Hasitha Fernando revisits Hot Fuzz fifteen years on from its release…
2004’s Shaun of the Dead introduced the film world to a new rising talent – Edgar Wright. Hailing from Dorset, England, Wright can best be described as a geek, with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of all things movie related. The talented auteur initially made his break with the small screen 90s comedy sitcom Spaced alongside Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, having previously collaborated on 1996’s short-lived comedy series Asylum. To say the pair hit it off pretty well is something of an understatement, because the culmination of this creatively incendiary friendship was the brilliantly epic ’Three Flavors Cornetto’ trilogy. Shaun of the Dead, which kick-started the trilogy, was part biting (pun intended) satire and part love letter to George A. Romero’s zombie flicks of yesteryear. Although only a moderate box-office hit during its theatre run, the genre bending film garnered strong reviews from critics and audiences alike which praised the movie’s refreshing take on the zombie horror sub-genre.
Emboldened by the glowing response, Wright decided that his next project must be a cop film. In an interview with the New York Post, Wright shared his thoughts on what prompted him and Pegg to make that particular decision, “We wanted to make a cop film in the UK, because there isn’t really any tradition of cop films in the UK. We’ve got a lot of TV cop shows, but we wanted to make a cop film. We felt that every other country in the world had its own tradition of great cop action films and we had none.” Wanting to make the best possible buddy cop comedy put into film, the duo watched 138 cop-related films for dialogue and plot ideas, and interviewed over fifty police officers for research purposes to come up with a script that would tick all their desired boxes. The arduous process ended up taking eighteen months of their lives, but by the end of it they had in their hands the script they wanted.
The nonsensical two-word title of the film – Hot Fuzz – was inspired by the similar trend action movies produced back in the late 80s and early 90s – like Lethal Weapon, Point Break and Executive Decision-had. Wright also incorporated some narrative elements of his early student film Dead Right, which he likened to a “Dirty Harry film set in Somerset”, into the story of Hot Fuzz. “There are lot of parallels between Dead Right and Hot Fuzz in terms of its themes. They’re both cop/serial killer thrillers,” Wright observed during one of his interviews. If you are so inclined you could check out the gifted director’s amateur effort on YouTube, and experience it in all its super VHS glory.
Armed with a killer script and a US$16 million budget bankrolled by StudioCanal, Working Title and Big Talk Productions, Wright and Pegg commenced location scouting in the latter half of 2005. Since both of them hailed from the West Country, they were partial to choosing a locale set in that part of England from the get go. In the end, the duo had their prayers answered, when production finally decided to set up camp in Wright’s hometown of Wells, Somerset. He was delighted by the prospect of shooting in Wells but equally giddy that he’d been given the opportunity to trash the place up a bit, in the name of cinema. To bring his unique vision to life Marcus Rowland and Chris Dickens, both of whom had collaborated with Wright since his days on Spaced, was brought on as production designer editor respectively, while Jess Hall, who recently lensed the critically acclaimed MCU mini-series WandaVision, was recruited as DOP. Veteran British composer David Arnold, of Stargate and Independence Day fame, was hired to create a score that would not only deliver in the action front, but also in the horror aspect as well.
Apart from his role as co-script writer Pegg played the lead role of the movie’s narrative. In the story he is Nicholas Angel, a high-achieving, idealistic cop who’d never bend the law for anyone. The chap’s work ethos doesn’t sit well with his superiors in London-brought to life hilariously by a trifecta of ingenious cameos featuring Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy – so Angel is promptly transferred to the sleepy hamlet of Sandford, Gloucestershire, a regular ‘Village of the Year’ winner with a virtually non-existent crime rate. There he meets the jovial, Danny Butterman brought to life brilliantly by Nick Frost, Pegg’s most frequent collaborator and real-life partner in crime. Academy award winner Jim Broadbent is an absolute hoot as Frank Butterman, the patisserie hounding father of Danny, and former James Bond star Timothy Dalton is a revelation as Simon Skinner, the oily supermarket manager who doesn’t mince-his-words and loves to foreshadow.
On 20th April 2007, Hot Fuzz was released to universal acclaim with critics lauding the film’s wildly inventive script which poked fun at genre cliches whilst functioning as a love letter to them. And in 2016, Empire Magazine ranked Hot Fuzz 50th on their list of 100 best British Films of all time.
As Wright’s sophomore film hits fifteen, now would be a great a time as any, to revisit this cult classic masterpiece filled with its ever-vibrant characters, over-the-top violence, touch-in-cheek humor and innumerable movie references. I guarantee that you’ll definitely have a blast rewatching it. Enjoy.
Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
