''A Private Function'' is a 1984 British

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin ...

and

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (born 28 December 1934) is an English actress. With an extensive career on screen and stage beginning in the mid-1950s, Smith has appeared in more than sixty films and seventy plays. She is one of the few performer ...

. The film was predominantly filmed in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward wit ...

, and Ben Rhydding in

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

. The film was also screened in the section of

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films ...

at the

1985 Cannes Film Festival The 38th Cannes Film Festival was held from 8 to 20 May 1985. The Palme d'Or went to the ''When Father Was Away on Business'' by Emir Kusturica. The festival opened with ''Witness'', directed by Peter Weir and closed with ''The Emerald Forest'', ...

Synopsis

In a small town in

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

in 1947, the citizens endure continuing food rationing. Some local businessmen want to hold a party to celebrate the royal Wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip and illegally decide to raise a pig for that occasion. However, the pig is stolen by Gilbert Chilvers, who was encouraged to do so by his wife Joyce. Meanwhile, the local food inspector is determined to stop activities circumventing the food rationing.

Cast

Production

Three pigs were used in the filming of ''A Private Function'' which were all named Betty. Producer Mark Shivas was advised by Intellectual Animals UK that the pigs used should be female and six months old so as to not be too large or aggressive. However, the pigs were “unpredictable and often quite dangerous”. During filming of one of the kitchen scenes, Maggie Smith was hemmed in by one of the pigs and needed to vault over the back of it in order to escape.

Release

The film had a Royal charity premiere on 21 November 1984 before being screened at the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

on 22 November and opening at the Odeon Haymarket in London on 30 November.

Reception

On ''

Sneak Previews ''Sneak Previews'' (known as ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' from 1975 to 1977 and ''Sneak Previews Goes Video'' from 1989 to 1991) is an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It wa ...

'' in 1985, both

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the movie two thumbs up. They called it one “really funny movie” and one “flat out winner.” Siskel said it “had perfectly believable characters” and Ebert said “just beneath this veneer of respectability is utter madness.”

Box office

The film made £1,560,000 in the UK.

Awards

The film won three BAFTA Film Awards: Best Actress for Maggie Smith, Best Supporting Actress for Liz Smith and Best Supporting Actor, for Denholm Elliott. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay (

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

) and Best Film.

Musical adaptation

A musical based on the film opened in the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

in April 2011 under the new title '' Betty Blue Eyes''. It was produced by Cameron Mackintosh and ran for several months at the

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

. It starred Reece Shearsmith as Gilbert and Sarah Lancashire as Joyce.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Private Function, A 1984 films 1984 comedy films British comedy films Films directed by Malcolm Mowbray Films scored by John Du Prez Films with screenplays by Alan Bennett Films set in 1947 Films set in England HandMade Films films British independent films 1984 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films