Burke and Hare

[stuartboy]

Managed to catch this tonight after Due Date earlier on. I thought that this film worked well on all levels. The scenery was a very realisitic representation of old Edinburgh, and the actors all seemed beliveable even if it did stray from the story significantly. I wonder who spotted the cameo appearances from Bill Bailly (sans beard!!!), Christpher Lee (!), Jenny Agutter, not to mention Ronnie Corbett and Tim Curry. Even Greyfriar's Bobby got a look in!
The level of black humour managed to contrast ideally with the gruesome gore and horror of the story without detracting from it in a Carry On Screaming way.
I'd give this a good 9/10 although being from Edinburgh maybe I'm biased? Lol.

[ClareCc]

From the trailer, the movie doesn't look very promising to me..

[tibba]

Managed to catch this tonight after Due Date earlier on. I thought that this film worked well on all levels. The scenery was a very realisitic representation of old Edinburgh, and the actors all seemed beliveable even if it did stray from the story significantly. I wonder who spotted the cameo appearances from Bill Bailly (sans beard!!!), Christpher Lee (!), Jenny Agutter, not to mention Ronnie Corbett and Tim Curry. Even Greyfriar's Bobby got a look in!
The level of black humour managed to contrast ideally with the gruesome gore and horror of the story without detracting from it in a Carry On Screaming way.
I'd give this a good 9/10 although being from Edinburgh maybe I'm biased? Lol.

You've pinpointed why I like the movie so much - the Edinburgh setting. Edinburgh is my favourite city, and the movie was very well shot.

[stuartboy]

You've pinpointed why I like the movie so much - the Edinburgh setting. Edinburgh is my favourite city, and the movie was very well shot.

Ah ha! You must be Tibbs, The F H! Lol. Not sure if you are from Edinburgh (or elsewhere in Scotland) but how many locations could you recognise? I think some cgi was involved, especially the scenes in the grassmarket with the castle in the background. Would have been impossibly expensive to have used the grassmarket for real, and hard to get the castle visible in the background. I did recognise some of the closes and streets though, particularly those involving the rolling barrel! I think the roads inside the Castle also were used a fair bit. I even remember almost walking onto the set on location earlier this year indavertantly, not having a clue what was being filmed. Having said that, one of my claims to fame was being in the famous opening running scenes of Trainspotting, which I just happened to walk into as well!

[tibba]

You've pinpointed why I like the movie so much - the Edinburgh setting. Edinburgh is my favourite city, and the movie was very well shot.

Ah ha! You must be Tibbs, The F H! Lol. Not sure if you are from Edinburgh (or elsewhere in Scotland) but how many locations could you recognise? I think some cgi was involved, especially the scenes in the grassmarket with the castle in the background. Would have been impossibly expensive to have used the grassmarket for real, and hard to get the castle visible in the background. I did recognise some of the closes and streets though, particularly those involving the rolling barrel! I think the roads inside the Castle also were used a fair bit. I even remember almost walking onto the set on location earlier this year indavertantly, not having a clue what was being filmed. Having said that, one of my claims to fame was being in the famous opening running scenes of Trainspotting, which I just happened to walk into as well!

I am indeed. Unfortunately not lucky enough to be from Edinburgh. I'm in the poorly administrated, but equally beautiful (in some respects) Aberdeen. On a positive note, not far to travel to a 'real' city.

I felt the movie never left Edinburgh, but the presence of 'Stirling Castle' on the location list made me reconsider. The cobbled streets did seem to be within or very near Edinburgh Castle. The bridge scene was good.

I have a fascination with the Vaults and the Castle.

[andrews]

I caught this film today at Cineworld Boldon, and thought it was well made, and very amusing in places. Considering the gross subject matter, and let's face it, stealing corpses is gross, but murdering in order to obtain the corpses is even worse - this black comedy hit the spot. As well as the setting, great detail was pa*d to the costumes and props - very good.
The cast were terrific. I kept playing "Is that Christopher Lee/ Ronnie Corbett/who's that chap? - he was in Prime Suspect etc etc - fabulous acting.

Easily 6/10 from me, which I may revise later.

[Preston1990]

I thought Ethan summed this up perfectly with his phrase "boring and unfunny".

A dismal little film with few redeeming features whatsoever in my book, apart from the Edinburgh street scenes which were good. For me the film seemed draggy, uninteresting and overlong at just 90 minutes. Too much of the attempted humour completely failed to hit the mark - like the continually fainting soldier, by the thirtieth time it was just puerile.

