THE DUKE [2020 / 2022] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Priceless True Story and A Ridiculously Charming British Comedy!
In 1961, Kempton Bunton [Jim Broadbent], a 60-year-old taxi driver, stole Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first and remains the only theft in the National Gallery’s history.
Kempton Bunton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly – Kempton Bunton had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television.
What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge – Kempton Bunton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage – how and why he used the Duke of Wellington to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 2021 Palic Film Festival: Nominated: Golden Tower for Best Film for Roger Michell. 2022 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards: Nominated: Best Actress for Helen Mirren. Nominated: Movies for Grownups Award: Nominated: Best Actor for Jim Broadbent. Nominated: Movies for Grownups Award for Best Grownup Love Story.
FILM FACT No.2: It was announced in October 2019 that a film ‘THE DUKE’ about the 1961 theft was in development, with Jim Broadbent as Kempton Bunton and Helen Mirren as his wife Dorothy Bunton and Roger Michell as Director. Fionn Whitehead was added the following month. Filming began in November 2019, with Matthew Goode joining the cast. Location shooting took place in Bradford and the production team also used Prime Studios in Leeds. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on the 4th September, 2020. It was also selected to screen at the Telluride Film Festival in September 2020, prior to its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the Latin America, Scandinavian and US distribution rights to the film. Pathé's distribution arm will release the film in France and Switzerland.
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Heather Craney, Stephen Rashbrook, James Wilby, Matthew Goode, John Heffernan, Alice Stokoe, Sarah Annett, Charlie Richmond, Matt Sutton, Dame Helen Mirren, Anna Maxwell Martin, Fionn Whitehead, Michael Hodgson, Richard McCabe, Andrew Havill, Sarah Beck Mather, Cliff Burnett, Jack Bandeira, Val McLane, Will Graham, Aimée Kelly, Claire Lams, Matthew Steer, Sarah Elizabeth Cotton, Michael Gould, Charles Edwards, Sparrow Michell, Sian Clifford, Sam Swainsbury, Dorian Lough, Joseph Bowler, Ashley Kumar, Craig Conway, Austin Haynes, Michael Mather, Sammy T. Dobson, Charlotte Spencer, Michael Adams, Simon Hubbard, Andrew Parker, Darren Charman, Sharon Facinelli, Neal Barry, Joshua McGuire, Steve Giles, Alan Bentley (uncredited), Nigel Black (uncredited), Ray Burnet (uncredited), Mark Fisher (uncredited), Philip Gascoyne (uncredited), Robert Jarvis (uncredited), Craig Thomas Lambert (uncredited), Nig Richards (uncredited), Jacob Smyth (uncredited), David Stokes (uncredited), Alfredo Tavares (uncredited), Michelle Thomas (uncredited), Carl Upshell (uncredited) and Steven Waters (uncredited)
Director: Roger Michell
Producers: Andrea Scarso, Andrew Wright, Cameron McCracken, Christopher Bunton, Hugo Heppell, Jenny Borgars, Michael S. Constable, Nicky Bentham and Peter Scarf
Screenplay: Clive Coleman and Richard Bean
Composer: George Fenton
Costume Design: Dinah Collin
Cinematography: Mike Eley, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 + 1.37:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 Audio Description Service
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 94 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: PATHÉ / INGENIOUS MEDIA / SCREEN YORKSHIRE
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE DUKE’ [2020] kicks into motion, where we learn that the portrait of the Duke of Wellington is worth £140,000 sterling which prompts the always bumbling but still eager to do good Kempton Bunton [Jim Broadbent] to steal the picture away from the National Gallery in London. After he manages to hide the portrait, it becomes difficult to keep the theft a secret. Ultimately when he is found out, Kempton Bunton returns the picture and turns himself in which prompts a battle in court to maintain his integrity and prove that he only wanted to do good things with the interest which would accumulate with the money from the portrait if it simply sat in a bank account.
Matthew Goode is perfectly cast as the lawyer Jeremy Hutchinson QC who seems to be giving up on his “opportunity” to defend Kempton Bunton until it turns out; Kempton Bunton has a pretty good case for doing what he has done. The magic of this film is that we are rooting for Kempton Bunton and even for Dorothy Bunton [Dame Helen Mirren] because both characters are so likable throughout the whole film. They are realistic people who make us care for their predicament and the audience won’t want to see their lives become more difficult than they already are.
