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If you like
British comedy, “Scoop” is right
up your alley. Based on the 1938 novel by
Evelyn Waugh, of “Brideshead Revisited”
fame, “Scoop” follows the misadventures
of William Boot (Michael Maloney) a dim
bulb nature columnist who fins himself in
the middle of a very unwelcome assignment.
Because of a bit of a mix-up, Boot is shipped
off to the East African republic of Ishmaelia
to cover an impending revolution.
I have to admit to not being familiar with
Waugh’s work, but after seeing “Scoop”,
I think I may just have to sit down and
read some of his work. I have a thing about
sarcasm, and when it’s well written
I just eat it up. Here Waugh takes sharp
jabs at the newspaper industry, of which
he was a part of. He based this story on
a real life experience where he was made
to cover Mussolini’s 1935 invasion
of Abyssinia. At the time, he was working
for the London Daily Mail and the last thing
he desired was to cover a war.
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This particular version of “Scoop”
marked the 2nd time an attempt was made to adapt
it to film. Both versions were shot for television,
though this one was bit more faithful to the original
work. Michael Maloney turns in a great performance
as Boot and carries the film well. Filmed in 1987,
“Scoop” came early in Maloney’s
career, and since then he has proven himself to
be quite an accomplished actor, if not a very
well known one. I first saw him in the largely
underappreciated “Truly, Madly, Deeply”
and now find myself looking for him in other films.
Last year I caught him in another British import,
“Love on a Branch Line”, which was
a delightful romp and one I recommend if you get
the chance to see.
“Scoop” also boasts a wonderful cast
of British actors from back in the day. It was
great to see Herbert Lom, Denholm Elliott, and
Donald Pleasance all in the same film. It’s
always a pleasure to see the work of Pleasance
before his career started the downhill slide into
low budget horror films. Not that doing low budget
horror films is the mark of a downhill slide,
it’s just that I always considered Pleasance
to be an exceptional actor whose career I would
have rather seen end on a higher note.
Due to the limitations of filming shows for the
BBC back in the 80s, I can say the transfer is
probably about as good as its possible to get.
The picture looks a bit soft at times, but I don’t
think there’s much that modern technology
can do about that. The extra features are pretty
much limited to some static information about
Waugh, Maloney and Elliott, but the information
here is actually quite interesting. Included are
some quotable quotes from Waugh, all of which
caused me to raise an eyebrow. It’s not
often that an author can capture my attention
with a single line, but after reading them I am
even more determined to pick up some of his books.
It’s obvious that Evelyn Waugh had a very
sharp and acerbic wit, and though I doubt “Scoop”
did not completely capture every nuance of it
(as no movie can ever truly capture the spirit
of a book), it does well enough to at least introduce
his work to a new audience. Some of the humor
here is timeless as I’m sure the news industry
is as vapid now as it was back then. Actually
judging from what I’ve seen lately, its
even more so.
Directed by: Gavin Millar
Starring: Michael Maloney, Denholm Elliott, Herbert
Lom, Michael Hordern, Nicola Pagett, Donald Pleasance
Extras: Evelyn Waugh Biography, Evelyn Waugh –
In His Own Words, Cast Profiles
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: BFS Entertainment
Release Date: 3/23/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give Scoop a B.
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