Rising Damp – The Movie (1980/Acorn Media)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C
Maybe it
was all those Carry On films, but more
than a few British TV comedy hits (or BritComs) became feature films at some
point, including the perennial Are You
Being Served? Like that show, the
amusing Rising Damp was a hit,
worked even better and yet does not make the transition to the big screen very
well either in a 1980 release simply titled Rising Damp – The Movie.
Sure,
stars Leonard Rossiter (who appeared in a few Kubrick films) and Frances de la
Tour are back, but by placing the somewhat edgy sitcom into the more palpable
work of film versus the brighter colors and more confined sets of analog PAL
videotape production, a certain charm and warmth disappears that director Joe
McGrath and writer Eric Chappell cannot seem to compensate for.
The
result is simply a package deal that never works like it could have. By being on the big screen, they are actually
playing it too safe when they should have gone more zany, wacky and
bonkers. Too bad, because the leads have
chemistry and they were even lucky enough to sign Denholm Elliott, but this is
for completists only. The show ended in
1978, so two years later, they may have lost the edge the show had as well.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a bit disappointing, with too much motion blur and
detail limits, possibly from Acorn using what looks like a PAL master to NTSC
conversion. I would love to compare this
to an HD transfer or see a PAL DVD to compare, but it is watchable. Color is a little dull too. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is just fine and
actually fares better. Extras include
stills, text cast filmography and an interesting theatrical trailer.
For more
on the series, try these links:
Season One
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3052/Rising+Damp+-+Series+One
Season Two
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3639/Rising+Damp+-+Series+Two
Season Three
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4756/Rising+Damp+-+Series+Three
Season Four
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5459/Rising+Damp
- Nicholas Sheffo
