Karaoke / Cold Lazarus

Synopsis

Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer and with less than six-months to live, Dennis Potter undertook a race against time to complete his final two creations that were uniquely shared between Channel 4 and the BBC. Karaoke features an all-star line up including Albert Finney, Richard E Grant, Alison Steadman, Hywel Bennett,Roy Hudd, Anna Chancellor, Saffron Burrows and Keeley Hawes. In Karaoke writer Daniel Feeld (Finney) is working on a fictional TV screenplay "Karaoke", about a stunning young woman who works in a sleazy karaoke bar run by the nasty Arthur "Pig" Mallion, But the lines between the real world and his story begin to blur when he encounters his written words being spoken in the world around him. He desperately tries to control the events while dealing with an evolving serious illness. He plans to depart the world with an explosive ending that will have great repercussions later.

Cold Lazarus, the powerful final work from Potter, and follow up to Karaoke, is set almost 400 years in the future as a group of scientists gather to watch the projected memories of a human brain - the cryogenically stored brain of writer Daniel Feeld. In a time that is far from free, the memories offer a new kind of reality and freedom. As elements of truth and fiction explosively intertwine, will Daniel’s mind finally be set free? Finney resumes his role as Daniel Feeld, alongside star turns from Frances de la Tour, Ciarán Hinds, Henry Goodman and Diane Ladd.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

1996

Notes

Originally screened on BBC and Channel 4 in 1996.

Subjects

Drama; Media studies

Keywords

cryogenic techniques; dreams; genetic engineering; medical procedures; speech and language disorders; Film & television production; Karaoke

Credits

Director

Renny Rye

Producer

Kenith Trodd

Writer

Dennis Potter

Music

Christopher Gunning

Cast

Albert Finney
Alison Steadman
Ciaran Hinds
Frances de la Tour
Hywel Bennett
Ian McDiarmid
Richard E. Grant
Roy Hudd

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£39.99

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

430 minutes (combined)

Year

2010

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Name

Channel 4

Name

Whistling Gypsy

Distributor

Name

Acorn Media UK

Email

customerservices@acorndvd.com

Web

http://www.acorndvd.com/ External site opens in new window

Fax

020 7627 250

Address

55 Drury Lane
London
WC2B 5SQ

Notes

Founded in 1997, Acorn specialises in distributing archival television programmes, predominantly licensed from the BBC and ITV. Sale on DVD and Blu-Ray, in Region 2 PAL format, direct and via retail outlets.