Bob Godfrey's free-wheeling, imaginative and irreverent look at the life and achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel benefits from eye-catching animation, upbeat songs, memorable set-pieces and an overall mood of infectious good humour. Although it's been years since I last saw it, several lines stick in my mind, including "Queen Victoria came to look, she said I'm tickled pink", a list of all the things Brunel didn't invent (including heroin, and, because this is a Bob Godfrey cartoon, a live-in bra!), a song about the diminutive inventor's taste in tall hats and a pre-punk rock and roller doing a very gritty song about the great man! At his best, Godfrey was capable of genius, and GREAT is proof of that. A DVD release is long overdue.
21 Reviews
Wow...who'd have known?
planktonrules16 September 2009
I guess in the UK Isambard Kingdom Brunel must be a well-known man, but here in the United States no one has heard of the man. Heck, I was a history teacher and never heard of the guy, so I was surprised and happy to see GREAT--as it opened my eyes to the engineering accomplishments of this Victorian man.
The film is an animated short using a variety of mediums. Some of the animation looks a lot like Terry Gilliam's animations from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" but some is more traditional animation. This combination makes for a striking film and the music and style really make the whole thing stand out and grab your attention.
GREAT starts off with a discussion of the Industrial Revolution in the UK and its ascendancy to the world-class power in the 19th century. The inventions and thinkers that came about during this time in Britain are discussed in general and there is no mention of Mr. Brunel until well into the film. In the mean time, such luminaries as Darwin, Dickens and other great thinkers of the era are briefly highlighted. I like how very briefly, the film makers also dropped the name "Jack the Ripper" into this august mix! Overall, a very interesting film due to its bold and manic style. Be forewarned, however, that the film is very edgy--with some boobs and such thrown in for extra-edginess! Not surprisingly, this film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short.
The film is an animated short using a variety of mediums. Some of the animation looks a lot like Terry Gilliam's animations from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" but some is more traditional animation. This combination makes for a striking film and the music and style really make the whole thing stand out and grab your attention.
GREAT starts off with a discussion of the Industrial Revolution in the UK and its ascendancy to the world-class power in the 19th century. The inventions and thinkers that came about during this time in Britain are discussed in general and there is no mention of Mr. Brunel until well into the film. In the mean time, such luminaries as Darwin, Dickens and other great thinkers of the era are briefly highlighted. I like how very briefly, the film makers also dropped the name "Jack the Ripper" into this august mix! Overall, a very interesting film due to its bold and manic style. Be forewarned, however, that the film is very edgy--with some boobs and such thrown in for extra-edginess! Not surprisingly, this film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short.
Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)
CinemaSerf16 May 2024
Two men are painting a battleship and the older is regaling the younger with the achievements of the engineering genius that was Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I could have sworn it was the voice of Angus Lennie (remember "Ives" from the Great Escape - 1963) and sure enough it is! Anyway, using a comibination of animation styles and photography we spend half an hour on a planet very near "Monty Python" as the feats of this gentleman - some more successful than others - are celebrated with a satirical set of songs and dialogue. Queen Victoria, Prince Albert - even William Gladstone get in on the act as the story unfolds and Britain evolves from a nation of not a lot to a nation of industrially fuelled Empire. It's genuinely quite funny with some of the writing gently taking the mickey out of just about all sectors of society that benefitted from his bridges, railways, boats and other intricate and ingenious mechanisms. You can spot plenty of influences here, everything from Lionel Jeffries to the much derided British Rail commercials we used to get in the 1970s, and it takes a brief pop at the consequences of the industrial decline too as it packs a relentless amount of history (fact or fiction) into thirty minutes of quirky film-making. "Flying Officer Ives" was a tunnel man - so was IKB. No Steve McQueen though.
A Neglected Masterpiece
coyote1328 January 2000
Exactly why an Academy Award winning film of this caliber should be so sorely neglected and unavailable all these years I can't say, but this is one of the few times animation (of varying techniques), music, archive photos, and history have come together into something truly Great. Reminiscent of some of Terry Gilliam's animation for Monty Python's Flying Circus, but yet uniquely it's own beast. I whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone, providing you can find a way to see it. If you're looking for a copy, write me =).
