Bernard and the Genie
Encyclopedia
Bernard and the Genie is a seventy-minute British
TV movie co-produced by Attaboy and Talkback
for BBC Television
. It was first shown on BBC1
on 23 November 1991. Written by comedy writer Richard Curtis
, this comic fantasy
takes its inspiration from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
and follows Alan Cumming
as art dealer Bernard Bottle who is not having a good day.
Sacked by his avaricious boss (Rowan Atkinson
) and jilted by his girlfriend, Bernard unintentionally discovers the antique lamp he was given one Christmas actually contains Josephus (Lenny Henry
), a real life genie
, imprisoned for the last 2000 years for accidentally killing an evil wizard's daughter whilst moonlighting as a knife-thrower.
While Bernard and Josephus struggle to come to terms with their new lives ("At least your girlfriend is buried in the arms of her lover. Mine is buried in an artichoke patch in Jerusalem!"), their attempts to cheer themselves up using magic have unforeseen consequences.
Directed by Paul Weiland
, the movie featured actors such as John Gabriel (as the evil wizard), and Denis Lill
(as lift attendant Frank Kepple), as well as cameos from Melvyn Bragg
, Bob Geldof
, Vincent Hanna
, Gary Lineker
and Trevor McDonald
.
A DVD
version of the movie was released for Region 1
, albeit unauthorized, on 4 September 2007.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV movie co-produced by Attaboy and Talkback
Talkback Productions
Talkback Productions was formed in 1981 by Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones. The company is one of the UK’s leading production companies and part of the RTL Group, a major European broadcast and content company....
for BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
. It was first shown on BBC1
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 23 November 1991. Written by comedy writer Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis
Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis, CBE is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director, known primarily for romantic comedy films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones's Diary, Notting Hill, Love Actually and The Girl in the Café, as well as the hit...
, this comic fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
takes its inspiration from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
The Book of One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age...
and follows Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming, OBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actor, singer, writer, director, producer and author. His roles have included the Emcee in Cabaret, Boris Grishenko in GoldenEye, Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, Mr. Elton in Emma, and Fegan Floop in the Spy Kids trilogy...
as art dealer Bernard Bottle who is not having a good day.
Sacked by his avaricious boss (Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
) and jilted by his girlfriend, Bernard unintentionally discovers the antique lamp he was given one Christmas actually contains Josephus (Lenny Henry
Lenny Henry
Lenworth George "Lenny" Henry, is a British actor, writer, comedian and occasional television presenter.- Early life :...
), a real life genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
, imprisoned for the last 2000 years for accidentally killing an evil wizard's daughter whilst moonlighting as a knife-thrower.
While Bernard and Josephus struggle to come to terms with their new lives ("At least your girlfriend is buried in the arms of her lover. Mine is buried in an artichoke patch in Jerusalem!"), their attempts to cheer themselves up using magic have unforeseen consequences.
Directed by Paul Weiland
Paul Weiland
Paul Weiland is an English motion picture and television director, writer and producer. Weiland is one of Britain's most successful directors and producers of television commercials having made over 500 commercials, including a popular and long-running series for Walkers crisps...
, the movie featured actors such as John Gabriel (as the evil wizard), and Denis Lill
Denis Lill
Denis Lill is a New Zealand-born British actor.Some of his many film and television roles include Fall of Eagles , Edward the Seventh , Survivors , The Scarlet Pimpernel , as William Knox d-Arcy, the Australian oil pioneer in Persia, in Reilly: Ace of Spies , Rumpole of the Bailey , Mapp &...
(as lift attendant Frank Kepple), as well as cameos from Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, Vincent Hanna
Vincent Hanna
Vincent Leo Martin Hanna was a Northern Irish television journalist famed for his coverage of United Kingdom by-elections.-Background:...
, Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
and Trevor McDonald
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor McDonald OBE is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist. He had a long career as a news presenter with ITN...
.
A DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version of the movie was released for Region 1
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, albeit unauthorized, on 4 September 2007.