Heavens Above

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British cinema in the late 1950s and early 1960s turned out a series of gently satirical films that mocked established institutions, and Heavens Above! is the member of the group that turned its attention to religion. Peter Sellers, in an unusually low-key performance that's all the better for being underplayed, stars as a young vicar whose tendencies to interpret Christian doctrines in his own individualistic way, rather than conform to church traditions, leads to all kinds of chaos. He really believes, for example, in taking from the rich to give the poor. It's a quietly funny film rather than a festival of belly laughs, but the points it scores against religious hypocrisies are deftly and persuasively made, and it's one of those British comedies in which squadrons of wonderful character actors fill out the minor roles. Any fan of vintage British comedy will find a cast including Irene Handl, Eric Sykes, Miriam Karlin, Ian Carmichael, Cecil Parker, and Roy Kinnear hard to resist, and there are also very brief appearances from Derek Nimmo and Rodney Bewes at the beginning of their careers. --Andy Medhurst

Customer Reviews:

Thank Heaven for Heavens Above.......2006-03-25

What a wonderful film-Peter Sellers is an Anglican prison chaplain mistakenly chosen to be the new Vicar of a staid,sterile and joylous church in a staid,joylous and sterile English town.
Both town and church are in for a surprise,however, for their new Vicar actually takes the Gospels SERIOUSLY! How this modern day parable (with screenplay by author journalist malcom muggeridge, atheist turned Christian believer late in his life) plays out is at once
a funny and scathing critique of both Church and State. People of any or no religious persuasion will enjoy watching Sellers at his deadpan best. A must see film.

Another Peter Sellers Gem.......2004-08-05

Sellers is appropriately low-key and gentle in his role of a latter-day (sixties Britain)cleric whose attempts to emulate the work of Christ are either thwarted by the rich (the aristocrats and church hierarchy)or misunderstood by it's intended beneficiaries (i.e. the welfare family who he's given shelter who are looting the church). Ultimately this movie is both hilarious satire but somewhat tragic. No fear, though, Sellers reverend gets the last laugh.

Metaphor, satire and a brilliant critique.......2003-06-19

"Heavens Above" immediately preceded "Dr. Strangelove" and "The Pink Panther" with Sellers at the top of his form. He blends into the role of Rev. Smallwood with such completeness that he seemingly went through catechism and seminary - perhaps even journeyed back in time to the Sermon on the Mount.
Smallwood is mistakenly placed as the priest of small town, which is profoundly in need of a priest. Unfortunately, what the town needs and what they want are entirely opposite. Without agenda and in full conviction of the Christian gospel, Smallwood takes every utterance of Jesus as the standard by which society should operate. Smallwood's attempt in the twentieth-century works about as well as his first-century counterpart's.
A truly thoughtful, humorous, and insightful film, "Heaven's Above" is as near to an original clergy film as any in the last century. It is a step beyond satire - more of a hypothetical exercise. The difference between loving and absolutely loving the film depends completely on how the ending is received: (Should it have ended earlier? Is it a departure from the character? Too much farce?) Cinematography is splendid and witty, acting is thoroughly successful and the DVD transfer is crisp and rich. The biographical text on Sellers is interesting. If only there were more extras....

A classic film indeed..go buy it now!!!.......2003-01-23

This film is in a class of it's own. A classic 1960's black and white movie from the UK that is better, much better than you might think. Set in a typical parish in rural England, Peter Sellers plays a kind, honest and loyal vicar that battles church, the locals and goverment to do what is right for a family of gypsies.
It's the kind of film that makes you feel good, and that is what counts.

Peter Sellers Collection (I'm All Right Jack/Heavens Above!/Hoffman/Two-Way Stretch/The Smallest Show on Earth/Carlton-Browne of the F.O.)

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Peter Sellers Collection (I'm All Right Jack/Heavens Above!/Hoffman/Two-Way Stretch/The Smallest Show on Earth/Carlton-Browne of the F.O.)
Starring: Peter Sellers
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007AJEC
Release Date: 2003-01-21

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The Peter Sellers Collection includes six British comedies in which Sellers plays leading or supporting roles. The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) is among the run of gentle British comedies in the 1950s in which outmoded and broken-down local institutions were saved by collections of committed eccentrics. Aspiring novelist Bill Travers and his wife Virginia McKenna inherit a cinema from a hitherto unknown uncle and discover that it isn't the sumptuous modern Grand, but the decrepit Bijou, with a drunken projectionist played by Sellers.

