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Post by daz on Jan 11, 2021 7:23:12 GMT
Interestingly I also watched this today daz!  I have to disagree, I really like this one. Yes, there's a few holes in it - Arthur at the train window, how do they get home etc. but this is Christmas classic and Chisholm is top in this. Having watched Murder On The Express the other night, mrs jno watched this Minder episode for the first time this evening. The result was she enjoyed it too but few laugh out loud moments and she said the ending was rubbish. Nevertheless, I watched this Christmas 1985 and it holds a special place for me. The drama is out in this one and this a light hearted Christmas jolly with two guys you want to win, but you just know they won't as they're both losers. A great 80s British TV film, broadcast when Minder was at its peak. It probably got away with a little more back in the day I concede, due to the show being at the height of its popularity when it went out. It was more like a half baked film version of a 70s sitcom, where they throw everying plus the kitchen sink at it and lost something in translation to the big screen for me.
I enjoyed it, but something just didn't feel right about it in my opinion.
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Post by swainy on Mar 15, 2021 9:57:44 GMT
I’m sure that Minder On The Orient Express was originally intended for release in cinemas early on. I’m sure that I read that somewhere.
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Post by barrythebook on Mar 15, 2021 19:03:55 GMT
I've often wondered what genre this TV film slots into. Is it drama, adventure, crime, action or comedy? Actually, it's all of those genres and this could be the source of my general discontent. Drama, but tame drama. Adventure, but tame adventure. Crime, but tame crime. Action, but tame action. it was primetime Christmas Day television for families across the nation; a radical departure from the normal scheme of things. Great point which I've never considered before. So are we to think that this was written to appeal to a different type of viewer than the series or was it just the way things were going. Don't forget that by this time a lot of the raw, harder edge feel of early Minder had gone. |
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Post by jno on Mar 16, 2021 4:26:48 GMT
I think anything that goes out prime time on Christmas Day has to appeal to broad spectrum of viewer, and to be fair MOTOE certainly does this. I never tire of watching this film and usually watch it at least once a year and always enjoy it.
I keep banging on about this, but visiting Caffiers station in France where the final scenes were filmed gave me a very special feeling, almost as if I was part of it, maybe because in the story they just turn up there too, I don't know, it was just weird. I so wish I could find the mill/weir where the kids throw the photo away but alas, years of searching have come up with nothing nearby.
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Post by bigaitch on May 29, 2021 22:42:27 GMT
Just watched this for only the third time ever. Really good film with a superb cast. George Cole, Dennis Waterman and Patrick Malahide were outstanding in this, as were many others.
A great line , that I remember from original transmission and still makes me laugh is when Chisholm is grovelling to Arthur for a sub and AD replies ‘Am I right in assuming Mr Chisholm, that you are a bit short of dosh? ‘....for some reason I find that very funny.
Also interesting to see Ron Lacey and Maurice Denholm in this as they appeared in one of my favourite episodes of Porridge as Harris and disgraced Judge Rowley respectively.
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Barrel
One Of Your Own
Posts: 130 
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Post by Barrel on Jan 29, 2022 0:45:59 GMT
I like the closing shot of Terry and Arthur as they are runnning away from the Winchester, they turn to each other with a big grin on their faces. It left me with a warm fuzzy feeling at the time, because if I remember rightly in the supposedly last ever episode their relationship wasn't that great. Yep I agree - it is a great scene - like two old buddies on the run.
Interestingly (I only found this out by complete accident), the alley way they run up at the end runs parallel on the other side of the wall to where Terry chases the two thugs at the end of series 1's "Come in T-64, Your Time Is Ticking Away" on Clarendon Road opposite Lansdowne Rise, W11.
Come In T-64
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Minder On The Orient Express
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BING Streetside showing both sides: 
Here is the Google Street View link: goo.gl/maps/ZY539 and the same with a better angle on: Bing Streetside link from which the last pic is taken. 
You ought to be a national treasure jno! I'm going to go over to have a look tommorow as im going portobello market |
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myinspiration
On Wages
Doing my victory lap of watching the box set for the 6th or 7th time in 8 years!
Posts: 66
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Post by myinspiration on Jul 20, 2022 7:46:40 GMT
This one starts out magically.....but somewhere along the (railway) line it peters out a bit.
I think the first 45 minutes are wonderful. Great music, great locations and a real sense of something good to come. However, it becomes way too complicated for me and there are a lot of loose ends, one of which is Arthur being mistaken for an American gangster and nearly assassinated. It's not that clear what is happening with this sub-plot.
Then there is Adam Faith's character - that isn't developed at all. Who is he, exactly? What is his stake in this whole affair? He's prepared to maim for what he wants (presumably Fred South's money?) but then ends up saying 'no hard feelings'.
Overall, with so many characters, it is a good attempt at a farce, and it's an enjoyable 1hr 45 mins, but it sags towards the end.
I can imagine that during Christmas 1985 this would have been the pinnacle of Minder - it must have been one of the most popular shows on TV in the mid-80s.
