The Supergrass

The Supergrass is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Peter Richardson, (who also plays a major role) who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens. The film stars Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle, Ronald Allen, and Robbie Coltrane.[2] The Supergrass was the first feature-length film by the 1980s alternative comedy group The Comic Strip.

Not to be confused with Supergrass.

The Supergrass
Directed byPeter Richardson
Written by
Produced byElaine Taylor
Starring
Distributed byRecorded Releasing
Release date
  • November 1985 (1985-11)
Running time
  • 107 minutes
    (theatrical/initial VHS)
  • 93 minutes
    (TV/later VHS/DVD version)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box officeover £1 million[1]

The soundtrack to the film featured original music from Keith Tippett, plus music from P. P. Arnold, Grace Jones, and Bob Marley, among others.[3]

Plot

After returning from a holiday at Hope Cove in the West Country, Dennis Carter (Adrian Edmondson) tries to impress a girl by untruthfully boasting of being a drug smuggler. The girl is unimpressed; however, he is overheard by the police, who persuade him to become a supergrass and inform on his associates. The more Dennis lies, the bigger the hole he digs for himself.

Cast

Versions

The version of the film initially released in the cinema ran 107 minutes,[4] which was subsequently released on VHS running to 103, due to PAL speed-up.[5]

The film was screened by Channel 4 on 13 March 1988, as a prelude to the fourth series of The Comic Strip Presents, but this was a version cut down to ninety three minutes and twenty six seconds, equivalent to ninety seven minutes and twenty seconds in the cinema, so missing some nine minutes and forty nine seconds. All subsequent VHS and DVD releases, included the "complete" Comic Strip box set, use the shorter/cut down version.[6][7]

References
  1. Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 322.
  2. BFI.org
  3. Soundtrack album
  4. BBFC: The Supergrass 01/10/85
  5. BBFC: The Supergrass 28/04/86
  6. BBFC: The Supergrass 28/04/94
  7. BBFC: The Supergrass 01/12/99


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.