Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
05-09-10, 06:13 PM
#1
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Thread Starter
Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
Four Lions (2010)
Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.
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Four Lions tells the story of a group of British jihadists who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, what emerges is an emotionally engaging (and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that-while terrorism is about ideology-it can also be about idiots.
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07-05-10, 12:20 PM
#5
DVD Talk Hero - 2023 TOTY Award Winner
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
Cory Doctorow over at BoingBoing saw it, describing it as "This is Spinal Tap for suicide bombers."
07-05-10, 12:56 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
This film is written and directed by the brilliant British comedian and satirist Chris Morris (more casual viewers know him as the original boss on The IT Crowd).
As a huge Morris fan, I've been looking forward to this for a while.
As a huge Morris fan, I've been looking forward to this for a while.
07-05-10, 02:02 PM
#7
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
That looks so wrong. Yet I'm compelled to watch it.
09-10-10, 08:52 AM
#9
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Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
It's not bad. I enjoyed it.
Very 'Three Stooges' type of comedy throughout, but also a fairly intelligent theme to it.
I laughed out loud quite a few times. Some of the stuff is very funny. "There's some pretty hellish Egyptians behind that door". I laughed for a few minutes over that one.
Very 'Three Stooges' type of comedy throughout, but also a fairly intelligent theme to it.
I laughed out loud quite a few times. Some of the stuff is very funny. "There's some pretty hellish Egyptians behind that door". I laughed for a few minutes over that one.
09-10-10, 09:23 AM
#10
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
This will be the first feature to be distributed by newly-formed Drafthouse Films
It's cool to see the Drafthouse branch out in distribution, but I'd rather see them invest more in rolling out theatres (Preferably the Boston area 
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DRAFTHOUSE FILMS TO DISTRIBUTE “FOUR LIONS”, THE ACCLAIMED COMEDY FROM DIRECTOR CHRIS MORRIS
Austin, TX---Thursday, September 9, 2010--- Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Founder Tim League announced today that he is expanding the renowned Alamo Drafthouse brand into film distribution under the banner Drafthouse Films (www.drafthousefilms.com). The first film to release under the new label will be Chris Morris’s astonishing new comedy Four Lions.
Four Lions is a whip-smart laugh out loud comedy that illuminates the war on terror through satire and farce. Blitzing the notion that a comedy about jihadists is a contradiction in terms, the film grossed an astounding £3M at the UK box office and was hailed by critics as “a brilliant film – astonishingly funny” causing “so many different kinds of laughter its almost incredible”.
Writer director Chris Morris based the idea on extensive research. “These cells have the same group dynamics as bachelor parties and five a side basketball teams. Plans are upset by arguments, egos, testosterone and idiocy. Terrorism is about ideology but it’s also about doofuses.”
Four Lions has taken the festival circuit by storm. Following its sell-out success as the buzz hit of the Sundance Film Festival, Four Lions packed the coveted closing night slot of South by Southwest, won the Independent Camera Award at Karlovy Vary and was voted Best Narrative Feature by audiences at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Chris Morris’ comedic television and radio for years. To launch our new distribution label with what I consider to be a modern classic is a dream come true,” said Tim League.
Four Lions will kick off a 10 city promotional screening tour with Chris Morris in attendance in mid-October. The film is slated to release this fall in New York, Los Angeles and Austin and will expand wider in the following weeks.
About Four Lions
Chris Morris' Four Lions is a funny, thrilling comedy that illuminates modern jihadism through the prism of farce. It understands jihadists as human beings. And it understands human beings as innately ridiculous.
In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is disillusioned about the treatment of muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj (Kayvan Novak) has ever heard. Better still it’s a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white islamic convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay). He’d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism - if he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now coz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper”. Instead he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face?
Four Lions plunges us beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien. It undermines the folly of just wishing them away or, even worse, alienating the entire culture from which they emerge. The film is neither pro nor anti religious. The jokes fly out of the characters’ conflicts, excesses and mistakes. Crackling with wit and tension, Four Lions is the essential response to our failure to engage with reality and a high toast to the idea that laughter is better than killing.
About Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo Drafthouse is a lifestyle entertainment brand with an acclaimed cinema-eatery, the largest genre film festival in the United Sates and an online collectible art store. Named "the best theater in America" by Entertainment Weekly, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has built a reputation as a movie lover's oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse Founder & CEO, Tim League, created Fantastic Fest, a world renowned film festival dubbed "The Geek Telluride" by Variety. Also regarded as the "Comic Con of film festivals" Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of offbeat cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood Studios. The Alamo Drafthouse's collectible art boutique, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is expanding its brand in new and exciting ways, including the launch of Drafthouse Films, a new film distribution label and plans to extend its theaters and unique programming philosophy to additional markets across the United States.
Austin, TX---Thursday, September 9, 2010--- Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Founder Tim League announced today that he is expanding the renowned Alamo Drafthouse brand into film distribution under the banner Drafthouse Films (www.drafthousefilms.com). The first film to release under the new label will be Chris Morris’s astonishing new comedy Four Lions.
Four Lions is a whip-smart laugh out loud comedy that illuminates the war on terror through satire and farce. Blitzing the notion that a comedy about jihadists is a contradiction in terms, the film grossed an astounding £3M at the UK box office and was hailed by critics as “a brilliant film – astonishingly funny” causing “so many different kinds of laughter its almost incredible”.
Writer director Chris Morris based the idea on extensive research. “These cells have the same group dynamics as bachelor parties and five a side basketball teams. Plans are upset by arguments, egos, testosterone and idiocy. Terrorism is about ideology but it’s also about doofuses.”
