HandMade Films

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HandMade Films
Company type
Private company
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FateLiquidation
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HeadquartersLondon, England
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
David Francis
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ParentParagon Entertainment Corporation (1994–1999)
Cartier Investments (1999–2006)
Almorah Services Ltd (2010–2013)
Websitehandmadefilms.com

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HandMade Films was an English film production and distribution company based in London, active between 1978 and 2013. Notable films from the studio include Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979), The Long Good Friday (1980), Time Bandits (1981), and Withnail and I (1987).[1][2]

History

Foundation

HandMade Films was formed by former Beatle George Harrison and business partner Denis O'Brien in 1978 to finance the controversial Monty Python film Life of Brian.[1] Harrison had been introduced to O'Brien by actor Peter Sellers in 1973. Soon afterward the two went into business together.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The HandMade logo was drawn by Python's animator Terry Gilliam.[3]

When the original financiers of Brian, EMI Films, pulled out of the project less than a week before filming was to commence, the creators had to find other financing.[4][5] Harrison, a friend and fan of the Pythons, mortgaged his Friar Park home to finance the feature.[1] Eric Idle of the Pythons later called it "the most anybody's ever paid for a cinema ticket in history".Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Life of Brian grossed $21 million at the box office in the US.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

Harrison explained: "The name of the company came about as a bit of a joke. I'd been to Wookey Hole in Somerset ... [near] an old paper mill where they show you how to make old underpants into paper. So I bought a few rolls, and they had this watermark 'British Handmade Paper' ... So we said ... we'll call it Handmade Films."Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

First film and growth of productions

The first film distributed by HandMade Films was The Long Good Friday (1980), and the first it produced was Time Bandits (1981), a co-scripted project by Monty PythonTemplate:'s Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The film featured a new song by Harrison, "Dream Away", in the closing credits.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Time Bandits became one of HandMade's most successful and acclaimed efforts; with a budget of $5 million, it earned $35 million in the US within ten weeks of its release.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.

In December 1983 O'Brien said "The important thing is to make films that are intrinsically British, and stay with the strong roots here. Once you start aiming for that mid-Atlantic taste as the UK majors did, you're finished."[6]

HandMade became known for its comedies but also invested in several violent movies such as The Long Good Friday and Scrubbers.[2]

Harrison served as executive producer for 23 films with HandMade, including Shanghai Surprise, Withnail and I and the Oscar-nominated Mona Lisa. He made several cameo appearances in these films, including a role as a nightclub singer in Shanghai Surprise,[7] for which he recorded five new songs.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. According to Ian Inglis, Harrison's "executive role in HandMade Films helped to sustain British cinema at a time of crisis, producing some of the country's most memorable movies of the 1980s."Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. In 1987, HandMade Films made an agreement with independent motion picture distributor Island Pictures to distribute four films for limited theatrical release from 1987 to mid-1988: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, Track 29, The Raggedy Rawney and Bellman and True.[8]

Changes of ownership and recent history

Following a series of box office bombs in the late 1980s and excessive debt incurred by O'Brien, which was guaranteed by Harrison, HandMade's financial situation became precarious.[9]Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. The company ceased operations in 1991[1] and was sold three years later to Paragon Entertainment Corporation of Toronto, Canada.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. Afterward, Harrison sued O'Brien for $25 million for fraud and negligence, resulting in an $11.6 million judgment in 1996.[10][1] Following this event, the company was completely taken over by the Canadian investors.

