Rent Whisky Galore! (2016)

Quite a poor adaptation of Compton MacKenzie's book and the Ealing Film - Whisky Galore! review by CP Customer

Compton MacKenzie was a prolofic and talented Scottish author whose works have been adapted for film and TV. Whiskey Galore and The Monarch of the Glen are probably the two most famous. The first is loosely based on the sinking of SS Politician which sank off Islay with a cargo of alcohol destined for the West Indies.

In the Ealing Films version it was played very much in the slapstick style and thanks to some great British character actors became a much loved success. Unfortunately, the remake cannot decide whether to be true to the book or the earlier film and as a result has the charm of neither. As a previous reviewer said, some of the characters needed work, but also, in my view, did the sets. It felt low budget, almost made for TV with indoor or restricted shots. No sense of the grandeur of the Isle or the remoteness of the location. at the time of the events, there were no decent roads to the Inner Hebrides and so the community really was isolated. The villagers could never see why their locawhen there were few decent roads to the Inner Hebrides. This is something the Ealing film achieved.

There is on tour an all female cast version and it is much better than this film on a thousandth of its budget

Easy watch - Whisky Galore! review by Timp

I probably have seen the original version but didn't have a strong enough memory of it to compare the two.

This version is an easy watch for the family. I can see why some reviewers have been more critical as there is a lack of depth to some performances.

Good enough for a wet Sunday afternoon

Eddie hams it up, Gregor plays it straight - Whisky Galore! review by AW

As another person has remarked I saw the original WHISKY GALORE a while ago, black & white, a classic 50s film (I think...er, whoops; '49 I see! ) 98 minutes, colour and has English subtitles.

This WG is a whimsical film, filmed on the north coast of Scotland above Aberdeen. Think it was fairly close to the coastal village they used in LOCAL HERO, called Pennan. Plenty of location scenery.

I was drawn to this by Eddie Izzard whose performances are fine to me, he tends, as he says in the special features, not to perform in comedies per se, although I must admit I did chuckle a lot in this.

Subtle nuances poking fun at staid Scots but pleasing. Definitely a feelgood film with a happy ending.

What I find awkward is the two lead young men. I got them all mixed up as they all looked similar. I wish more film directors would remember we the viewers don't know who people are in your story until you establish the scenes and plot! The schoolteacher's mother was a typical church and god-fearing harridan but as usual she thaws.

My mother enjoyed it and she misses a lot through being deaf and needing the subtitles to follow the story. Happily they were fairly good and correct. I have noticed far too much AI subtitles that appallingly mangle what newsreaders and video shorts say.