A Very British Coup DVD with Ray McAnally, Marjorie Yates, Geoffrey Beevers (NR) +Movie Reviews

Self-indulgent lefty excrement

GUEST ACCOUNT | Amazon.com HQ | 07/19/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is propaganda without a shade of subtlety or nuance; I understand leftist Brits go in for this sort of thing. Story's Harry Perkins is a paragon throughout, and don't you know good intentions beat back all troubles. His enemies do not possess a shred of decency of course, just like in the real world where everyone who opposes unions is a big poopy head. For people who prefer cartoons to reality only."

Frighteningly up to date

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 06/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Picture if you will a Prime Minister of England who really wants to benefit the majority of the people and not only the "fat cats" who have run the country all through its past. Picture how his foes--not only the powerful but those of the middle class in the pockets of the powerful--would stop at nothing to topple him, not even short of murder. Picture also how a certain even more powerful nation would aid and abet in his downfall since while all the rest talk disarmament he actually begins to disarm! If you have trouble picturing all this, then you must watch the Acorn Media release of the first Masterpiece Theatre presentation that did not take place in the British past or present but in the very near future. It is called "A Very British Coup" (AMP-8617) and stars Ray McAnally as Prime Minister Harry Perkins who knows too well what it is like to be poor and oppressed and he is pitted against Sir Percy Browne (Alan MacNaughtan), who is both the head of MI5 and an upper-class militant determined not to enfranchise anyone below him. He feels he owes it to his ancestors; Perkins feels the same about his own. Add to those two a list of the most frightening behind-the-scenes characters who, although never elected, actually run the government--the press barons, the BBC, the union leaders, even the local constabulary--and you can see how important, let alone how pertinent, this story is to our present situation. There is an audio interview with the author that might be of some value.Grab this one--and teachers of Political Science, take careful notice."

Dated Yet Timely

John D. Cofield | 09/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On first sight A Very British Coup seems impossibly old fashioned, dealing as it does with a left wing British Prime Minister who believes in public ownership, non alignment, and a non-nuclear strategy. He borrows money from the Soviet Union and tells the United States to take its bases out of Britain. As a result right wing elements in Britain, with ample assistance from the US government, do all they can to sabotage his government and force him out of power. So why watch this now, more than ten years after the end of the Cold War, during a British Labour government that sometimes seems more Thatcherite than Maggie herself? Well, first its a dynamic political thriller with tension that lasts right up until the final, rather equivocal moments. Secondly, it asks some difficult questions about the nature of democracy and the relationship of power and privilege. Thirdly, I think for us American viewers it provides an eye-opening look at how the rest of the world sees us, and its not all that flattering. (Most of the American officials look like prize fighters and bully boys, which is what they turn out to be in the end. The Ugly American indeed!)The DVD version doesn't have many extra features, just some filmographies of the principal stars and an audio interview with the author, Chris Mullin M.P. This seems to have been originally broadcast on radio and is rather scratchy, but you can hear Big Ben in the distance, which is a nice touch. So I recommend this DVD for political junkies, Anglophiles,and any Americans concerned about our international reputation."

Possibly the best political intrigue video ever made.

John J. Bost | NYC, USA | 08/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw this video on public television about 10 years ago - I was amazed. I still find it exciting and flawless even though true socialistic ideology is outdated. I liked it so much that I actually paid [the money] for the 3 part video (two cassettes) when it was first released.
I've also read the book by Chris Mullin but found the video to be superior; Harry Perkins is a more witty and affable character.
A correction to the previous review by Mr. Daley: Ray McAnally WAS cast in at least two Hollywood movies; One of them being "My Left Foot" with Daniel Day Lewis. Ray McAnally was an excellent actor, just starting to reach a peak in his career. I was sorry to hear that he died."

A Very British Coup: Nobody does it better

Aleta M. Daley | Norwich, CT | 07/27/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

""A man who is weary of Mozart is weary of life," says Harry Perkins, the newly elected and charismatic Prime Minister from the Labor Party. Set in Britain some time in the future, "A Very British Coup" is a brilliantly conceived, directed and acted film which I first saw about 10 years ago on a New York PBC station, and now twice recently on a low definition quality tape I had made. The drama is fast-paced and almost operatic in its depiction of a statesman whose honesty and forthrightness threaten to overturn the entire monolith of the old-boy network so imbedded in the British political system. The predominantly privileged, aristocratic class of civil servants and their ally, a media giant attempt to undermine Harry's "open" administration by all the means available and these means are extensive. When their methods are only partially successful, because they underestimate Harry's indomitable consistency, his strength of character, they resort to more sinister solutions. Determined to remove all nuclear warheads and thus infuriating the U.S. Harry decides to have the dismantling of a nuclear warhead televised. For his adveraries, this is the final draw. They devise a plan that will devastate Harry's effectiveness and credibility with the millions of people who supported him. This drama moves at the breathtaking pace of a good, literate thriller. If you are looking for substance both in story and character, "A Very British Coup" is the film for you. Ray McAnally, aka Harry Perkins would never have been hired by Hollywood to play a hero. He's a chunky man with nondescript features. But from the very beginning of this story as you watch Harry lathering his face with an old fashioned brush and mug, which is his only legacy from his coal-mining father, you are struck by his energy and palpable humanity. As the story unfolds, it is his complex and unflappable personality that exudes sex appeal. Mozart's music, in particular the Mass in C Minor with its passion and exuberance works like a superb Greek chorus. Throughout the drama McAnally projects a robust, penetrating intelligence. Moreover, as he confronts the various machinations of his opponents, he demonstrates that to be an idealist one must also have knowledge. There is much more that I could say about Harry Perkins. His is a complex character with heroic proportions. All the supporting actors are first rate, in particular Alan McNaughton who plays Perkins' principal antagonist. For me, "A Very British Coup" represents what is best about British Film and drama; namely, that capacity to transcend a particular place and time and personal bias, that skill at characterizing individuals and individual situations so as to make them universal and timeless. And in the case of "A Very British Coup" it will make you hungry where you are most satisfied."

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