“By the power of Grayskull!”
Shaun of the Dead was the last partnering up of director Edgar Wright and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and it was hilarious. Hot Fuzz is more a parody of police buddy films, but that doesn’t mean that Hot Fuzz is not just as hilarious – it is. That’s not to think that Hot Fuzz doesn’t also have its fair share of horror movie inspirations as well - such as [potential spoiler] The Wicker Man [/spoiler].
What the back of the box says:
But their dull existence is interrupted by several grisly and suspicious accidents, and the crime-fighting duo turn up the heat and hand out high-octane, car-chasing, gun-fighting, big-city justice in this hilarious hit critics are calling "Outrageous! Uproariously funny!" (Thelma Adams, US Weekly).”
Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is one kick-ass cop. He’s so good in fact that he’s making the rest of the force look bad. So his chief decides to transfer him to the small village of Sandford. The village is quite, sleepy, and nothing like the bustling crime-ridden London.
So on his first night (and he’s not even on duty yet) Angel makes several arrests, including a drunk and disorderly. The next morning it turns out that the drunk and disorderly is Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) who happens to be Chief Butterman’s (Jim Broadbent) son and Nick’s new partner.
I’d have to say that I’d give the advantage to Shaun but I also adored Hot Fuzz. It features grand performances not only from Pegg and Frost but also from a fine roster of supporting characters with Timothy Dalton standing out in the pack. Edward Woodward, Billie Whitelaw, Paul Freeman, Stuart Wilson are amongst the seasoned British thespians that make appearances.
Also look for cameos from director Peter Jackson, Cate Blanchett (just try and spot them), Bill Nighy, and Steve Coogan. Hot Fuzz is just fun and if you enjoyed Shaun then you should like it too.
Hot Fuzz is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. A fullscreen version is available separately. Special features include a commentary by Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright. They keep referring to “the other commentary” and since this was given a two-disc special edition in the UK I’m guessing that sadly the other commentaries didn’t make their way onto this DVD release. They also refer to a making of documentary that didn’t make the transition either…those teases (at Universal most likely)!
The 35-second “Man who would be Fuzz” has Pegg and Frost doing a scene as Michael Caine and Sean Connery. There are also 10 minutes of outtakes and 20 minutes of deleted scenes (with optional commentary). You can also chose the storyboards function and a badge will appear in the corner of the screen during the film to take you to storyboards and another option is a trivia track.
A 15 second flipbook animation shows you the other side of Danny’s Notebook. A 3 minute “Hot Funk” has the language toned down for television. The 28 minute “Fuzzball Rally” has the cast and director doing an American tour to promote the film. Finally there are trailers (theatrical, 2 UK TV spots, and a director’s cut trailer).
Although Hot Fuzz spoofs a different genre than Shaun of the Dead (well, it does have its horror spoof moments) it’s still just as funny. I can’t wait for the boys to tackle a third film and hope that they uphold their hilarious record.
Hot Fuzz is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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