Brassed Off

1996 Directed by Mark Herman

A Yorkshire coal mine is threatened with closure and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.

Pete Postlethwaite Tara Fitzgerald Ewan McGregor Stephen Tompkinson Jim Carter Philip Jackson Peter Martin Sue Johnston Melanie Hill Mary Healey Lill Roughley Peter Gunn Kenneth Colley Olga Grahame Bernard Wrigley Ken Kitson Adrian Hood Sally Sheridan Katherine Dow Blyton Toni Galacki Sky Ingram Luke McGann Christopher Tetlow Adam Fogerty Sally Ann Matthews Tubby Andrews Ronnie Stevens Bob Rodgers Jacqueline Naylor Show All…

Alternative Titles

Grazie, signora Thatcher, Tocando el viento

comedy drama romance

107 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by russman ★★★

How do these coal miners have good enough lungs to play brass instruments?
Review by Mark Cunliffe ★★★★ 1

Rewatch of an old favourite.
It's not an easy film to be impartial about; I know people who went through this, I know these streets and towns, I live in them and I share the same political view. It's kudos to the production that they pull off such an authentic and accurate portrayal that doesn't belittle or condescend.
OK, so some of the characterisation can veer to stereotype and some lines are a little clunky, but Brassed Off wears its heart on its sleeve and its heart is in the right place. On the whole the cast are excellent with the late lamented Pete Postlethwaite giving another career defining performance, Stephen Tompkinson's passionate polemical turn (I love the scene in…
Review by Mark Cunliffe ★★★★

Nearly the anniversary of Thatcher's death, lads. Of course, the trouble with pissing on her grave is that you eventually run out of piss.
Previous review here.
Review by Steve G 🟨🟥 ★★★★ 4

Maggie's in the Mud: 80s and 90s British Cinema Project
No happy ending.
Well there couldn't be, could there? For all the reasons that Pete Postlethwaite mentions in a blistering end speech at the Royal Albert Hall. We all know it's going to end *that* way as regards the band, we can see that coming a million miles off.
For director Mark Herman to take that expectation and use it as a tool for something far more serious is how you usurp cliche. It's also how you put a serious message across and make it far more impactful. To that point, Brassed Off doesn't wear its politics on its sleeve and is restrained in its opinions. I was going to…
Review by Cinekraut ★★★½

Birth Year Challenge - Film #6
1996 Ranked
FTWs 2019
One of the most raw and natural films I’ve seen. It is about human beings struggling with life, desperation and hope are close to each other. The last colliery just closed a few weeks ago in Germany so the themes described in this film are probably more recent than ever (at least in Germany I guess). And while I think it was the only right thing to do from a climatic standpoint this film let me reflect the whole affair from a different point of view. Thousands of miners lost their jobs over the past decades and while this film was surely dramatized for cinematic reasons, these losses probably have…
Review by Albie Hay ★★★½ 1

I find it interesting that Brassed Off and The Full Monty were released in consecutive years. Both are films about industrial workers in northern England struggling in the wake of Thatcherism and the resultant despondency to fight the closure of the mines and steelworks or face being made redundant, forcing them to turn to the performing arts to preserve dignity and community spirit. Brassed Off wasn't the phenomenal success that The Full Monty would prove to be (probably because it didn't involve men getting naked), and it probably isn't as good either, but it's still a rousing effort that has its heart lodged firmly in the right place.
It provides a juicy leading role for Pete Postlethwaite as Danny, the…
Review by loureviews ★★★★★

One of my 1000 recommended films.
I L<3ve Musicals!
'Brassed Off' came at just the right time for British politics, just as the death knell for the Conservative Party as the main political force sounded. The story fictionalises the troubles of the real-life Grimethorpe Colliery Band (who you hear playing the great brass band tunes throughout).
There are pit closures all over Yorkshire, and 'Grimley' Band has one last chance to triumph in the various band contests to end up playing at the Royal Albert Hall. This being drama of course the path to victory isn't a smooth one - there is bankruptcy, illness, broken marriages, and a clash with the new executive power (represented by Tara Fitzgerald, also taking…
Review by Paul Elliott ★★★★½

