Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11083 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-29
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The League of Gentlemen is a sardonic crime drama in which Jack Hawkins plays an embittered retired army officer who recruits seven fellow ex-soldiers to carry out a bank raid with military precision. The film presents an England between post-war austerity and the more liberated 1960s where traditional moral certainties were rapidly being discarded; a London where ex-officers left on the scrapheap at war's end could justify turning their military experience to armed robbery. Unfortunately the tale is neither particularly amusing or thrilling, with an overlong central detour via an army camp prefacing the exciting heist and a largely anti-climactic ending. Nevertheless Hawkins effectively subverts his heroic officer type from The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and there's excellent support from a great cast including Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough and Roger Livesey.

Bryan Forbes not only wrote the cynical screenplay but costarred with wife Nanette Newman in her first significant screen role. More influential than truly classic, The League of Gentlemen has lent its name to a modern BBC comedy, an "Extraordinary" comic strip-turned-movie, and proved the template for heist films ever since, including both versions of The Italian Job (1969 and 2003).

On the DVD:The League of Gentlemen is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 16:9 transfer from an excellent condition print and mostly looks and sounds fine. There's minimal print damage, though sadly Philip Green's ironically patriotic main title music suffers from significant distortion. The only extra is the original trailer, which is now something of a period piece itself. --Gary S Dalkin

Synopsis
Under the leadership of a retired Lt. Colonel, a group of ex-army officers plan the perfect robbery.

Customer Reviews

A British Gem
British cinema at its best, with the superb Jack Hawkins as the leader of a bunch of disgruntled ex-army specialists. Colonel Hyde (Hawkins) assembles his 'Dirty Eight' (pre-dating the concept of the Dirty Dozen by six years or so) for a bank heist in 1960 London. There are some great location shots of London for you nostalgia buffs and a winning cast, which includes the much underated Nigel Patrick at his urbane best and good old Dickie Attenborough. Based on the books by John Boland, Brian Forbes's screenplay is amusing, but has some excellent moments of poignancy particularly with Terence Alexander's character. This is British cinema all the way and they weren't even forced to take a down on his luck American actor to boost sales in the US!

One of the all-time greats!
Wonderful film, wonderful director: Basil Dearden, who also made Sapphire, one of the first British films to deal with race relations (it's not available on DVD), and Victim, the film that helped change the homosexuality laws in Britain in the early 60s.
But "The League of Gentlemen" outdoes them all for its wit, it's story and its cast-Jack Hawkins as Colonel NJG Hyde "Just let me say that I outrank you," who sends a group of ex-army officers fallen on hard times copies of a cheap American thriller with the plot for what he feels is the perfect crime. He gets them to go along with his plan by inviting them to lunch (as befits officers and gentlemen) and springing the story on them there. (Watch for what has to be one of Oliver Reed's first screen appearances as the dancer who's auditioning upstairs for "Babes in the Woods"-priceless).The cast includes a young Richard Attenborough, Nigel Patrick, Bryan Forbes and a few other top-notch actors who proceed to pull a bank job in broad daylight. The ending has to be seen to be believed. It's on my top ten list of all time best crime films.

Great Film, well worth watching again and again
After 25 years of serving King and Country, Colonel Hyde is forced to retire because he is no longer needed. However before leaving he spend his time well in the records department and left with certain information that would prove useful. It was now time for "OPERATION GOLDEN FLEECE". Armed with the record he took from the Army, seven names are selected and sent an invitation to lunch. So the League of Gentlemen is formed

No special features, but then again with a film this good you don't need them.

(Not related in any way to the BBC2 series of the same name)