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Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)

  • 1975
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
397
YOUR RATING
Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) (1975)
Computer AnimationAnimationDocumentaryMusicalShort

An animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engineering marvels of the early 19th century - including the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western R... Read allAn animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engineering marvels of the early 19th century - including the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western Railway, and the Great Eastern steamship (for 40 years the world's largest steamship). Vari... Read allAn animated film about the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who spearheaded numerous engineering marvels of the early 19th century - including the Thames Tunnel, the Great Western Railway, and the Great Eastern steamship (for 40 years the world's largest steamship). Various styles of animation are used to depict events in his colorful life.

  • Director
    • Bob Godfrey
  • Writers
    • Richard Taylor
    • Bob Godfrey
    • Joseph McGrath
  • Stars
    • Richard Briers
    • Harry Fowler
    • Barbara Moore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    397
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Bob Godfrey
    • Writers
      • Richard Taylor
      • Bob Godfrey
      • Joseph McGrath
    • Stars
      • Richard Briers
      • Harry Fowler
      • Barbara Moore
    • 22User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 2 wins total

    Photos

    Top Cast8

    Edit
    Richard Briers
    Richard Briers
    • Self - Isambard Kingdom Brunel
    • (voice)
    Harry Fowler
    Harry Fowler
    • Self - Narrator
    • (voice)
    Barbara Moore
    • Self - Queen Victoria
    • (voice)
    Angus Lennie
    Angus Lennie
    • Self
    • (voice)
    Peter Hawkins
    Peter Hawkins
    • Self
    • (voice)
    Dick Graham
    • Self
    • (voice)
    Imogen Claire
    • Self
    • (voice)
    Cyril Shaps
    Cyril Shaps
    • Self
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Bob Godfrey
    • Writers
      • Richard Taylor
      • Bob Godfrey
      • Joseph McGrath
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    6.5397
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    Featured reviews

    SpaceEE

    Delightful animated musical biography of IKB

    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.
    8world_of_weird

    It certainly lives up to its title!

    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.
    9tavm

    Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel) was quite an Oscar-winning achievement for Bob Godfrey

    Thanks to Amid on Cartoon Brew, I discovered this Oscar-winning animated short from 1975, directed by Bob Godfrey, on YouTube in three parts. As one can tell from the title, this is about the great British inventor Isambard Kingdom Brunel as illustrated by the animated musical numbers that dominate the nearly 30-minute short as well as many photos and live-action shots that are also depicted. Quite irreverent with the way Godfrey tells us what Brunel didn't invent as well as the many shots of a drawn Queen Victoria saying one thing or another. I found the whole thing quite entertaining even though not everything that came on the scene made complete sense to me. Still, one should give Godfrey credit for even attempting such a massive undertaking!
    10frogclock

    It really is Great

    One of my favourite animations of all time "Great" combines humorous drawing and plot while actually telling you something about the life & works of Brunel.

    It has many different styles of animation and uses archive photographs, comic drawings and live action. It has humour with a little innuendo but also poignancy in what his inventions actually cost Brunel in terms of his health.

    The songs are hilarious, and very catchy. After seeing this film you can never look at Queen Victoria without smiling ever again. A well deserved Oscar.
    catbird-2

    Delightful short film

    This is a marvelous short subject on the life of the Victorian inventor Izembard Kingdom Brunel. Charming, witty and full of affection for its subject, Great is a delight. I wish I owned a copy.

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    Related interests

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    Computer Animation
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    Animation
    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary
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    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The live-action railway footage used as the basis for one segment was used a few years later in unmodified form for a television ad in the US.
    • Quotes

      Queen Victoria: Ah, Mr Brunel, what are you designing now? Something we shall find amusing, I trust?

      Isambard Kingdom Brunel: How about something six times larger than anything like it before?

      Queen Victoria: Oh, Isambard!

      [Looks at blueprints. Disappointed]

      Queen Victoria: Oh, it's a ship.

    • Connections
      Featured in Know Your Europeans: The United Kingdom (2006)
    • Soundtracks
      Hearts Of Oak
      (uncredited)

      Music by William Boyce

      Lyrics by David Garrick

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • 1975 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Великий (Ісамбард Кіндом Брунель)
    • Production companies
      • British Lion Film Corporation
      • Bob Godfrey Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 30m
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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