Was geschah mit Harold Smith?

I saw this movie 'by accident' last night - a friend of a friend had an old video copy - and thought it was absolutely brilliant. And I had a lousy hangover! I hadn't even heard about it before - I don't know if it ever had a proper cinema release but it clearly wasn't the huge hit it deserved to be. I can't believe some of the negative comments I've read about it. Were they watching the same film? I thought the story, the characters and the whole 70's feel of it was amazing - even if the 70's I recall wasn't quite as colourful as that. Tom Courtenay was superb as the enigmatic Harold, likewise Steven Fry and David Thewliss. Harold's speech about the tortoise was a classic. I noticed you can't even buy this film on DVD or video now but my advice is if it's ever on TV check it out!

When you see a lot of films they unfortunately tend to blend together after a while due to formula film-making and seeing the same faces over and over again. "Churn and burn Bruckheimer films. G'day again Nick Cage".

Then out of the blue, along comes an absolute gem like WHATEVER HAPPENED TO HAROLD SMITH? This is a wonderfully original British film accessible to any nationality, extremely funny, full of heart and obviously written by someone with imagination... and not just an idea for packaging a concept. A rare movie where the clever script and performances of the cast never have you questioning the most unbelievable of circumstances.

The mostly ensemble cast could not possibly be bettered with Tom Courtney, as Harold, putting in a wonderfully restrained performance... possibly his best over a long career that includes an Oscar nomination for THE DRESSER. Good performances are too many to mention but Michael Legge as son Vince, the driving force of the story, is a real talent with impeccable comic timing and an air of innocence that will definitely see him go places.

If you're looking for something different, give this film a go and be totally immersed in the 70's, have a good laugh and be entertained by a refreshing piece of entertainment.

This film is absolutey delightful, a combination of a well-written and hilarious script, and some amazing art direction. Every scene in this movie presents its audience with an eyeful of imaginative staging. If you liked the movie The Royal Tennenbaums, see this... its more funny and even more visually rich.

If you've seen the new Bond movie, you'll have seen the trailer for this film - believe me, it in no way does it justice. I was lucky enough to see the "world premiere" at the London Film Festival and I left that cinema grinning like an idiot.

Basically, this is not your stereotypical Britflick. It's a movie with a very strong cast, characters you actually care about, and a story that's original, hilarious and moving. Top marks too for the soundtrack - every song is a diamond, and they've even got Gizz, who I recognized as the guitarist with The Prodigy, playing some wicked stuff (let's just say that the final scenes need to be seen to be believed).

I don't see any reason why this film shouldn't be right up there with "Lock Stock" and "The Full Monty", but please - ignore the trailer.

If you want to see what the seventies where really like, check this out and avoid TV dramas like Days Like These! An enjoyable film though not as funny as it thinks it is,or could have been. Still nice to know that reasonable British films can be made without obviously appearing to the American market. Worth a look