- 5 wins & 6 nominations.
- See more »
Photos and Videos
Cast verified as complete
Phil Davis | ... |
Cyril
(as Philip Davis)
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Ruth Sheen | ... |
Shirley
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Edna Doré | ... |
Mrs Bender
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Philip Jackson | ... |
Martin
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Heather Tobias | ... |
Valerie
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Lesley Manville | ... |
Lætitia
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David Bamber | ... |
Rupert
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Jason Watkins | ... |
Wayne
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Judith Scott | ... |
Suzi
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Cheryl Prime | ... |
Martin's Girlfriend
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Diane-Louise Jordan | ... |
Chemist Shop Assistant
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Linda Beckett | ... |
Receptionist
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Ali | ... |
Baby
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Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
Aidan Harrington | ... |
Man in Street (uncredited)
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Directed by
Mike Leigh |
Written by
Mike Leigh | ... | (written by) |
Produced by
Simon Channing Williams | ... | producer (produced by) (as Simon Channing-Williams) |
Victor Glynn | ... | producer (produced by) |
Music by
Andrew Dickson |
Cinematography by
Roger Pratt | ... | director of photography |
Editing by
Jon Gregory |
Production Design by
Diana Charnley |
Art Direction by
Andrew Rothschild |
Costume Design by
Lindy Hemming |
Makeup Department
Morag Ross | ... | makeup artist |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Howard Arundel | ... | first assistant director |
Marc Munden | ... | second assistant director |
Dom Shaw | ... | assistant director |
Art Department
Robin Heinson | ... | stand-by painter |
Sound Department
Steve Hancock | ... | studio sound technician |
André Jacquemin | ... | sound recordist |
Peter Joly | ... | dubbing editor |
Peter Maxwell | ... | re-recording mixer |
Billy McCarthy | ... | sound recordist |
George Richards | ... | boom operator |
Noel Wallace | ... | dubbing projectionist (uncredited) |
Camera and Electrical Department
Graham Martyr | ... | clapper loader |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Debbie Scott | ... | assistant costume designer |
Additional Crew
John Paul Chapple | ... | production executive |
Britt Harrison | ... | production co-ordinator |
Thanks
Simon Relph | ... | special thanks |
Production Companies
- Portman Productions
- Channel Four Films
- British Screen Productions (co-financed by)
Distributors
- Palace Pictures (1988) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
- StudioCanal (1988) (World-wide)
- Doriane Film (1988) (France)
- Norstar Releasing (1989) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Skouras Pictures (1989) (United States) (theatrical)
- Norstar Home Video (1989) (Canada) (VHS)
- Academy Entertainment (1989) (United States) (VHS)
- Palace Video (1990) (United Kingdom) (VHS)
- Terminal Video (1990) (Italy)
- Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (tv)
- Fabulous Films (2007) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
- BFS Entertainment & Multimedia Limited (2009) (United States) (DVD)
- New Vision Films (1989) (Australia) (theatrical)
- Amalgamated Global Television (1990) (Australia) (tv)
- Amazon Prime Video (2020) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
- Apple TV+ (2021) (United States) (tv)
- The Criterion Channel (2021) (United States) (video)
Special Effects
- Peerless Camera Company (opticals)
Other Companies
- Animals O'Kay (dogs)
- Carolyn Jardine Publicity (publicity consultant)
- Eastman Color (originated on)
- Filmtrax (music publisher)
- J&J Film Foods Ltd. (catering)
- Mr Lighting (lighting)
- Redwood Recording Studios (music recorded at)
- Samuelson Film Service (camera equipment provided by)
- Sapex Scripts (post-production script services)
- Warner Bros. De Lane Lea (post-production)
Storyline
Plot Summary |
The stories of a diverse group of Londoners is presented, they thrown together out of circumstance. Couple Cyril and Shirley, a motorcycle courier and gardener respectively, live in a flat overlooking Kings Cross Station. They generally espouse Marxism and the rights of the workers, and while Cyril is arguably more philosophical about their political views, he also doesn't believe that an uprising of the working class will ever happen. While they deal with their more militant friend Suzi who Cyril calls out for what he sees as her hypocritical attitude, and with a stranger named Wayne who has just arrived in the city for a job while unable to connect with his sister with who he was supposed to stay, they have a disagreement of their own as Shirl contemplates having a baby, which Cyril believes is a bad idea in this world. They rarely associate with Cyril's sister Valerie and her used car lot dealer husband Martin. Nouveau riche, narcissistic Valerie is all about presenting herself as well-off, while she is totally neglected by brash Martin, who is a chronic philanderer. Cyril, Shirl and Valerie only need to speak to each other in their respective interactions with Cyril and Valerie's seventy year old mother, Mrs. Bender, who still lives on her own in a council house, but who is just starting to show signs of dementia. Cyril, Shirl, Valerie and Mrs. Bender eventually meet the latter's relatively new neighbors, wealthy, snobbish and somewhat garish husband and wife Rupert and Lætitia. While Rupert and Lætitia are openly perturbed by needing to help helpless Mrs. Bender, which is only exacerbated by meeting the other three, Valerie can only do her best to ingratiate herself with people wealthier than her. Written by Huggo |
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Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
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Box Office
Budget | GBP1,800,000 (estimated) |
Did You Know?
Trivia | Before High Hopes (1988), director Mike Leigh had made Bleak Moments (1971), released in 1971, and Meantime (1983), released in 1983. This gap in his filmography was attributable in part to his process for creating films: When he applied for financial backing, he did not yet have finished scripts, preferring to allow actors, once they were hired, to use improvisation sessions to create the dialogue. As a result, given the absence of a concrete script, many potential financial backers were reluctant to support Leigh's work. For "High Hopes," that spelled doom until the British TV station Channel 4 stepped in and partially funded it. The result is one of the most moving and engaging films of the 1980s and an early masterwork in Leigh's catalog. See more » |
Goofs | After they come back from the opera, Lætitia sings the aria "La ci darem" to Rupert, which she claims was from the opera they just saw. They proceed to talk about the characters Susanna and Cherubino. However, these characters are from The Marriage of Figaro whereas the aria "La ci darem" is from Don Giovanni. See more » |
Movie Connections | Featured in Chances Are/Paperhouse/The 'Burbs/Bert Rigby, You're a Fool/High Hopes (1989). See more » |
Soundtracks | Poor Man's Prison See more » |
Quotes |
Rupert Boothe-Braine:
Now... what made this country great was a place for everyone, and everyone in his place. And this is my place. See more » |