Bill [DVD] [2015]

The comedy team behind the tv show 'Horrible Histories' - Which you will have doubtless watched if you're reading this - bring their formula of comedy and history to the big screen. With a movie that tells about Shakespeare. Before he was famous.There are seven years of his life that nobody actually knows very much about. In between him being a married man with three kids living in Stratford on Avon. And then being a famous playwright in London. This tells a tale of how he got from the former to the latter. So it sorts of fits in with real history.Bill [Mathew Baynton] is a hopeless dreamer, trying a new thing that is destined to bring him greatness every so often. To the despair of his wife [Martha Howe-Douglas]. He sets out to London to make his name as a playwright. Meantime King Philip the Second of Spain [Ben Willbond] is still determined to conquer England and take the throne from Queen Elizabeth. When unimportant noble the Earl of Croydon [Simon Farnaby] has to find a play to put on for the Queen, a few lives are about to collide...This, like Horrible histories on tv, has the same actors playing multiple roles. It has the same quickfire humour and clever writing with puns comedy style of that. And the occasional toilet reference which is never gratuitous just showing what things were like in that respect at the time.But what it also has is a very winning formula. Because it manages to be just as funny as the tv show. And it also works at getting that formula into a full length film. It never feels like an over extended sketch. It has a solid movie length narrative. This has every feel of a film where they worked very hard to get the script right first and foremost. And it's not often you get to say that, so this is nice to see.The pace of the jokes means it's a film you can watch multiple times and thus pick up something you missed or have forgotten.A perfect bit of comedic entertainment. Well worth five stars.Do keep watching during the end credits, because there are some extras scenes for a few minutes early on in them.The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:Languages: English.Subtitles: English.The dvd goes straight into the main menu, with no trailers or adverts, once loaded.Extras are as follows:Making of: This runs for seven minutes but isn't a making of documentary, just one of those promotional featurettes with the actors summarising the film and characters. It's quite watchable though.A day in the life: Runs for three minutes and follows Mathew Baynton through his penultimate day working on the film. Which is quite interesting.There's something about Shakespeare: Runs for four minutes and has cast and crew members giving you obscure facts about Shakespeare. All of which are fascinating. So this is a really good watch.

We've watched this about 6 times and it continues to be funny. There are moments that are slightly more risqué than the tv show would have been and, I think, a couple of mild swear-words. And it's got Helen McCrory, who nearly steals the show as Elizabeth 1, and her husband, Damian Lewis. Apparently, their kids are huge HH fans so they jumped at the chance to be in the film. It's terrifically funny stuff. I've learnt more from the HH team than I ever did in school and the kids are able to have informed discussions about English history, which has taken us to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Tudor and Stuart paintings (if you're near there, do go) and the Globe Theatre where they were able to engage in a detailed conversation about the disputed authorship of Shakespeare's plays. Bill Willbond is sheer genius as Philip, but everyone is so terrific that it's hard to pick a favourite. We quote this film ad nauseam.Update: Aug 2016. The kids asked to go to the Portrait Gallery, where we held heated debates about the Stuart/Tudor/Regency periods and then went next door to discuss the painting of Lady Jane Grey's execution. Then it was home, popcorn and yet another viewing of 'Bill'. And it's still funny as hell.

Really nice series from the actors of the Ghosts in multiple roles. I’ll be looking for them from now on. A talented bunch of wonderful and funny actors! The story around Shakespeare was written with finesse and humour!

Great to watch

The six idiots at their best! There are so many highlights in one can't name them all. My absolute favourite is the swinging guard. Both writers, Ben Willbond and Laurence Rickard, did a great job - as all the actors as well. One of my all time favourites.

Literally, my favourite film ever.Saw it six times on the big screen, and watched it three times on disc in the 11 days since it arrived.Funny, clever, and a brilliant combination of historically accurate (life within the Tudor era and the characters real lives taken into account) while being amusingly historically inaccurate (Shakespeare's accidental inclusion in a plot to kill Elizabeth I).A comedy with jokes and slapstick for the kids, and nods to naughtiness for the adults, this film is a must-see for everyone. Even the villains are lovable, in their own way."It's for making people talk."You don't need an interest in history or a working knowledge of the Shakespearean language. You just need a sense of humour, and a pinch of salt.I can't speak highly enough of this film, and the DVD quality is brilliant, too. And there are bonus features that I hadn't realised would be included.I love it.

Bill is a fantastically funny family film with plenty of silly slapstick for the kids and loads of very clever and sly gags for the older ones. The performances are all brilliant with the cast in multiple roles a la Monty Python films (in fact there are some deliberate nods to Python throughout). It's definitely a film to watch multiple times as there are so many jokes buried away, you'd never get them all first time. Shame in some respects that the film only seems to be available in a DVD version which has some worthwhile but brief extras, it's crying out for a Blu-ray with a track pointing out the background and history jokes to up the educational value.This gets the full five stars from me, especially for the throw away joke about the "King of Spin" which had me laughing like a drain.

My son is a « Horrible Histories » fan so he - and we - enjoyed it!

Hilariously funnyI am going to use it in my lessons!

a very funny movie loved it.

Very funny 😄