It Couldn't Happen Here
Encyclopedia
It Couldn't Happen Here is a 1988 musical film
starring the British pop duo Pet Shop Boys
and based around their music. It was originally conceived as an hour-long video based around their album Actually
, but it turned into a surreal full-scale feature film directed by Jack Bond
and co-starring Barbara Windsor
, Joss Ackland
, Neil Dickson
and Gareth Hunt
.
appears on a bicycle. The song "It couldn't happen here" is being played. He cycles up to a kiosk, where he buys some postcards from the shopkeeper (Gareth Hunt
). The shopkeeper complains about the political faults of the modern world, but Neil ignores him and fills out his postcards.
Meanwhile, Chris Lowe
is at a bed & breakfast. He is in his room packing everything into a seemingly bottomless trunk. He runs downstairs and waits for the landlady (Barbara Windsor
) to bring him breakfast. In the breakfast room, an Uncle Dredge (Gareth Hunt) is making bad jokes. When the huge fried breakfast arrives, Chris empties the contents of the tray over the landlady and runs out onto the street. He runs along the promenade being chased by a group of Hells Angels
on bikes.
Back at the beach, Neil continues to cycle along the beach. He passes a priest
(Joss Ackland) who is reciting verses whilst leading a party of school children. Two of the boys are the Pet Shop Boys
at a younger age and they run to the pier. In a building on the pier, the adult Neil is seeing an exotically dressed female fortune teller; as he leaves she uncovers her face to reveal that "she" is Chris Lowe. The young Neil and Chris (Nicholas and Jonathan Haley) look in a Victorian era
Mutoscope
and see a short bedroom farce: a slapstick performance featuring a squire
(Chris Lowe) and a butler
(Neil Tennant) making advances to a French maid
(Barbara Windsor). The priest catches up with the boys and shouts more verses at them. The boys escape into the amusement arcade where they see a rock star (Neil Tennant) in a gold tasseled suit. Then they pass into a theatre, where they see a group of nuns perform a risqué dance routine to "It's A Sin
". The priest catches up with them again and he takes them outside where it is now evening. On the pier, he commands twelve fishermen to haul a huge cross out of the sea and onto their ship.
The adult Neil and Chris pass three rappers performing "West End girls
" and go to buy a classic car. The salesman (Neil Dickson) insists on presenting his full sales spiel, so Neil and Chris try to interrupt. They pay for the car in cash and drive off with Chris at the wheel. In the car, the news report on the radio tells of a hitchhiker who has hacked to death three people who have given him lifts. Chris pulls over for a female hitchhiker whom they see on the roadside, but instead an elderly man (Joss Ackland) gets in. The passenger, who fits the description of the killer from the radio, gives strange and incoherent answers to questions and turns up the radio, which plays "Always on My Mind
". During the song, the passenger, with a mad look in his eyes, unpacks several knives from his bag but suddenly asks to be let out and the Pet Shop Boys continue unharmed.
They arrive at a transport cafe where they're sat next to a traveller (Gareth Hunt). They order an inappropriate gourmet meal, but the waitress doesn't flinch. At another table a pilot (Neil Dickson
, more or less reprising his lead role in Biggles: Adventures in Time
), fiddles frustratedly with a hand-held computer game that says "divided by... divided by... zero" (taking lyrics from "Two divided by zero"). A voice from the traveler's briefcase asks to be let out and the traveller does so, revealing a ventriloquist's dummy. The dummy starts philosophizing about the concept of time. He asks whether time can be likened to a teacup in that a teacup is no longer a teacup if no one has the intention to use it as such. To shut him up Neil puts a record on the jukebox
("Rent
") and the wall of the cafe rises to reveal some dancers.
Meanwhile, the pilot is seen back in his office reading a book about time. After a while he reaches a conclusion that "the dummy's a blasted existentialist". He boards his plane, determined to put an end to such daftness. Neil and Chris are driving along a country lane, when the pilot attacks. "Two Divided By Zero" is playing. The car is covered with bullet holes but the Pet Shop Boys drive on, again unharmed.
