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Movie
Poster for A Private Function

A Private Function

1984 · 96 min

A gentle, wry satire of postwar British austerity, full of eccentric characters and quiet absurdity.

Directed by
Malcolm Mowbray
Genres
Comedy
Starring
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott
Tagline
When a clandestine party goes wild, it's all about pork... and prestige.
Overview
In the summer of 1947, Britain prepares to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. To get around food-rationing laws, Dr. Charles Swaby, accountant Henry Allardyce and solicitor Frank Lockwood are fattening a black-market pig for the big day. Egged on by his wife, meek Gilbert Chilvers steals the swine, but the couple must conceal it from inspector Morris Wormold.

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Buy in the UK
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Malcolm Mowbray
Genres
Comedy
Starring
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • satiricalstrength 3 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • class
  • greed
  • family
  • identity
  • rebellion
Places
  • small town
  • countryside
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour7
Realism7
Romance2
Tension3
Darkness3
Complexity4
Emotional weight4

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Where to watch in the UK

Buy
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy
Directed by
Malcolm Mowbray
Written by
Alan Bennett
Starring
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Richard Griffiths, Tony Haygarth, John Normington, Bill Paterson, Liz Smith
Music
John Du Prez
Cinematography
Tony Pierce-Roberts
Runtime
96 min
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English

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