Watching the Movie tonight - am I going to be disappointed?

[Frankymole]

You may be thinking of Man with Two Shadows were Cathy comes from the back of her flat wearing only a bra and underwear.

There's a similar scene in "Death Despatch" IIRC where she's on the phone to Steed whilst sitting on her bed wearing just her flimsies

[Dandy Forsdyke]

Sorry to drag this old thread up again, but it has been discussed on Roobarb's over the last couple of days that the reason for the use of the F word was intentional, in order to get a PG rating. Curious.

[Ian Wegg]

Up until last night I had only watched the movie version once, in 1999 in a hotel room in Germany and I missed the first 30 minutes.

Inspired by my purchase a couple of weeks ago of the movie poster (and its brief appearance on my son's bedroom wall) I thought I'd try it again so I invested £2.25 with Amazon and bought the DVD.

It passed the evening adequately is about the best I could say. There were some good scenes and it was fun spotting some nods to particular episodes. The part with Uma Thurman on the Escher staircase, a reference to The House That Jack Built, was a highlight but it was over far too quickly.

The main problems for me were a distinct lack of plot and miscasting of the two main characters. Watchable once as a film in its own right if you try and ignore they are supposed to be Steed and Mrs. Peel. I think it will be more than 13 years before I see it again.

~iw

[Dandy Forsdyke]

Jeremiah Chechik interview: What went wrong with The Avengers

[Timeless A-Peel]

Jeremiah Chechik interview: What went wrong with The Avengers

I think I may have read a similar interview (or the same one) before, but it was nice to read it again. The movie probably never would have been the best take on the show, but it might have been better if it hadn't been cut, and it's nice to read that even he saw things weren't gelling on the casting front. Thanks, Dandy!

[Dandy Forsdyke]

What should we make of "Again, the development of the script was quite fun, and it certainly engaged Diana Rigg" ? She would have been great as Alice.

I think Nicole Kidman would have been a better fit than Uma Thurman.

[Ian Wegg]

Thanks for posting, it confirms a lot of the information that is in IMDB about the production.

I'm not sure about Nicole Kidman but for me it would have been a lot better film if Keeley Hawes had been given the Mrs. Peel part.

I'd love to be able to see a "director's cut" with the missing 20 minutes restored, but I don't think that's going to happen.

~iw

[Alan]

Jeremiah Chechik interview: What went wrong with The Avengers

Thanks, Dandy. Fascinating stuff.

[Dandy Forsdyke]

Thanks for posting, it confirms a lot of the information that is in IMDB about the production.

I'm not sure about Nicole Kidman but for me it would have been a lot better film if Keeley Hawes had been given the Mrs. Peel part.

I'd love to be able to see a "director's cut" with the missing 20 minutes restored, but I don't think that's going to happen.

~iw

Haven't read that before. There are some interesting facts there. Particularly ...

Diana Rigg was sent the script with a view to her playing Alice. She passed.
Eileen Atkins was originally offered the role of Father, but felt the machine gun-toting Alice would be more fun to play; consequently the part was enlarged for her.

So it looks like Alice (a la Rigg) would have been a cameo and we wouldn't have seen as much of her if she had consented to the role.

The main villain is not named De Winter but Merriweather.

Isn't there a Merriweather in one of the TV Comic stories?

In the original script the part of Sir August was much smaller but when Sir Sean Connery joined the project he asked for the part to expanded.

I knew I read that somewhere. Feel vindicated now.

Finally ...

Convinced that it would be "The film event of the year", Titan Books invested heavily in the film's promotion, publishing "The Original Movie Screenplay", "The Making of the Movie", "The Movie Novelisation" and "The Official Souvenir Magazine".

I think I bought all them ...

[Timeless A-Peel]

It would have been fun to see Diana as Alice--I'm amazed that the script went anywhere near her, really. It probably would have been a cameo, if the part was necessary. Maybe she would have done her bit and then toddled off to visit Invisible Jones?

Eileen Atkins did a brilliant job, though--she's one of the best parts of the movie--so I'm not sorry she ended up with the part. As for Emma herself, I don't know that Nicole Kidman would have been ideal, either, but she certainly would have been a huge step up from Uma. No contest there.

(And Dandy, I have the novel and one of the other books as well, and I bought mine long after the movie's release, when I knew full well what it was like, so you're not alone ).