In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to double-cross each other for the loot.
This film's genesis begins way back in the 1960s, when writer John Cleese and director Charles Crichton met and even (unsuccessfully) proposed a comedy film... the steamroller gag allegedly gestated all that time. By the 1980s, both Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis had helped on early drafts to make it more American (Cleese modestly suggests that 13 different people perfected the dialogue). Kline and Cleese had been acquainted since "Silverado".
What bothers me right off the bat is this idea that Jamie Lee Curtis is attractive and can lure people. This was not the first film where she was used in this way, and certainly not the last ("True Lies"). But it is confounding, because she really is just not the sort of person you expect to be the "sexy woman" in Hollywood films. This is not meant as any disrespect to Curtis, but her strong point is not her physicality.
That nitpick aside, this was a nice film from some of the Monty Python folks (John Cleese, Michael Palin). Interestingly, neither one of them stole the show -- that honor goes to Kevin Kline as Otto. Maybe I am mistaken, but I always got the impression Kline lingered just below the A-list and just above the B-list, and no one knew what to do with him. A shame. He is a real talent, with an incredible comedic skill. Appropriately, this film landed him an Oscar. According to Cleese, Kline was different on each take, and invented his physicality on the fly (which drove the editor bonkers).
For those looking for other Python connections beyond Cleese and Palin, they are there if you dig hard enough. Costume designer Hazel Pethig had been with them since 1969, practically another member. Assistant director David Skynner is the child of Robin Skynner, who co-wrote "Families and How to Survive Them" (1983) with Cleese. And you may recognize actor Andrew MacLachlan from wither "Life of Brian" or "meaning of Life".
The film's quasi-sequel, "Fierce Creatures" (1997) also starred Cleese, Kline, Curtis and Palin, but was as big a bomb (both commercially and with audiences and critics) as "Wanda" was successful. On the other hand, some have alleged that the success of "Wanda" opened the door for other British-American films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral", so perhaps it had other quasi-quasi-sequels that carried the torch.
The Arrow Video Blu-ray is a full house, aces high. Beyond the brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, there is commentary by John Cleese; brand-new appreciation by Vic Pratt of the BFI National Archive; brand-new interviews with composer John DuPrez, production designer Roger Murray-Leach, executive producer Steve Abbott and makeup supervisor Paul Engelen; "John Cleese's Final Farewell Performance", a 1988 documentary on the making of the film; "Something Fishy", a 15th anniversary retrospective documentary; "Fish You Were Here", a documentary on the film's locations hosted by Robert Powell; 24 deleted/alternative scenes with introductions by Cleese; "A Message from John Cleese", a tongue-in-cheek introduction; and more!
This film's genesis begins way back in the 1960s, when writer John Cleese and director Charles Crichton met and even (unsuccessfully) proposed a comedy film... the steamroller gag allegedly gestated all that time. By the 1980s, both Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis had helped on early drafts to make it more American (Cleese modestly suggests that 13 different people perfected the dialogue). Kline and Cleese had been acquainted since "Silverado".
What bothers me right off the bat is this idea that Jamie Lee Curtis is attractive and can lure people. This was not the first film where she was used in this way, and certainly not the last ("True Lies"). But it is confounding, because she really is just not the sort of person you expect to be the "sexy woman" in Hollywood films. This is not meant as any disrespect to Curtis, but her strong point is not her physicality.
That nitpick aside, this was a nice film from some of the Monty Python folks (John Cleese, Michael Palin). Interestingly, neither one of them stole the show -- that honor goes to Kevin Kline as Otto. Maybe I am mistaken, but I always got the impression Kline lingered just below the A-list and just above the B-list, and no one knew what to do with him. A shame. He is a real talent, with an incredible comedic skill. Appropriately, this film landed him an Oscar. According to Cleese, Kline was different on each take, and invented his physicality on the fly (which drove the editor bonkers).
For those looking for other Python connections beyond Cleese and Palin, they are there if you dig hard enough. Costume designer Hazel Pethig had been with them since 1969, practically another member. Assistant director David Skynner is the child of Robin Skynner, who co-wrote "Families and How to Survive Them" (1983) with Cleese. And you may recognize actor Andrew MacLachlan from wither "Life of Brian" or "meaning of Life".
The film's quasi-sequel, "Fierce Creatures" (1997) also starred Cleese, Kline, Curtis and Palin, but was as big a bomb (both commercially and with audiences and critics) as "Wanda" was successful. On the other hand, some have alleged that the success of "Wanda" opened the door for other British-American films such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral", so perhaps it had other quasi-quasi-sequels that carried the torch.
The Arrow Video Blu-ray is a full house, aces high. Beyond the brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, there is commentary by John Cleese; brand-new appreciation by Vic Pratt of the BFI National Archive; brand-new interviews with composer John DuPrez, production designer Roger Murray-Leach, executive producer Steve Abbott and makeup supervisor Paul Engelen; "John Cleese's Final Farewell Performance", a 1988 documentary on the making of the film; "Something Fishy", a 15th anniversary retrospective documentary; "Fish You Were Here", a documentary on the film's locations hosted by Robert Powell; 24 deleted/alternative scenes with introductions by Cleese; "A Message from John Cleese", a tongue-in-cheek introduction; and more!