Director
Bruce Robinson
Starring
Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson
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Certificate
15
Run Time
90 mins
Release Year
1989
Country of Origin
UK
Language
English
Format
35mm
Director of Photography: Peter Hannan
Editor: Alan Strachan
Produced by: David Wimbury
Music: David Dundas, Rick Wentworth
Screenplay by: Bruce Robinson
Production Designer: Michael Pickwoad
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Part of the Retrospective: The Future Is History Strand
With Thatcher’s Britain set firmly in its sights, Bruce Robinson’s savage black comedy starring the brilliant Richard E. Grant is a vicious attack on the capitalism of the era. Foreshadowing the taboo-breaking 90s satire, wielded by the likes of Chris Morris, this barbed tale of an advertising executive who sprouts a second head is easily one of the most provocative films in the strand, and as a brand new Britain emerges from the decision to leave the EU, it may also be one of the most relevant.
Print courtesy of the BFI National Archive.