"Oh; it's a ship..."
"Oh; it's a ship..."
Delightful historical cartoon!
angelynx-26 February 2000
Absolutely wonderful short animated mini-musical about the life, career and works of the redoubtable British engineer and inventor, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Unforgettable songs (I saw it years ago and can still sing nearly all of them!--ranging from 50's style rock to wistful ballads to up-tempo show-tunes; none of which, sadly, are given actual titles in the credits), delightful (and bawdy!) comedy, combined with thorough and loving research for a memorable portrait of one of the Industrial Revolution's most remarkable figures. It deserves particular applause for appropriate use of rotoscoped footage to depict the inaugural day of the Great Western Railway--for a minute I almost wondered if they'd somehow found real film of the event, the effect is that convincing. That this film continues to be unavailable is simply a crime.
IMPORTANT NOTE to anyone reading the review (posted 2005) by Judy Renee Pope: I sadly report that Judy passed away in 2007. Please, do not email her asking for a copy of Great; no one is reading her email anymore except me, and I do not know where her copy of the film is. I much regret this, as it seems to have been one of the very few copies anywhere, but I can't help with your requests. Sorry.
IMPORTANT NOTE to anyone reading the review (posted 2005) by Judy Renee Pope: I sadly report that Judy passed away in 2007. Please, do not email her asking for a copy of Great; no one is reading her email anymore except me, and I do not know where her copy of the film is. I much regret this, as it seems to have been one of the very few copies anywhere, but I can't help with your requests. Sorry.
Delightful animated musical biography of IKB
SpaceEE5 July 1999
Delightful animated musical biography of IKB. Showed up on a public television academy award winners program before I owned a VCR and I have been looking for a copy ever since. It is a wonderful view of the great engineering age in Britain. I second the previous submission that I wish I had a copy.
Great Sucks
Rosebudsthesled27 July 2005
Great is Schoolhouse Rock stretched out to a half hour and with not even one percent of the talent. IK Brunel was a pretty cool guy and there's no denying that, but the movie is way too long for it to work effectively. And the songs are really, really annoying. There are simply too many of them and none of them are even very good. Had it been shorter and maybe been about the length of a Schoolhouse Rock video it might have worked. Instead it just goes on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And I could go on, but I don't want to, because just bringing up this cartoon seems to be very painful. Out of the fifty-seven Oscar winning shorts I have seen, Great is the worst.
Deserves to be far better known
enochsneed23 August 2006
As you can see from other reviews of this little masterpiece, "Great - IKB" is a splendid piece of work that is shamefully neglected.
I first knew of the film when I heard the song "It's A Big One" played on the radio when it was released in 1975. I was looking forward to seeing this film about Brunel (already a hero of mine and now 2nd Greatest Briton of All Time, folks!). I never heard any more about it and began to wonder if I'd just dreamt it.
Then in the 1980's Channel 4 broadcast it one Saturday afternoon. Of course I watched it and was amazed at the number of animation styles and the sophisticated humour that was packed into a short film. For example, the film starts with a run-down of Victorian heroes in the style of a football team: 'Boots' Wellington, 'Flash' Gordon, 'Knockers' Nightingale and 'Little Willie' Gladstone on the touchline with his black bag. You need to know your history to appreciate this stuff. There are even references to the size of Prince Albert's manhood (when Queen Victoria said in her diary that "Albert's beauty is most striking" she wasn't writing about his haircut).
When the film was shown again a few years later I set up my cassette player and recorded the soundtrack, just to make sure I could play it whenever I wanted. A good job I did as to my knowledge it has never been shown again and is not available commercially.
I often wonder if a series of these was planned and didn't come off? I think it was produced by British Lion which went bust in the mid-70's. This might explain why "Great - IKB" was a one-off and the lack of a video/DVD distribution deal.
I first knew of the film when I heard the song "It's A Big One" played on the radio when it was released in 1975. I was looking forward to seeing this film about Brunel (already a hero of mine and now 2nd Greatest Briton of All Time, folks!). I never heard any more about it and began to wonder if I'd just dreamt it.
