Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Big Shot's Funeral (2001)
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
It's an unusual pitch: Tyler, an ailing film director (Sutherland), hits a creative block while shooting in China, and, before falling into a coma, instructs Yo Yo, a documentary cameraman (Ge You), to arrange a 'comedy funeral'. Yo Yo obediently enlists a promoter friend to stage the ceremony and, having decided that sponsorship is the only way to fund it, finds himself unable to turn down any deals - to the extent of allowing a contact lens manufacturer product placement opportunities in the deceased's eye. But Tyler's not dead yet. While there are just enough moments of incidental charm and humour to entertain, the significance of the 'comedy funeral' is slowly buried as the film becomes as carried away with its subject as Yo Yo himself is - apparently losing the creative objectivity Tyler so desires.Author: ASm
Cast & crew
Director: Feng Xiaogang
Producer: Yang Buting, Wang Zhongjun, Chen Kuo Fu
Cast: Ge You, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Kwan, Ying Da, Paul Mazursky, Christopher Barden full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 101 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now