They stop by a telephone box which is being vandalized by a group of youths. Instead of attacking Neil, they politely open the door for him and he phones his mother (Barbara Windsor). The two of them exchange the lines to "What Have I Done to Deserve This?". At the end Neil puts his head against the broken glass on the door and blood appears.
In a suburban street a commuter leaves home and there is a scantily clad woman in his upstairs window. He is covered in flames but doesn't seem to notice. At the railway station, a zebra is led by two zebra-faced men into a goods van. Neil and Chris sit on the platform watching, then get into another van where a large snake coils itself around them. The van takes them to Paddington station
.
At Paddington station, army soldiers stand guard and there is a limo waiting for Neil and Chris. They get in and drive through a tunnel as the chauffeur (Neil Dickson) quotes passages from Milton
's Paradise Lost
at them. They are driven through a battlefield with bombs exploding all around them. They pull up by a nightclub and Neil and Chris enter. They perform "One more chance" to a crowd of dancers. Each dancer has a number on their back. Once the song is finished, Neil and Chris walk up the stairs to leave and on their back are numbers too - except that both of them read "0".
When the film premiered in London's West End, a crowd of fans were standing outside the cinema, waiting for the duo to arrive. However, as both Neil and Chris approached the crowd, they went completely unnoticed thanks to their anonymous appearance, and managed to walk past them.
The working title for the movie was A Hard Day's Shopping, a reference to The Beatles
' film A Hard Day's Night and the Pet Shop Boys
song "Shopping" from the album Actually
.
The clip where a man exits the King's Cross
Station on fire was to be deleted due to the King's Cross station fire
, but it remained at the request of the victims' families.
" is a compilation of clips from the film.
An album of the songs from It Couldn't Happen Here was planned, but was cancelled as it would just include tracks from Please and Actually
. There was a promotional cassette released though which featured most the music from the film and is now highly sought after.
The Variety Club Remix of the Saint Etienne
single "Avenue
" samples dialogue from the film. The band are known for their fondness of the band, having sampled numerous Pet Shop Boys songs.
Film Festival in Houston, 1988.
Neil Tennant subsequently commented that making the film made him realise "one thing, that he couldn't act".
Pet Shop Boys have mentioned an eventual DVD release on their official site when questioned by fans, but nothing has been announced.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
starring the British pop duo Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
and based around their music. It was originally conceived as an hour-long video based around their album Actually
Actually (album)
In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".-Track listing:# "One More Chance" – 5:30...
, but it turned into a surreal full-scale feature film directed by Jack Bond
Jack Bond (director)
Jack Bond is a British film producer and director. He is best known for his work for The South Bank Show and his creative partnership with the British writer, actor and director Jane Arden between 1965 and 1979....
and co-starring Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
, Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
, Neil Dickson
Neil Dickson
Neil Dickson is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television.At the age of five, Dickson contracted polio, but he was fortunate enough to make a complete recovery a year later. He attended Worksop College in Nottinghamshire playing Coriolanus in the...
and Gareth Hunt
Gareth Hunt
Alan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
.
Plot summary
In the early morning, dancers are warming up on an English beach, and Neil TennantNeil Tennant
Neil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
appears on a bicycle. The song "It couldn't happen here" is being played. He cycles up to a kiosk, where he buys some postcards from the shopkeeper (Gareth Hunt
Gareth Hunt
Alan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
). The shopkeeper complains about the political faults of the modern world, but Neil ignores him and fills out his postcards.
Meanwhile, Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
is at a bed & breakfast. He is in his room packing everything into a seemingly bottomless trunk. He runs downstairs and waits for the landlady (Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
) to bring him breakfast. In the breakfast room, an Uncle Dredge (Gareth Hunt) is making bad jokes. When the huge fried breakfast arrives, Chris empties the contents of the tray over the landlady and runs out onto the street. He runs along the promenade being chased by a group of Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
on bikes.