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Post by barrythebook on Jul 23, 2022 8:25:58 GMT
Then there is Adam Faith's character - that isn't developed at all. Who is he, exactly? What is his stake in this whole affair? He's prepared to maim for what he wants (presumably Fred South's money?) but then ends up saying 'no hard feelings'. I haven't watched this for years but I remember thinking Faith and his sidekick had been hired by somebody to get the details of the bank account from Nikki. If he was working for someone professionally that would explain his offer of a handshake to Terry imo as it was just another job, not personal. |
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Post by tredegar on Nov 29, 2022 16:09:55 GMT
Well I remember this being on the Telly on Christmas day in 1985, but missed it. I've watched all the Terry episodes hundreds of times over the year but stopped when he stopped. I've always knew I had the Christmas 1985 film to see one day, and after almost 37 year latter I just watched it. It was like being 15 again sat watching this for the first time. Seriously, I was sat back in my mothers house again watching Minder. 10/10 loved every second of it......
I was always keeping it for "later" but after a hell of a year with a heart attack that almost killed me off, I thought its now or never.
Now, the only thing I got left I have not watched is the "after" Terry era. Should I ?
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Post by spacecadet on Nov 29, 2022 19:04:25 GMT
Well I remember this being on the Telly on Christmas day in 1985, but missed it. I've watched all the Terry episodes hundreds of times over the year but stopped when he stopped. I've always knew I had the Christmas 1985 film to see one day, and after almost 37 year latter I just watched it. It was like being 15 again sat watching this for the first time. Seriously, I was sat back in my mothers house again watching Minder. 10/10 loved every second of it...... I was always keeping it for "later" but after a hell of a year with a heart attack that almost killed me off, I thought its now or never. Now, the only thing I got left I have not watched is the "after" Terry era. Should I ? There's some good episodes amongst the last 3 series. If there were 36 episodes of Minder I'd never seen I'd be very keen to watch them. |
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Post by jno on Nov 30, 2022 5:10:22 GMT
Now, the only thing I got left I have not watched is the "after" Terry era. Should I ? Of course. |
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Post by johnnybear on Nov 30, 2022 20:13:52 GMT
Was Minder On The Orient Express ever repeated? I can't find anything on Thames/LWT on the T&RD...
JB
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Post by coyote on Nov 30, 2022 21:58:18 GMT
Was Minder On The Orient Express ever repeated? I can't find anything on Thames/LWT on the T&RD... JB ISTR it was repeated the following Xmas, but not on Xmas Day. I don't recall any other repeats personally but there probably have been. It's never been one of the syndicated episodes though. |
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Post by jno on Dec 1, 2022 4:39:19 GMT
Was Minder On The Orient Express ever repeated? I can't find anything on Thames/LWT on the T&RD... JB ISTR it was repeated the following Xmas, but not on Xmas Day. I don't recall any other repeats personally but there probably have been. It's never been one of the syndicated episodes though. Don't know for sure but my gut feeling is to agree with coyote about the following year as that was what came to mind immediately. If it's ever been shown on a satellite channel repeated it is only ever a maximum of once if at all. It's never repeated, although I seem to have some recollection of an Australian repeat early 90s. |
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Post by johnnybear on Dec 1, 2022 7:34:21 GMT
Thanks to both of you. I watched it for the first time in years last night and it's such a good transfer for which I paid £1 for in 2007 and am only now just rewatching!
JB
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Post by johnnybear on Dec 1, 2022 8:58:50 GMT
I couldn't believe that Terry had such a hard time taking on Adam Faith!!! I thought the first time was a lucky fluke with Terry getting hit from behind but later on our Tel only just covers his expenses with Crane!
JB
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Post by coyote on Dec 2, 2022 0:18:40 GMT
9:50pm on New Year's Day 1987, so the following Xmas. Confirmation at issuu.com/radiosoundsfamiliar/docs/dec_20th_1986/2 but you will need to scroll through to New Year's Day and the formatting is a bit annoying. If I could screen grab and post here I would... hint hint... |
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Post by jno on Dec 3, 2022 5:20:30 GMT
9:50pm on New Year's Day 1987, so the following Xmas. Confirmation at issuu.com/radiosoundsfamiliar/docs/dec_20th_1986/2 but you will need to scroll through to New Year's Day and the formatting is a bit annoying. If I could screen grab and post here I would... hint hint... Good find coyote, well done. |
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manta
On Wages
What’s French for en-suite?
Posts: 83
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Post by manta on Jan 7, 2023 22:07:52 GMT
I think it’s been said by most but I’ll say it as well - an excellent use of a film length version of Minder. Everyone on top-notch form. Particularly like how Chisholm went from nervous traveller to sticking it to Interplod and the final scene in the Winchester was a joy. Proper balance of duties between Arthur and Terry, handling the star-studded cast and foreign parts with aplomb.
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Post by westminster on Jan 8, 2023 10:02:41 GMT
I think it’s been said by most but I’ll say it as well - an excellent use of a film length version of Minder. Everyone on top-notch form. Particularly like how Chisholm went from nervous traveller to sticking it to Interplod and the final scene in the Winchester was a joy. Proper balance of duties between Arthur and Terry, handling the star-studded cast and foreign parts with aplomb. I agree the final scenes are great. Proper feel good stuff. |
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Post by metro1962 on Mar 16, 2023 13:30:37 GMT
Great episode 👍
Biggest downside for me (not sure anyone else? ) was the intro music was awful and not fitting with Minder theme at all,they could have done a variation of it but not to be it sounded like something out of a Carry on film.
