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The Fruit Machine (film)
Encyclopedia
The Fruit Machine was known as Wonderland in the United States
.
The Fruit Machine is a British Film
thriller directed by BAFTA-winner Philip Saville
(The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
, The Gospel of John
, Metroland
) about two bud gay teens running from an underworld assassin and the police. This was a film made by UK TV company Granada Productions
; now known as ITV Productions.
Starring Tony Forsyth
, Emile Charles
, Bruce Payne
and Robbie Coltrane
in the role of "Annabelle".
The production has a growing cult following
due primarily to its straightforward portrayal of British gay youth and the rising careers of Coltrane, Payne, Saville and Hans Zimmer
.
The film has had two DVD
releases. In the UK on 16 July 2007 and on 9 April 2009, the German-based Pro-Fun Media released a Region 5 digitally remastered edition in Anamorphic widescreen
(1.66:1), including booklet and trailer. A North American Region 1 DVD version has still not materialised.
, road movie
and 1980s filmmaking. The film plays out a number of social issues
of the time, as seen through the eyes of two British 16-year-olds.
One of the teenagers is played by Emile Charles (younger brother of Craig Charles
). He spends a lot of time at the dolphinarium
at the Wonderland theme park.
Symbol
ism notwithstanding, variations of Bruce Payne's character Echo and his machete appeared on both versions of the film's promotional materials—even though Echo was a non-speaking role.
Soundtrack
by early score master
Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Da Vinci Code
, The Lion King
). No "official" soundtrack was ever released, but the 20-minute The Fruit Machine Suite appears on Hans Zimmer's CD HANS ZIMMER: The British Years, a sampling of his earlier film work.
Divine
's songs, popular around the world and on the charts in Britain at the time, were utilized in the disco dance sequence.
The film also contained the title song, sung by Paul Lekakis
produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
(In the 1980s unemployment rates in Liverpool were amongst the highest in the UK), they stumble into the bizarre fantasy world of a transvestite nightclub called The Fruit Machine, run by "Annabelle". There, they witness a brutal gangland murder by Echo that transforms their quest for adventure into a run for their lives. Alone and afraid, yet hopeful, they wind up in Brighton
with Vincent and Eve at Wonderland, where their path is strewn with manipulation, deceit and murder.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Fruit Machine is a British Film
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
thriller directed by BAFTA-winner Philip Saville
Philip Saville
Philip Saville is a British television direction and screenwriting from the late 1950s...
(The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1983 novel by British feminist author Fay Weldon about a highly unattractive woman who goes to great lengths to take revenge on her husband and his attractive lover...
, The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John (film)
The Gospel of John is a 2003 film that is the story of Jesus' life as recounted by the Gospel of John. It is a motion picture that has been adapted for the screen on a word-for-word basis from the American Bible Society's Good News Bible...
, Metroland
Metroland (1997 film)
Metroland is a 1997 British film starring Christian Bale and Emily Watson. It was directed by Philip Saville and written by Adrian Hodges, based on the 1980 novel by Julian Barnes...
) about two bud gay teens running from an underworld assassin and the police. This was a film made by UK TV company Granada Productions
Granada Productions
Granada Productions was a British commercial television production and distribution company. The company took its name from the successful ITV franchise, Granada Television....
; now known as ITV Productions.
Starring Tony Forsyth
Tony Forsyth
Tony Forsyth is an English actor.Forsyth is best known for his role playing "Michael" in the 1988 British Film The Fruit Machine, a/k/a Wonderland...
, Emile Charles
Emile Charles
Emile Charles is an English actor, best known for playing Eddie in the 1988 British Film The Fruit Machine, aka Wonderland . He is the younger brother of the Red Dwarf star Craig Charles.-External links:...
, Bruce Payne
Bruce Payne
Bruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum...
and Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane
Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr...
in the role of "Annabelle".
The production has a growing cult following
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
due primarily to its straightforward portrayal of British gay youth and the rising careers of Coltrane, Payne, Saville and Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
.
The film has had two 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....
releases. In the UK on 16 July 2007 and on 9 April 2009, the German-based Pro-Fun Media released a Region 5 digitally remastered edition in Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic format
Anamorphic format is a term that can be used either for: the cinematography technique of capturing a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film, or other visual recording media, with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio; or a photographic projection format in which the original image requires an...
(1.66:1), including booklet and trailer. A North American Region 1 DVD version has still not materialised.