I did notice that Hugh Bonneville (The Earl of Grantham from the excellent Downton Abbey) was in this playing Lord Harrington. Even his undoubted talents failed to lift it though.

4 out of 10.

[El_Duderino]

Very little was actually filmed in Edinburgh. The opening scenes used CGI to plop Edinburgh Castle in the background of a set down South. A few scenes here and there (such as the barrel chase and outside the tavern) were filmed in Edinburgh, with a few more being shot in both Edinburgh and Stirling Castles.

The vast majority was filmed in studios. This is refelcted in the fact that the film shot over two months at the start of the year, with only just-over-a-week being spent on location in Edinburgh and Stirling.

For what it's worth, I absolutely hated it. If you want to see a discussion review I did of it with a couple of others, you can see it at: http://www.reelscotland.com/?p=6281

Suffice to say, it didn't come off very well...

[stuartboy]

Very little was actually filmed in Edinburgh. The opening scenes used CGI to plop Edinburgh Castle in the background of a set down South. A few scenes here and there (such as the barrel chase and outside the tavern) were filmed in Edinburgh, with a few more being shot in both Edinburgh and Stirling Castles.

The vast majority was filmed in studios. This is refelcted in the fact that the film shot over two months at the start of the year, with only just-over-a-week being spent on location in Edinburgh and Stirling.

For what it's worth, I absolutely hated it. If you want to see a discussion review I did of it with a couple of others, you can see it at: http://www.reelscotland.com/?p=6281

Suffice to say, it didn't come off very well...

OK. Chatting to you as a fellow Edinburgher, I can take your points and accept them. I was aware of Edinburgh Castle in the background being fake and CGI'd, however if they had tried to turn the Grassmarket into a film set...imagine the upheaval, never mind the cost! Yes it did look fake and I like your Muppet Movie analogy. Most apt. There were quite a few genuine Edinburgh set pieces though which were fun to spot. I did notice that some scenes which at first glance seemed to be inside Edinburgh Castle were in fact Stirling. I did recognise them walking up the road from the Grassmarket alongside the Flodden Wall. Stumbled that way a few times myself after a night out in town! Lol.

I do also agree that it seems to take the p*** from The Scots in only an English way. It was a bit "Shortbread Tin" or Brigadoon. I too was annoyed about the invention of the Pho-to-graph and Funeral Parlour as this was total rubbish. The real story itself is so much in itself that it does not need such nonsense added to it. Also constant reference to the staging of the Macbeth play were unnecessary additions to a perfectly good story. I however took this as "sassenach banter" in the way that a Scot wearing a kilt gets gently gibed (in my experience whenever they attend a wedding away from home wearing Highland Dress - mentions of "under the kilt" and "see you Jimmy!" spring to mind. Harmless fun.

I felt myself waiting for the well-known element of Daft Jamie (who was one of the first that they murdered and despite being a local simpleton was missed and lead to their downfall). I was disappointed that he only merited being named as a victim rather than a pivotal character.

Funnily enough I stumbled upon the set during the summer (on a night out) - they had their crew and catering facilities on a closed Regent Road, presumably filming nearby one of the few Edinburgh set pieces.

Despite all it's misgivings and flaws I can't help but enjoy the film. I fully agree with what you say in your article regarding the sore need for a genuine and accurate film of Burke and Hare (not a black comedy) and also Deacon Brodie. They are just crying out to be made! And with Edinburgh as a ready made film set!

[El_Duderino]

I can understand that, I suppose.

I'm not against a bit of gentle ribbing of the Scots. It just seemed lazy more than anything - certainly in the use of music. The Proclaimers? Really? They can do better than that! It didn't even fit the tone of the film, especially the ending.

For me, the biggest problem weren't the historical inaccuracies or re-emphasising of events, it was the tone of the film in general. While I can just about accept accept they decided to go down the comedy route, I'm not sure it warranted such a throwaway style of humour. The type of comedy they went for was just so cheap - and even then it missed the mark.

I really don't recall actually finding any of it worthy of more than a slight chuckle, and that was down to the performances. It certainly wasn't in the script.

Just really disappointed this is the end of result considering the talent involved. I'd put it in with stuff like Lesbian Vampire Killers, Sex Lives of the Potato Men, Gladiatress, Guest House Paradiso and Fat Slags in terms of weak British comedies with talented casts.

As for the film set you mention, I don't think that was for Burke & Hare. Shooting was finished for that a lot earlier (in Edinburgh in February/March) as I watched a bit of it getting filmed. (I really was excited they were making a film of this... to begin with!) The set-up in Regent Road over the summer was for a Bollywood film they were making here.