Brian and Charles [Blu-ray]

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But this is no high-tech, super realistic humanoid creation. Brian’s lanky android — who almost immediately settles on the name Charles Petrescu (because of course) — is built from a washing machine (and visibly so) and the head of a bespectacled, gray-haired mannequin missing an eye, and speaks in a comically crude robotic voice. Earl had been playing his blundering creation Brian Gittins as part of his stand-up routine for over a decade, which progressed to an internet radio show where people would call in (Earl says he would play a “madder version” of his character). There is no cash or another alternative to the prize stated and the prize is not transferable and no part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.

It’s an idyllic existence, ecstatically captured in a montage played out to the Turtles’ Happy Together. Yet all too soon, electronic adolescence dawns and Charles starts to resemble a stroppy teenager, albeit one whose tiny head looks more like that of an eccentric professor and whose wayward manner will strike a chord with anyone who has experienced older relatives succumbing to the strange infantilisation of Alzheimer’s. Prizes may take from days to a few months for delivery which is out of our control so please do not complain After several years on the circuit, the next obvious leap for the pair was a short film, with Archer — who they’d known for a while and had already made several comedy sketches — recruited to direct.Kay, Jeremy (28 January 2022). "RSS Focus Features, Bankside strike worldwide deal on UK Sundance selection 'Brian And Charles' ". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022 . Retrieved 28 January 2022. At the Sundance Film Festival: London 2022, which Jim Archer attended, the film won the Audience Favourite award. [ citation needed] A feature-length adaptation of the trio's 2017 short film of the same name, Brian and Charles premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. [2] The film was released in the United States on 17 June 2022 and in the United Kingdom on 8 July 2022.

This is Charles (Chris Hayward), a latterday Tin Man with wildly mismatched body parts and a glitchy Max Headroom voice who wouldn’t seem out of place in a Wallace and Gromit animation. “I am your friend,” declares Charles, whose twitchy feet are made for dancing and whose wonder at the world around him (“How far does the ‘outside’ go? Does it stop at the tree?”) weirdly recalls that of the young survivor from Room. Brian thinks its best to keep Charles (who grandly adopts the surname “Petrescu”) a secret from the locals, and so the pair spend their days playing darts, cooking cabbages, riding bikes, having pillow fights and watching TV travel shows that give Charles a wanderlust to visit places like “Hono-loop-loop”. The drama in what would definitely be a slight and odd tale comes from the antagonists Eddie, his wife and twin daughters, embodying meanness, dishonesty and an external ever-present threat. Refreshingly it is this pressure that puts a strain on the ups and downs of Brian and Charles’ relationship and not the usual contrivance of a romantic partner doing this. Brian & Charles is the little sci-fi comedy that triumphs with so little. It’s a cute and heartwarming tale about what it means to be human, treating hefty topics of humanity with a light air of simplicity. Think about how charming it is to have a film where a lonely inventor crafts a sentient robot and merely wants to bring joy to the world. This is an adorable little picture if you’re willing to go along for the ride.The film is neither taxing on your emotions or going to cause you to cry with laughter but making you gently smile for the majority of its runtime at the silly shenanigans framed amongst some stunning and inventive shots of remote Welsh countryside means, to be frank, it is a hard heart that sets against Brian and Charles. A film like this works so well due to its dry nature that slowly warms the heart over time. I’ll be honest Brian and Charles's chemistry felt too simplistic at first. After some time, however, you get to know and love these people who only have the best intentions and ultimately want some love in their life. There’s something so perfect about the imperfect design of Charles in this regard. The design of Charles makes him look more like someone’s failed attempt to build a Jim Broadbent android. He wobbles, has no expression, and speaks in a monotone computer voice, making it sometimes difficult to gauge his emotions. And yet he becomes a loveable character for being such a simplistic design restricted from specific displays of affection. A low budget film with a deliberately Heath Heath Robinson-esque robot cobbled together from a washing machine, a mannequin head and other odds and ends and all worn to no convincing effect by Hayward. The film sees Brian is still lonely, ( it’s never made clear whether he’s divorced or he lived with his now dead parents in the family home) and Charles becomes his friend and something of a bromance develops between the two. Typically and eccentrically British the film was met with acclaim and made a modest amount at the UK box office. One of those callers was his producer Rupert Majendie (now head of development at Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow production company), but, too nervous to talk himself, he would use a robotic voice simulator software to type in what he wanted to say. The best of the various voices used was a somewhat serious, stern British accent that at the time they introduced as “the professor.” Introducing Charles Petrescu, the star of Sundance-bowing Brit comedy Brian and Charles and undoubtedly the most ridiculous — not to mention low-budget — automaton ever to grace the big screen.

The following morning, Brian discovers that the robot has learned the English language by reading a dictionary, and it gives itself the name Charles Petrescu. Brian begins spending time playing with Charles and showing him around his property. The childlike Charles becomes more curious and eager to explore more of the world, but Brian instructs him to stay nearby at all times.Shares Out now to own on Blu-ray and DVD, the delightful comedy Brian And Charles. Starring David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey and directed by Jim Archer, fancy winning a Blu-ray copy courtesy of MediumRare Entertainment? Film4 Productions boarded the feature-length adaptation of Archer, Earl, and Hayward's short film in early 2019, followed by the BFI. Principal photography took place on location in rural North Wales, including Cwm Penmachno and Llyn Gwynant, during the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] [4] Release [ edit ] It just had a really, funny weird intonation,” says Hayward. “And it took Rupert a little while to type the answers, so when he’s talking to David there’s always a little weird, awkward pause.” The humble robot has served as a faithful companion in films since the early days of cinema. But very few are 7 feet tall, look like an emotionless old man who has swallowed a washing machine whole, talk like a toddler on a Speak & Spell and enjoy eating cabbages.

Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. We actually tried to change as little as possible,” says Archer. “I was worried about changing too much and losing the charm of what we had in the short.” Film, Guardian (19 January 2023). "Baftas 2023: the full list of nominations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023 . Retrieved 22 January 2023. Brian is established as a dorky inventor of a small village, mostly keeping to himself. His many inventions on his farm are revealed in a documentary style where cameras follow him around. Though he specializes as a local handyman, he fancies himself a clever man who always thinks up new ideas in his workshop. Sadly, most of his inventions go up in smoke. This happens quite literally when his idea for a flying bike has him scrambling for a fire extinguisher. While sorting through junk piles, he finds enough parts to make himself a robot. It’s uncertain how much experience Brian has with robots but also unimportant. All that matter is that one stormy night leads to his boxy creation of a robot coming to life, choosing the name Charles.

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