Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
~ Because everyone loves an accurate period piece ~
What exactly is "A cock and bull story"???
Meaning
A fanciful and unbelievable tale.
Origin
- It is widely reported that the phrase originated at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England.
Coaches between London and Birmingham changed horses in the town at two of the main coaching inns - the Cock and the Bull. The banter of the rival groups of travellers, from England's two largest cities, resulted in exaggerated and fanciful stories.
- The first citation in English is from Robert Burton's 'The anatomy of melancholy', 1621:
"Some mens whole delight is to talk of a Cock and Bull over a pot."
---source "The Phrase Finder" at www.phrases.org.uk
-------------------------------
The Film - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
This is the film adaptation of Laurence Sterne's novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.Deftly directed by Michael Winterbottom (9 Songs, 24 Hour Party People). Here's a great quote from imdb.com in the comment section: "Michael Winterbottom loves a challenge. This British director has jumped from genre to genre throughout his career; creating imaginative, idiosyncratic films with remarkable speed and ingenuity. However, an adaptation of Laurence Sterne's famously 'unfilmable' 18th century novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' was surely even beyond his capabilities. This book - in which the title character attempts to tell his life story but, through a series of digressions and tangents never even gets around to describing his own birth - is an amorphous blend of bawdy humour and non-consecutive storytelling which seems the least promising material for a movie. Nevertheless, Winterbottom has taken a novel approach to tackling this material and the result is one of his most accomplished and entertaining films."
Steve Coogan is absolutely brilliant here, delivering a performance which has several layers to it - playing himself playing the character Tristram Shandy. Coogan is an actor with the ability to tease himself while in the very process of acting, which we saw him do recently in Jim Jarmusch's excellent indie/art film Coffee and Cigarrettes (2003). Coogan's particular skill here lies in how he is a good enough actor to be able to show us behind the scenes 'bad acting,' as we see in the hilarious scene with the hot chestnut down his pants.
The rest of the cast follow suit, with equally excellent performances (and there are far too many to mention them all), including Rob Brydon (MirrorMask), Shirley Henderson (YES), and a surprisingly transformed Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).
Steve Coogan (very partial) Filmography:
Marie Antoinette (in post production)
The Alibi (2006)
Happy Endings (2005)
Monkey Trousers (TV -2005)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)
* Also in several performances as 'Alan Partridge' - a spoof/comedy DJ persona he has adopted and revived several times on British radio and TV as well as an upcoming film, Alan Partridge: The Movie, (2007) -- more info on this hilarious and crazy persona of his at www.alan-partridge.co.uk
- comments? questions? - shawn@grandcinema.com
~ Because everyone loves an accurate period piece ~
What exactly is "A cock and bull story"???
Meaning
A fanciful and unbelievable tale.
Origin
- It is widely reported that the phrase originated at Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, England.
Coaches between London and Birmingham changed horses in the town at two of the main coaching inns - the Cock and the Bull. The banter of the rival groups of travellers, from England's two largest cities, resulted in exaggerated and fanciful stories.
- The first citation in English is from Robert Burton's 'The anatomy of melancholy', 1621:
"Some mens whole delight is to talk of a Cock and Bull over a pot."
---source "The Phrase Finder" at www.phrases.org.uk
-------------------------------
The Film - Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
This is the film adaptation of Laurence Sterne's novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.Deftly directed by Michael Winterbottom (9 Songs, 24 Hour Party People). Here's a great quote from imdb.com in the comment section: "Michael Winterbottom loves a challenge. This British director has jumped from genre to genre throughout his career; creating imaginative, idiosyncratic films with remarkable speed and ingenuity. However, an adaptation of Laurence Sterne's famously 'unfilmable' 18th century novel 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' was surely even beyond his capabilities. This book - in which the title character attempts to tell his life story but, through a series of digressions and tangents never even gets around to describing his own birth - is an amorphous blend of bawdy humour and non-consecutive storytelling which seems the least promising material for a movie. Nevertheless, Winterbottom has taken a novel approach to tackling this material and the result is one of his most accomplished and entertaining films."
Steve Coogan is absolutely brilliant here, delivering a performance which has several layers to it - playing himself playing the character Tristram Shandy. Coogan is an actor with the ability to tease himself while in the very process of acting, which we saw him do recently in Jim Jarmusch's excellent indie/art film Coffee and Cigarrettes (2003). Coogan's particular skill here lies in how he is a good enough actor to be able to show us behind the scenes 'bad acting,' as we see in the hilarious scene with the hot chestnut down his pants.
The rest of the cast follow suit, with equally excellent performances (and there are far too many to mention them all), including Rob Brydon (MirrorMask), Shirley Henderson (YES), and a surprisingly transformed Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).
Steve Coogan (very partial) Filmography:
Marie Antoinette (in post production)
The Alibi (2006)
Happy Endings (2005)
Monkey Trousers (TV -2005)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)
* Also in several performances as 'Alan Partridge' - a spoof/comedy DJ persona he has adopted and revived several times on British radio and TV as well as an upcoming film, Alan Partridge: The Movie, (2007) -- more info on this hilarious and crazy persona of his at www.alan-partridge.co.uk
- comments? questions? - shawn@grandcinema.com
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