Burke & Hare

Burke and Hare is a story of two men in Scotland in the late XIX century barely making a dime when an opportunity comes along to earn hard cash by killing people and selling their bodies to the benefit of science.

This movie may seem morally rotten at its core making a comedy out of murder, but it succeeds at it while quite a lot of comedies with far less harmful plots don't, not to mention that some of the most popular TV shows of today make it fit right in. John Landis comedies much in common with ZAZ productions and sometimes are almost live action cartoons. The title characters are shown as flawed people in a desperate situation which they think justifies their actions - we don't laugh with them, only at them. And that's intentional.

John Landis came back with a surprisingly decent feature. It's as if the MTV-style cinema revolution has passed him by (the one that hit the new Sherlock Holmes square in the face). No camera gymnastics, no forced sensual assault, all the action and physical comedy happens in frame. Burke and Hare is his first 2.35:1 feature and it shows - the frame at first appears a little too wide, like if the characters were taken from a 16:9 movie and arranged accordingly. By the way, "highly entertaining", "very funny" and "packed with the cream of British talent" - those bits on the poster aren't far from the truth.

(44%) A well made, yet oddly completely unfunny watch centred around the crimes of the notorious murderous duo in 19th century Edinburgh. So what exactly went wrong here? Because with the cast including the talented Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis, with support from the likes of Tim Curry, Tom Wilkinson, British TV favourite Ronny Corbett, even Christopher Lee in a small cameo, and with John Landis directing meaning this should have been a hell of a lot better than it actually is. The first problem is the fact that this starts claiming to be an Earling studio production, and not once in the entire film did it ever remotely capture the feel of that once great name. It may have the darker edge you'll find in something like The ladykillers, but what is really lacking is any sort of soul or heart. It doesn't also help that the true tale of Burke and Hare isn't actually that comedic as there's no real punchline anywhere, just a couple of guys making a bit of money grave robbing and killing people, and that's about it. This isn't a bad watch by any means, but I defy anyone truly enjoying its half baked attempts.

Expectations from other reviewers must have been too high. This movie is thoroughly enjoyable, despite the subject matter, which I suppose is the whole point. I found it to be comically dark as expected. Although in a lighter tone than "I sell the dead" which is another good film in the same vein. The casting was well composed and at times gave me the feel of a Terry Pratchett production. The sets and cinematography were spot on and very believable. I simply wouldn't try to compare this film to any of John Landis' previous works ,it stand on its own and demonstrates the dynamic abilities of both cast and crew. All in all worth a go if you are in the mood for a few good laughs.

This is a black comedy about two men who makes a fortune by selling bodies to the medical profession for anatomy classes.

The story of "Burke and Hare" is dark and disturbing if you think about it, but it does not feel this way when you watch it. Instead, it appears lighthearted and likable, even though the main characters commit the most heinous crimes. The plot is engaging, and I feel a little sorry for Dr Knox and William Burke for their fate to end like that.

The film has loads of dark humour. It is funny in its own unique way, not the laugh out loud nonsense type of funny. It is worth a watch if you come across this film.

It is good to see a John Landis film back on the big screen but i feel he missed a trick or two with this average effort. Firstly, for a film set in Scotland i found it odd that the cast was almost entirely English, betraying the roots of the story (and of the English cast only Tom Wilkinson ,a splendid actor, managed to give a good approximation of a Scots accent).

This film felt a bit of a homage to the Hammer films, a point made when a certain Hammer Icon makes a cameo appearance (i won't name the individual as i don't want to add a spoiler). I am guessing Landis is a Hammer fan and to be fair to him the sets and locations work quite well, giving Edinburgh a spooky feel to it. Both Pegg and Serkis are OK in the lead roles and do their best to sound Irish. It was also good to see Jenny Agutter make a brief appearance too, especially as she is invariably remembered for appearing in Landis's American Werewolf in London nearly 30 years ago...a nice touch by the director. In fact there seems to be quite a lot of casting British film and TV icons in this film (Ronnie Corbett being another) so i'm guessing that maybe Simon Pegg or Andy Serkis only agreed to do it if certain British childhood icons of theirs were also given parts.

To be honest the Burke and Hare story has been better done before but this film puts a comedic twist on it that doesn't always work. The bad language feels unnecessary for a start and the gore isn't as bad as i thought (certainly not on the levels of the Hostel or Saw films...and not even as graphic as the Final Destination franchise). There are some genuine laughs to be had but usually when Pegg and Serkis are on the screen. The story itself also swings back and forth between gruesome and the unexpected romantic angles that may have been intended to show Burke and Hare as committing their crimes for something other than just greed.

Basically this is a reasonably graphic horror story with heart and morality that has some good laughs but falls flat in a few areas. The cast give it their best shot and whilst it has an old fashioned feel to it in many ways, it is the unnecessary post-modern touches, the inconsistent rate at which the comedy comes and the rather odd casting that jarred me. However do keep an eye out for the odd cameo appearance from some famous actors and comedians.