--- title: "Brassed Off" year: 1996 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/brassed-off" fi1m_id: "brassed-off" imdb_id: "tt0115744" tmdb_id: 9450 wikidata_id: "Q748988" fi1m_score: 79 critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:07.321187+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Brassed Off (1996) Directed by Mark Herman · 1h 47m · MPA R · Comedy, Romance, Drama ## Identity Brassed Off - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/brassed-off - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** brassed-off - **IMDb ID:** tt0115744 - **TMDB ID:** 9450 - **Wikidata ID:** Q748988 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115744/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9450, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q748988 **Fi1m score: 79** · Critics 72 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* Pete Postlethwaite takes a brass band more seriously than most screen generals take a war > Mark Herman’s brass-band comedy-drama is moving, funny and worth an evening, despite some awkward changes of tone. Pete Postlethwaite makes the threatened mining community’s attachment to its music believable, even when the plotting turns dutiful. ## Synopsis In a northern mining town, pit closures threaten the livelihoods of the miners and their families. Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) leads the local brass band and wants its members to keep playing as the community faces an uncertain future. Music gives them a shared purpose, but it cannot remove the pressures on their working and private lives. Work, romance and the prospect of a national contest compete for their attention. The cast also includes Ewan McGregor as Andy Barrow, Tara Fitzgerald as Gloria and Stephen Tompkinson as Phil. ## Review *Brassed Off* is a good comedy-drama with a stubborn streak of anger, and its brass band gives that anger somewhere useful to go. Writer-director Mark Herman takes a northern mining community threatened by pit closures and asks what happens to the things people do together when their work is taken away. There are jokes, a romance and a competition to keep the story moving. Some of that plotting is too familiar, but the people hold our attention. Pete Postlethwaite’s Danny leads the band with a faith in its importance that can look unreasonable beside the threat to the players’ livelihoods. Postlethwaite lets that stubbornness be difficult, which saves Danny from becoming merely a lovable enthusiast. We were moved by his insistence that the music still deserves their attention when there is so much else to fear. The performance makes clear why keeping the band together matters to him, without requiring us to agree with his priorities at every moment. Herman’s humour works because these people have more to occupy them than representing a social problem. Stephen Tompkinson and Jim Carter help make the band feel like a group whose members have lives beyond the music; the ensemble’s company is a substantial part of the pleasure. Ewan McGregor’s Andy Barrow and Tara Fitzgerald’s Gloria fit comfortably into that company, though the romantic plot is less distinctive. Its familiar demands take up time that might have been spent with the wider cast. Andy Collins’s cinematography gives the band scenes a useful sense of people accustomed to sharing space. Don Taylor’s production design is convincing for much the same reason: the surroundings never seem more important than the musicians. Trevor Jones’s score is less memorable than the brass playing, which supplies the strongest feeling. Hearing the ensemble work together makes the attachment to the band comprehensible without another explanation from Danny. Michael Ellis’s editing has the harder task of managing Herman’s changes from northern comedy to hardship. Some transitions feel abrupt enough to suggest that a lighter film has been interrupted, and the jokes do not always survive the pressure placed on them. Herman’s screenplay can also become insistent about a political position it has already made clear. We do not need convincing that the threatened workers deserve our sympathy, and the extra persuasion makes their difficulties feel briefly forced. Herman is working within a familiar sort of community comedy, built around people finding pride in a shared pursuit. People facing unemployment still tell jokes, and he is right to let his characters be funny without apologising for them. The trouble comes when the love story and the contest require predictable pleasures while the threat to the town remains so large. Those demands occasionally make the film push for a response that the actors were already earning. These are reservations about a film we would still happily spend an evening with. Across its 107 minutes, the musicians have enough humour and obstinacy to be worth knowing, even when Herman overstates their case. Choose it for Postlethwaite and the playing, and be prepared to forgive a script that occasionally tells us how to feel. *Fi1m score 79, published 13 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like Brassed Off, and they like it for the same reasons. Pete Postlethwaite’s band leader is named in nearly every review as the film’s centre, with Stephen Tompkinson and the ensemble close behind. The brass band sequences draw steady praise for the music and the way the playing is staged. Reviewers agree the comedy carries anger about the pit closures underneath, and most think the two sit together well. The reservations are about tone. Empire finds the film unsure whether it wants to be a political piece or a light comedy, and says some scenes fall flat as a result; Variety enjoys the first half but thinks it hardens into grandstanding later. Roger Ebert notes the formula, a love story and a national contest, though he finds the acting makes it believable. The spread is narrow, with one qualified verdict and no dislikes. The warmest notices come later, from British writers who treat it as an undervalued classic. ## Straight answers **Is Brassed Off worth watching?** *Brassed Off* is worth watching for anyone who likes a comedy-drama with some anger in it, and we scored it 79. Pete Postlethwaite's stubborn bandleader and the brass playing itself carry the film. The romance and the contest plot are more predictable, and the script sometimes tells us how to feel when the actors have already done the work. **How long is Brassed Off, and what is it rated?** *Brassed Off* runs 1h 47m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and romance film. **Where can I watch Brassed Off in the US?** *Brassed Off* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Brassed Off, and is it suitable for children?