Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 13, 2015

Bruce Robinson's "How to Get Ahead in Advertising" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film as well as an exclusive new video interview with production designer Michael Pickwoad. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"Everything I do is rational..."

How to Get Ahead in Advertising is included in Arrow Video's new Blu-ray release of Withnail and I. To read our review of the new 2K restoration of the film, click here. Please note that Arrow Video's Limited Edition box set is already sold out. The Special Edition two-disc set was released earlier this week.

Richard E. Grant is perfectly cast as Denis Dimbleby Bagley, an overworked advertising professional who has a terrible time developing an effective campaign for a supposedly terrific new acne cream. Unable to deal with the pressure, Denis suffers an emotional collapse that produces a large and incredibly annoying talking boil on his neck. The boil quickly begins manipulating Denis’ body in ways that initially only annoy his wife, Julia (Rachel Ward, Against All Odds, Sharky's Machine), but later on seriously complicates his relationship with her and many of their best friends. As time passes by, the boil completely takes over Denis’ body and then changes his personality.

Bruce Robinson’s sophomore effort, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, may look utterly ridiculous at times, but a lot of truths are spoken in it. In fact, virtually all of its observations about the industry its main protagonist is a part of are still relevant today.

The film is divided into two uneven sections. In the first, the focus of attention is on Denis’ collapse and the ensuing dramatic character transformation. Here the man frequently looks like a drug addict who hasn’t had his fix in weeks and is struggling to control his body. Grant is terrific, but it has to be said that many of his facial expressions as well as the hilarious overreactions are essentially borrowed from the nutty character he played in Robinson’s directorial debut, Withnail and I.

In the second section Denis has a completely different identity. After a series of unsuccessful attempts to remove it, the boil takes over Denis’ body and transforms him into an outspoken cynic who loves to prove why his opinion is always the right one. Within the context of the narrative these opinions are supposed to be incredibly easy to dismiss, but many of them, and specifically the most extreme ones, actually accurately describe how corporate advertising shapes up people’s perceptions and beliefs.

For a while the over-the-top rants work well, but eventually they become predictable and lose their effectiveness. It has to be said, however, that a wider range of targets almost certainly would have made the film a lot easier to criticize because they would have been impossible to introduce without various political overtones. As it is, the film arguably goes as far as it can to work as a comedy and at the same time force one to think about the different ways one is carefully trained to act and react as a consumer.

Robinson clearly did not have a massive budget to work with, but his management of space and time is excellent. He was assisted by cinematographer Peter Hannan, who also collaborated with him on the terrific Withnail and I.

The film’s diverse soundtrack features extracts from Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint Saens, “Tocata” from Symphony No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor, “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity from the Planets Op. 32” by Gustav Holst, and Pete Townshend’s “My Generation”, and “Oscillate Wildly” by The Smiths.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bruce Robinson's How to Get Ahead in Advertising arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The film has a very healthy organic appearance. While there are select areas where light contrast fluctuations are visible -- and it has to be said that they are clearly part of the original cinematography -- detail and clarity are consistently very pleasing. Colors are stable and natural, never appearing even remotely boosted. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections. Rather predictably, grain is visible and typically well resolved. Some light fluctuations can be spotted, but they are not a byproduct of poor digital work; rather, they are inherited from the original elements that have been used to produce the new transfer (screencaptures #11 and 19 reveal what type of fluctuations are present). There are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains, but a few tiny specks remain (see screencapture #3). Finally, there are no stability issues. To sum it all up, this is a wonderful organic presentation of How to Get Ahead in Advertising and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that its fans will be very happy with the way it looks in high-definition. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Depth and clarity are very good and there are no balance issues to report in this review. The music has primarily a supportive role, but there are a few sequences where the lush strings enhance the tense atmosphere very well. The dialog is crisp, stable, and easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts, pops, cracks, or digital distortions.

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for How to Get Ahead in Advertising. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Interview with Michael Pickwoad - in this new video interview, production designer Michael Pickwoad discusses his contribution to Bruce Robinson's film. The interview was conducted in August 2014. In English, not subtitles. (11 min).

How to Get Ahead in Advertising Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Bruce Robinson's sophomore effort, How to Get Ahead in Advertising, was initially included in Arrow Video's Limited Edition of Withnail and I. It is now also included in the British distributors' Special Edition of Withnail and I. The Limited Edition set is already sold out, but the Special Edition (two-disc set) was released earlier this week. RECOMMENDED.