Best of British: From TV to Cinema

Through our professional video to DVD transfers we help to give your nostalgia a more permanent platform from which to enjoy them time and time again. We love seeing the old regenerated as new, allowing a whole new audience to appreciate the things we were able to appreciate the first time around.

The cinematic equivalent of this is of course comes in the form of remakes. One popular form of regeneration comes in the form of a television show being remade into a film, such as the much anticipated Dad’s Army film. The classic British television series recently released its official film poster featuring many of Britain’s favourite contemporary actors, with the likes of Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy and Catherine Zeta-Jones all set to star.

In celebration of the poster release we thought we would take you on a journey through some of the best British television shows ever to grace the silver screen, starting with, of course…

Dad’s Army (1971)

The Dad’s Army film was met with mixed reviews, as many TV to film reboots so often are. There were a number of subtle differences to the series, such as name changes to buildings like the bank from “Martin’s” to “Swallow” and Columbia pictures recasting Mavis Pike with a ‘sexier’ lead. The latter was met with particular criticism from the viewing public who were familiar with Janet Davis as Mrs. Pike. Despite this the film still has somewhat of a cult status, perhaps intensified by the popularity of the original TV series, but still amusing in its own right.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

Steve Coogan is no stranger to the big screen but bringing his famous sports-casual-adorning protagonist to it was a brave move. With over a decade of will he or won’t he film speculation, the 2013 film was heavily anticipated by die-hard fans and the general public alike. An absolute must for the Partridge-fan, the film contains some fantastically ludicrous and amusing scenes, boasting the undeserved pretention and pig-headedness of Partridge at his best/worst and featuring Sidekick Simon (Tim Key), who starred alongside North-Norfolk Digital’s finest in the Mid-Morning Matters webisodes which preceded the movie.

In The Loop (2009)

One of the gems in the contemporary British comedy crown comes in the form The Thick of It, written by Armando Iannucci who was also co-writer of the original Alan Partridge series with Steve Coogan. Providing a ‘behind the scenes’ look at Anglo-American politics, the film satirises the proceedings surrounding the invasion of Iraq. In the Loop takes insult delivery to a whole new level with Peter Capaldi’s Malcolm Tucker delivering a whole cavalcade of blows back to back throughout. Not for the swear-phobic, In the Loop provides an omnipotent and realistic view of Anglo-American politics with the original series, The Thick of It, having being described as scarily accurate by former Members of Parliament!

The Inbetweeners (2011)

Featuring Blake Harrison who is set to tackle the role of Private Pike in the new Dad’s Army film, The Inbetweeners is a coming-of-age motion picture following the misadventures of four school friends. As with most coming-of-age films, hilarity ensues, seeing Will, Simon, Jay and Neil make fools of themselves in a plethora of situations whilst on holiday in Crete following the end of their final year at school. A must for fans of the original series, the film sets off from where the show left off and, as such, was initially intended as a finale to the television series. Whilst this didn’t prove to be the case, releasing a sequel in 2014, the film actually set a record for the biggest opening weekend for a comedy film in the UK, a record only later beaten by its own sequel!

If like us, you love your comedy, you’ll be on tenterhooks in anticipation of the new Dad’s Army film. It’s always a pleasant thought to think that a new generation of comedy fans gets to appreciate a part of British history, it just so happens that Dad’s Army covers actual WWII history and television history all in one fell swoop!

Bringing the old into the present is something we do on a daily basis at Video2DVD, so if you find that you have old family memories and a selection of other nostalgia-packed VHS videos, well don’t panic! We’re here to help! Just contact us on 0800 592433 and speak to one of our friendly team about what services we can offer or how we can help you and your memories today!