Helen Mirren: British humour is cruel ('too Americanized via savage assimilation'; luvs France)

The Telegraph (U,K,) ^ | November 14, 2010

[Stoat]

 

The actress told a French magazine that the tradition of British decency is in decline.

"I'm under the impression that this notion is disappearing from our society, where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the internet and where, in general terms, everybody seems to me to be very angry.

"This causes me a lot of pain," she said.

She singled out British comedy as an example. "I prefer the finesse of French humour. English humour is harsher, more scathing, more cruel and more surreal too, as illustrated by Monty Python and the TV series Little Britain, where situations are far-fetched and over-the-top."

The 65-year-old actress, who won an Oscar for her role in The Queen, said her home country had become too Americanised. "England is constantly threatened by a savage assimilation. This isn't the case with France which remains furiously protective of its culture."

Dame Helen lives in Los Angeles with her American husband, Taylor Hackford.

(edit)

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

I did hear that much of "Caligula" was added later and the known actors had no knowledge of many of the scenes that were added in post production. Of course if they were working for Guccione they could be sure he wasn't shooting "Mary Poppins."

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Laz would definitely hi...oh never mind.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

It was only revealed a few years ago that Elvis was a big Python fan. He often did all of the voices for his friends, even the “female” ones.

[Captain Peter Blood]

I am defintely a Helen Mirren fan. She was pretty good in “Red”, certainly a type of role she normally doesn’t do.
Hope “Red II” is in the works, heck she could be in “Expendables II”.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Benny Hill would know how to treat her.

[Secret Agent Man]

Says the gal who was in Caligula and The Thief, The Wife, The Cook and Her Lover.

REAL life in the UK is cruel comedy.

[BunnySlippers]

She is incredible. She even wears a 2 piece bathing suit at her age and looks sensational!

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Someone break the news to her that Monty Python was almost 40 years ago

French humor? Somebody tell her that Jerry Lewis also goes back about that far.

[max americana]

I hated RED’. Another ‘the CIA is chasing me because the CIA is the bad guy’ movie (groan). Just sick and tired of it. No originality. Everything from The Expendables to A-Team...always CIA’s fault.

[Slings and Arrows]

I’m sure her plastic surgeon is very proud.

[Twinkie]

She has to suck her belly in REAL, REAL hard, and hold her breath. (as do most women who are no longer girls)

[Lib-Lickers 2]

she was evil sexy in Excalibur..

[chuckee]

Did she play the horse?

[Stoat]

She’s still very smart and sexy despite her thoughts about America and Americans. I’ll give her a pass.
If she chooses to rail against the cultural decline as being primarily due to "American" influences, I'll have to question how smart she truly is.  The cultural decline throughout the West is due almost exclusively to the cancer of the Left, not due to the core values that America was built upon, and the values that Conservatives want to uphold and guide America's return to.  Most people in America would not consider Hollywood 'values' to be representative of America at all, and in fact consider them to be entirely anti-American.  Dame Mirren is apparently so insulated from the real America, as so much of the Hollywood elite are, that she either cannot, or does not wish to, distinquish the two.
This sort of attitude is very common among people who have either never visited America or who have only gone to the hard-Left big cities and have never ventured into what most of us consider to be the 'real' America.  For most in the world this can be excused because, unfortunately, America's image is broadcast directly from the belly of the cancerous Beast, Hollywood and L.A. , and most people simply don't have the opportunity to learn how very wrong this is as a vision of America.
A spectacularly wealthy, supposedly well-traveled woman such as Dame Mirren, however, 'should' know better and the fact that she doesn't is a sad testament to the highly insular and intellecutally-corrupting environment of Hollywood.
And let's not forget that the BBC and the UK film industry is not exactly devoid of Leftists, who gleefully use their 'megaphone' for their own agenda just as the American Left does in Hollywood.

As far as her sexiness is concerned, that of course is perhaps the most subjective judgement possible and I won't quarrel with anyone else's vision of Beauty.  For myself, when I consider sexiness I also need to be able to respect the person who is the object of my adoration.  A woman could be an absolute stunner but if she's anti-American then I'll have no use for her.  "Hanoi Jane" Fonda comes to mind as perhaps the most offensive example, but there are plenty of beautiful Hollywood women who have similar sentiments of America being the 'enemy'.

