Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1981 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-05-06
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 167 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Chris Morris' Brass Eye is a brilliantly funny spoof on current affairs media that carries on where his previous The Day Today left off. The show ran for one single, contentious series in 1997, to be followed by an even more controversial one-off in 2001. While these episodes might cause offence to those not versed in Morris' satirical methods, and while one occasionally suspects his work is informed by a dark seam of malice and loathing rather than a desire to educate, Brass Eye remains vital satire, magnificently hilarious and, in its own way, fiercely moral viewing.

Brass Eye satirises a media far too interested in generating dramatic heat and urgency for its own sake than in shedding light on serious issues. Morris mimics perfectly the house style of programmes such as Newsnight and Crimewatch, with their spurious props and love of gimmickry. Meanwhile his presenter--an uncanny composite of Jeremy Paxman, Michael Buerk and Richard Madeley among others--delivers absurd items about man-fighting weasels in the East End and Lear-esque lines such as "the twisted brain wrong of a one-off man mental" with preposterously solemn authority. Much as the media itself is wont to do, each programme works itself up into a ridiculous fever of moral panic. Most telling is the "drugs" episode, in which, as ever, real-life celebrities, including Jimmy Greaves and Sir Bernard Ingham, are persuaded to lend their name to a campaign against a new drug from Eastern Europe entitled Cake. The satirist's aim here isn't to trivialise concern about drugs but to point up the media's lack of attention to content.

A response to the ill-conceived News of the World witch-hunt, in the wake of the Sarah Payne affair, the 2001 "paedophilia" special was the most supremely controversial of the series. It followed the usual formula--duping celebs such as Phil Collins into endorsing a campaign entitled "Nonce Sense", urging parents to send their children to football stadiums for the night for their own safety and mooting the possibility of "roboplegic" paedophiles--and prompted the sort of hysterical and predictable Pavlovian response from the media that Brass Eye lampoons so tellingly.

On the DVD: Brass Eye on DVD includes brief outtakes, such as "David Jatt" interviewing celebrities about breeding hippos for domestic purposes, an hilarious exchange with Jeffrey Archer's PA ("He's a very wicked little man") as well as trailers for the paedophilia special.--David Stubbs

Special Features
English
Region 2
Extra Footage
Commentaries
Trailers
Sound Bin

Synopsis
This notorious comedy series stars Chris Morris as any number of people, skewering the pop culture cult of celebrity. Episodes include: 'Animals', 'Drugs', 'Sex', 'Crime', and the 2001 special.

Customer Reviews

Best comedy satire series ever
Controversial, 'near the mark', sick...... Sound familliar to many other Channel 4 programmes broadcast over the channel's history? Well Brasseye is no different. Chris Morris' dark wit, coupled with a few unsuspecting celebrities, has created one of the deepest and cleverest satire TV shows in recent history.
In a time with 24hour news channels and shows such as crimewatch that try to scare the veiwer into believing some of the most ridiculous things; brasseye comes as a welcome break. Chris Morris, having outdone himself in the series, has inexplicably managed to point the finger at an overimaginative media and an oversensitive public alike. Takling issues such as Animal Cruelty, Drugs, Science, Decline and Sex, the programme immediately lends itself to very 'sensitive' issues. The 2001 special on paedophiles - in my opinion is the best. Following soon after the murder of sarah payne, an over vigilant public had started accusing anyone of being a paedophile. On one occasion a peadeotrician had 'PAEDO' graffittid on to her car! The public and media both needed putting back in their place.

Channel 4 and Morris you have out done yourself. more programmes of this calibre need to be made.

Perfect
This is Morris's highpoint, and absolute perfection.

There will never be anything funnier than this. Maybe AS funny, but not funnier....

america couldn't even come close to something this smart and edgy
being a yank, that's my intro. there really is no comparison to u.s./u.k. comedy. seeing as how my farovite shows have been british all my life, from pre-teen to teen (the young ones/monty python), till the stuff i've found as of late. anyway. the episodes are all great. sadly with the sex episode, despite the mindblowing intro and great line "why were you gobbling your gun like a c*ck", was pretty good. still, to have this as a show i could just turn on the telly and watch, i couldn't be so lucky.

the special was one of the best things i've ever seen, the rap was awesome with the doll attached to his crotch (amazing).