BRITISH FILM REVISION

Facts

■ Hot fuzz’s budget was around about £8,000,000■ The film generated £7.1 million in its first weekend of release in the

United Kingdom on 14 February 2007.■ In the 20 April US opening weekend, the film grossed $5.8 million from

only 825 cinemas, making it the highest per-cinema average of any film in the top ten that week

■ However in total profit it made was an estimated £48.44 million in the UK.

■ It was also estimated that $80.74 million was profited for the USA.

Production Companies

■ Universal Pictures (presents) ■ StudioCanal (in association with) ■ Working Title Films (as Working Title) ■ Big Talk Productions (in association with) ■ Ingenious Film Partners (produced in association with)

■ Simon Pegg ■ Nick Frost ■ Bill Nighy ■ Martin Freeman ■ Edgar Wright (Director/Writer)

■ All of the cast and most of the crew are British which shows the brains behind the British film and why it worked so well in the British audience area.

Genre

The Genre of the Film is action comedy (Hybrid Genre) and is a spoof based are the British Police force

■ Uses British Landmarks e.g. Double Decker buses, shows it is set in England

■ Shows a contrast of City and Country life, but exaggerates them to fit the Plot of the film.

■ Use of Police Uniforms and terminology to show and emphasize the fact that the film is about a policeman

Target Audience

■ The Target Audience for this Film is:■ Fans of Comedy films.■ Fans of Action films.■ Fans of ‘Shaun of the Dead’.■ Fans of Working Title Films.■ People wanting to watch Gory film without watching a fully blown

horror film.

■ The British poster has a more subtle background with the main characters in focus.

■ The American poster has a more explosive and vibrant background with the main characters having more movement in the picture.

■ This may show that the American audience may be more interested in action in a British film rather than a drama.

■ We can also see the church of the village in the background of the UK poster.

Top tip

Choose the right question! (It is the first one on comedy)

Genre Hybrid

■ Essentially an Action-Comedy, Hot Fuzz draws on a range of generic conventions including:– Cop films, buddy movies, horror, western– ‘Splatstick’ – early films of Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, Braindead).

Angel even uses the term ‘splattered’ of the way the reporter diesFilm and popular culture references are so abundant in this film it

almost becomes a theme. Intertextuality in the extreme ■ Is this a form of film ‘bricolage’?

Hip Hop Montage

■ Example of a postmodern film technique■ hip hop montage is a subset of fast cutting to portray a complex

action through a rapid series of simple actions in fast motion, accompanied by sound effects (often enhanced)

■ Coined by Darren Aronofsky on his work in films like Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000)

■ Used when travelling to Sandford on train■ Edgar Wright also uses same technique in Sean of the Dead (2004)

Parody / Pastiche and Self Reflexivity■ Opening sequence – parody of the super-cop■ Initial conversation with Janine (Cate Blancett – uncredited) as

pastiche of romantic film■ Parody of opening of Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) in

shoplifter chase sequence■ Self reflexivity / self knowing:

– Parody of own film work (Sean of the Dead lines)– Butterman as huge fan of action/cop films - the very same films

Hot Fuzz pays homage to

End Scene Revision

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOzD4Sfgag

Suggested Revision

■ Do some background reading and take notes including:1. Critical and popular acclaim (awards, box office, DVD sales).

Was it successful? Why?2. Find examples of at least 5 intertextual references in the

film. Why is this something the filmmakers do? Does it add to audience enjoyment? How?

3. Read the Guardian NFT interview (in two parts). What is EW and SP’s take on homage, parody and spoof?

4. What is the ‘Blood and Ice-Cream Trilogy’ otherwise known as? What is this a reference to?