This Is England 88 Discussion (SPOILERS allowed)

[Gareth]

do cinemas do marathons? has the whole of star wars or anything been marathon'd at a cinema??? that would be amazing to see it all in one on the big screen once 90's done

[carolyn]

Brilliance from the Great Man yet again.

The stomach-pumping scene made me feel sick with all that imagery coming together. The hospital scenes made me think of lunatics in an asylum and I wondered if this was intentional. Also, the Combo/Lol scene stood out for me.

I was interested in the use of religion in this series too. I would be interested to learn what was intended here too. In asking for Lorraine to be looked after etc I am inclined to ask whether "free will" was being questioned insofar as Lol killing her father as a result of years of abuse, possibly sleeping with Milky also as a result of this abuse etc. It was kind of a clash of the things that we do freely in life (obviously, not necessarily killing people or things as extreme as sleeping with your partner's best friends etc) but perhaps other things that most of us would willingly do and take personal responsibility for and then bringing this in line with the question of whether the behaviour (in this case albeit extreme) is almost out of the control of the person doing it. Hope this is making sense. Wondered what others felt and, especially, Shane if he would like to comment.

Great work anyway.

[Dave]

For those of you who don't do Twitter, let me just tell you that it is currently going crazy with This Is England 88 praise!

[buffertaker]

Was bawling my fucking eyes out through most of the last episode. Fantastic writing, fantastic acting. Thank you.

[Dave]

Dec 16, 2011 0:14:02 GMT buffertaker said:

Was bawling my fucking eyes out through most of the last episode. Fantastic writing, fantastic acting. Thank you.

Welcome to the site..

Agreed. Loved the writing in this series.... and as for the acting, it really was stunning all round. It would have been hard to imagine Vicky McClure topping her performance in 86... now we don't have to!

Really loved the editing throughout too. I think Shane mentioned in an interview that it's the first time he has worked with this editor, and he was previously editing local TV news. Shane just saw the talent and style and took him on board!

[dude]

I defo saw something which we will all be seeing when Shane does the Devil beware or was it just me thinking that was a cool horror sequence. Multi layered imagery worked very well for me. It was way better than the norm flashback sequence,s that we have all seen before in many a past horror movie. At one point it felt like i could have been watching full on horror film.

[DeLarge]

After seeing it all it concluded very well.
Thoroughly decent.

[missdonk]

Literally lost for words. Just watched the final episode after a busy night at work and my eyes are swollen like you wouldn't believe. Heart wrenching, real, beautiful, tragic, breath taking, funny...I could go on. Words can't describe. Stunning.

[thedogsbollock]

"
Yesterday at 8:07am, thedogsbollock wrote:
Please someone put me out of my misery. Just at the end of the play, about 40 minutes into Episode 2, there's a piano riff in the backing track which sounds exactly like the piano line in Professor Green's Astronaut

Am I just imagining this?

Blinding television, best of British, thanks a million


I'm not sure, but it does sound like Ludovico Einaudi. Shane has used this track by him in TIE:



I don't think it's this piece, but maybe if you search through his catelogue on youtube, you might find it. Hope I'm not sending you on a false errand-maybe somebody else will recognise it and help you out-but it'll be quite nice listening to it:)

Are you the person who was asking about this on facebook btw?

Edit: Sorry-that was an unfortunate mistake (now corrected)! If you find it, come back and let us know-somebody else is sure to ask

Edit 2: By the miracle of google and youtube Those minor chords-heart-breakers.

"

Thanks a million. It never fails to amaze me what an amazing resource the interweb is for solving such relatively trivial but nonetheless curious queries. And no it wasn't me asking on Facebook. Far too paranoid about FB but I'm heading there now for any answers.

Much appreciate you pointing me in the direction of this uplifting piece of music. But although it appears to be the same piece of music, I didn't hear the same refrain in there that I heard at the end of this piece of the soundtrack in Episode 2 (ie. the one in the song Astronaut). Nonetheless grateful to you for broadening my musical experience :-)

Kudos to the entire TIE ensemble. Sacrilege I know but I didn't pay much attention to TIE 86 when it was first broadcast and after watching the first episode of 88 the other night, I went back and watched them all on 4OD and it was an extremely gratifying experience and without doubt British TV at it's very best

[jill]

Dec 16, 2011 1:16:36 GMT thedogsbollock said:

"
Yesterday at 8:07am, thedogsbollock wrote:
Please someone put me out of my misery. Just at the end of the play, about 40 minutes into Episode 2, there's a piano riff in the backing track which sounds exactly like the piano line in Professor Green's Astronaut

Am I just imagining this?

Blinding television, best of British, thanks a million


I'm not sure, but it does sound like Ludovico Einaudi. Shane has used this track by him in TIE:



I don't think it's this piece, but maybe if you search through his catelogue on youtube, you might find it. Hope I'm not sending you on a false errand-maybe somebody else will recognise it and help you out-but it'll be quite nice listening to it:)

Are you the person who was asking about this on facebook btw?

Edit: Sorry-that was an unfortunate mistake (now corrected)! If you find it, come back and let us know-somebody else is sure to ask

Edit 2: By the miracle of google and youtube Those minor chords-heart-breakers.



Thanks a million. It never fails to amaze me what an amazing resource the interweb is for solving such relatively trivial but nonetheless curious queries. And no it wasn't me asking on Facebook. Far too paranoid about FB but I'm heading there now for any answers.