Four Lions has taken the festival circuit by storm. Following its sell-out success as the buzz hit of the Sundance Film Festival, Four Lions packed the coveted closing night slot of South by Southwest, won the Independent Camera Award at Karlovy Vary and was voted Best Narrative Feature by audiences at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Chris Morris’ comedic television and radio for years. To launch our new distribution label with what I consider to be a modern classic is a dream come true,” said Tim League.
Four Lions will kick off a 10 city promotional screening tour with Chris Morris in attendance in mid-October. The film is slated to release this fall in New York, Los Angeles and Austin and will expand wider in the following weeks.
About Four Lions
Chris Morris' Four Lions is a funny, thrilling comedy that illuminates modern jihadism through the prism of farce. It understands jihadists as human beings. And it understands human beings as innately ridiculous.
In a British city, four men have a secret plan. Omar (Riz Ahmed) is disillusioned about the treatment of muslims around the world and is determined to become a soldier. This is the most exciting idea Waj (Kayvan Novak) has ever heard. Better still it’s a no brainer because Omar does his thinking for him. Opposed to Omar and everyone else on earth is the white islamic convert Barry (Nigel Lindsay). He’d realize he joined the cell to channel his nihilism - if he had half the self knowledge of a duck. Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is the odd man out. He can make a bomb – but he can’t blow himself up just now coz his sick dad has “started eating newspaper”. Instead he’s training crows to fly bombs through windows. This is what Omar has to deal with. They must strike a decisive blow on their own turf but can any of them strike a match without punching himself in the face?
Four Lions plunges us beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien. It undermines the folly of just wishing them away or, even worse, alienating the entire culture from which they emerge. The film is neither pro nor anti religious. The jokes fly out of the characters’ conflicts, excesses and mistakes. Crackling with wit and tension, Four Lions is the essential response to our failure to engage with reality and a high toast to the idea that laughter is better than killing.
About Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo Drafthouse is a lifestyle entertainment brand with an acclaimed cinema-eatery, the largest genre film festival in the United Sates and an online collectible art store. Named "the best theater in America" by Entertainment Weekly, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has built a reputation as a movie lover's oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse Founder & CEO, Tim League, created Fantastic Fest, a world renowned film festival dubbed "The Geek Telluride" by Variety. Also regarded as the "Comic Con of film festivals" Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of offbeat cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood Studios. The Alamo Drafthouse's collectible art boutique, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is expanding its brand in new and exciting ways, including the launch of Drafthouse Films, a new film distribution label and plans to extend its theaters and unique programming philosophy to additional markets across the United States.
)
09-11-10, 10:33 PM
#11
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
Hmmm. Watched this tonight. Interesting, and amusing, but not laugh-out-loud funny at all. As I said before, I'm a huge Chris Morris fan, but this seemed like he watered it down quite a bit. And as someone who watches almost nothing but British TV, the accents were a bit difficult at times, even for me. I get the feeling that it's a grower, though, so I'll give it another shot or two before making a final verdict.
11-07-10, 10:39 PM
#12
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
I watched this tonight and thought it was pretty damn good. It's funny in a scary way and it's pretty depressing as well.
Being a fan of Morris' work already I knew it was going to be strange, and it was, but it was more straightforward than I thought it was going to be. It's very well made and as Numanoid already pointed out, sometimes hard to understand what is being said.
It's definitely not for everyone and I'm sure most people (especially in America) won't "get it" but I highly recommend it.
Being a fan of Morris' work already I knew it was going to be strange, and it was, but it was more straightforward than I thought it was going to be. It's very well made and as Numanoid already pointed out, sometimes hard to understand what is being said.
It's definitely not for everyone and I'm sure most people (especially in America) won't "get it" but I highly recommend it.
11-12-10, 10:35 PM
#13
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
Didn't get a chance to comment on this after I watched it earlier this week.
I really liked the film and thought it worked especially well with the addition of Nigel Lindsay ("Barry" the one white jihadist). When he was talking about how modern Islam was watered down ("They play stringed instruments!") I was
. I thought it was very interesting how the last 20 minutes were in effect, not a comedy at all. No one in the theater laughed as
I thought that was interesting, and couldn't imagine an American movie ending on that tone.
As mentioned before here, I thought it was very good, but not laugh-out-loud, tell-your-friends funny.
I really liked the film and thought it worked especially well with the addition of Nigel Lindsay ("Barry" the one white jihadist). When he was talking about how modern Islam was watered down ("They play stringed instruments!") I was
. I thought it was very interesting how the last 20 minutes were in effect, not a comedy at all. No one in the theater laughed asSpoiler:
I thought that was interesting, and couldn't imagine an American movie ending on that tone.
As mentioned before here, I thought it was very good, but not laugh-out-loud, tell-your-friends funny.
11-09-11, 01:38 PM
#14
Moderator
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
given the subject matter, and the last 20 minutes, I'm glad I was laughing out at this movie in my home and not in the theater - British comedy tends to be dark, very black, bleak humour 
Americans acceptance level of comedy is the dreck found on CBS (and Katherine Heigl rom-coms)
Americans acceptance level of comedy is the dreck found on CBS (and Katherine Heigl rom-coms)
Last edited by Giles; 11-09-11 at 01:44 PM.
11-10-11, 05:14 AM
#15
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
I met Chris Morris after the Seattle screening. He seemed pleasant. Did not realize until this thread that he's from "The IT Crowd," which a friend showed me a couple episodes of a couple months ago.
11-10-11, 06:41 AM
#16
Senior Member
Re: Four Lions - (Terrorist Comedy)
This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen, but I was raised on British comedy. I've now seen this movie at least five times, and I'd recommend it to anyone.