Overview
A combination of adventure, buddy filmBuddy film
The buddy film is a film genre in which two people of the same sex are paired. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a different dynamic onscreen than a pairing of two people of the opposite sex. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two...
, road movie
Road movie
A road movie is a film genre in which the main character or characters leave home to travel from place to place. They usually leave home to escape their current lives.-History:...
and 1980s filmmaking. The film plays out a number of social issues
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic issues...
of the time, as seen through the eyes of two British 16-year-olds.
One of the teenagers is played by Emile Charles (younger brother of Craig Charles
Craig Charles
Craig Joseph Charles is an English actor, stand-up comedian, author, poet, radio and television presenter, best known for playing Dave Lister in the British cult-favourite science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf...
). He spends a lot of time at the dolphinarium
Dolphinarium
A dolphinarium is an aquarium for dolphins. The dolphins are usually kept in a large pool, though occasionally they may be kept in pens in the open sea, either for research or for public performances...
at the Wonderland theme park.
Symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism notwithstanding, variations of Bruce Payne's character Echo and his machete appeared on both versions of the film's promotional materials—even though Echo was a non-speaking role.
Soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
by early score master
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
, The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
). No "official" soundtrack was ever released, but the 20-minute The Fruit Machine Suite appears on Hans Zimmer's CD HANS ZIMMER: The British Years, a sampling of his earlier film work.
Divine
Divine (Glen Milstead)
Divine , born Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Described by People magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century", Divine often performed female roles in both cinema and theater and also appeared in women's clothing in musical performances...
's songs, popular around the world and on the charts in Britain at the time, were utilized in the disco dance sequence.
The film also contained the title song, sung by Paul Lekakis
Paul Lekakis
Paul Lekakis is a Greek-American actor, model, filmmaker and club music / Hi-NRG singer, who was discovered for his musical and dancing skills at a nightclub while on assignment as a model in Italy.-Music career:...
produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman.
Synopsis
Eddie and Michael are best friends on the brink of adulthood. Each of them is gay, but both hold diametrically opposed outlooks on life. Eddie likes watching old movies on video with his mum. Michael likes video games and the street. They are total opposites that argue like an old married couple. Leaving behind the grim, oppressive reality of LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
(In the 1980s unemployment rates in Liverpool were amongst the highest in the UK), they stumble into the bizarre fantasy world of a transvestite nightclub called The Fruit Machine, run by "Annabelle". There, they witness a brutal gangland murder by Echo that transforms their quest for adventure into a run for their lives. Alone and afraid, yet hopeful, they wind up in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
with Vincent and Eve at Wonderland, where their path is strewn with manipulation, deceit and murder.
Featured cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Emile Charles Emile Charles Emile Charles is an English actor, best known for playing Eddie in the 1988 British Film The Fruit Machine, aka Wonderland . He is the younger brother of the Red Dwarf star Craig Charles.-External links:... |
Eddie |
| Tony Forsyth Tony Forsyth Tony Forsyth is an English actor.Forsyth is best known for his role playing "Michael" in the 1988 British Film The Fruit Machine, a/k/a Wonderland... |
Michael |
| Robert Stephens Robert Stephens Sir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:... |
Vincent |
| Robbie Coltrane Robbie Coltrane Robbie Coltrane, OBE is a Scottish actor, comedian and author. He is known both for his role as Dr... |
"Annabelle" |
| Clare Higgins | Eve |
| Bruce Payne Bruce Payne Bruce Martyn Payne is an award winning English character actor and producer and was a member of the 1980's Brit Pack. Although he is best known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum... |
Echo |
| Carsten Norgaard Carsten Norgaard Carsten Norgaard , known as Carsten Nørgaard in Denmark, is a Danish actor. Norgaard was born Frederiksberg, Denmark. He began his career playing the enigmatic Dolphin Man in the 1988 film The Fruit Machine... |
Dolphin Man |
| Kim Christie | Jean |
| Louis Emerick Louis Emerick Louis Emerick, born 10 June 1960, Liverpool, England, UK, is a British TV actor, best known for his portrayal of Mick Johnson in the soap opera Brookside.... |
Billy |
| Julie Graham Julie Graham Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in... |
Hazel |
| Forbes Collins | John Schlesinger John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger, CBE was an English film and stage director and actor.-Early life:Schlesinger was born in London into a middle-class Jewish family, the son of Winifred Henrietta and Bernard Edward Schlesinger, a physician... |