Underplayed Gems

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982)

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball poster
Directed by
Julien Temple
Genre
comedy, music, tv movie
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
1h 39m
Rated
R
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 6 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This film compiles performances from a 1981 Amnesty International benefit show held in London. It features comedy sketches and musical acts, all aiming to raise money and awareness for human rights causes.

livelyhumorousearnestenergeticwarmvariedinclusive1960s-vibe

What happens

The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. It was the second of many shows to bear the celebrated "Secret Policeman's" title that became the iconic series known informally as The Secret Policeman's Balls. The show took place at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London over four nights between Wednesday 9 September and Saturday 12 September 1981. It was a successor to the 1979 show The Secret Policeman's Ball. Not all artists appeared at all performances: Phil Collins, for example, could not commit to all four shows, and was only present at the last two shows. The show was directed by Monty Python alumnus John Cleese and produced by Martin Lewis and Peter Walker (Amnesty's fundraising officer). It subsequently yielded two separate movies (one version for the UK, directed by Julien Temple, and a quite different version for the US) and two record albums (one each of comedy and music performances). The film was distributed by Miramax. The budget of the 1981 film was £125,000 with finance coming from Amnesty. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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