Product Details

• Actors: Gillian Kearney, Emma Cooke, Sue Johnston, Phil Daniels, James Callis
• Directors: John Woods (II)
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: May 7, 2002
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000648WH
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,780 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Manchester, England, in 1965 seems like a dead end to a pair of sisters, flirty Arden (Emma Cooke) and bookish Ellie Brookes (Gillian Kearney). They ache to get out from under the thumb of their domineering grandmother (Sue Johnston), and when their cousin Norman (David Threlfall) proposes to Ellie, she accepts. But just then the sisters meet a struggling band called the Ice Cubes, who grudgingly play backup for a smarmy singer named Larry B. Cool while trying to land a record deal. Arden throws herself at the group's leader, Dallas (Joseph McFadden), but Dallas finds himself drawn more to Ellie, who's also an aspiring songwriter. From there, Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll spins a complex web of secret loves and twisted ambitions against the backdrop of the mid-’60s British music scene. It's a rock & roll soap opera, but it's smartly written and engagingly acted, full of subtle commentary on the cultural changes cutting across British society. The multidimensional characters take unexpected turns; you'll quickly find yourself drawn into their lives. (Plus, in a clever bit of casting, the loathsome Larry B. Cool is played by Phil Daniels, who played the hero of the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia.) --Bret Fetzer

From the Back Cover

The BBC drama about growing up in the turbulent, tuneful '60s. Manchester, England, 1965. "You'll never meet anybody worth knowing working at the Chip Shop," says Ellie and Arden Brookes' overbearing granny. But that's where the sisters meet The Ice Cubes, a struggling rock trio that opens their eyes to the whole swingin' world beyond staid Manchester. Arden sees lead singer Dallas McCabe as her ticket out. Ellie has more practical plans, but she and Dallas get drawn together by the music and their irresistible attraction to each other. A story of twin sisters who are each other's best friend-and worst enemy. A marvelously acted coming of age drama with a terrific soundtrack of oldies ("Just One Look," "The Boy Next Door") and tunes written especially for the production. Starring Sue Johnston (Brassed Off), Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia), Joseph McFadden (Rent), Gillian Kearney (The John Lennon Story), David Threlfall (Patriot Games), James Callis (Bridget Jones's Diary), Nicholas Farrell (Pearl Harbor) and introducing Emma Cook. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE: cast bios, 1965 interactive trivia, video flashbacks and music scene; interactive menus, scene index and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous acting and engrossing story line, April 16, 2002

By 

F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll (DVD)

I never thought for a moment I would sit through six 50-minute episodes of a BBC series titled "Sex, Chips, and Rock 'n' Roll"-- as much as I like chips--from Acorn Media on two DVDs. By the time the first 50-minute episode ended, my wife and I were hooked on this mini-series that takes place in Manchester, England in 1965 and centers around the two non-identical Brookes twins named Ellie (Gillian Kearney) and Arden (Emma Cook).

They live under the tyrannical regime of Granny Brookes (Sue Johnston) along with their ineffectual father (Nicholas Farrell), and the sisters could not be more unlike. Ellie is the intellectual who looks forward to "the University," while boy-mad Arden (note the symbolism of the name) wants only to become a top rock singer. They get involved with a mediocre group called The Ice Cubes, who are under the unpleasant thumb of their lead singer Larry "B. Cool" Valentine (Phil Daniels).

A cousin named Norman (David Threlfall) is recovering from a wife who walked out on him and wants to marry Ellie, who has in the meanwhile fallen for guitarist/lyricist Dallas (Joseph McFadden), who in turn has an affair with.... No, you are going to have to see for yourself what develops and un-develops as these characters act and interact.

The level of the acting is superb. With the exception of Larry, all nastiness and no subtlety, and the guitarist Tex (Julian Kerridge), whom we never really get to know, the characters are as fully developed as you could wish. The third Ice Cube, The Wolf (James Callis), underacts his part to perfection, looking like one of the leads in "Interview With the Vampire" and seldom showing what he is truly feeling. Norman is just inches from cartoonish but still believable. The two sisters are clearly differentiated, Arden demanding but never giving, Ellie unselfish almost to be the point of being out of Dickens (were it not for the obligatory scene in bed). She is even locked up in her room in true Victorian style in one late episode...but again, you must see the whole to appreciate the parts.

But it is Sue Johnston that carries away all the acting honors, right up to the surprise revelation at the end that explains and makes up (almost) for everything that went before.

A rare treat and different from most domestic fare. Try it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two girls just wishin' and hopin', May 11, 2002

By 

Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll (DVD)

Mercifully, the "chips" (as in "fish 'n' chips") is downplayed in this well written, finely acted, high-energy period drama. The period in question is Swingin' England in 1965. The locale, working-class Manchester (in the beginning) and London (second half). The story focuses on a rivalrous pair of twin sisters coming out of high school, full of dreams and eager to buck the iron rule of their controlling grandmother...and their encounter with a soon-to-be discovered rock and roll band. The gals and the guys get equal treatment here, but clearly we are expected to delight in the way the young women come into their own in a proto-feminist kind of way. More than anything the women are caught between the need to live out their dreams and the downward pull of the family motto, "'I want' does not get." But it's not as glum as you might expect. The 60s British music adds pep and relief from some otherwise tense melodrama. Not entirely plausible, it has a some of the compensatory artificiality of "Strictly Ballroom." Loads of fun. All it lacked was some walk-on parts for people like Alan Bates, Albert Finney, and Julie Christie.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enthralling Tale, June 15, 2005

By 

D. Twyman "D" (Christchurch, NZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll (DVD)

Don't be put off by the BBC - Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll
is an embracing story that will leave you wanting more.
A complex story of two sisters who wish to escape their
domineering grandmothers influence for something better
takes a heart warming turn with heart breaking consequences
when they meet a band whos influence could change everything.
Ensure you have plenty of time to sit back & enjoy as
once you start you'll want to know what happens next.