Cor, Blimey!
Cor, Blimey!
| 24 April 2000 (USA)
Cor, Blimey! Trailers

Dramatisation of the love affair between Sidney James and Barbara Windsor, played out against the backdrop of the 'Carry On' films during the 1960s and 1970s.

Reviews
ChampDavSlim

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

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Edwin

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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Isbel

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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Cheryl

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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Piafredux

In the U.S. in the 60's and into the early 70's the 'Carry On' films were telecast as Late - or more usually, as Late, Late Shows: in the age before wall-to-wall content/media these films were, in the States, filler fare - almost throwaways, because it's likely that U.S. distributors didn't, or couldn't, demand or get great sums for the 'Carry On' films from broadcasters who used them to flesh-out (pun definitely and cheekily intended!) their late-night schedules. But whenever a 'Carry On' film aired I did my best to see and enjoy it - there's just something so utterly and unselfconsciously charming about them that made them irresistible to me. (My favorite, by the way, is 'Carry On, Sergeant,' because it features the brilliant, and under-appreciated - at least on this side of the Pond, William Hartnell.) The 'Carry On' films are from a time when good, clean fun could be and was enjoyed, a time before the soul-corroding rubbish of political correctness and the supercilious hypersensitivity with which it burdened life in all of its dimensions except for the realm of the individual's soul, hadn't yet begun to darken everyone's doorway and to dumb-down and dull to death what now passes for education, newspapers, and television and theatre; it was also a time before we let our children be soaked in the properly adult matters of sex and sexuality - and yet even children could and did enjoy the 'Carry On' series. It was a time in which harmless titillation and suggestiveness allowed viewers' imaginations to do their own good and joyous work; it was nothing like nowadays when the Beeb, and much of Hollywood, vomits monotonously nothing but dull Orwellian multi-culti preachiness and strictures - which are far worse than "liberal" and "progressive" critics of the foregoing vibrant and delectable "monoculture" have had the imagination to have yet grasped (heaven forfend that anyone should scandalize a Mohammedan or offend another nunnish radical feminist to anguished despond and spitefulness). It was the existence of the now dead and late lamented, at least by me, monoculture's healthful customs and manners that made the Carry On films the widely enjoyed success that they were; nowadays, with the so-called barriers to everything and anything (except, obviously, to genuineness and to the decency which it begets and widespreads) having been demolished, and all babies having been thrown out with the bath water of the monoculture's supposedly unique and malicious "Eurocentric" hypocrisy, the consequent lack of spontaneity and decency have yielded nothing but Orwellian dullness and monotony which the monoculture's detractors had supposed themselves to be gloriously relieving us of. It was the existence of sound rules and healthful customs that made funny business funny; now that all those old rules have gone, the lack of rules and "barriers" (except, of course, those prescribed for us by our self-vaunted "correct" elites who have replaced the people we once knew to be our betters) has rendered nothing funny and everything grim and seedy and contentious - 'Much Ado About Nothing' indeed.U.S. 'Carry On' film fans saw very little of the UK publicity for, or British gossip sheets' focus on, the 'Carry On' cast members, so I ought to take 'Cor, Blimey!'s' account of the James-Windsor affair with a large grain of salt; and comments made by Britons here on IMDb, having pointed out the film's taken licenses and liberties, I feel that grain of salt is a proper one to take. It was filmed on a very low budget as its resort to extant, ready-to-hand cinema sets, props, and costumes testifies amply; and yet, like the 'Carry On' films themselves, 'Cor, Blimey!' has its own irresistible charms because it's well-cast, well-played and, almost throughout, astutely written from an ear finely attuned to the sensibilities of its period and the milieu in which James and Windsor carried on their affair. Despite its lackluster editing and somewhat muddy soundtrack, I enjoyed it immensely, and so with great enthusiasm I recommend 'Cor, Blimey!' to everyone who's ever enjoyed - even secretly lest they dread to suffer accusation of deserving to belong to the vulgar mass or, perhaps worse, to one or another of the so-called "Oppressor classes" - a good old, pull-the-bung-out (but only halfway, because it's always far funnier when your imagination does the really funny work) hilarious 'Carry On' film.Now, since "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity," let men go out and stare unselfconsciously at greater and lesser bosoms and let women giggle gleefully at the men making fools of themselves. Carry On, All!

