Consuming Passions
| Consuming Passions | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Giles Foster |
| Produced by | William P. Cartlidge |
| Written by |
Paul D. Zimmerman Andrew Davies (from a play Secrets by Michael Palin and Terry Jones) |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Richard Hartley |
| Cinematography | Roger Pratt |
| Edited by | John Grover |
Running time | 98 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Consuming Passions is a 1988 black comedy film which stars Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce, and Sammi Davis and was directed by Giles Foster.
Outline
The film is based on Secrets by Michael Palin and Terry Jones[1] which was broadcast by the BBC as a television play in 1973. It tells the story of a chocolate factory preparing to launch a new luxury range, Passionelles. However, during the production run a worker falls into a vat of chocolate and dies, meaning human flesh is present in the first batch released. The horrified owners try and fail to recall the chocolates, but when they go on sale, they prove a surprise hit. Keen to continue the success, the developers try to replicate the taste with animal meat, but this fails miserably - leading them to realise human flesh is the key ingredient, and going to extreme lengths to obtain dead bodies to use in the chocolate.
The Time Out Film Guide describes the 'recipe' for this film and concludes that of the result: "the consistency should be lumpy and the taste insipid."[2]
Cast
- Tyler Butterworth as Ian Littleton
- Jonathan Pryce as Mr Farris
- Freddie Jones as Graham Chumley
- Vanessa Redgrave as Mrs Garza
- Prunella Scales as Ethel
- Sammi Davis as Felicity
- Thora Hird as Mrs Gordon
- John Wells as Dr Forrester
- Timothy West as Dr Rees
- Bryan Pringle as Gateman
- Mary Healey as Mrs Eggleston
- Andrew Sachs as Jason
- Deddie Davies as Mrs Coot
- William Rushton as Big Teddy
- Wincey Willis as TV Presenter
- Linda Lusardi as French Beauty
- Patrick Newell as Lester
- Preston Lockwood as Josiah