Epigram 25.04.2016
Film & TV
@epigramfilm Editor: Ella Kemp
Deputy Editor: Kate Wyver
Online Editor: Georgia O’Brien
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“It’s Goodnight From Him” - Ronnie Corbett: 1930 - 2016
Film & TV Writer Jordan Baker looks back at the life and career of the well-loved, warmly-admired actor who recently passed away. British comedy. The sketch is a family favourite of mine and it’s pretty incredible to see how its relevance and humour has endured. Ronnie Corbett began to thrive when he launched a lifelong collaboration with Ronnie Barker. Undoubtedly, the pair’s golden era was during the broadcasting of The Two Ronnies, which ran for an impressive 16 years, turning the Ronnies into household names.
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“Every day and in every way I’m getting taller and taller.” Eat your heart out Roald Dahl.
Their most memorable sketch has to be ‘Four Candles’, a routine that’s become as ingrained into the collective British consciousness as that of Del Boy falling through the bar – and that takes a lot of ingraining. Corbett plays a shopkeeper who grows ever more frustrated when he keeps mishearing the customer, Barker – “No, fork handles. Handles for forks.” It’s a sidesplittingly superlative performance; Corbett’s delivery is spot on and his use of movement has all the dexterity of a stumpy, cockney ballerina. The Ronnies sketch that I admire most is ‘Mastermind’, where Corbett’s chosen subject is ‘Answering the Question Before Last.’ He makes some really incisive responses such as ‘What’s the difference between a donkey and an ass?’ ‘One’s a trade union leader, the other’s a member of the cabinet.’ Both Ronnies feared
BFI/LFFPRESS Flickr: Andrew Hall
Ronnie Corbett was a loving father, a caring husband, a benevolent beekeeper, a comedy titan and a short arse. What made him such a revered comedian? Not least the absence of a Napoleon complex. After his passing, let’s look back at the life and work of the audaciously short, utterly bespectacled Ronnie C. It would be untrue to say that Corbett was always comfortable with his height. In his autobiography, High Hopes, the Scotsman writes that, at 14, his aunt placed him on a course named ‘How to Become Taller’. It was a task that could be accomplished through constant positive thinking, as well as rigorous stretching exercises that would make Stretch Armstrong blush – all for the meagre fee of two guineas. Corbett had to recite this mantra to himself every morning: ‘Every day and in every way I’m getting taller and taller.’ Eat your heart out Roald Dahl. As agonizingly poignant as this tale of a deluded aunt and her vertically challenged nephew might be, the physical and spiritual exercises failed to have an impact on the young comic. Corbett has stated that his diminutive height was the ‘cornerstone’ of his success. He wasn’t wrong – take the Class Sketch from The Frost Show, where Corbett appears alongside John Cleese and Ronnie Barker, in which their comparative heights are used to lampoon the British class system. “I look up to him because he is upper-class, but I look down on him because he is lower class,” the petit-bourgeois Barker says. Corbett, embodying the working class, plaintively responds, “I know my place.” His knack for comic timing and ability to exploit his small stature gave Corbett a unique voice in
that the sketch wouldn’t be well received by the audience. However, it was sensational and it demonstrated Corbett’s ingenuity and his aptitude for entertaining. In later years, Corbett appeared in comedies such as Extras, Monkey Trousers and Love Soup, as well as panel shows like Would I Lie to You? and Have I Got News for You. But last year, the comedian was diagnosed with motor-neurone disease and took time out from entertainment. He passed away on Thursday, 31st March,
surrounded by his loved ones. Ronnie Corbett is sewn into the cultural fabric of Britain and on that colossal curtain of cloth that hovers eerily above Albion is his face smiling alongside Barker’s. Although he was short in height and severely myopic, this didn’t prevent him from making a vast contribution to the world of comedy. Families at home and fans across the world will have a hole in their hearts and a smile that’s a little bit faded. A salute from us all, it’s goodnight from him.
The Jungle Book Film & TV Writer Jacob Povey reviews the adaptation of the much loved classic, as Jon Favreau takes on The Jungle Book.
Vimeo
In recent years, Walt Disney have developed a habit of giving some of the company’s most popular animated classics their own live-action developments. Last year we saw Cinderella, next year we’ll havwe Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo, Mulan and Pinocchio are in development. Now though we have The Jungle Book, part remake of the 1967 animation and part re-adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s stories. The plot is very familiar: the young ‘man cub’ Mowgli was raised by a wolf pack after being found in the jungle by Bagheera the panther, and the time has come for him to live with other humans. He befriends the loveable bear Baloo, has an encounter with King Louie the orangutan (here a Gigantopithecus) and faces danger in the form of the tiger Shere Khan. The plot follows the same major beats we know from the animation, with new elements
introduced by writer Justin Marks, such as the ‘water truce’, coming from the Kipling stories. The 1967 film is so loved by all, not least by me, that this new adaptation was met with both excited and nervous anticipation. Thank goodness then that in The Jungle Book we have a greatly enjoyable movie. Most importantly the story is a genuinely exciting adventure, solidly paced with an effective balance of tones. It takes a little while to properly get going, but it quickly moves along like a joy. There are thrilling set pieces and moments of wit, fright and tenderness. I don’t know if the inclusion of two iconic songs was actually necessary, but I’m sure people would feel short-changed if they weren’t included. ‘The Bare Necessities’ seemed to fit into its part of the film better than ‘I Wan’na Be Like You’ though. Neel Sethi as Mowgli is the only truly live action element of the film and he is quite charming.
He believably fits into everything else on screen, all of which is computer created. This must have been a great challenge for the young actor, but he clearly has a strong imagination. The CGI in this film is spectacular and convincing. What an immense task to create the Indian jungle and its animal inhabitants from nothing and how impressive that it has been achieved with such panache. We haven’t seen world building of this extent since Avatar and I haven’t been more immersed in a 3D film since Gravity. The 3D is rarely overt but creates a real depth to the backgrounds and a presence to the foregrounds. This film is a pleasure to look at, from its lush and verdant jungle, to its gorgeous light and its remarkable animals. There are very special creations, especially the big cats Bagheera and Shere Khan, with such precise skeletons, muscles, skin and hair. These animals aren’t anthropomorphised apart from
talking very credibly, rather they are physically characterful in a way true to each of their species. Bill Murray as Baloo is as perfect in the role as we knew he would be and Ben Kingsley is a fine fit for Bagheera. Lupita Nyong’o compassionately voices the mother wolf Raksha and Christopher Walken is a crazy King Louie. Whilst Idris Elba was good at the menacing Shere Khan moments, he could have been more beguiling at other times. Director Jon Favreau (Elf, Iron Man) has made a movie that justifies its existence and then some, despite the minor niggles I have. There is so much fun to be had with The Jungle Book and there’s even room for some subtle messages of what harm humans can do to the natural world, but also how we can fit harmoniously into it. There’s certainly potential for a sequel - and unsurprisingly, one is already in the works.