Back at the beach, Neil continues to cycle along the beach. He passes a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
(Joss Ackland) who is reciting verses whilst leading a party of school children. Two of the boys are the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
at a younger age and they run to the pier. In a building on the pier, the adult Neil is seeing an exotically dressed female fortune teller; as he leaves she uncovers her face to reveal that "she" is Chris Lowe. The young Neil and Chris (Nicholas and Jonathan Haley) look in a Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Mutoscope
Mutoscope
frame|right|An 1899 trade advertisementThe Mutoscope was an early motion picture device, patented by Herman Casler on November 21, 1894. Like Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope it did not project on a screen, and provided viewing to only one person at a time...
and see a short bedroom farce: a slapstick performance featuring a squire
Squire
The English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
(Chris Lowe) and a butler
Butler
A butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
(Neil Tennant) making advances to a French maid
French maid
French maid refers to a strongly modified style of servant’s dress that evolved from typical maids’ black and white afternoon uniforms of the nineteenth century . The designs of the French maid dress can range widely from a conservative look to revealing...
(Barbara Windsor). The priest catches up with the boys and shouts more verses at them. The boys escape into the amusement arcade where they see a rock star (Neil Tennant) in a gold tasseled suit. Then they pass into a theatre, where they see a group of nuns perform a risqué dance routine to "It's A Sin
It's a Sin
"It's a Sin" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987.-Background and writing:...
". The priest catches up with them again and he takes them outside where it is now evening. On the pier, he commands twelve fishermen to haul a huge cross out of the sea and onto their ship.
The adult Neil and Chris pass three rappers performing "West End girls
West End Girls
"West End Girls" is a song by British pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. It is a synthpop song, influenced by hip hop music. The lyrics focus on class, and inner-city pressure, and were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land...
" and go to buy a classic car. The salesman (Neil Dickson) insists on presenting his full sales spiel, so Neil and Chris try to interrupt. They pay for the car in cash and drive off with Chris at the wheel. In the car, the news report on the radio tells of a hitchhiker who has hacked to death three people who have given him lifts. Chris pulls over for a female hitchhiker whom they see on the roadside, but instead an elderly man (Joss Ackland) gets in. The passenger, who fits the description of the killer from the radio, gives strange and incoherent answers to questions and turns up the radio, which plays "Always on My Mind
Always on My Mind
"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers...
". During the song, the passenger, with a mad look in his eyes, unpacks several knives from his bag but suddenly asks to be let out and the Pet Shop Boys continue unharmed.
They arrive at a transport cafe where they're sat next to a traveller (Gareth Hunt). They order an inappropriate gourmet meal, but the waitress doesn't flinch. At another table a pilot (Neil Dickson
Neil Dickson
Neil Dickson is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television.At the age of five, Dickson contracted polio, but he was fortunate enough to make a complete recovery a year later. He attended Worksop College in Nottinghamshire playing Coriolanus in the...
, more or less reprising his lead role in Biggles: Adventures in Time
Biggles: Adventures in Time
Biggles: Adventures in Time is a 1986 adventure film based on the character of Biggles from the series of novels written by Captain W.E. Johns...
), fiddles frustratedly with a hand-held computer game that says "divided by... divided by... zero" (taking lyrics from "Two divided by zero"). A voice from the traveler's briefcase asks to be let out and the traveller does so, revealing a ventriloquist's dummy. The dummy starts philosophizing about the concept of time. He asks whether time can be likened to a teacup in that a teacup is no longer a teacup if no one has the intention to use it as such. To shut him up Neil puts a record on the jukebox
Jukebox
A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media...
("Rent
Rent (song)
"Rent" is a 1987 single by the Pet Shop Boys. It was released in the UK by Parlophone on 12 October 1987. The lyrics deal with a financially one-sided relationship, i.e...
") and the wall of the cafe rises to reveal some dancers.
