How to Get Ahead in Advertising
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Synopsis
Writer-director Bruce Robinson and star Richard E. Grant, the cracked comic geniuses behind the cult favorite Withnail and I, reteamed for this diabolically dark satire of runaway capitalism in Margaret Thatcher–era England. Grant gives a virtuosically crazed performance as an ambitious advertising exec whose latest assignment—devising a campaign for a pimple cream—has him on the edge of a nervous breakdown. When he sprouts an enormous boil on his shoulder—one that not only talks but has evil ambitions of its own—a twisted battle of wills ensues. With fantastically fleshy body-horror effects and flourishes of gonzo surrealism, this tour de force of verbal jousting and physical comedy is a caustic Jekyll-and-Hyde tale for the greed-is-good 1980s.
Picture 9/10
After being out of print for a couple of decades, Bruce Robinson’s How to Get Ahead in Advertising reenters the Criterion Collection through a new Blu-ray edition, presenting the film in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on a dual-layer disc. The 1080p/24hz high-definition presentation is sourced from a new 2K restoration taken from a scan of a 35mm interpositive.
Previously available only through lackluster DVD editions (one from Criterion and another from MGM in North America), the Blu-ray delivers a wonderful and surprisingly fresh new presentation of the film. Gone are the digital artifacts that plagued both earlier editions (Criterion’s DVD was even interlaced), replaced here by a lovely, filmic texture thanks to a healthy amount of grain that’s rendered cleanly and looks natural throughout.
The source elements limit the image from ever reaching the sharpness levels seen in the companion release Withnail and I (restored in 4K from the original negatives), but even so, the finer details here are noticeably sharper than they ever were on DVD. The messy kitchen sequence and the tiny hairs on the film’s most absurd character—the boil—stand out, even if the synthetic texture of the prosthetic is a bit more obvious now. The encode is also solid, even terrific, handling everything cleanly without any visible macroblocking.
Colors lean cooler, which feels fitting for the film’s tone, though they come off a bit duller compared to Criterion’s DVD, despite some nice bursts of red and violet. They’re about on par with what I recall from the MGM DVD (though I don’t have it on hand to compare). That said, the magenta push in the old Criterion edition is much more apparent now, where whites had a violet hue, so I very much prefer how things appear here. Black levels are also strong, with a nice range in the shadows.
All around, the presentation is a dramatic improvement over previous releases, and it's worth picking up for this aspect alone.
How to Get Ahead in Advertising - Screen Captures
Audio 8/10
The film’s 2-channel surround soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD MA, and it, too, delivers a notable improvement over Criterion’s DVD. It’s a much sharper, cleaner-sounding presentation with a wider dynamic range. Most of the audio, including dialogue, is focused toward the front channels, but the film’s score makes its way into the surrounds, creating an effective and immersive mix overall.
Extras 5/10
Despite Criterion’s long relationship with the film—having released it on LaserDisc, DVD, and now Blu-ray—they’ve been inexplicably frugal when it comes to supplements. The LaserDisc included nothing, and the DVD only offered a trailer. That same trailer is included yet again, but Criterion has at least added one new feature: a brand-new program featuring interviews with director Bruce Robinson and actor Richard E. Grant.
Though it runs only 28 minutes, the program ends up being a surprisingly thorough deep-dive into the film’s origins. Filmed separately, Robinson and Grant discuss how the film came to be, starting with it being remarkably approved by Handmade Films head George Harrison, despite its plot revolving around a man growing a talking boil. There’s more to it than that, of course. Robinson explains the film was born out of his frustrations with Thatcherism, the final straw being when “the hag” (his words) decided to invade “a rock with penguins,” prompting him to use the “pus-filled” boil as a representation of her and her ideology. He admits the film leans too much on telling rather than showing, remarking, “you can’t teach” with a film, and that he would approach it differently today, but the film more than reflects his feelings at the time.
Grant agrees with Robinson's criticisms to an extent, suggesting that his character is too relentless, never giving the audience a moment to breathe, which he doesn’t see as a strength. Still, he clearly enjoyed making the film and playing the character, even if his wife wasn’t fond of it at the time, telling him he was far too manic during that period. Grant also shares his enthusiasm for working off the other actors (probably because it meant he didn’t have to carry every scene himself) and recalls what it was like performing with the prosthetic.
And that’s it for on-disc content. The only academic addition comes in the form of a new essay by David Cairns (replacing Stanley Kauffmann’s from the DVD), included on the poster insert. Cairns examines how the film (one he “can’t believe exists”) reflects Robinson and his other work, while admiring some of its imagery, one moment of which he describes as “Švankmajer-esque.” It’s a strong analysis and one of the more thoughtful takes on the film I’ve come across. While it would have been great to see Cairns contribute one of his excellent video essays, it’s still nice to finally have some meaningful material on this film. There’s so much out there on Withnail and I, but How to Get Ahead in Advertising has been largely neglected.
Closing
Though still light on extras, the long-awaited Blu-ray edition of How to Get Ahead in Advertising delivers a stellar new presentation. Well worth the wait.
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