Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)

Absolutely wonderful short animated mini-musical about the life, career and works of the redoubtable British engineer and inventor, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Unforgettable songs (I saw it years ago and can still sing nearly all of them!--ranging from 50's style rock to wistful ballads to up-tempo show-tunes; none of which, sadly, are given actual titles in the credits), delightful (and bawdy!) comedy, combined with thorough and loving research for a memorable portrait of one of the Industrial Revolution's most remarkable figures. It deserves particular applause for appropriate use of rotoscoped footage to depict the inaugural day of the Great Western Railway--for a minute I almost wondered if they'd somehow found real film of the event, the effect is that convincing. That this film continues to be unavailable is simply a crime.

IMPORTANT NOTE to anyone reading the review (posted 2005) by Judy Renee Pope: I sadly report that Judy passed away in 2007. Please, do not email her asking for a copy of Great; no one is reading her email anymore except me, and I do not know where her copy of the film is. I much regret this, as it seems to have been one of the very few copies anywhere, but I can't help with your requests. Sorry.

Bob Godfrey's free-wheeling, imaginative and irreverent look at the life and achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel benefits from eye-catching animation, upbeat songs, memorable set-pieces and an overall mood of infectious good humour. Although it's been years since I last saw it, several lines stick in my mind, including "Queen Victoria came to look, she said I'm tickled pink", a list of all the things Brunel didn't invent (including heroin, and, because this is a Bob Godfrey cartoon, a live-in bra!), a song about the diminutive inventor's taste in tall hats and a pre-punk rock and roller doing a very gritty song about the great man! At his best, Godfrey was capable of genius, and GREAT is proof of that. A DVD release is long overdue.

As you can see from other reviews of this little masterpiece, "Great - IKB" is a splendid piece of work that is shamefully neglected.

I first knew of the film when I heard the song "It's A Big One" played on the radio when it was released in 1975. I was looking forward to seeing this film about Brunel (already a hero of mine and now 2nd Greatest Briton of All Time, folks!). I never heard any more about it and began to wonder if I'd just dreamt it.

Then in the 1980's Channel 4 broadcast it one Saturday afternoon. Of course I watched it and was amazed at the number of animation styles and the sophisticated humour that was packed into a short film. For example, the film starts with a run-down of Victorian heroes in the style of a football team: 'Boots' Wellington, 'Flash' Gordon, 'Knockers' Nightingale and 'Little Willie' Gladstone on the touchline with his black bag. You need to know your history to appreciate this stuff. There are even references to the size of Prince Albert's manhood (when Queen Victoria said in her diary that "Albert's beauty is most striking" she wasn't writing about his haircut).

When the film was shown again a few years later I set up my cassette player and recorded the soundtrack, just to make sure I could play it whenever I wanted. A good job I did as to my knowledge it has never been shown again and is not available commercially.

I often wonder if a series of these was planned and didn't come off? I think it was produced by British Lion which went bust in the mid-70's. This might explain why "Great - IKB" was a one-off and the lack of a video/DVD distribution deal.

I guess in the UK Isambard Kingdom Brunel must be a well-known man, but here in the United States no one has heard of the man. Heck, I was a history teacher and never heard of the guy, so I was surprised and happy to see GREAT--as it opened my eyes to the engineering accomplishments of this Victorian man.

The film is an animated short using a variety of mediums. Some of the animation looks a lot like Terry Gilliam's animations from "Monty Python's Flying Circus" but some is more traditional animation. This combination makes for a striking film and the music and style really make the whole thing stand out and grab your attention.

GREAT starts off with a discussion of the Industrial Revolution in the UK and its ascendancy to the world-class power in the 19th century. The inventions and thinkers that came about during this time in Britain are discussed in general and there is no mention of Mr. Brunel until well into the film. In the mean time, such luminaries as Darwin, Dickens and other great thinkers of the era are briefly highlighted. I like how very briefly, the film makers also dropped the name "Jack the Ripper" into this august mix! Overall, a very interesting film due to its bold and manic style. Be forewarned, however, that the film is very edgy--with some boobs and such thrown in for extra-edginess! Not surprisingly, this film won the Oscar for Best Animated Short.

Delightful animated musical biography of IKB. Showed up on a public television academy award winners program before I owned a VCR and I have been looking for a copy ever since. It is a wonderful view of the great engineering age in Britain. I second the previous submission that I wish I had a copy.