In 1959's I'm All Right Jack, Sellers plays both Sir John Kennaway and, unforgettably, the trade union leader Fred Kite. The result is laugh-out-loud comedy with a satiric edge, lampooning the then-burning issue of industrial relations. The brothers John and Roy Boulting also directed and produced such British classics as Carlton-Browne of the F.O. (1959), in which Seller's unscrupulous prime minister is upstaged by Terry-Thomas as the idiot son of a great ambassador, and Heavens Above (1963), in which Sellers gives an unusually low-key performance as a young vicar whose tendencies to interpret Christian doctrines in his own individualistic way, rather than conform to church traditions, leads to all kinds of chaos.

The great crime comedy Two Way Stretch (1960) is about imprisoned crooks who hatch a scheme to pull off a heist with a perfect alibi by breaking out, doing the job, and then breaking back in to serve out their sentences. Sellers, usually an eccentric support in these things, takes a rare lead as cocky mastermind Dodger Lane.

Hoffman (1970) gives Sellers a lot of funny business, acid lines, and whimsical turns. Secretary Miss Smith (Sinéad Cusack) is blackmailed by meek, middle-aged Mr. Hoffman (Sellers) into spending a week of domesticity with him in his flat. At first, the tone is creepy, but it becomes more poignant as both characters learn to see each other as people.

Customer Reviews:

Caveats.......2003-11-12

Peter Sellers, often written off as a talented mimic, was actually a superb actor, if he found his character's "voice". He's been unfortunately typecast (I have a friend who thought he was French!) as Clouseau, and he may actually be the finest slapstick comedian after the end of the silent era. This collection is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to see him in early or obscure work, but the movies are ineven in quality and tone. Also of interest in that all these movies he plays a single character (even in the early, unincluded, "Only Two Can Play" he lapsed into multiple accents. CARLTON-BROWNE OF THE F.O. is really a Terry-Thomas vehicle with Sellers in support. Like all Cold War comedies its plot (such as it is, about the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. all trying to discover the secrets of a small island under British protection) is quaint and hardly funny, but there are enough bright spots to recommend the movie as a whole (the scenes between Terry-Thomas and Thorley Walters are invariably delightful). THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH has a young Sellers, again in a supporting role, playing the aged projectionist in a run-down theatre; again, the bright spots are scattered but for anyone who likes old movies and quiet humor will find enough not to have wasted his time with it. HEAVENS ABOVE, a satire on Communism, using the Church as a vehicle for its representation, has Sellers in the lead as a mis-appointed Anglican clergyman who turns his parish on its head; but the movie eventually plays against itself with its serious undertones. TWO-WAY STRETCH is an out-and-out farce with Peter Sellers as a prisoner who plots a crime that will give him a perfect alibi -- he's in jail; but a martinet new guard (Lionel Jeffries, the grandfather "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") may ruin his plans. "I'M ALL RIGHT, JACK" has Sellers in support again, in a star-studded farce about labor vs management, with Selelrs as Hitleresque shop steward and labor leader Fred Kite (a breakthrough role for Sellers). HOFFMAN is the odd man out in this box, as it comes later in Sellers' career, and the character he plays isn't comic, just unpleasant. Why "Hoffman" was included -- why it's even on DVD -- I can't even pretend to speculate. A more fitting addition to the collection would have been "The Wrong Arm of the Law", another crime caper. The poignant comedy-drama "The Dock Brief", with Richard Attenborough as the confessed wife murderer and Sellers as the barrister determined to get him off despite his own protests, would have rounded the box off nicely. The perfect addition would have been the hilarious "The Naked Truth", where Sellers and Terry-Thomas (again) plot to do away with a scandal-sheet publisher (Dennis Price) who threatens to expose their secrets (Sellers' jolly television host character is actually a slumlord). Even the much less funny "Only Two Can Play" would've been an improvement. Why they stuck on "Hoffman" -- unless it was simply dirt cheap to add -- boggles the mind. If you don't mind paying the freight for five comedies that range from middling to pretty-good-for-its-time, just to see early Sellers in some forgotten roles, this is the set for you. Just bring along a shovel to bury "Hoffman" and you'll be fine.

The Ladykillers / Heavens Above! (Peter Sellers 2 Pack)

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The Ladykillers / Heavens Above! (Peter Sellers 2 Pack)

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