The Last Remake of Beau Geste, 1977.
Directed by Marty Feldman.
Starring Marty Feldman, Michael York, Ann-Margaret, Peter Ustinov, Sinéad Cusack, James Earl Jones, Burt Kwouk, Trevor Howard, Avery Schreiber, Irene Handl, Henry Gibson, Terry-Thomas, Roy Kinnear, Spike Milligan, Hugh Griffith and Ed McMahon.
SYNOPSIS:
Digby Geste (Feldman) and his ‘identical’ twin brother Beau (York) compete with their stepmother (Ann-Margeret) over possession of a priceless family heirloom.
It’s hard, devilishly hard, to pin down a description on a film like The Last Remake of Beau Geste. Most films pick a mood, a time, a degree of seriousness. Praise be to the great spoofster in the sky, Marty Feldman has no such agenda. His vision, if we can put our director’s beret on and call it that, is of a world where one man’s tragedy becomes another’s smutty giggle.
Feldman’s screen persona from Young Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother remains intact as Digby Geste; acting as the bridge between us and the plot, he’s always checking we’re following the strange complexities of viking nobility and signposted jailbreaks.
No film convention is safe from Feldman’s anarchic wit; the laughs come thick and fast as each situation becomes more ridiculous than the last. This is a comedy of tireless invention and merciless twists, featuring the cream of seventies acting talent. Actors like Trevor Howard and Irene Handl look as if they’re having the time of their lives, swinging from chandeliers and belting orphans with bibles.
And why not? This is a truly inspired cast of warhorses, gold-diggers and chucklemongers, played with gusto and aplomb. Nobody’s to be trusted; they’re all after the legendary Blue Water sapphire. Howard (as Sir Hector Geste) sums it up beautifully: “I have seen the Hope diamond. I have feasted my eyes upon the Kōh-i Nūr. Compared to this perfection… they are pieces of shit.”
The basis for these barmy episodes is, of course, the silent classic Beau Geste, remade twice before this in the 30s and 60s, and yet again in the 80s. Feldman’s stab at this story concerns two inseparable orphan brothers, hoisted up from poverty to nobility by sheer chance, and exiled to Morocco in much the same way. This is thanks to Beau (Michael York), the insufferably heroic elder brother, who steals the Blue Water to keep it out of his greedy stepmother’s hands.
More details are unnecessary; Feldman curls the ensuing plot round into tight, consistently hilarious vignettes, surreal voyages into previous remakes and a delightful preoccupation with barging down the fourth wall.
True enough, it’s not everyone’s idea of a classic. For what it is though, an epic spoof about epics, it succeeds. Rather than picking on things it hates, like spewy schoolboy bullies Scary Movie and Vampires Suck, Feldman’s production exudes real affection for the source material. As such, The Last Remake never feels crude or mean-spirited. This is a labour of love, and it shows.
It’s a polished production, boasting a superbly ruthless pace and gorgeous cinematography. It captures the look and feel of its predecessors and still manages to create a distinctly barmy identity for itself. The direction owes a lot to Mel Brooks, though Feldman’s style leans more toward a fast and loose approach, less inclined to terrible puns or music-hall duets.
This is the first time The Last Remake has made it anywhere near home entertainment since a low-key VHS release in the ‘90s. Many won’t have heard of it before now, and they’ll start to wonder why, if it’s such a great comedy, it doesn’t have a greater following? The answer is, of course, “watch it and make your own mind up, mush”. But that’s a bit rude, so we’ll let the man himself convince you in his own words:
“I don’t want to be a director. I want to direct. There’s a difference.”
– Marty Feldman
The Last Remake of Beau Geste is released today on DVD.
Simon Moore is a budding screenwriter, passionate about films both current and classic. He has a strong comedy leaning with an inexplicable affection for 80s montages and movies that you can’t quite work out on the first viewing.
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