Starring:	Pete Postlethwaite	103min
	Ewan McGregor
	Steven Tompkinson	1996
	Tara Fitzgerald
Screenplay:	Mark Herman	Drama
Director:	Mark Herman	Colour

Region	2	Studio:	VCI
Format	Single Sided, Single Layer	Subtitles	None
Aspect ratio	16:9
Anamorphic	Yes
Soundtracks	Dolby Digital 2.0	Extra Features	Interviews with cast & Herman
			Photo gallery
Case type	Amaray		Animated menus & music
			Biographies
			Theatrical Trailer

The DVD * * * *		The Movie * * * *
It's perhaps not too surprising that films like The Fifth Element and Contact look jaw droppingly good on DVD. What is more surprising is just how great a well made low budget one can look too. Brassed Off is the sort of film that is usually given an iffy transfer to low grade VHS tape, then flogged off cheap. It is therefore a wonderful thing to have this looking absolutely excellent, from the gleam of the brass instruments to the murky atmospheres of industrial Yorkshire. The transfer is near-perfect - both picture and sound are terrific. It has also been given a nice sheen by VCI, with a cute animated menu of dancing trumpets as the music plays, and a few extras to flick your way through. It's a pity that the interviews are not so much edited as Selotaped together - it looks pretty tatty, and is nothing that a morning's session at basic facilities house couldn't have sorted out. Two other little moans - the menu is a little buggy, and seemed reluctant to work properly after the film had ended, and the main screen only holds for a couple of minutes before the film leaps into life. Unnecessary and annoying. All these gripes are trivial though. It looks great, it sounds great, and some effort has been put in to make good use of the format. Another great disc from VCI - thanks folks.		Ten years after the '84 miner's strike, things are still not right in the coal industry. Even the profitable pits are earmarked for closure, including one which is home of the really rather fine and long-running Grimley Colliery Brass Band. Under Postlethwaite's steady hand and the flugelhorn playing lips of new arival Fitzgerald, the fortunes of band and colliery are destined to be set against each other during the national championships. It's very good natured and includes plenty of charm, but also does not shirk from the gritty existance of a community whose very survival depends on the soon-to-be-gone black stuff. Unfortunately, writer / director Hermon can't resist the temptation to grind the old political axe where it simply isn't necessary - the story tells well enough on its own. Postlethwaite and Tompkinson (you know, that nice vicar from Ballykissangel) are excellent, while the Ewan / Tara double act seems far less well developed - McGregor in particular is given little to do other than stand around with his hands in his pockets looking cross. Nevertheless, it's another small reminder that these days, for a hundreth of the budget, we can still pack a more entertaining 100 minutes than the average Hollywood "drama". Play on.