Directed by the late Roger Michell, this picture is full of dry humour and hysterical zany barbs. Hilarious lines saturate the witty film. My favourite line comes when a key female character says, “You’d lose your balls if they weren’t in a bag.” And, obviously, she’s not talking about the balls you use for sports either. The characters don’t pull any punches and the laughs come at a fast pace in this picture which makes the audience become completely absorbed in the idea that Kempton Bunton is just your everyday hero who wants to help the elderly and give people television without being taxed for it.
Still, the relationship between Kempton Bunton and Dorothy Bunton is truly moving. Dorothy Bunton keeps things stable in their household as Kempton Bunton constantly screws up each job he is employed with. As we learn the death of their daughter has inspired some of Kempton Bunton’s writing, there is some touching interaction between Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren which is truly moving. When Kempton Bunton tells the court he simply had to marry Dorothy Bunton because he loved her so much when they were younger, we believe it thanks to the fine performances of these two masters of the acting game.
‘THE DUKE’ is an absolute pleasure to watch. You’ll be standing in Kempton Bunton’s corner all the way throughout the film and will be pleasantly surprised by how touching this story truly was, ‘THE DUKE’ for a very heart-warming, and yet hysterically funny good time film.
‘THE DUK’E is an undeniable crowd-pleaser, from the loveable idealist at its centre, to its stirring – and frequently hilarious – climax when Kempton Bunton stands trial at the Old Bailey. True, it’s old fashioned in some ways, but there’s so much heart in its storytelling that the ending comes with a built-in smile of satisfaction. You may even want to applaud.
Just before the end credits appear at the end of the film, we are informed: Kempton Bunton served 3 months . . . for the theft of the frame . . . which was never found. Four years later, keen to his conscious, Jackie Bunton confessed to the theft. Free television licences were eventually introduced in 2000 for the over 75’s.
THE DUKE MUSIC TRACK LIST
SHOP WINDOW (Composed by Ivor Slaney)
JERUSALEM (Music by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry) (Text by William Blake)
STRANGER ON THE SHORE (Written by Mr. Acker Bilk) [Performed by Mr. Acker Bilk] [Played on soundtrack]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – PATHÉ, INGENIOUS MEDIA and SCREEN YORKSHIRE presents the film ‘THE DUKE’ with a glorious 1080p image and most of the film is shown in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, but in certain scenes in the film we get the 1.37:1 aspect ratio with black-and-white images relating to newsreel footage. But as to the overall view of the film image, it really shows off this film as it should be seen in very natural beautiful colours. The presentation manages to hold up here surprisingly well on this Blu-ray disc, where again the skin tones look very natural. The picture image is very clean and polished presentation. PATHÉ, INGENIOUS MEDIA and SCREEN YORKSHIRE has done an absolutely fantastic job in delivering the film ‘THE DUKE’ and especially of all the fans of this film will be more than pleased with the result, so a brilliant professional job all round. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – PATHÉ, INGENIOUS MEDIA and SCREEN YORKSHIRE brings us the film ‘THE DUKE’ with a wonderful 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience. With the film ‘THE DUKE’ it has a brilliant uplifting film score orchestrated by composer George Fenton that really gives a very dynamic and very melodic film score for the film. On top of all that, the sound experience is very crisp and clear, and the dynamic activity of the film’s audio presentation is very good, with some subtle orchestral nuances to add to the atmosphere of this brilliant film. The court scene is really excellent and you hear every word spoken. The only down side is when there are quiet words spoken by some of the actors in a room setting and I had a job sometimes making out what they were saying, especially as some of the actors speak very strong northern accents and that is when you need the English SDH subtitles. But overall, PATHÉ, INGENIOUS MEDIA and SCREEN YORKSHIRE have done a really excellent job.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Making ‘THE DUKE’ [2022] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [2:49] When this featurette starts, we get some short clip from the film to set the scene, but then we are first introduced to actor Jim Broadbent who goes into a detail synopsis about the stealing of the painting by Goya entitled The Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery allegedly stolen by Kempton Bunton from Newcastle. The main crux of the film ‘THE DUKE’ is about a small man telling the truth to power and how Kempton Bunton was disgusted by the Government paying £140,000 sterling for the Goya painting and should have been spent on the older generation and the pensioners. What adds greater power to the story is that it was a huge embarrassment for the establishment. The fact that Kempton Bunton ran this campaign to stand up for the poor and elderly pensioners with an incredible thing and of course once the painting has been stolen, the he holds it for ransom. They all thought the script was brilliant and to read it they all thought it was hilariously funny and they think it is in the early genre of the Ealing Comedy films and a quintessential British film. The film has at times has pathos and drama, but it is for laughs. They also feel it is also a very endearing and very sweet film, especially about an old married couple and you have to believe their relationship and all the actors really enjoyed working together. As to the character Kempton Benton they feel he had good intentions, also slightly foolish, as well as a rascal, a bit like Robin Hood and someone you can easily fall in love with. They also wanted to make the film feel like reality, but also hardship and conflict, but overall humour and a lot of love. They all felt a great joy working on the film and feel very uplifting and will leave a great smile on your face. All in all this is a very nice little featurette and is well worth viewing. Contributors include: Jim Broadbent [Kempton Bunton], Dame Helen Mirren [Dorothy Bunton], Roger Michell [Director] and Nicky Bentham [Producer].
