The Hunt for Tony Blair
| The Hunt for Tony Blair | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Peter Richardson Pete Richens |
| Directed by | Peter Richardson |
| Starring |
Stephen Mangan Catherine Shepherd Robbie Coltrane James Buckley Nigel Planer Ford Kiernan Jennifer Saunders Harry Enfield Rik Mayall John Sessions Morgana Robinson Ross Noble |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Nick Smith |
| Running time | 49 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original release |
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The Hunt for Tony Blair is a one-off episode of The Comic Strip Presents..., a British television comedy, which was first shown on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011. The 49-minute film was written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens and presented in the style of a 1950s film noir. It stars Stephen Mangan as the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is wanted for murder and on the run as a fugitive from justice. The film received its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Television Festival in August 2011. It first aired on Channel 4 on 14 October 2011; it received a mostly positive reaction from reviewers, and was nominated for a BAFTA award (Best Comedy Programme 2012) and the British Comedy Awards (Best Comedy Drama 2011).
Using film noir low key lighting and unbalanced frame compositions, along with visual and narrative tropes whose sources include John Buchan's novels and Alfred Hitchcock's films, and Hollywood productions The Fugitive and Sunset Boulevard, the film imagines former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as a fugitive on the run from the police after having been accused of a series of murders. These include the killing of his former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, although he is also implicated in the death of his predecessor as Labour Party leader John Smith. Determined to clear his name, Blair escapes from 10 Downing Street; but he is a man with no friends willing to give him sanctuary, while the fervent media demand his capture. He is pursued across a fog-bound London by Inspector Hutton and his sergeant, who are helped in their investigation by Peter Mandelson and Gordon Brown. Blair is eventually aided by Margaret Thatcher, a Norma Desmond-like recluse (parodying the 1950 film, Sunset Boulevard), who promptly seduces him. But it gradually emerges that Blair may be innocent of the crime he is accused of committing.
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