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Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was Richard Curtis's first feature film, and was also the first of several Curtis films to feature Hugh Grant.
The film was an unexpected success, being the highest-grossing British film in cinema history with worldwide box office in excess of $260 million as of 1999.Trivia at IMDb, URL accessed June 26, 2006
It was the recipient of many awards at the time, and was voted the 27th greatest comedy film of all time by readers of Total Film in 2000. In 2004, the same magazine named it the 34th greatest British film of all time.
The Film
The film follows the adventures of a group of friends through the eyes of a frequently tongue-tied and faux pas-prone Englishman (played by Grant), who is smitten by an attractive American (played by MacDowell). They keep meeting up at weddings (and the funeral of an ebullient middle-aged man played by Simon Callow). Featuring Rowan Atkinson in a cameo playing an inexperienced priest, and John Hannah in one of his first screen roles, the movie was appreciated by audiences for its witty script (written by Richard Curtis) and the considerable charisma of its actors, especially Grant and MacDowell.
The funeral scene is particularly remembered for John Hannah's performance of the poem Funeral Blues ("Stop all the clocks") by W. H. Auden.
Primary cast
- Hugh Grant: Charles
- Andie MacDowell: Carrie
- James Fleet: Tom
- Simon Callow: Gareth
- John Hannah: Matthew
- Kristin Scott Thomas: Fiona
- David Bower: David
- Charlotte Coleman: Scarlett
- Rowan Atkinson: Father Gerald
- Anna Chancellor: "Duckface"
Awards and recognition
Award wins
- BAFTA Award for Best Film
- César Award for Best Foreign Film
- BAFTA David Lean Award for Direction (Mike Newell)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actor (Hugh Grant)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Hugh Grant)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Kristin Scott Thomas)
Award nominations
- Academy Award for Best Picture
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Andie MacDowell)
- Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (Richard Curtis)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture (Richard Curtis)
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Mike Newell)
Soundtrack
The original score was composed by British classical composer Richard Rodney Bennett, although it also featured a crowd-pleasing soundtrack of popular songs, including a cover version of "Love Is All Around" performed by Wet Wet Wet, a single that remained at Number 1 in the British Charts for fifteen weeks and was then the ninth biggest selling single of all time in Britain (now twelfth).
Trivia
- Wedding three (Hamish and Carrie) was notably set in a fictional Scottish castle called 'Glenthrist'.
In popular culture
- On an episode of The Simpsons, an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon was called Four Funerals and a Wedding.
- In The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Shakespeare's comedies are grouped together under the title Four Weddings and a Transvestite.
See also
- Notting Hill, also written by Curtis and starring Grant.
References
External links
1994 films | Best Picture Academy Award nominees | British films | Romantic comedy films | Films directed by Mike Newell
Vier Hochzeiten und ein Todesfall | Quatre mariages et un enterrement | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Четыре свадьбы и похороны (фильм) | Neljät häät ja yhdet hautajaiset | Fyra bröllop och en begravning
"Four Weddings and a Funeral"