Special Feature: Nothing But The Truth [2022] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [3:15] Once again we start with scenes form the film ‘THE DUKE’ and we are introduced to Chris Bunton who is the grandson of Kempton Bunton, but is the son of the real life Jackie Bunton who is played by the actor Fionn Whitehead and Chris Bunton talks in general about the film and says the scenes in the film basically happened in real life and was of course based on Kempton Bunton memoirs that never got published and of course from the Old Bailey court transcripts and Chris Bunton also says that it was all about Kempton Bunton’s campaign to get old age pensioners ad war veterans a free TV Licence and the betterment for society in general in Kempton Bunton’s community. When the police got the ransom note for the Goya painting, it starts the investigation to find out who stole the painting. When Chris Bunton heard that the actor Jim Broadbent was going to play his grandfather Kempton Bunton, he couldn’t believe to be honest and seeing Jim Broadbent in the film playing Kempton Bunton thought he had really captured the character of his grandfather Kempton Bunton. Chris Bunton seeing Dame Helen Mirren playing the part of Kempton Bunton’s wife Dorothy Bunton, thought the actress did her character proud and at the same time a great surprise and did a really great performance and really pulled of her character of Dorothy Bunton, because the real life wife had a very hard life and again Dame Helen Mirren really catches the essence of the real life Dorothy Bunton. Chris Bunton feels the actor Fionn Whitehead who plays the character Jackie Bunton did a brilliant job and mentions that Jackie Bunton was his father who loved building boats at the age of 20 years of age and was the one who really supported Kempton Bunton. Chris Bunton says that seeing the film ‘THE DUKE’ up there on the big silver screen was totally brilliant and really captured the period in 1961, on top of that Chris Bunton says that Kempton Bunton also thought the film was brilliant and was really shocked seeing his life portrayed in the film. Chris Bunton feels people after seeing the film and coming out of the cinema, will feel very uplifted, especially rooting for Kempton Bunton and how everyone helped each other in Northampton in 1961, especially those that were less fortunate. So all in all, this is a very nice and enjoyable short featurette and on top of all that, we get lots of clips from the film ‘THE DUKE’ and again seeing this Chris Bunton featurette is well worth viewing and very interesting hearing Chris Bunton relating the story about his grandfather Kempton Bunton who he thinks is a wonderful person.
Special Feature: Q&A with Jim Broadbent, Dame Helen Mirren, Producer Nicky Bentham, and hosted by Anna Smith [2022] [1080p] [2.35:1] [25:17] Here we meet all four for this special featurette and is all done on zoom, because it was the time that COVID-19 pandemic was still prevalent and here we have Anna Smith welcomes the other three guests, and introduces them as follows: Jim Broadbent, Dame Helen Mirren and Producer Nicky Bentham and says to us the viewer that I hope you enjoyed the film like I did. Anna Smith congratulates everyone on a fabulous film, and asks each of them why they were keen to do this film. Jim Broadbent is up first and explains why he was very keen to appear in the film and it all started when he finally received the script and was very excited and was the easiest and quickest script he had ever read and found the character Kempton Bunton fascinating and also sympathetic with the real Kempton Bunton, and was keen to play the real Kempton Bunton, because of his humour and his passion and so everything about the film attracted Jim Broadbent to appear in the film. Now Dame Helen Mirren is up next to be asked why she wanted to appear in the film and again all what Jim Broadbent said is why she wanted to be in the film, and on top of all that, it was a beautiful written script, and the words just leapt off the pages, but of course Dame Helen Mirren had never heard of the real true life story and getting to the end of the script, wondered, did this really happen and eventually looked up the story via GOOGLE and says oh my god, this incident really happened and after reading the script again, was even more keener to appear in the film and especially working with the wonderful Jim Broadbent and also especially working with all the cast, the director, the producer and all the crew, who really helped to make it look so easy for them to act in front of the camera and to experience the whole atmosphere felt so right. Next up Anna Smith talks to Nicky Bentham and basically asks the same questions that were asked with Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren and especially why she wanted to get involved with the film. Nick Bentham starts by saying that a short synopsis was sent to her about what the film was about and was even more excited to get involved with the film, especially about the heist of