Meanwhile, the pilot is seen back in his office reading a book about time. After a while he reaches a conclusion that "the dummy's a blasted existentialist". He boards his plane, determined to put an end to such daftness. Neil and Chris are driving along a country lane, when the pilot attacks. "Two Divided By Zero" is playing. The car is covered with bullet holes but the Pet Shop Boys drive on, again unharmed.
They stop by a telephone box which is being vandalized by a group of youths. Instead of attacking Neil, they politely open the door for him and he phones his mother (Barbara Windsor). The two of them exchange the lines to "What Have I Done to Deserve This?". At the end Neil puts his head against the broken glass on the door and blood appears.
In a suburban street a commuter leaves home and there is a scantily clad woman in his upstairs window. He is covered in flames but doesn't seem to notice. At the railway station, a zebra is led by two zebra-faced men into a goods van. Neil and Chris sit on the platform watching, then get into another van where a large snake coils itself around them. The van takes them to Paddington station
Paddington station
Paddington railway station, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex.The site is a historic one, having served as the London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the current mainline station dates...
.
At Paddington station, army soldiers stand guard and there is a limo waiting for Neil and Chris. They get in and drive through a tunnel as the chauffeur (Neil Dickson) quotes passages from Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
's Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
at them. They are driven through a battlefield with bombs exploding all around them. They pull up by a nightclub and Neil and Chris enter. They perform "One more chance" to a crowd of dancers. Each dancer has a number on their back. Once the song is finished, Neil and Chris walk up the stairs to leave and on their back are numbers too - except that both of them read "0".
Featured songs
The movie features the following Pet Shop Boys songs, either in their original form, played as background music or sung by the characters:- "It couldn't happen here" (from the album ActuallyActually (album)In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".-Track listing:# "One More Chance" – 5:30...
) - "Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"Opportunities " is a song by UK synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys, released as a single in 1985 and then in 1986, gaining greater popularity in both the UK and U.S...
" (from the album Please) - "Hit musicHit MusicHit Music was a weekly British chart newsletter; sister publication to Music Week. Hit Music existed for almost nine years, supplying the officil UK music charts . The founding editors were Graham Walker and Tony Brown. The first issue was published 5.09.1992 , the last issue 5.05.2001 Hit Music...
" (from the album Actually) - "It's a sinIt's a Sin"It's a Sin" is a song recorded by Pet Shop Boys which reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in 1987.-Background and writing:...
" (from the album Actually) - "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" (from the album Actually)
- "RentRent (song)"Rent" is a 1987 single by the Pet Shop Boys. It was released in the UK by Parlophone on 12 October 1987. The lyrics deal with a financially one-sided relationship, i.e...
" (from the album Actually) - "West End girlsWest End Girls"West End Girls" is a song by British pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. It is a synthpop song, influenced by hip hop music. The lyrics focus on class, and inner-city pressure, and were inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land...
" (from the album Please) - "Always on my mindAlways on My Mind"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers...
" (from the album IntrospectiveIntrospective (album)Introspective is the third studio album by the English electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was first released in 1988 and is the Pet Shop Boys' second-best-selling album, selling over 4.5 million copies worldwide...
) - "Two divided by zero" (from the album Please)
- "King's CrossKing's Cross (song)"King's Cross" is a Pet Shop Boys song, written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant and is a track on their 1987 album Actually. It was covered and released as a single in 2007 by Tracey Thorn.-Pet Shop Boys version and the King's Cross Fire:...
" (from the album Actually) - "One more chanceOne More Chance (Pet Shop Boys song)"One More Chance" is a song by the English electronic music duo Pet Shop Boys, first released as their second single in 1984 and re-recorded for their second album Actually in 1987...