Much appreciate you pointing me in the direction of this uplifting piece of music. But although it appears to be the same piece of music, I didn't hear the same refrain in there that I heard at the end of this piece of the soundtrack in Episode 2 (ie. the one in the song Astronaut). Nonetheless grateful to you for broadening my musical experience :-)

Kudos to the entire TIE ensemble. Sacrilege I know but I didn't pay much attention to TIE 86 when it was first broadcast and after watching the first episode of 88 the other night, I went back and watched them all on 4OD and it was an extremely gratifying experience and without doubt British TV at it's very best

Not the piece I posted in the second edit then?

[gonzofilms]

Dec 16, 2011 0:36:56 GMT jill said:

I've been drinking beer, so not wholly coherent-but just to say that made me cry three times (real, wet tears) and I'm a Lol style hard arse Loved it-and the bits of black comedy mixed into the heavy, heavy drama. That's it from me-will post tomorrow, when I've processed it a bit.

Gonzofilms..the answer to your question is no, unless the (irish) V.O and religious theme in film/drama hasn't been done before or since. What did that have to do with this story, or suicide or anything else? Did it remind you of Mean Streets too? We've all seem Easy Rider and so are not awstruck by your 'insightful' observations. As Harvey would say, you're a dick, move on.

hey jill i dont know who harvey is or why youre so upset about this exactly, did you make this tv show or something ? Movies + Tv are full of references to other scenes in movies and these 2 struck me as being very similar even if they were intended for different effects + I was glad to see a bit like that on tv, didnt say it sucked in fact it was probably the best bit in the whole thing which is why it interested me + reminded us of the other scene.

Having a person (irish or not) rambling abstractly about religion over quickly edited abstract images didnt happen in mean streets either that i remember (and cant think of many other scenes where this happened in other movies, obviously being a bit of a genius you do tho). maybe in your infinite wisdom you saw a different version than i did ? lucky you i would like to see that . All in all get off your high horse + it was only an observation, probably was wrong and so what ? If you just wanted people to go "woo i love it" why bother having a forum in the first place ? if discussion about films isnt welcome on a film forum i dunno what youre gonna talk about, but am certainly done talking to you anyway ! i read some other dude comparing a bit to the wrestler earlier in this thread by the way hope you missed that bit as it might upset you, pretty controversial stuff ! everything exists in a vacuum of course silly me

anyways am done posting but will look forward to this is england 90 or whenever it is maybe jill will have calmed down by then ? probably be up to this is england 2146 by that point tho maybe you can have a cameo role as the mysterious "harvey" youre so fond of, keeping all the idiots in check with your wit + wisdom. best of luck

anyways cheers + bye

[alexmcneill]

Where do I begin?

Shane and his amazing cast have done it again. I was left both breathless and speechless after each part. We've been following these characters for such a long time now and '88 really hit home to me how much I've emotionally connected to this series-the protagonists and the troubles they face. There was an excruciating tension present again within '88, much like to the film and '86, amounting to the inevitable diversion of the gang and the cracks forming gradually. This was done so, so well-and is something I've never ever witnessed in any other film or TV series.

'88 although following on from '86's plot points and dilemmas projects a very unique and original gothic style which I really think made it so special, perfectly twisting the christmas setting. DOP Danny Cohen has to be congratulated once again for mastering a distinctive look unseen anywhere else, with some really wonderful sequences such as Lol visiting Combo and the arising conflicts nearing the end of part 3.

And talking of Part 3...oh my fucking god! Just outstanding. I love the strong connections to the film throughout, something we didn't really get in '86 as the primary aim was to let it stand alone. But this time things are so much different without stepping too far from what makes the series work-that being a wonderful respect for it's characters and the contributing traits they bring to the narrative. There's just so much to say about all of the episodes; I adored them all. I won't go into too much detail regarding which bits I liked as I'd be here forever, but my favourite bits in a nutshell would have to be...

1. Milky and Woody's confrontation....had me in tears. Two characters which had such a beautiful bond and to see this gradually destroyed really broke my heart. So masterfully executed and outstanding performances by Joe and Andrew.

2. Lol at midnight mass...such an intense scene cross cutted with a chilling soundtrack and beautifully composed visuals. Really meaningful scene and one which will certainly go down in TIE history.

3. Lol's over dose/stomach pump montage....can't exactly get across how amazing this sequence was. From the warped soundscape to the use of footage from the film-everything just seemed to come full circle in such a brief but powerful few seconds. Insane.

4. Woody and Lol-ending scene. After everything these guys have been through, after all the drama...to go to this scene with such a simple and quiet tone but jaw dropping performances really warrants as one one of the stand out moments of this series. So insanely well acted and directed-leading into a satisfying and some what resolved ending (for once!).

TIE '88 was everything I wanted it to be, and more. Thank you SO much to all involved, for being apart of what I see as by far one of the best pieces of telly I've seen since TIE '86.

Bring on '90!

[griff]

What a fantastic addition to the series. I have always been in awe of how realistic the characters are; I have never felt a connection to a group of characters like I do in this series. That final episode grabbed you by the balls and just didn't let go. Jack and Shane, you guys are a constant source of inspiration to me with what you have done on This is England, as well as your other projects. I can't wait to see what lies in the future for you guys, as well as the rest of the 'This is England' cast and crew.

Cheers from Canada!

[telkevolon]

Amazing final edpisode, everything I wanted to see.

One more go with '90, as a six part (in my dreams) finale to the This Is England franchise and I'll die a happy man.

[gerry]

Just amazing. Still processing it to be honest. A massive congratulations to all on producing the best TV I have seen in a long time. I still have shivers from the church scene alone; let alone the rest of it.