Compare how Hot Fuzz and This is England appeal to a British audience.

This essay is comparing how both these films appeal to there audience, both films are
British, have elements of humour, and appeal to an audience more male orientated. The differences
are This is England is an independent film and Hot Fuzz is a mainstream production.

This is England is a British film produced by Warp Films, a small London based company, and
directed by Shane Meadows who was born in Nottingham and uses his childhood experiences of the
1980’s in his work. The cast are fairly unknown, main character Shaun is played by a young Thomas
Turgoose, one because it’s then cheaper to produce, and two because the ordinary-ness of the
actors adds to the realism of the film. Hot Fuzz is also a British film but produced by the much larger
film company; Working Title owned by Universal. The film is directed by Edger Wright famous for his
comedy films. He uses a well-known cast including main characters; Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
whom he has worked with in the past on numerous occasions. The positive of using stock actors he’s
worked with before is that he knows there styles and that they will work well on screen.

Both films appeal to a British audience, both writers have used stereotypical characteristics
of Britain for example the skin heads and council estates from This is England, and the typical
villagers and London police men from Hot Fuzz. Using British humour allows the audience to
appreciate the comedy properly as they can relate to it. The audience are more likely to understand
and enjoy the film as the topics brought up are more likely to relate to their lives.

Shane Meadows has used social realism in This is England to appeal to British audience, it
shows the brutal reality of what life was like and what he’s experienced. This could be either a real
eye opener to the viewers who had know idea that these events such as “Skin Head Culture” even
happened, or it could allow part of the audience to relive some of the main events that had
happened during their lifetime. In contrast to this Edger Wright uses British comedy to appeal his
audience, the British sense of humour is very sarcastic, taking this into account he has written a film
that is taking the micky out of the hard-core action genre, using stereotypes such as “The
Metropolitan police force” and “the villagers who know everyone’s business” to create a sense of
comedy.

The budget for This is England was approximately £1 million, a very small amount for a film,
however this low budget only adds too the reality and realistic feel to the film. This could also help
appeal to the British audience, the working class viewers who believe in hard work will appreciate
that the actors aren’t ‘divas’ , don’t demand all sorts for their dressing room and can understand the
hard work done by the crew and cast. Edgar Wright had a much larger budget of £16 million to work
with when producing Hot Fuzz. Although this is a relatively small budget for an action film it is still a
lot more lenient than just £1m. This could make the film appeal to a younger audience who are now
used to films using lots of explosions and special effects which are only feasible with a larger budget.

Hot Fuzz can therefore afford a lot more advertising than This is England, this was inevitable
anyway as Hot Fuzz was produced by a more well known film company, but with there extra money
they can afford television adverts etc. This is England is much more of an underground film, its
popularity was spread by a lot less television advertising and a lot more word of mouth advertising.
 Technology was briefly mentioned earlier also, Hot Fuzz is filmed using lots of fast paced
action shots, special effects and make-up (for the gore) this film is more likely to appeal to the big
screens because it has all elements for a good action movie. It will appeal to action movie lovers who
enjoy lots of explosions. Of course all these factors are only available because of their larger budget.
This is England is shot very artistically to make it feel real, there are no special effects or action shots.
Its raw footage looks quite shaky and unedited increasing the reality of the film further. There are no
explosions or gory scenes making it less appealing to the big Hollywood movie boss’s, its simple
filming techniques are really effective and it’s montages of events that were happening at the time
look excellent and fit really well with the style of shooting.

Both films use British actors, this appeals to their audience because of the sense of humour
again, only British actors and portray true British humour properly. However, although all both
British casts, Hot Fuzz’s cast is a lot better known that This is England’s cast. Edgar Wright has used
stock actors who he knows work well together and will work well with the type of film. Using well
known actors has an advantage on advertising the film too, if a viewer particularly like the actor
Simon Pegg, then they will go and see that film because it has their preferred actor/tress in it
regardless of the genre. Using lesser known actors and actress’ reduces costs which is important
when working with a smaller budget. This is England is showing reality so using non famous actors
and actress’ it increases this realism.

Budget also effects the location of filming. This is England is shot on a council estate in the
Midlands, a lot of filming is shot on location in Nottingham but there are also scenes at the docks.
The setting very important for a film especially one which is about a past even as it has to be
realistic. The Attention to detail is crucial, even down to the graffiti on the walls of the buildings; one
phrase reads “Maggie is a twat”. This is topical and helps date the film as it set in the times when
Margret Thatcher was about. Adding in things like this really help with the realistic look of the film.
Hot Fuss is set in a much more known location, London; it uses shots to show this like the
stereotypical red buss and iconic Big Ben. This location of the film then travels into the countryside, a
lot of travelling, with cast, crew and equipment, also adds to cost stretching the budget even further.

Overall I think both films are produced really well, Hot Fuzz the comedy is sharp and I think
the sarcasm works brilliantly, I like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as actors and they play their
characters well. Although their budget is a lot bigger then this is England, it still isn’t that much to
create an action film so I think they have used their money well and it looks good. I think this film
would appeal to the British audience more than This is England partly because of more advertising,
but mostly because its easy to watch and will appeal to a really wide age range. Despite this, I
personally prefer how This is England is shot, I like the fact it looks real and I think the artistic shots
and montages look spot on. They have used their budget really well; the attention to detail is very
precise making it look authentic. It would appeal to a smaller British audience; it isn’t suitable for
younger people/ children as its quite hard hitting cutting out a large part of the audience just from
its rating. Also the lack of advertising due to a small budget shrunk the audience down too as not
many people knew about the film.