Own the rights?
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: A Pleasant Surprise., 31 May 2002 Author: Sebastian Carr from London, England
I saw this film in Paris, on a wet day when I'd seen almost every other film. The local listings guide described it as an English film, it is, however, a Welsh film. Not just a Welsh film, but a Welsh film in Welsh. When I realized I would be watching a film in Welsh with French sub-titles I nearly walked out. Luckily I didn't. It is a completely charming tale of a projectionist and an usherette's scheme to save a local cinema. A great little film.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Recommended! A fine Ealing-esquire story for all who love film!, 12 April 2000 Author: Louis Rugani (x779@webtv.net) from United States
I saw "Coming Up Roses" theatrically in 1990 at a nearby arts/revival house, with accompanying discussion, among a large group of appreciative other patrons. Today it's rather hard to locate, but I recommend tenacity in your search, as this film is reminiscent of the great Ealing and Frank Capra "community-pulling-together" comedy/dramas.The concept here is one that holds special identification to those of us who frequent this film database ... a failing old movie theatre, and the efforts to breathe new life into it. Who among us has not felt a special sadness at seeing a once-grand but now-shuttered and darkened film palace? The proceedings here aren't as dreary, but are done with wit and style, and it's a memorable production that you'll like and remember.On the evening I saw this, the discussion moderator announced that the real-life cinema used in "Coming Up Roses" was indeed up for a community-based restoration project, which I later heard had subsequently failed.
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Saw this the year I left Aberdare, 1 January 2009 Author: embersidhe from United States
I watched this movie as it was made in my town where I grew up. My friend Debbie is not accredited to the movie, but plays a very small part in it. I was quite surprised to see that it was quite good. I now live in the US, but the Rex cinema was a place I had many a movie night with my mom, and dates while in my teens. I would recommend seeing it as it shows what a small town has to deal with when trying to accomplish something. This is no way a spoiler for the movie, but there was a challenge, and it was met in a very strange way. Enjoy! The store that is involved in the movie was one I shopped at, and worked at for a short time after leaving school. I hope the shop it is still in my town and growing strong. I wish I hadn't have read that the Rex cinema had been demolished, but I guess it wasn't making money any longer and needed to be taken down.
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: No happy ending for real-life Rex, 22 February 2007 Author: Igenlode Wordsmith from England
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
The film is fascinating for its background detail (of Wales during the miners' strike of the 1980s, as well as the 1960s cinema trivia visible in the interior of the Rex, and the original-vintage projection equipment) but it does betray its origins. The script was written in English and only translated into Welsh in order to gain funding, the intermittent bursts of background music and of a uniform standard fade between shots struck me as somewhat amateurish, some of the cast didn't seem entirely comfortable in Welsh, and all in all it felt like a TV production of the era rather than a feature film. A curiosity rather than a classic piece of entertainment. It's not bad, and there are both humorous and moving moments. Comparisons with "The Smallest Show on Earth" and with Ealing comedy are inevitable, but "Coming up Roses" doesn't follow the plucky-underdog blueprint for pictures of that era; there's a sort of sense of depression hanging over the film from the start (not helped, I confess, by the revelation just before the screening began that the bid to save the real-life Rex cinema failed and that the building seen here was duly demolished!) and I wasn't entirely surprised by the downbeat ending. I didn't find this a totally satisfying experience, however -- perhaps we have been too conditioned to expect the outcomes of the 1950s to be able to enjoy the concerns of the 1980s. The director insisted: "the devastated valley communities... won't be put down and they are extremely resourceful, but we didn't want to have a happy ending because that's just not the way it is in 1980s Britain." The era during which the picture is set had me somewhat confused. It comes across as taking place in the 1960s (the rock group, the films advertised) but also appears to be set in the 1980s (the closed pit, economic hardship, video recorders).
Add another review
