop this from happening is to venture into the real world and make sure that the creators of the show continue to write it, instead of working on their 17th Century film. There may be some dodgy moments along the way, but when the idea comes together successfully, it does so brilliantly.
Understandably, in view of appealing to a wider audience, there is not as much gore and Victorian-style freak show decay as one has come to expect from anything marked ‘League of Gentlemen’, but this is not to say that they have lost their ability to shock. However, almost ironically (given the film’s plotline), the most disturbing moments come in the sections of the seventeenth century parody that we get to see – not least a bumbling Quaker assassin getting his eyes removed for use in a magic potion.
In terms of the original characters, the main three that appear – namely Geoff Tipps, Hillary Briss the butcher and Herr Lipp – are taken to the natural limitations of their characters, the latter even realising that he is no more than a bad pun. It would have been easy to include 90 minutes of Tubbs, Edward and Papa Lazerou, but in all honesty, even their brief stint in front of the camera becomes a little annoying. The four writers of the ‘… Apocalypse’ have evidently chosen the featured characters carefully, preferring to explore the less obvious choices, and in doing so, have definitely given the existing fans of the set-up something which they will enjoy far more.
This, coupled with a few base-humour jokes, is the film’s only real set back. It is something that fans will really sink their teeth into and enjoy much more than those who were never really acquainted the League’s previous work. Early criticism of the film was been aimed at the fact that it was far too self-referential, relying on the television show for a springboard to the punch lines. Admittedly, there’s some of that included, but only for good measure; the movie would appeal to both newcomers and the LOG obsessive alike.
In essence, The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse is yet another triumph of surreal humour from those who, these days, are at the very forefront. Whereas it won’t delight the average Joe who accidentally walks into the cinema off the street, it should please those who have been waiting three years for another helping of the ‘Special stuff’.
The DVD
If you own, or have stolen, any of the League of Gentlemen series DVDs already available, you’ll know that they are usually well stocked with special features - and their debut film comes with a similar grab-bag of goodies for your consideration and (hopefully) delight.
The extras are, in no particular order, An Audio commentary, Deleted Scenes and outtakes, a ‘Making of…’ featurette, ‘The real Roysten Vasey’ featurette , ‘A cast of thousands’, Steve Pemberton’s Gentlemen Diary, a gallery and trailers. In other words, plenty to keep you occupied whilst the normal folk are going about their daily business.
The most entertaining of the lot is Steve Pemberton’s diary, giving an incite into both the creative process and the routine of one of those responsible for the writing and performance within. Quickly dispelling any myths that producing such a relatively low budget movie is glamorous work, Pemberton’s diary displays the often mind numbingly tedious sessions which go into making a film of this type.
As you would expect of a film produced this year, the picture and sound are spot on, and with TV show director Steve Bendelack at the helm, visual continuity between the film and its previous incarnation remains in place. In fact, all of the production elements of this disc do great justice to a film which manages the leap from small to ‘big’ screen - and back again - with ease.
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