I think Wright has written some of the best pure comedy films of the last decade. I didn’t know there was a planned trilogy that included those films, but if the third is similar to the first two, it should be a gem.
I suppose I would say Shaun of the Dead is better than Hot Fuzz, but I think that’s mostly due to more lampoonable source material.
SPOILERS:
Just watched SHAUN OF THE DEAD for the first time the other night, and my Netflix (oh, uh, QWuicKster) disc froze at the moment Shaun gets a dart in the head fighting the bar owner zombie…couldn’t get the film to play till 10 minutes later in the elapsed time of the movie. And that blew. But the schism in viewing also uniquely impressed upon me what a terrible shift in tone had transpired. I was amazed…and really shaken. The movie has some genuinely upsetting implications in it, and it’s not just the gore (granted, I’ve never been good at with braaaaaaains or guts FX), but the arch dark comedy (so arch it kind of…stops…being…funny?) of trying (and failing) to maintain a rational discussion with your recent ex-girlfriend about how you two will go about committing suicide. Lucy Davis’ performance as she’s screaming at her boyfriend is terrific enough and committed enough that it might as well be from a straight, dramatic horror film. I was pretty stunned by Wright’s ability to command different tones in this case, even though I didn’t love the movie overall.
Coincidentally, haven’t seen HOT FUZZ in full either due to a scratched disc which messed up the last half hour, this time from a local rental store rather than Netflix, but I really liked what I saw of that. I like Wright’s time condensations and repetitions and the kind of signature rapid visual list-making he uses (in SCOTT PILGRIM as well) to convey work, tasks, chores, and tedium, and thought it more appropriate for the HOT FUZZ character than in SHAUN. I think he has a great sense for visual comedy and slapstick brought into the realm of montage, with an even more impressive sense for bringing in music exhibited in SCOTT PILGRIM (which I liked quite a bit IN SPITE of being turned off of watching it for months by the trailer, finding many of the bad-guys annoying, and ultimately thinking Scott’s attraction to Ramona was too superficial to be believable).
Anyways, yeah, I’d gladly check out anything else he comes up with.
I’m definitely looking forward to the third.
Now I think about it, there are a few references to the Three Colors trlogy: I guess we’ve seen “Red” in Shaun (Strawberry Cornetto and the “you’ve got red on you” line) and “Blue” in Fuzz (Blue Classico Cornetto and cops).
So I’ll look out for some white in the next :)
There’s actually a Wikipedia page on this too.
ah nice, that wiki page doesn’t have much but still some!
and speak of the devil, i just noticed he’s the most recent top 10 artist on criterion.com
http://www.criterion.com/explore/161-edgar-wrights-top-10
Brentos
I’ve noticed that many of the users are big fans of the first two films of this trilogy, Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz, so i thought i’d ask some questions about his films. The Cornetto Trilogy (Red, Blue, White) as Wright has said, is an homage to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours Trilogy. I was wondering what specific motifs and themes some of you find hold these films together? I’ve watched them with the audio commentary a couple times and i’ve met Wright, Pegg and Frost several times in Austin (premieres and mostly SXSW) and had a change to speak with them about this.
The last time i spoke with Wright, he was premiering Attack the Block, but i asked him about the third and final film in this set, a movie tentatively titled The World’s End. He said that this one would be veined in sci-fi (versus horror, buddy-cop) and that he and Pegg have started working on a script but not much else. As Shaun of the Dead came out 2004 and Hot Fuzz followed in 2007, i am also curious if those of you who liked the films upon release are still anticipating the final film in the trilogy?
Wright has a lot under his belt right now, so there is no telling when the film will get past its pre-prod phase and into actual filming, much less a release date.
My final question is, while the majority of fans i talk to agree Shaun of the Dead was a superior film to Hot Fuzz (though not everyone agrees with that) are you concerned that Wright’s considerable time off from this project will force the trilogy to follow suit of a downward slope? Could the sci-fi theme have been tainted with the popularity of other Pegg/Frost (but not Wright) film Paul—which many assumed was a “Wright” film outright merely based on cast.
just curious how many of you feel about Wright’s work. if this thread gets posts maybe i’ll start one about his most loved/hated film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, or that amazing short-lived sitcom Spaced.