Writer and director Mark Herman’s righteously aggrieved movie follows the difficulties encountered by Grimethorpe’s colliery brass band and their struggles against their coal mine closure. It successfully manages to communicate the tensions within the community because of the circumstances and calls attention to the significant increase in suicides that ensued from the conclusion of the coal mining industry. There's some fantastic musical sequences and the sadly missed Pete Postlethwaite is outstanding as bandleader Danny.
Review by Andrew ★★★½

Punctuated by a brassy soundtrack, the politically charged BRASSED OFF! is a story about the working class miner’s in a small English town, and the band that united them.
I have a bit of a musical background as a trombone player in my school days. I am still a sucker for “the power of music” stories because of this. Even more than music though, I am in the bag for stories of comradery and self-sacrifice for others. When a group of people can put aside their differences and come together for the benefit of another person, it gets more than a little misty, and that was definitely the situation here.
The story here is that the government is closing down…
Review by Flemming ★★★★

"Do you want to come up for a coffee ?"
"I don't drink coffee."
"I haven't got any...."
Review by Edd ★★★½ 2

So God was creating man, all right? And his little assistant came up to him and he said, "hey, we've got all these bodies left, but we're right out of brains, we're right out of hearts and we're right out of vocal chords." And God said, "fuck it, sew 'em up anyway. Smack smiles on their faces and make 'em talk out their arses." And lo, God created the Tory party.
Review by luciana🪐 ★★★★

oh to be ewan mcgregor's love interest...

Recent reviews

Review by STEPHEN TUBBS ★★★

It has more than its share of cringe worthy moments but particularly in its first half, there is some wonderful verbal sparring to complement brass banding at its best.
Review by em ★★★

an interesting story! and i love how the town just has a band, it made me miss playing in a group like that. also ewan was so cute
Review by Haylee ★★★½

I was recommended this by my other half, who was absolutely baffled that as a proud Yorkshire person I had never seen this film. Bless him. Anyhow, I put this as part of my "52 films for 52 years" list, and I'm glad I did. It's a drama with some funny moments woven in. There are likely films that better capture Northern England during the Conservative years of the 1980s-1990s, but they get it mostly on the mark and captures the sentiment well enough.
It suffers a bit with stereotyping in places, but its heart is in the right place, and this film is worth seeing just for one particular moment towards the end alone. You'll know it when you see it.
It's a good time. And without going too spoilery, it has a lot of anti-Tory messaging hidden within. Which, really, would be sufficient for me to recommend alone.
Review by Luce ★★★½

Well I’m British and watching this as a non-northerner is quite an interesting experience cos I find Yorkshire accents hard to understand sometimes
Tbh it was ok... I only watched it for Ewan though 😊
Review by Mark Cunliffe ★★★★

Nearly the anniversary of Thatcher's death, lads. Of course, the trouble with pissing on her grave is that you eventually run out of piss.
Previous review here.
Review by gabytenenbaum ★★★½

Phil had a whole Joker origin story in this
Review by Conor O'Neill ★★★★½

An extremely uplifting and powerful British drama about the human spirit and the plight of the working class. Some amazing performances aswell, even if Euan McGregor's accent was a bit flimsy. RIP Pete Postelthwaite😭😭.
9/10
Review by Adam Rowe ★★★★

Phil: [as Mr. Chuckles] “So God was creating man. And his little assistant came up to him and he said: "Hey, we've got all these bodies left, but we're right out of brains, we're right out of hearts and we're right out of vocal chords." And God said: "Fuck it! Sew 'em up anyway. Smack smiles on the faces and make them talk out of their arses." And lo, God created the Tory Party”
The most powerful words are always true 👏👏👏
Review by maria b ★★★★

"Over the last ten years this bloody government has systematically destroyed an entire industry. Our industry. And not just our industry. Our communities, our homes, our lives. All in the name of progress. And for a few lousy bob."
Greve dos Metalúrgicos 1978-1980 do be looking different, eh.
There was no possible happy ending in sight for this story. We all know how Thatcher went, how the years post Thatcher went. How they are still, arguably, going on and on.
Because England is such a small country, I feel like all its most touching stories end up coming from other small places within it, where the mythos of Polite Britishness has never quite stuck, and where people live their lives…
Review by liv hughes ★★★½

ok film that is made really good by the last monologue
Review by maddie ★★★

not a movie i’d rewatch but it was interesting and ewan was cute
Review by Felix_tcp ★★½

42/100