Then in the 1980's Channel 4 broadcast it one Saturday afternoon. Of course I watched it and was amazed at the number of animation styles and the sophisticated humour that was packed into a short film. For example, the film starts with a run-down of Victorian heroes in the style of a football team: 'Boots' Wellington, 'Flash' Gordon, 'Knockers' Nightingale and 'Little Willie' Gladstone on the touchline with his black bag. You need to know your history to appreciate this stuff. There are even references to the size of Prince Albert's manhood (when Queen Victoria said in her diary that "Albert's beauty is most striking" she wasn't writing about his haircut).
When the film was shown again a few years later I set up my cassette player and recorded the soundtrack, just to make sure I could play it whenever I wanted. A good job I did as to my knowledge it has never been shown again and is not available commercially.
I often wonder if a series of these was planned and didn't come off? I think it was produced by British Lion which went bust in the mid-70's. This might explain why "Great - IKB" was a one-off and the lack of a video/DVD distribution deal.
It really is Great
frogclock27 September 2005
One of my favourite animations of all time "Great" combines humorous drawing and plot while actually telling you something about the life & works of Brunel.
It has many different styles of animation and uses archive photographs, comic drawings and live action. It has humour with a little innuendo but also poignancy in what his inventions actually cost Brunel in terms of his health.
The songs are hilarious, and very catchy. After seeing this film you can never look at Queen Victoria without smiling ever again. A well deserved Oscar.
It has many different styles of animation and uses archive photographs, comic drawings and live action. It has humour with a little innuendo but also poignancy in what his inventions actually cost Brunel in terms of his health.
The songs are hilarious, and very catchy. After seeing this film you can never look at Queen Victoria without smiling ever again. A well deserved Oscar.
Very aptly titled
llltdesq1 February 2000
Great is, quite simply, great! A funny, warm, poignant look a real-life builder named Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I wish it was in-print. It's a masterwork. It deserves better than to languish in an obscurity it most definitely does not deserve.
The GREAT-est short subject I have ever seen
rexer27 March 2005
I saw this animated short as a teenager in the late 1970's as part of a PBS Television show called "Academy Leaders", a limited-run series which showcased Oscar winning or nominated short subjects which typically were viewed only by voting academy members, then put back into the can and seldom given the public viewing. I recorded the audio to a cassette and listened to it in the car repeatedly. To this day I can still recall the catchy songs and witty narration at will. This is truly an unforgettable short subject, biographical, musical, and bearing no small portion of witty irreverence toward the Victorian aristocracy. I have searched for a way to see "Great" again ever since and, if there is any way possible, obtain a copy for myself. This is not to be missed. It is, well, GREAT!
Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) was quite an Oscar-winning achievement for Bob Godfrey
tavm23 March 2009
Thanks to Amid on Cartoon Brew, I discovered this Oscar-winning animated short from 1975, directed by Bob Godfrey, on YouTube in three parts. As one can tell from the title, this is about the great British inventor Isambard Kingdom Brunel as illustrated by the animated musical numbers that dominate the nearly 30-minute short as well as many photos and live-action shots that are also depicted. Quite irreverent with the way Godfrey tells us what Brunel didn't invent as well as the many shots of a drawn Queen Victoria saying one thing or another. I found the whole thing quite entertaining even though not everything that came on the scene made complete sense to me. Still, one should give Godfrey credit for even attempting such a massive undertaking!
Great Indeed
bodiebob-632-90996011 January 2010
This Oscar winning mini masterpiece is a cherished memory of many I'm sure. The dulcet tones of Richard Briars guide us through the incredible life of possibly the greatest ever Englishman, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The animation is very much reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's 'Monty Python' work and is accompanied by some really quite impossibly catchy songs along the way. The comedy has a very British feel to it, in fact it could easily have been titled 'Carry On Brunel', but is also at times serious and even poignant. This is an ideal way of tricking a young, awkward child into learning some important British history as it is simply a joy to watch time and again. It is actually available on YouTube but there is something like thirty seconds missing from the beginning..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHg1W9kArwQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHg1W9kArwQ
Delightful short film
catbird-210 April 1999
Simply Great
Ci_annwn28 March 2001
Great - remembered for 30 years
cartimandua5130 September 2011
I saw this by accident on TV over 20 years ago and could never find it again. Catchy and witty. Such a shame it's not commercially available ( there was a thread by history teachers desperately trying to lay their hands on a copy!). As previously stated, a Pythonesque animation of the life and works of the Great Victorian inventor. With some memorable songs (you might hate them, but be unable to get them out of your head, though)
I did find it on YouTube, but please note that the previous link given no longer works. It is currently on at http://youtu.be/whJvNNdQlTI or you can search Great: Isambard Kingdom Brunel; which worked as at Sept 30 2011; but could disappear any time . Catch it while you can!
