Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #369 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-05-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 450 minutes

Synopsis
BLACKPOOL is a crime thriller like no other. It’s a musical, though every bit as bold and edgy as similarly-themed shows. Set and around the city of the title, BLACKPOOL centres on arcade owner Ripley Holden. Is a man with grand allusions and so driven in business, he neglects his family. His wife Natalie seems to be drawing attention from elsewhere and his daughter Shyanne seems to fall victim to her taste in men. As he desperately tries to balance his professional and personal lives, it’s always in the hope that the big time is just around the corner, but for Ripley, something a lot more troublesome awaits. When a dead body is found in his most prestigious arcade, Ripley finds himself chief suspect in a murder investigation.

Customer Reviews

For many, an undiscovered gem
Yes, the sequel (Viva Blackpool) is bloody awful - but don't let that put you off: Blackpool itself is sensational.

The device of introducing big, corny song-and-dance numbers into drama-comedies was first introduced by Dennis Potter in Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Here the device works excellently. You can't walk through Blackpool without hearing music playing somewhere in the background, so why not?

This is an accomplished comedy-thriller, but the comedy never detracts from the thrills and nor do the thrills spoil the comedy. The BBC tried something similar with Funland, also set in Blackpool, some time later and it didn't really work. Here it is pitched perfectly: you care about the characters and you know that Ripley Holden is a tragic hero of positively Shakespearean proportions.

Brilliant from start to finish.

Fantastic! - apart from the sequel
I love Blackpool, it's definitely one of the BBC's best shows this side of the millennium - the brilliantly catchy songs, the Ripley/Natalie/Carlisle triangle - missed it when originally shown but it's fantastic. All three of the leads act their socks off, esp David Morrissey who was born to be Ripley - such a contrast to his character in the equally fab 'State of Play'. BIG BUT - the sequel is awful, twenty minutes in and I had to turn it off. Ripley's lost all of his spark and there's a big hole where Natalie and Carlisle's amazing chemistry used to be.

A murder mystery comedy
Unfortunately i missed it on telly but being a David Tennant fan bought the box set. Watched it start to finish in a day. Im not a fan of musicals but absolutely loved the song and dance sequences. Very strong performances from the three leads, superb casting!!! TV at its very finest, everything else is uninspired drivvle by comparison.