" (from the album Actually) - "I want to wake up" (from the album Actually)
Soundtrack track listing
Although no formal soundtrack was released, there was a limited promotional cassette.MC: Parlophone / TC-PSB1 (UK)
- "It couldn't happen here" (5:17)
- "Suburbia" (5:07)
- "It's a sin" (Extended version) (7:39)
- "West End girls" (4:41)
- "Always on my mind" (3:59)
- "Rent" (5:09)
- "Two divided by zero" (3:32)
- "What have I done to deserve this?" (Extended version) (4:17)
- "King's Cross" (5:11)
- "One more chance" (5:28)
- "I want to wake up" (5:09)
Cast
- Neil TennantNeil TennantNeil Francis Tennant is an English musician, singer and songwriter, who, with bandmate Chris Lowe, makes up the successful electronic dance music duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
and Chris LoweChris LoweChris Lowe is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
as themselves - Joss AcklandJoss AcklandSidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
as priest/hitchhiker - Neil DicksonNeil DicksonNeil Dickson is an English actor, who has worked extensively in both American and British film and television.At the age of five, Dickson contracted polio, but he was fortunate enough to make a complete recovery a year later. He attended Worksop College in Nottinghamshire playing Coriolanus in the...
- car salesman/pilot/chauffeur - Gareth HuntGareth HuntAlan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
- uncle Dredge/postcard seller/ventriloquist - Barbara WindsorBarbara WindsorBarbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
- Neil's mother/landlady/French maid - Jonathan and Nicholas Haley as young Lowe and Tennant
Production
The original idea of making a film emerged from the band's immense reluctance to go on tour. The band hoped that a film would satisfy the fans' demand to see them in live action.When the film premiered in London's West End, a crowd of fans were standing outside the cinema, waiting for the duo to arrive. However, as both Neil and Chris approached the crowd, they went completely unnoticed thanks to their anonymous appearance, and managed to walk past them.
The working title for the movie was A Hard Day's Shopping, a reference to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' film A Hard Day's Night and the Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
song "Shopping" from the album Actually
Actually (album)
In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".-Track listing:# "One More Chance" – 5:30...
.
The clip where a man exits the King's Cross
King's Cross St. Pancras tube station
King's Cross St. Pancras is a tube station in the London Borough of Camden, on the London Underground network, serving both King's Cross and main line stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1. It is the fourth busiest station on the system and serves more lines than any other...
Station on fire was to be deleted due to the King's Cross station fire
King's Cross fire
The King's Cross St. Pancras tube station fire was a fatal fire on the London Underground. It broke out at approximately 19:30 on 18 November 1987, and killed 31 people....
, but it remained at the request of the victims' families.
Related media
The music video for the single "Always on My MindAlways on My Mind
"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers...
" is a compilation of clips from the film.
An album of the songs from It Couldn't Happen Here was planned, but was cancelled as it would just include tracks from Please and Actually
Actually (album)
In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #22 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".-Track listing:# "One More Chance" – 5:30...
. There was a promotional cassette released though which featured most the music from the film and is now highly sought after.
The Variety Club Remix of the Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne
Saint Étienne is French for Saint Stephen."Saint Etienne" may further refer to:- France :*Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a church in Paris, FranceCommunes*Saint-Étienne, in the Loire department*Saint-Étienne-à-Arnes, in the Ardennes department...
single "Avenue
Avenue
Avenue may refer to:* Avenue , a specialist term in archaeology referring to lines of stones* Avenue , X-Factor UK contestants* Avenue , a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side...
" samples dialogue from the film. The band are known for their fondness of the band, having sampled numerous Pet Shop Boys songs.
Responses
Although the film was poorly received by critics, it did receive an award at the WorldFestWorldFest
WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival is an annual film festival, dedicated to various types of independent films, held in Houston, Texas.-History:...
Film Festival in Houston, 1988.
Neil Tennant subsequently commented that making the film made him realise "one thing, that he couldn't act".
Video releases
It Couldn't Happen Here was available on VHS but this has now been discontinued. A laserdisc release was also available in the USA and Japan but this has also been discontinued.Pet Shop Boys have mentioned an eventual DVD release on their official site when questioned by fans, but nothing has been announced.
External links
- Pet Shop Boys Official Site
- At Dead Of Night PSB fan site