Acting skill aside, no discussion of beautiful older women would be complete without mentioning Raquel Welch who very intelligently doesn't engage in a lot of divisive public political discussion but who has made a considerable effort to entertain our Military overseas and she has also made some comments against radical militant feminism, which I hold to her eternal credit and esteem.

September 5, 2010 was her 70th birthday.

She’s still very smart and sexy despite her thoughts about America and Americans. I’ll give her a pass.
If she chooses to rail against the cultural decline as being primarily due to "American" influences, I'll have to question how smart she truly is.  The cultural decline throughout the West is due almost exclusively to the cancer of the Left, not due to the core values that America was built upon, and the values that Conservatives want to uphold and guide America's return to.  Most people in America would not consider Hollywood 'values' to be representative of America at all, and in fact consider them to be entirely anti-American.  Dame Mirren is apparently so insulated from the real America, as so much of the Hollywood elite are, that she either cannot, or does not wish to, distinquish the two.
This sort of attitude is very common among people who have either never visited America or who have only gone to the hard-Left big cities and have never ventured into what most of us consider to be the 'real' America.  For most in the world this can be excused because, unfortunately, America's image is broadcast directly from the belly of the cancerous Beast, Hollywood and L.A. , and most people simply don't have the opportunity to learn how very wrong this is as a vision of America.
A spectacularly wealthy, supposedly well-traveled woman such as Dame Mirren, however, 'should' know better and the fact that she doesn't is a sad testament to the highly insular and intellecutally-corrupting environment of Hollywood.
And let's not forget that the BBC and the UK film industry is not exactly devoid of Leftists, who gleefully use their 'megaphone' for their own agenda just as the American Left does in Hollywood.

As far as her sexiness is concerned, that of course is perhaps the most subjective judgement possible and I won't quarrel with anyone else's vision of Beauty.  For myself, when I consider sexiness I also need to be able to respect the person who is the object of my adoration.  A woman could be an absolute stunner but if she's anti-American then I'll have no use for her.  "Hanoi Jane" Fonda comes to mind as perhaps the most offensive example, but there are plenty of beautiful Hollywood women who have similar sentiments of America being the 'enemy'.

Acting skill aside, no discussion of beautiful older women would be complete without mentioning Raquel Welch who very intelligently doesn't engage in a lot of divisive public political discussion but who has made a considerable effort to entertain our Military overseas and she has also made some comments against radical militant feminism, which I hold to her eternal credit and esteem.

September 5, 2010 was her 70th birthday.

[chuckee]

With the exception of Monty Python and currently Ricky Gervais, the Brits suck at comedy. The French suck too with no names coming to mind. The Italians, on the other hand, are the best on the continent at it. They are not afraid to make fun of themselves.

[Stoat]

I appreciate that, thank you. I must confess ignorance to current Italian comedians, probably because I don't speak Italian.  Are there any who come to mind as being particularly representative of what you refer to, perhaps some who might have subtitled videos available?

I've always found the Italian language to be quite beautiful when spoken, and when sung it can be captivating.

YouTube - Pooh - Il primo giorno di liberta'(1976)

YouTube - Claudio Baglioni-E tu

I'm not surprised that Italy would produce some great comedians, and I'd be delighted to hear their work.

[chuckee]

Anything Roberto Benigni is in is funny. Il Professore is also funny and cute too. Somewhat dated and older stuff but still funny are Divorce Italian Style and Big Deal on Madonna Street.That is just for starters. What I like about their humor is it is never mean spirited and always self deprecating.

[rintense]

She was awesome in ‘Red’. Love me some Helen, even though she wrong here.

[Tainan]

I am defintely a Helen Mirren fan. She was pretty good in “Red”, certainly a type of role she normally doesn’t do. Hope “Red II” is in the works, heck she could be in “Expendables II”.

+ 1

I liked both. Also liked "The American." Subtle style of shooting (film-wise) a few technical gaffes, but overall a good movie.

[BenLurkin]