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A Private Function

A Private Function

1984, Movie, 1h 36min

Harkening back to the classic Ealing comedies, this shrewd social satire (scripted by Alan Bennett) features marvelous performances from Maggie Smith and Michael Palin as Joyce and Gilbert Chilvers, a husband and wife living through the stringent food rationing of post–World War II England. When the ambitious Joyce sees a chance to improve her social station by stealing an illegally raised pig (“Pork is power!”), she convinces the compliant Gilbert to abduct the swine. Suddenly the pair find themselves thrust into the black-market meat business—but they’ll have to dodge a vigilant food inspector (Bill Paterson) if they hope to truly bring home the bacon.

Country: United Kingdom

Director:

Malcolm Mowbray

Cast:

Denholm Elliott,

Where to Watch A Private Function online

Subscription

The Criterion Channel

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Ratings

Your rating: 1

IMDb rating

Critic rating

Average critic rating

6.0

Reviews

Critic Emma Cochrane

rated

6

Based on Alan Bennett's first feature script, this is a very English affair: a dark, exquisitely-observed comedy...

Read full review at Empire

Frequently asked questions

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You can stream A Private Function on: The Criterion Channel

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Some movies that have similar genres and were produced around the same time as A Private Function include Life of Brian, Airplane!, History of the World: Part I, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Used Cars, Bachelor Party (1984).