** *Brassed Off* is a 15 certificate in the UK and rated R in the US, so it is not made for children. The film contains little in the way of violence or fright; its adult material lies in strong language and the hardship of a mining community facing pit closures. Teenagers old enough for the certificate will manage it without difficulty. **How does Brassed Off compare to The Commitments?** *Brassed Off* is the angrier and sadder of the two, set among miners facing pit closures, while [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) is a warmer, looser comedy about a Dublin soul band that keeps falling out. We think the earlier film is the more consistently funny and the better made, though a little polish creeps in. Choose *Brassed Off* for Postlethwaite and the brass playing, *The Commitments* for the songs and the unruly company. **What should I watch after Brassed Off?** After *Brassed Off*, try [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) (1991, Fi1m 82): More musicians, more quarrels, and the pleasure of hearing a group briefly work together. Then [*Pride*](https://film.one/film/pride) (2014, Fi1m 82): Mining politics and unlikely friendships, with an ensemble that earns its warmth; and [*Local Hero*](https://film.one/film/local-hero) (1983, Fi1m 86): Another community weighs outside money against the life it already knows. ### Reviews we read (9) - **The i Paper**, Mark Butler (85/100, inferred): The critic calls Brassed Off a true classic that deserves greater recognition as a smartly written, beautifully acted story capturing a moment in British history with an important message. They single out its authentic rawness in depicting the desolation of the mining industry, its balance of gallows humour and tragedy, and standout performances especially by Pete Postlethwaite and Stephen Tompkinson. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/brassed-off-miner-masterpiece-61231) - **Los Angeles Times**, John Anderson (70/100, inferred): The earnest David vs. Goliath tale about a Yorkshire mining community and its brass band has plenty of emotional wind despite its political timing. Pete Postlethwaite is terrifically moving as the band's leader, making it his film amid the art-vs-livelihood themes. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-23-ca-61492-story.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (70/100, inferred): The film is a sweet story with anger at its core, elevated by Pete Postlethwaite's performance as the band leader who believes passionately in the music and the community it represents. It tugs at heartstrings with formulas including a love story and a national contest, but the music and acting make it believable and moving. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/brassed-off-1997) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): The review pairs 'Brassed Off' with another working-class film, highlighting its wit and the band's community spirit amid pit closures. It focuses on the characters' humor and struggles in a northern mining town. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/05/26/1997-05-26-088-tny-cards-000150958) - **The New York Times**, Stephen Holden (70/100, inferred): The film is a politically charged British comedy that clearly separates heroes (working-class miners and their families) from villains (Tory government officials closing the pits). At its heart is Danny, the band's crusty leader, whose story builds to a dramatic national contest in London. [Read](https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/film/brassed-film-review.html) - **Time Out**, TCh (70/100, inferred): The film is an angry, tragic story that uses stereotypes and laughs before delivering a harsh message about pit closures and community tensions. It succeeds as popular proletarian comedy with strong performances from the ensemble cast, especially Postlethwaite, Tompkinson and Carter, and highlights the brass band music. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/brassed-off) - **Variety**, Derek Elley (70/100, inferred): There's a lot to enjoy in the first half with sparky dramedy, rich characterization and northern humor about the miners' brass band, but it darkens into social realism and political grandstanding later. The ensemble cast and verisimilitude of the band sequences stand out despite the tonal shift. [Read](https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/brassed-off-1200447133/) - **Empire**, Caroline Westbrook (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the tone problematic, as the film is unsure whether to be a spirited political piece or light-hearted comedy, causing some vignettes to fall flat. The brass band music and strong performances, especially from Pete Postlethwaite, are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/brassed-review/) - **Den of Geek**, Simon Brew (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Brassed Off the best of a subset of British comedies with a core of social outrage, and his favorite British film of the previous 20 years. He singles out the relationship between Danny and his son Phil, along with Pete Postlethwaite's performance, as elevating the film. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/brassed-off-a-90s-uk-film-that-demands-not-to-be-forgotten/) ## Details - **Director:** Mark Herman - **Director:** Mark Herman - **Screenplay:** Mark Herman - **Cinematography:** Andy Collins - **Editor:** Michael Ellis - **Music:** Trevor Jones - **Production design:** Don Taylor - **Costume design:** Amy Roberts - **Producer:** Olivia Stewart, Steve Abbott - **Cast:** Ewan McGregor as Andy Barrow; Tara Fitzgerald as Gloria; Pete Postlethwaite as Danny; Jim Carter as Harry; Stephen Tompkinson as Phil; Philip Jackson as Jim; Sue Johnston as Vera; Peter Martin as Ernie - **Runtime:** 1h 47m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 23 May 1997 - **Genres:** Comedy, Romance, Drama - **Box office:** $3 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTTS1V2XWO8 ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AU, DE, DK, ES, FI, GB, IE, NO, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82: More musicians, more quarrels, and the pleasure of hearing a group briefly work together — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md) - *The Band's Visit* (2007): A visiting band finds awkward hospitality, with quieter humour and less insistence on tears - *Pride* (2014), Fi1m 82: Mining politics and unlikely friendships, with an ensemble that earns its warmth — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/pride.md) - *Local Hero* (1983), Fi1m 86: Another community weighs outside money against the life it already knows — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/local-hero.md) - *The Firemen's Ball* (1967): A community celebration goes wrong, observed with rather less affection for the organisers --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/brassed-off