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bob the moo

Covering the Carry On films of the 1960's with Cleo, Camping, Girls and Girls, Cor Blimey follows the affair between Sid James and Barbara Windsor. Taking years before anything happens, Windsor generally avoids the pitfall that is James' infamous libido but tongues are wagging on top of all the usual bickering and cat-fighting behind the scenes in the Carry On team.BBC2 did a recent night on the Carry On films that featured a few films and a few documentaries, among them this film that manages to be a bit of both. Based on Terry Johnson's play, the film presents a story similar to the "behind the scenes" dramas that BBC2 have done recently focusing on Kenneth Williams, Frankie Howerd and Steptoe & Son but also delivered in the cheeky style of the Carry On films themselves. Watching it I thought that this approach would prevent the film getting to the heart of the characters and that it would be too jokey to produce real pathos. It may not totally get there but it does work surprisingly well as it manages to mix the styles reasonably well, even if the first half has the majority of the comedy and the second half more of the drama. Both work well though and I found the film to be both entertaining and engaging. Directing his own script, Johnson produces the look and feel of the period and the films and is responsible for getting the mix right.The cast respond well to this with performances that are much more than just impressions. Most of them only bear a passing resemblance to the real people but they all do well with the voices, however the real success is in how good their performances are. After a short while you forget the differences and soon you are sold on the actors as the real thing. Spiro's Windsor is good bringing out the frustrated pull out of the bubbling exterior. She works well with Hutchings, who also slowly turns his lecherous character into something more human, pained and engaging. The support cast are just that but yet has generally strong turns. Godley's Williams is of particular note but Walters, Cotterill, Speirs and Howard all do their characters justice.I watched Cor, Blimey with no great expectations but it turned out to be a great little film that all Carry On fans will enjoy. It successfully brings the pathos and emotion out of a funnier first half without it being jarring or seeming unnatural but indeed matches the feel of the films and the period to good effect. Carry On lovers should watch it but it is also good enough to win over the casual viewer with only a passing interest.

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lori1974

I really enjoyed this film, and whether it is truth or fiction, it's a good watch as the cast selection is brilliant. It does portray some of the darker aspects of both James' and Williams' persona's but who's to say they weren't like that. The previous comment states that Sid was a loving husband, the film never says he wasn't, in fact the film states on more than one occasion that he does love his wife, but that doesn't mean he was faithful.I love 'Carry On' films and have done since I was little and since Sid James died when I was 2, I don't remember any media about him or Barbara Windsor or Kenneth Williams. I don't know if this is truth or dirt-digging but that's no reason to write it off, and it's a good watch especially for the actors playing the roles so well.

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tigon

The British public's love affair with the 'Carry On' movies continues with this triumphant re-telling of actress Barbara Windsor's ill-fated romance with her comedy co-star Sidney James.The film covers the period 1964-1978 and is based on Terry Johnson's hugely successful 1998 stage-play "Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick", now nicely opened up for the big screen. Utilising many of the play's original actors, including Samantha Spiro, Geoff Hutchings and Adam Godley, 'Cor Blimey!' is a real treat for any self-respecting 'Carry On' fan. In particular, Spiro excels as the younger Babs Windsor. She is uncannily accurate in looks, mannerisms and voice, so much so that when the real Windsor appears as herself in the final scene, the join between the two actresses is hardly noticeable.Hutchings and Godley are also perfectly cast as Sid James and Kenneth Williams respectively, but viewers expecting just laughs will be a little disappointed. Aside from the leads, Williams is portrayed as a lonely unfulfilled hypochondriac and Charles Hawtrey (played by Hugh Walters) as an alcoholic mother's boy.Always moving and sensitively acted, 'Cor Blimey!' is a touching but extremely engaging and enjoyable film. Many fans will be left with tears in their eyes by the end. Several factual inaccuracies aside, this is top notch entertainment, no messing about! Highly recommended.

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