London's Burning: The Movie (1986) (TV)

Director:

Les Blair

Writer:

Jack Rosenthal (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1986 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Firefighting

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Mark Arden	...	Vaseline
Rupert Baker	...	Malcolm
Hetty Baynes	...	Mrs. Grant
Sean Blowers	...	Hallam
A.J. Clarke	...	Commander Petrie
Yvonne Edgell	...	Nancy Tate
Jerome Flynn	...	Rambo
James Hazeldine	...	Bayleaf
Gerard Horan	...	Charisma
James Marcus	...	Tate
Gary McDonald	...	Ethnic
Peter McNamara	...	Whitey
Katharine Rogers	...	Josie
Richard Walsh	...	Sicknote

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Movie Connections:

Spin off "London's Burning" (1988)

A fantastic film - The original that spurned the Popular ITV Drama

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Londons Burning the Movie! If you were a fan of London's Burning in its hey day, before it got over dramatised and silly, (thanks to ITV demanding that all ITV dramas get more gritty and feature more stunts in a bid to attract more viewers) then Londons Burning the Movie is will be a real treat.

Featuring many of the now familiar Londons Burning cast which reads like a who's who of famous British television actors the film is hard hitting compulsive viewing from the very start.

Jack Rosenthal (who sadly passed away this year) knew exactly how to write hard hitting , on the edge of your seat, dramas with just the right amount of comedy to keep things ticking along nicely.

Designed to be a one off -made for TV - movie, the film was that popular it spurned the popular ITV drama of the same name, which ran for many years before being axed in 2002.

The plot is based around the life and times of Blue Watch, Blackwall Fire Station East London.

Firstly there is Jose - London's first female firefighter,(remember the film was made back in the early eighties)how will the lads cope with a woman on their patch? Then there is the fantastic array of incidents and emergencies to respond to and of course the hilarious practical jokes and general tom foolery firefighters are famous for - adding some great comedy moments.

The screenplay is truly brilliant,and the observation of the characters portrayed is very accurate indeed.

The cast really get across the message that despite the practical jokes, the teasing , and general tomfoolery a fire crew is not just a group of "laddish" testosterone fuelled males, but a committed group of people who would do anything for their colleagues, they are a team who are more like a close knit family, the fire service family, a family which relies on each other to keep safe in the most dangerous situations.

The film climaxes with a thrilling on the edge of your seat scene that jeopardises the crew... I won't spoil it - all Ill say is watch it - the plot line is simply electric - a great story interwoven with many sub plots to keep things in top gear all the way through.

Compulsive viewing - fantastic film which was ahead of its time when released back in the early eighties as it was the first ever dramatisation portraying a British Fire Crew.