Wednesday 23 May 2018

Burke and Hare (2010 John Landis)

Piers Ashworth and Nick Moorcroft (who also wrote the St Trinians' films for Barnaby Thompson's Fragile Films) offer for our entertainment a short and bouncy series of events in which Irish Burke & Hare (Simon Pegg in variable accent and Andy Serkis) go into the cadaver business, and invent 'protection' and 'funeral parlours' - Pegg ends up as a study in anatomy.

A name cast is extremely noticeable for its lack of Scottish actors: Jessica Hynes (who's great). Tom Wilkinson, Michael Smiley, Ronnie Corbett, Tim Curry, David Hayman, Christopher Lee, Isla Fisher, Allan Corduner, Reece Shearsmith, Hugh Bonneville, Steve Speirs, Paul Whitehouse and Jenny Agutter (completely missed her), with guest appearances by Ray Harryhausen and cinematographer Robert Paynter (who shot American Werewolf in London, Into the Night and Trading Places - and The Zoo Gang).

Isla Fisher's all-girl Macbeth cross-cut to the closing in of the militia is one of the films' more effective moments.

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