听 British cinema got a jolt in the arm with The Full Monty, a story of steelworkers-turned-strippers that "tugs the heartstrings as often as it tickles the funny bone". Director Peter Cattaneo made his big screen debut working from a script by fellow newcomer Simon Beaufoy, but it all started as a glint in the eye of producer Uberto Pasolini. All three scored Oscar nominations in 1997, but the true measure of its success lies in its enduring appeal at home and abroad.
Baring Your Soul
This two-disc Special Edition marks a decade since the film's initial release and offers a largely retrospective view of production. Only the Cast Interviews on disc one pre-empt its huge success where, between takes, the likes of Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy and Robert Carlyle explain what drew them to the material. "Gaz is representative of a lot of guys his age," explains the diminutive Scotsman, "men who haven't learnt to grow up."
Also featured on disc one are ten deleted scenes with optional commentary by Cattaneo and Addy. An uncut version of the final striptease appears alongside more pensive moments, like Gaz musing the changing role of men in society. The director explains that such scenes were cut because the story was supposed to reflect "politics with a small 'p'". Meanwhile a "crap rain machine" was to blame for scrapping reels of footage shot on a Sheffield hillside...
In his main commentary (again, with Addy), Cattaneo reveals other compromises made in order to keep within budget. For instance, many night scenes had to be shot in the day and darkened in postproduction because lighting costs were exorbitant. A second commentary by Uberto Pasolini gives a wider picture of the film's development, beginning with an idea he had about "mixing a Ken Loach sensibility with more sex", to create something more "mainstream". Genius!
Full On
Pasolini talks more about his vision of the story in a trio of pre-production featurettes on disc two. Again he tips his hat to Ken Loach but says that working class people are less inclined to watch films about the plight of the working classes, which is why he felt the story needed to be funny. Cattaneo explains that it was "the humour undercut by a quite serious tone" that attracted him to the script, but mysteriously, Simon Beaufoy doesn't contribute to the discussion.
Another weakness of the package is that three out of five production featurettes are focussed on the music. While composer Anne Dudley gives a good explanation of the motives behind her eclectic score and music supervisor Liz Gallagher breaks down the song-and-dance numbers with efficiency, there is no behind-the-scenes access to the shoot itself. However, a featurette on editing does offer good nuts-and-bolts insight into the problems faced by Pasolini and Cattaneo in trying to achieve the correct balance between comedy and drama.
Head of Fox Searchlight Lindsay Law adds his thoughts in a featurette looking at the aftermath of the film's success. Apparently Tesco approached the studio directly to ask for merchandise tie-ins - hence The Full Montepulciano wine box, FM underpants, coffee mugs and a Broadway musical! Cattaneo admits he was overwhelmed by the "G-force" of this rollercoaster ride (which presumably is why he opted out for a while). This follows neatly into a discussion of the British Film Industry during the 90s and how the influence of The Full Monty still echoes today, (see Kinky Boots). Although it's not bursting at the seams with behind-the-scenes goodies, this Special Edition still reveals plenty about the roots of the film and its unique place in global pop culture.
EXTRA FEATURES
