A Chorus of Disapproval
Guy Jones (Irons) moves to a small British town and joins the local amateur dramatics society as a way to meet people. However he soon finds the drama offstage far outweighs those onstage.
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- Cast:
- Anthony Hopkins , Jeremy Irons , Prunella Scales , Lionel Jeffries , Richard Briers , Sylvia Syms , Patsy Kensit
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Reviews
This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Good movie but grossly overrated
A Masterpiece!
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
To enjoy this film you need to be a fan of either Michael Winner or Alan Ayckborn and I am not.Winner thought he could direct comedies,which clearly on the evidence of this film he is not.I am of course assuming that this is supposed to be a comedy since I did not laugh on even a solitary occasion.Mind you given that Anthony Hopkins played rthe director as if he was Harry Secombe on speed.Was that part originally written that way.Jeremy Irons seems to simpler about looking a bit forlorn.The rest of the cast whilst full of household names are not really able to do much with their often brief time on screen.The best of the bunch is Prunella Scales as the put upon and downtrodden wife.Lionel Jefferies triumphs a lot.Sylvia Simms exudes a sort of glacial charm.Even Richard Briefs seems one to forget.A truly forgettable film.
On the face of it, A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL reveals that director Michael Winner wasn't at his best when directing comedies. His various films with Charles Bronson were much better: tighter, more exciting, with better direction. This adaptation of the Alan Ayckbourn play is a little dreary, a little slow, although it does have a fantastic (and fascinating) cast to recommend it and to help while away the time.The plot concerns a good-looking young man (Jeremy Irons, at his suave best) who joins an amateur dramatic society in a provincial British town. Before long, he's mired in a hotbed of scandal, corruption, and seduction, and an all-star cast of British luminaries do their best with the occasional limitations of the script. Thus we get the likes of Gareth Hunt and Jenny Seagrove in straight roles, Prunella Scales in an odd choice as a love interest, a hammy Anthony Hopkins as a barnstorming Welshman, and more minor parts for the likes of Richard Briers, Lionel Jeffries, and Patsy Kensit.
With all the high-flying "special effects" movies around these days, this movie is a bare-bones, real-life-like story about real people in a small town and the relationships among them. The cast is fantastic. Jeremy Irons should have gotten an Academy Award for his performance. Anthony Hopkins also turns in an admirable character-driven performance that is just one more example of his outstanding acting ability. There were technical aspects of the photography and sound that could be criticized, but, ignoring those, it is a wonderfully portrayed story. Be sure to watch this film with someone who is a feeling person with a good sense of humor and an interest in different people with different personalities. This movie is one of my all time favorites.
Why this movie never got much attention has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Funny, sad and (as another commentator mentioned)absolutely veracious when it comes to the world of of amateur theatricals. Brilliantly written by Alan Ayckbourn, superbly cast and performed this film drew upon the cream of the British acting profession, and it shows. Why on earth Hollywood waited until the superficial Hannibal Lecter to award Anthony Hopkins an Oscar when it had his outstanding performance in Chorus of Disapproval is another of life's mysteries. I never get tired of watching it. For the commentator from Olive NJ who bucketed the film, he/she should be aware that the film is set in Yorkshire not Wales - different country.