The Ladykillers details
| Formats: | U DVD, Blu-ray |
|---|---|
| Starring: | Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner, Katie Johnson, Katie Johnston, Frankie Howerd, Kenneth Connor |
| Director: | Alexander Mackendrick |
| Genre: | Comedy - Romantic |
| Studio: | ELEVATION |
| Collections: | Top 100 Best of British |
| Name | Discs | |
|---|---|---|
The Ladykillers |
U Feature |
DVD Information
| Run time: | 1 hour 27 minutes |
|---|---|
| Rental release: | 02 Sep 2002 |
| Main languages: | English |
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Most helpful review
Not the cream of Ealing.....but a very good film indeed.
By roncoach (369 reviews) from suffolk , 30 Oct 2011[Highly rated reviewer]
This is like a Who's-who of British film stars of the period.
It's more a case of who ISN'T in the film than who IS in it.
I suppose Alec Guiness steals the best part, a rare feat when Peter Sellers is in a film, but every role is played to perfection by great stalwarts of British cinema.
The storyline is so original, so funny and so good in the way it is brought to the screen. The magic Ealing formula that( in another of its productions) came up with Pimlico becoming an independent country, just as Del-Boy would have wished LOL. This is just as unlikely, and just as endearing.
There are only a few flaws which stop me awarding 4 stars, mainly involving the setting, the 'slowness' in places during the film, the feeling that eventually it may risk overstaying its welcome.
All that latter criticism may sound a bit petty, but such are the things that make us all have opinions and thoughts.
But 3.5 stars ranks as 'very good'........and that sums up this very good British film from a purple patch in our homegrown cinema history.
Very good......and heartily recommended : it will please virtually every viewer to some extent or another.- Was this review helpful to you?
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(72)The oldies really are sometimes the goldies
By Primestop (16 reviews) , 20 Oct 2012Simply superb, and a reminder that you don't always need clever CGI special effects, car chases and complex plots to make a genuine classic. Like all Ealing comedies, the backdrop is a wonderful snap-shot of a long gone age.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Classic British comedy
By Countryboy (81 reviews) from Perthshire , 07 Jul 2012One from the Ealing Studios stable, and should not be missed. Worth watching now and then just to remind yourself how good British comedy can be. Superb performances by all, witty dialogue - and some gentle action. Great!- Was this review helpful to you?
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A period piece
By Tweedie (30 reviews) from Powick , 30 Apr 2012They don't make 'em like they used to! Expect period charm and suspend your disbelief to return to earlier times and expectations. A good watch when you are in the mood!- Was this review helpful to you?
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Very Dark, Very Gentle, Very British
By JayLow (122 reviews) , 17 Mar 2012The Ladykillers is one of Ealing’s, and indeed British cinema’s, finest and is justifiably seen as a classic.
Surprisingly for such a quintessentially British film, the story was dreamed up (literally) by an American writer, William Rose. No matter what’s it’s origins are however, the plot is a sure-fire winner - five mismatched criminals bite of more than they can chew when duping a little old lady into aiding them in their heist.
The film’s other great strength lies in the performances of its actors. They’re all excellent – from Herbert Lom’s snarling gangster to a Peter Sellers’ chubby spiv – but the honours have to go to both the brilliant Kate Johnson and the insanely sinister Alec Guinness.
It’s a comedy but there aren’t any real belly laughs here. Instead there is a gentle, wry humour threaded throughout the film which becomes very dark indeed as the criminal’s plans begin to unwind and they descend into self-destructive violence.
It IS dated in parts. The ‘action’ scenes are very clunky and there are a couple of extremely clumsy attempts at slapstick –the phone booth and the fruit stall scenes – which now seem very out of place and may have appealed more to the 50’s sense of humour than now.
It’s still a great film. The fact that even the Coen brothers couldn’t match it in their vastly inferior remake is an indication of just how good a film it is.- Was this review helpful to you?
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Let down on re-seeing it.
By a customer , 24 Dec 2011I had enjoyed this immensely when it came out, and wanted to share it with a 15 year old son. I now found it slow and slapsticky, very obvious in its humour, my son found it, frankly, boring.
Perhaps had I watched it alone as nostalgia, to enjoy the stars of my youth and the scenes of London as I first knew it, I would would have responded more positively, as other reviewers did.- Was this review helpful to you?
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