Phoenix Blue

Look not every film can be as good as Lord of the Rings or Gladiators, this film had a real good English feel to it, I thought the acting was good. It was kind of like Notting Hill meets Cocktail.

Good easy to watch film, that made me smile and thats not easy, great film to watch with the girlie she will love the lead man, worth £3.50 at Blockbusters anyway.

Ignore the french guy's feedback, after all he's french !

The soundtrack was pretty good to, sort of Coldplay meets Busted.

Enjoy this film its not full of gratuitous violence and sex, the dysfunctional neighbour was really funny.

This is a very intriguing and under-rated British film. It concerns a 'top of the charts' pop singer named Phoenix Blue whom no one has ever seen, and we discover in the film that he lives mysteriously on a large yacht as a kind of fugitive. He records his music on the boat and his contracts are negotiated by personal managers. The part of the pop singer is played very well by James Murray. His voice is excellently dubbed by the singer and songwriter Jeremy Randall, who wrote very good songs for the film. So the pop singing is of sufficient quality to make the story believable. It seems a shame that Jeremy Randall has not himself come anywhere near to reaching the top since the film was made, considering that he has so much talent. But we now live in an age where talent is not the main thing required to succeed, and where excellent ballads and singing ability are no guarantee of distribution and recognition. I recall this film making something of a splash when it came out, with some enthusiastic reviews, but there did not appear to be much follow-up or sufficient promotion. The film was written and directed by Tony Maylam, a talented director whose rise was also thwarted by factors unknown. This was his last feature film except for JOURNAL OF A CONTRACT KILLER in 2008, and Maylam seems to have endured the same fate as Randall, namely being ignored. But then there are plenty of people of talent in the same boat, alas. The female lead is played by the pert and endearing Emily Hamilton, who is perfectly cast as a determined elf of a girl journalist who will simply not stop trying to solve the Phoenix Blue mystery, despite the fact that it becomes physically dangerous and her life is at risk. Amanda Donohoe is chillingly sinister in her role as the dishonest lover and 'protector' of Phoenix Blue, whom she has fooled into believing that he is wanted by the police as well as a vicious gangster who has 'put a contract out on him', so that he is guarded at all moments and hardly dare leave his boat. His one passion, apart from music, is deep diving on a single breath, a weird sport of which we see a lot in the film. The film was shot in London and on location at Grand Cayman, and there is lots of white sand and blue sea and James Murray in flippers. The yacht has a crew of 18 people. What a lot of money some people waste! A new condition DVD of this rare film now costs £48.34, though a second-hand one is about seven pounds. This film could do with being 'currently available', and certainly deserves to be seen more widely.

Just seen this movie and it came as a very pleasant surprise. A highly original story that held me through to the end, about a bestselling recording artist who the world has never seen - no live performances, no TV appearances, no photos - just the music. Sounds far-fetched, but it pretty much works, principally because the music is so good and the director, Tony Maylam, largely pulls it off. No star names (unless you call Amanda Donohoe a star name, which I don't!), but the three young leads had something. Never seen them before. James Murray, as the singer ... where did he come from? Emily Hamilton the hot young Brit journo tracking down the singer ... and the most impressive, a computer nerd, Jason Hughes, who actually made me laugh. Some nifty locations to, and a backstory involving freediving (touch of "Le Grand Bleu" - remember that!), shot on some dreamy location with acres of translucent blue ocean. But what made the film really standout was the music. Some seriously good tracks. Been hunting down where I can buy the CD, but doesn't seem to be available - ANYWHERE. This is one movie I've seen recently which actually warranted being seen in the cinema on a large screen. Pity, it deserved its shot.

Despite the previous reviewer negative comments, I saw this movie, largely because it starred James Murray.

That said, I ended up really enjoying it and have watched it repeatedly. Admitedly I wasn't struck with the lead actress, Emily Hamilton, but she did okay, and the support actors are wonderful. The scenery is very watchable and the story is exciting, without being too complicated.

It's not the best movie, or the most suspenseful or dramatic, but the music is great, acting top notch, and worth it just for the supporting cast.

As for James Murray......I could watch him in this again and again.

This is worth viewing and I give this 7 out of 10 points for characterisation, cinematography and acting. Nowhere near as lame as some reviewers would have you believe. I've rented/bought worse than this film by far.

Beautiful locations and a storyline that will hold your attention for it's run, give this one a go. Emily Hamilton is quite good in this. She's pretty, acts well and offers a decent interpretation of Rachel. The young actor who plays Rick (James Murray) is handsome but a little hammy and cardboard. Music is nice and the underwater scene's are gorgeous.

It's not going to win any awards for realism, but I don't think they intended to.

I enjoyed it.