Sunday, October 29, 2006

Review 100: Brass Eye DVD




For a limited time only! Things The Curmudgeon actually LIKES! Part One

If any of you are familiar with The Curmudgeon's other reviews, you may well be scratching your heads at this one. A FIVE star review?! That can't be right. And usually, you WOULD be right. The Curmudgeon has dedicated 95 of his 100 reviews to bringing you the very worst things out there. To celebrate the 50 review milestone I reviewed 5 GREAT things that are available on Amazon, and so, now I've reached 100, I thought I'd do the same again. So, from reviews 100 - 105, it's going to be nothing but good, great and awesome stuff.

It's actually depressing to see that I'm the first person on the whole of Amazon to review Brass Eye, so hopefully the word of The Curmudgeon will prove enough for some more people to buy what is unquestionably one of the most daring, original and downright hilarious comedies ever made.

Chris Morris, he of the same twisted genius that created "The Day Today" was given free reign on Channel 4, the more family friendly BBC shackles removed, giving him a chance to provide some of the most shocking, controversial comedy skits ever shown on television. This gained Chris Morris public enemy number one status ("The most hated man in Britain", one knuckleheaded tabloid shrieked). Why? Well, every week Chris would front what looked like the usual factual, self-important news shows seen around 9 or 10pm. Glossy, serious and overblown, they were ripe for parody. And that's exactly what Chris did, with half hour long shows targeting, amongst other things..

Drugs
Animal Cruelty
Sex
Crime

And, in one of the most infamous television moments ever - a 2001 paedophile special, satirising the knee-jerk reactions the tabloids and the media have for child molesters, their ability to provoke outrage and fear being the main target. This lead to a record number of complaints, as outraged parents totally missed the point of the show.

Throughout Brass Eye, Chris tricks celebrities into talking ABSOLUTE DRIVEL that they read off cue cards, highlighting these parasites as only being interested in appearing on television. Some of these moments are excruciating to watch, as these idiots say anything that's put in front of them. Brilliant, brilliant stuff.

It was never meant to be for the masses to enjoy. This isn't cosy "Friends" territory. This is, for want of a better term, rock and roll comedy; take no prisoners, offend the majority but ultimately get an important message through.

Absolutely unmissable. I urge you to own this program.

And that's part one of five taken care of. Four more things that The Curmudgeon actually likes. But what on earth could they be? Only one way to find out...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of this, but it sounds fantastic. Methinks I'll have to check this out.

The Curmudgeon said...

Hey, if I can convince just one person to check out the likes of Brass Eye and The Day Today, then I must be doing something right.

I imagine if you're in the US that ebay would be your best bet for Chris Morris material.

Seriously Trashy - it's a SUPERB show (The Day Today as well) and I imagine you could well love it.