I did find it on YouTube, but please note that the previous link given no longer works. It is currently on at http://youtu.be/whJvNNdQlTI or you can search Great: Isambard Kingdom Brunel; which worked as at Sept 30 2011; but could disappear any time . Catch it while you can!
Thought the Internet had everything...
jb-2675612 November 2015
...but apparently not this incredible animation.
Is a truly clever blend of history, humor, inventive animation techniques, and, yes, songs about such things as the height of top hats.
At one time, I had a low-quality VHS copy grabbed from public television and used in a Film Appreciation class i was teaching - but that tape is long gone.
Have searched all the usual places, legal and not so much, but zero results.
Really can't believe Great is not available anywhere.
If you get a chance to view it, jump at it.
Is a truly clever blend of history, humor, inventive animation techniques, and, yes, songs about such things as the height of top hats.
At one time, I had a low-quality VHS copy grabbed from public television and used in a Film Appreciation class i was teaching - but that tape is long gone.
Have searched all the usual places, legal and not so much, but zero results.
Really can't believe Great is not available anywhere.
If you get a chance to view it, jump at it.
Availability of Great!
Neilwade6314 September 2017
At Long Last,
Finally Found this film Via Bob Godfrey Films Website.
I am so glad it's become available at long last. I suggest if anyone wants to see it then go to the website and take a look.
If anyone is interested it can be bought via Download.
Finally Found this film Via Bob Godfrey Films Website.
I am so glad it's become available at long last. I suggest if anyone wants to see it then go to the website and take a look.
If anyone is interested it can be bought via Download.
Great! Is great
leslie_chatfield10 July 2014
I. Saw Great! on channel 4 UK many many years ago .......and recorded it on VHS VCR! And I would love to replace this ageing recording with a new DVD before I wear the tape out through watching it so many times. Echoing what others have said why why WHY is this Oscar winning British film about a Great British Man not available more widely. The film is a brilliantly combination of stunning Pythonesq cartoons with wonderful music. "There's been some monster in past like dinosaurs and such .terrible dactyles and the rest they don,t impress me much. And there may be something in Loch Ness if only we could see. But when it comes to magnitude remember I.K.B. I would really LOVE to own a copy of this film on DVD and if one is not soon forthcoming then I suppose I will have to copy my video onto a DVD and sell them on eBay... So be warned.
GREAT! So why isn't it on dvd along with other Bob Godfrey Classics?
hammondjh-0047923 October 2018
I saw this and loved it. The music was amazing and the story content historically and factually correct. Yet despite Bob Godfrey's team bringing to life the story of a British Engineering legend, there's no dvd! Why oh why is the 1970s British cartoon cinema being so neglected?
You Tube Is Great
RSamson1056 March 2009
Search You Tube for Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Or just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHg1W9kArwQ
I, too, saw this as part of the superb PBS series Academy Shorts (why isn't that series available!) and have longed to see it again, as well as many other of the works featured there.
It is a crying shame this and so many other superb short films are not available on DVD. I would love to have access to the library of the NFBC, for example, or much of the Academy Award nominees from years past (they could probably fit a decade's worth of nominees in a single DVD package.)
But until these become available for licensed purchase, You Tube will have to do. They offer this short in three parts, averaging about 8 minutes each.
I, too, saw this as part of the superb PBS series Academy Shorts (why isn't that series available!) and have longed to see it again, as well as many other of the works featured there.
It is a crying shame this and so many other superb short films are not available on DVD. I would love to have access to the library of the NFBC, for example, or much of the Academy Award nominees from years past (they could probably fit a decade's worth of nominees in a single DVD package.)
But until these become available for licensed purchase, You Tube will have to do. They offer this short in three parts, averaging about 8 minutes each.
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