Search - Britannia Hospital on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1982 DVD Release: 12/04/2001 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 56 mins Studio: Anchor Bay Members Wishing: 5 Genres: Comedy, Satire

This dark comedy charts the chaos that results when the panicked staff of a major English hospital attempts to prepare for a visit by the Queen Mother, only to face every problem imaginable. Britannia Hospital clearly attempts to recapture the anarchic bite of director Lindsay Anderson's previous satires If... and O Lucky Man, but fails to achieve the same combination of intelligent political critique, comic lunacy, and skillful filmmaking. (Indeed, the three films are often considered a loosely linked trilogy, largely due to the presence in all three of lead Malcolm McDowell). The film does make a valiant effort, but its commentary on the poor, labor disputes, and the inhumanity of bureaucratic institutions mixes uneasily with the film's broader elements, like the experiments of a cartoonish mad scientist. The result is often quite entertaining on a scene-by-scene basis, but the film never reaches the level of delirious, farcical energy or satirical sharpness to which it clearly aspires. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Leonard Rossiter - Potter
Graham Crowden - Millar
Malcolm McDowell - Mick Travis
Joan Plowright - Phyllis
Jill Bennett - Dr. MacMillan

Lindsay Anderson's black comedy Britannia Hospital comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. There are neither subtitles nor closed-captions on this release. Supplemental materials include an interview with director Malcolm McDowell, trailers, and biographies. This is a solid release from Anchor Bay. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide