Parole Officer [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]
 
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Parole Officer [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]

Steven Waddington , Stephen Dillane , John Duigan  |  Unrated |  DVD
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)


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Region 2 encoding (This DVD will not play on most DVD players sold in the US or Canada [Region 1]. This item requires a region specific or multi-region DVD player and compatible TV. More about DVD formats.)

Product Details

  • Actors: Steven Waddington, Stephen Dillane, Lena Headey, Steve Coogan, Emma Gilmour
  • Directors: John Duigan
  • Producers: Parole Officer
  • Format: Import, PAL, Widescreen
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: Unrated
  • Run Time: 90 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000AL6EQI
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #491,431 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Featurette, Interactive Menu, Music Video, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: British television comic Steve Coogan made his first bid for a big-screen career in this comedy, in which he plays Simon Garden, a singularly inept parole officer who has not had terribly good luck with his clients -- after many years on the job, only three of the former prisoners he's been looking after have avoided returning to a life of crime. Garden is transferred from his post in Blackpool to a new assignment in Manchester, and it isn't long before he finds himself in hot water. Garden happened to be on hand when Burton (Stephen Dellane), a crooked cop, murdered a drug dealer with whom he had been involved in a cocaine deal. Realizing he's in trouble, Burton rearranges the evidence so that Garden looks like the killer. A surveillance camera captured Burton's crime on tape, and now Garden must get his hands on the tape in order to clear his name. However, Burton has cleverly stashed the tape in a top security bank vault to keep it away from Garden, so the parole officer must stage a break-in to collect the evidence -- and he chooses as his accomplices George (Om Puri), Jeff (Steven Waddington), and Colin (Ben Miller), the three parolees who've stayed out of trouble until now. The Parole Officer also features Emma Williams as a former associate of Burton's who ends up helping out Garden, and cameos from Omar Sharif and Jenny Agutter.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Parole Officer

 

Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Pity about the Format, February 4, 2006
By 
This review is from: Parole Officer [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ] (DVD)
I saw bits of this on TV, liked it a lot and bought the DVD (ignoring the format warning). I could force it to play on my "multi-region" DVD player, but, I guess because of PAL, it did not play in color.

In spite of all that, I loved the movie because of its odd sense of humor. I am sorry, but I don't know any way to describe Coogan's comic sense; neither "dry" nor "quirky" quite fit.

If you realize that a parole officer persuading his ex-con clients to rob a bank to prevent a corrupt police officer from getting an undeserved award for bravery is a comic plot, then you should enjoy this movie.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Arresting Experience!!, March 24, 2002
Steve Coogan, a British star known for his fake chat show host character Alan Partridge, makes the leap to the big-screen with his debut feature "The Parole Officer".

Coogan witnesses a murder in a nightclub, hidden from view from the murderers. They, however, have been caught on camera, and Coogan must get the tape back to prove his innocence and bring justice to the real culprits.

The laughs come thick and fast, and the film did brisk business in the UK. It's laugh-out-loud funny due to its situations, and although the characters may seem like stock-comedy-creations, Amercian audiences might like this if you're into the Monty Python films, or enjoyed "High Heels and Low Lifes" recently.

All in all, "The Parole Officer" raises many smiles, a couple of genuine gross-out gaffaws, and even the odd surprise - check it out!

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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Predictable Plot a few good laughs, August 23, 2002
By A Customer
The plot is basically an excuse to chain together the not so many funny bits.

Steve Coogan is a very talented comedian but in todays world he's not stretched. The competition is very poor. Twenty years ago there was a variety of talented and one-off comics in this country. Now, what was once mediocre has been elevated to the level of brilliant. Take the last line in the film. A typical brutal, sledgehammer attempt. The rule of thumb seems to be. A crude reference to body parts will always be funny. It just isn't. Its boring.

In the first ten minutes most people if asked could have written a page summing up the remainder of the plot. Loopholes in the storyline were so many that suspending your disbelief to enjoy the film is more than impossible. Omar Sharif was probably in the film for less than 5 minutes but his performance steals the show.

Summary
I'm told old for childlike scripts!

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