Directed by Michael Blakemore • 1983 • United Kingdom
Starring John Cleese, Denis Quilley, Patrick Pearson
This gloriously gay adaptation of the play by Peter Nichols centers on the exploits of SADUSEA (it’s pronounced “sad you see”)—the Song and Dance Unit, Southeast Asia, a theatrical troupe stationed in the Malayan jungle during the 1940s to entertain the British troops there. Farce and melodrama mingle as the sensibilities of pompous, militaristic Major Giles Flack (the great John Cleese) and Acting Captain Terri Dennis (Denis Quilley), a campy drag performer who impersonates Carmen Miranda and Marlene Dietrich, clash in the waning days of the British Empire.
Up Next in HandMade Films
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Water
Directed by Dick Clement • 1985 • United Kingdom
Starring Michael Caine, Valerie Perrine, Bill PerskyA typically sharp comic performance from Michael Caine is at the center of this nutty satire of Britain’s colonial exploits (partially inspired by the then-recent invasion of the Falkland Island...
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Checking Out
Directed by David Leland • 1989 • United States
Starring Jeff Daniels, Melanie Mayron, Michael Tucker“Why don’t Italians like barbecues?” When his best friend drops dead in the middle of telling this groaner, it brings about an existential fear of death for successful airline executive and fami...
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An Accidental Studio
Directed by Bill Jones, Kim Leggatt, and Ben Timlett • 2019 • United Kingdom
Starring Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, George HarrisonThis heartfelt tribute to the little studio that could charts the unlikely rise of HandMade Films—the independent producer/distributor that revitalized the 1980s Br...