New owner Paragon Entertainment Corporation restarted production under the HandMade name in 1996–1997.[11] The company's most notable release of that era was Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). In 1999, Patrick Meehan and Cartier Investments acquired HandMade from Paragon.[12][13]

In June 1999, The Equator Group plc became the exclusive distributor and manager of the HandMade Films library,[14] and attempted to purchase the company from Cartier outright, but negotiations were unsuccessful until a reverse takeover agreement with Hand Made Holdings Ltd[15] announced on 15 May 2006.[16]

The Equator Group reincorporated as HandMade Plc on 8 June 2006[17] and the new company was traded on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) stock exchange (changing its ticker symbol from EQG to HMF). Trading of HandMade plc shares was suspended several times, notably June to October 2009, after the company failed to provide 2008 audit results to shareholders.[18][19]

On 29 April 2010, Almorah Services Ltd tendered a takeover bid, priced at £0.01 per share in cash[20] and HMF was delisted from the AIM on 29 June 2010.[21] HandMade plc was re-registered as HandMade Limited, a private company, on 2 February 2011.[22] Handmade Limited entered administration on 11 July 2012, liquidation on 24 April 2013,[23] and was dissolved on 22 February 2018.[24]

In 2016, Park Circus purchased distribution rights to the HandMade film library.[25]

In 2017, following an investigation by the Insolvency Service, three HandMade Limited directors were disqualified from acting as a director of a company: Patrick Anthony Meehan for 13 years, David Bernard Ravden for five-and-a-half years, and Peter William Parkinson for four years. The directors misused funds to "pay off relatives" and "on matters undisclosed to advisers, shareholder or potential investors".[23]

Filmography

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Year Title Director Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
1970s
1979 Monty Python's Life of Brian Terry Jones 95% (64 reviews)[26] 77% (15 reviews)[27]
A Sense of Freedom John Mackenzie Template:Screen reader-only
1980s
1980 The Long Good Friday John Mackenzie 96% (28 reviews)[28] Template:Screen reader-only
1981 Time Bandits Terry Gilliam 89% (46 reviews)[29] 79% (18 reviews)[30]
Tattoo Bob Brooks 33% (6 reviews)[31] Template:Screen reader-only
Venom Piers Haggard 43% (7 reviews)[32] Template:Screen reader-only
The Burning Tony Maylam 86% (7 reviews)[33] Template:Screen reader-only
1982 Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl Terry Hughes (live segments)
Ian MacNaughton (film segments) 		Template:Screen reader-only
Scrubbers Mai Zetterling Template:Screen reader-only
The Missionary Richard Loncraine Template:Screen reader-only
Privates on Parade Michael Blakemore Template:Screen reader-only
1983 Bullshot Dick Clement Template:Screen reader-only
1984 A Private Function Malcolm Mowbray 88% (8 reviews)[34] Template:Screen reader-only
1985 Water Dick Clement Template:Screen reader-only
1986 Mona Lisa Neil Jordan 97% (30 reviews)[35] Template:Screen reader-only
Shanghai Surprise Jim Goddard 13% (8 reviews)[36] Template:Screen reader-only
1987 Withnail and I Bruce Robinson 94% (31 reviews)[37] Template:Screen reader-only
Bellman and True Richard Loncraine Template:Screen reader-only
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne Jack Clayton Template:Screen reader-only
1988 Track 29 Nicolas Roeg 67% (6 reviews)[38] Template:Screen reader-only
Five Corners Tony Bill 78% (9 reviews)[39] Template:Screen reader-only
The Raggedy Rawney Bob Hoskins Template:Screen reader-only
1989 Checking Out David Leland 20% (5 reviews)[40] Template:Screen reader-only
How to Get Ahead in Advertising Bruce Robinson 57% (14 reviews)[41] Template:Screen reader-only
Powwow Highway Jonathan Wacks 100% (9 reviews)[42] Template:Screen reader-only
1990s
1990 Cold Dog Soup Alan Metter Template:Screen reader-only
Nuns on the Run Jonathan Lynn 42% (26 reviews)[43] Template:Screen reader-only
1996 Intimate Relations Philip Goodhew Template:Screen reader-only
1997 The Wrong Guy David Steinberg Template:Screen reader-only
1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Guy Ritchie 75% (65 reviews)[44] 66% (30 reviews)[45]
2000s
2003 Eloise at the Plaza Kevin Lima Template:Screen reader-only
Eloise at Christmastime Kevin Lima Template:Screen reader-only
2006 Eloise: The Animated Series Wes Archer Template:Screen reader-only
2008 Manolete Menno Meyjes Template:Screen reader-only
Fifty Dead Men Walking Kari Skogland 84% (51 reviews)[46] 57% (16 reviews)[47]
2009 Planet 51 Jorge Blanco 22% (108 reviews)[48] 39% (21 reviews)[49]
Cracks Jordan Scott 43% (49 reviews)[50] 54% (12 reviews)[51]
2010s
2010 127 Hours Danny Boyle 93% (224 reviews)[52] 82% (38 reviews)[53]
2020s (credited under GFM Films)
2024 Time Bandits Jemaine Clement
Iain Morris
Taika Waititi 		76% (51 reviews)[54] 66% (28 reviews)[55]