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Post by spacecadet on Mar 16, 2023 13:54:09 GMT
Great episode 👍 Biggest downside for me (not sure anyone else? ) was the intro music was awful and not fitting with Minder theme at all,they could have done a variation of it but not to be it sounded like something out of a Carry on film. Yes the music used on the credits was rubbish - more like a sitcom theme. |
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Post by metro1962 on Mar 16, 2023 14:35:50 GMT
Great episode 👍 Biggest downside for me (not sure anyone else? ) was the intro music was awful and not fitting with Minder theme at all,they could have done a variation of it but not to be it sounded like something out of a Carry on film. Yes the music used on the credits was rubbish - more like a sitcom theme. I wonder why they did that? Awful choice!! |
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Post by spacecadet on Mar 16, 2023 14:48:18 GMT
Yes the music used on the credits was rubbish - more like a sitcom theme. I wonder why they did that? Awful choice!! Maybe they didn't want to pay royalties to TV Theme composers as it was originally made as a feature film before it was decided to just show in on TV. Did film versions of other TV shows like "Man About The House", "Rising Damp", "George and Mildred", etc keep their TV theme tunes? The Sweeney films didn't use the original theme either. |
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Post by metro1962 on Mar 16, 2023 17:57:47 GMT
I wonder why they did that? Awful choice!! Maybe they didn't want to pay royalties to TV Theme composers as it was originally made as a feature film before it was decided to just show in on TV. Did film versions of other TV shows like "Man About The House", "Rising Damp", "George and Mildred", etc keep their TV theme tunes? The Sweeney films didn't use the original theme either. You got a point regarding the film comedies No they did not use the Original themes. Can you imagine both Sweeney movies having sitcom themes,it just would not work. |
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Post by coyote on Mar 16, 2023 20:46:33 GMT
The Sweeney did it with the Col and Ray episodes though. Personally I don't mind the music, I think it's deliberate to set it apart from the series and more importantly to show they're well off the manor, a long way from Fulham Broadway. I think it even works well in scenes like the train journey to Folkestone. I don't know why but I found myself thinking about "Le Chef du train" when I was in France last week, and Arthur telling him everything was fine and he could get back to the kitchen |
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Post by spacecadet on Mar 16, 2023 22:54:22 GMT
The Sweeney and Minder didn't have regular composers writing the incidental music - they just used music from music libraries. For the Sweeney films they had Denis King and Tony Hatch write the scores and on Minder on the Orient Express they used Denis King again. That might be why the films don't used the TV themes as the film composers wanted to write their own music and not use someone else's main theme. If The Professionals had been given a feature film Laurie Johnson would probably had done the film score and he would likely used a version of main TV theme in the film.
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mlynn
Car Lot Browser
I need a new cam belt for me motor
Posts: 12
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Post by mlynn on Mar 20, 2023 0:18:43 GMT
The theme tune was written by Ed Welch (Confessions Of..., Blockbusters). My pal recorded the theme tune on cassette for a mix tape when it was first broadcast. I didn't get the joke at the start when Arthur says to the ladies "Good morning my dears, It's a bit too early for me I'm afraid" and "Kiss goodbye to kitchen misery Bozz (?) ... that's the miracle of the microwave - be the first one on your street to get the 2 second cup of tea". We watched Minder instead of Only Fools and Horses in our house because we didn't have a video recorder to watch one of them later. We watched OFAH when it was repeated.
I don't know why they just didn't use "I should be so good for you" at the end. It works so much better.
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Post by jno on Mar 20, 2023 4:55:48 GMT
The theme tune was written by Ed Welch (Confessions Of..., Blockbusters). My pal recorded the theme tune on cassette for a mix tape when it was first broadcast. I didn't get the joke at the start when Arthur says to the ladies "Good morning my dears, It's a bit too early for me I'm afraid" and "Kiss goodbye to kitchen misery Bozz (?) ... that's the miracle of the microwave - be the first one on your street to get the 2 second cup of tea". We watched Minder instead of Only Fools and Horses in our house because we didn't have a video recorder to watch one of them later. We watched OFAH when it was repeated. I don't know why they just didn't use "I should be so good for you" at the end. It works so much better. Denis King definitely composed the theme to the film. I contacted him about it in 2015 and he confirmed this, but sadly he didn't think the film was as good as the TV series, an opinion a few share. Not me though! |
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Post by coyote on Mar 21, 2023 23:16:07 GMT
So hell has frozen over and MOTOE is on ITV player at www.ITV.com/watch/minder/29175/981515. It even starts with the original Thames ident Of course it's got loads of ad breaks and it even quotes the running time at 130 minutes with ads rather than the 106 that it is. I didn't notice any obvious cuts but it's been a while since I watched the DVD. And it's given an "over 18" warning at the beginning so there's no reason for it to be cut. Hopefully being on ITV player will give more people the opportunity to watch it  |
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