the Goya painting and the cat and mouse chase between the authority and the thief, but it was also beautiful family drama and such an irresistible package. Anna Smith was very enamoured about the relationship with Kempton Bunton and his wife Dorothy Bunton and their onscreen bond and their banter and of course Dame Halen Mirren really loved working with Jim Broadbent, and before shooting began, the two actors did rehearsals for a week so to get to know each other’s characters and to make it looked like they had been married a long time, but of course it all helped with having a brilliant script to work with, and of course they had to perfect the Northampton accent together and helped us to bond together and it helped they had a wonderful dialect coach named Helen Jane Simmons who was really amazing and so patient and made it fun for both of us and made us feel very relaxed in front of the camera, which made us look like a partnership, and on top of all that, the 1960’s costumes we had to wear also helped us a lot, also brilliant was the sets and helped us get into our characters. At that point Jim Broadbent comes back and endorses everything Dame Helen Mirren has said and was also very honoured to work with such a wonderful professional actress. Jim Broadbent says that when he saw the photo of Kempton Bunton, he couldn’t believe how alike he was to the real person. Now we come back to Nicky Bentham and tells us that Chris Bunton contacted her about the story of the stolen Goya painting and immediately contacted Chris Bunton and although it was a long journey, but it was worth it to bring real life story to the silver screen, but what also helped was Kempton Bunton’s unpublished plays, his unpublished memories that were still in Kempton Bunton possession, plus of course the court transcripts and the newspaper stories, helped to bring this real life story that needed to be filmed. On top of all that, they all gave great praise towards the director Roger Michell [1956 – 2021] who sadly passed away just after filming had finished, as they would all have loved to work on another film if had happened, because he always got the best out of people and always created a wonderful atmosphere, and the film was a great homage to the Ealing Comedy films. As we near the end of this very special featurette zoom session, they all have their last word on the subject, and again that they were all very proud to have been involved with the film and showing in the film how everyone in the community came together and that they hope everyone who saw the film enjoyed it and to hopefully tell all their friends, and after viewing the film, and after leaving the cinema and go for a drink or some food and talk about it on what they liked about the film. By the way, we get to view lots of clips of the film and also the behind-the-scenes filming of ‘THE DUKE.’ So all in all, this special featurette is a very enjoyable experience and it definitely earns a five star rating from me.
Theatrical Trailer [2022] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:18] This is the Original Theatrical trailer for the film ‘THE DUKE,’ and certainly gives you a flavour of what basically the film is all about.
Finally, ‘THE DUKE’ has the brilliant Jim Broadbent and Dame Helen Mirren who are absolutely magnificent in the stand- up-and-cheer new British comedy film. What works best about the film is how easy it is to relate to the central characters in the picture which is shockingly and in a good way and of course based on a true life story. Everything about the film makes it a totally involved experience which is just pure wonderful enjoyment from beginning to end and is definitely like the brilliant Ealing Comedies which we Brits did so professionally and I wish the British Film Industry would do more real life gem films of this genre. From the terrific performances to the clever, zany fact-based plot, the story line will make you root for the everyday man who “borrowed” Goya’s Duke of Wellington portrait from the London National Gallery museum in 1961 and, somehow, managed to get off scot free from the law. The always fantastic Jim Broadbent brings a sense of dignity as well as a grand sense of humour to his character Kempton Bunton, a down-to-earth, aging taxi driver who is married to his ever loyal wife, Dorothy Bunton the always formidable Dame Helen Mirren. Kempton Bunton is a struggling play writer who has had a troubled past which includes the tragic loss of his young daughter. Despite the bumpy roads in their marriage, Kempton Bunton and Dorothy Bunton love each other. Fionn Whitehead ably plays their young son Jackie Bunton who will become involved in the film’s complicated, but hysterical real-life story. ‘THE DUKE’ really is a true joy of a film and I absolutely loved all of it, having something as feel good is probably one of the toughest things to do on screen but this really does have so many light-hearted moments and I really do urge everyone to give it a watch. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