Unmade films

The following films were at one stage announced for HandMade Films but did not proceed to production:

References

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Barber, Nicholas (3 April 2019). "How George Harrison – and a very naughty boy – saved British cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Vagg, Stephen (2 January 2026). "Forgotten British Moguls: Denis O'Brien". Filmink. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  3. ^ An Accidental Studio (2019)
  4. ^ HandMade Films at the BFI's Screenonline
  5. ^ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.; Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found..
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Woffinden, Bob (22 December 1983). "British made". The Guardian. p. 7.
  7. ^ Control Nathan Rabin 4.0 #73 Shanghai Surprise —— Nathan Rabin's Happy Place
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Island Gets 4 Handmades". Variety. 22 April 1987. p. 5.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sellers, Robert (2013). Very Naughty Boys: The Amazing True Stories of HandMade Films. London: Titan Books. ISBN 9781781167083.
  10. ^ Morris, Chris. "George Harrison Wins $11.6 Mill. In Suit Vs. Ex-Partner", Billboard, 3 February 1996: 13
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Entertainment, Paragon. "PARAGON/HANDMADE FILMS TO MAKE FIVE FEATURES IN FIRST HALF OF 1997". www.prnewswire.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."HandMade offering". Variety. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Blackwell, David (16 May 2006). "HandMade set for Aim after £15m deal". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Equator Group PLC Interim Results – 6 months ended 30 June 1999". Investigate.co.uk. FE fundinfo. 28 October 1999. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Equator Group PLC EGM Results and Board Changes". Investegate.co.uk. FE fundinfo. 8 June 2006. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Equator Group PLC re-Admission to trading". Investigate.co.uk. FE fundinfo. 15 May 2006. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name, Company No. 3270629" (PDF). Companies House. 8 June 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  18. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.McNabb, Geoffrey (1 July 2009). "HandMade Plc shares suspended as it fails to produce accounts". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  19. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Allen, Katie (7 January 2010). "Aim-listed HandMade films asks for share suspension". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Almorah Services Ltd Offer for Handmade plc". Investegate.co.uk. FE fundinfo. 29 April 2010. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Cancellation – Handmade plc". Investegate.co.uk. FE fundinfo. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2020.[permanent dead link]
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Certificate of Incorporation on Re-Registration of a Public Company as a Private Company, Company No. 3270629" (PDF). Companies House. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  23. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Handmade film directors disqualified for misleading investors" (Press release). The Insolvency Service. 14 February 2017. 020 7596 6187. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Dissolved" (PDF). Companies House. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.McNabb, Geoffrey (13 May 2016). "Park Circus to sell Handmade Films library". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  26. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  27. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Monty Python's Life of Brian Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  28. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Long Good Friday (1982)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  29. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Time Bandits (1981)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  30. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Time Bandits Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  31. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Tattoo (1981)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  32. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Venom (1981)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  33. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Burning (1981)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
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  35. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Mona Lisa (1986)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
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  42. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Powwow Highway (1989)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  43. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nuns on the Run (1990)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
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Works cited

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