Set in a parallel Britain in which the death penalty has been re-introduced, this drama sees the trial of Gary Glitter for his true crimes committed in Vietnam.Set in a parallel Britain in which the death penalty has been re-introduced, this drama sees the trial of Gary Glitter for his true crimes committed in Vietnam.Set in a parallel Britain in which the death penalty has been re-introduced, this drama sees the trial of Gary Glitter for his true crimes committed in Vietnam.
- Awards
- 1 win
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Lai Thi Nguyen
- Mrs. Tran
- (as Lai Thi Nhuyen)
Garry Bushell
- Garry Bushell
- (uncredited)
Kristel Elling
- Witness
- (uncredited)
David Lyddon
- Rioter
- (uncredited)
Mike Parish
- Juror
- (uncredited)
Miranda Sawyer
- Miranda Sawyer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring filming, Hilton McRae walked onto set and was hissed at and insulted when the crowd thought it was the real Gary Glitter.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Screenwipe: Review of the Year 2009 (2009)
Featured review
Biased and manipulative to a point that's shameful and patronising!
Capital punishment has always been a contentious subject and with this, in mind, Channel 4 produced one of the most contentious "mockumentaries" imaginable and arguably one that is a tad unsavoury. "The Execution of Gary Glitter" creates the conceit of offering the viewer an alternative version of Great Britain where the death penalty has been reintroduced and where upon his arrival back in the UK, Paul Gadd better known as former seventies rock idol Gary Glitter is arrested and then awaits to be put on trial whereupon if he is found guilty of his notoriously evil crimes outside the UK he could face the death penalty.
We the viewer are subjected to a mixture of real and fake footage (which to the filmmaker's credit is quite realistic looking and could be easily mistaken for the real thing), z list celebrities who range from Gary Bushell and Anne Widecombe who aren't shy about making their pro-capital punishment views known. While we watch Gadd portrayed uncannily by the relatively unknown Hilton McCrae goes through the whole legal hoopla, goes through court and the subsequent moments after he is found guilty and awaits execution.
I won't make my own views of capital punishment a secret, I'm very much against it but even those who condone it have to confess that "The Execution of Gary Glitter" is blatantly biased, one-sided right-wing propaganda at its worst, not to mention that the decision to choose Glitter as the focus of this mockumentary leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and for that matter is tasteless in the extreme. It's a miracle that there wasn't some moral uproar after it was aired which says something about the times we live in. It's shocking that this receives little or no complaints and yet "Jerry Springer: The Opera" receives the record for the most complaints ever for a Televised programme.
The premise of the mockumentary is in itself fundamentally flawed as the fact that Glitter is unaware that capital punishment has been reintroduced means that one of the major arguments put forward about the death penalty is that it is supposed to work as a deterrent. So the arguments that it may not be are rather conveniently swept under the carpet.
The fact that Gary Bushell, a self-confessed homophobe has the audacity to talk about human decency is laughable and that he obtusely and arrogantly labels anti-capital punishment advocates as left-wing, liberal parasites is feeble pompous generalising. All the anti-capital punishment supporters are portrayed as moronic, ignorant uneducated "hippies" while the pro-death penalty supporters are presented as more rational, caring decent people who are fiercely protective of their children.
It seems that the programme is nothing more than a cynical attempt to manipulate its audience and in the most distasteful and exploitative manner possible. Why I wonder did the filmmakers create a mockumentary based around a fictional murderer for example? But instead, we have a real criminal and one who is known to virtually everyone as having committed arguably the most hated and most taboo of crimes, while the inclusion of real footage of Glitter making his infamous statement after leaving prison just strikes me as tasteless and unnecessary.
Credit where credit is due, the film is well made and Hilton MacCrae who portrays the "alternate" version of Glitter give a chilling and uncannily convincing performance as the fallen rock star while many of the prison and court scenes are astonishingly brought to life. But this is an un-well intentioned piece of fluff which is not only insulting to anti-capital punishment supporters but insulting to the intelligence of any viewer who the filmmakers would think would be taken in by such unashamedly biased propaganda.
We the viewer are subjected to a mixture of real and fake footage (which to the filmmaker's credit is quite realistic looking and could be easily mistaken for the real thing), z list celebrities who range from Gary Bushell and Anne Widecombe who aren't shy about making their pro-capital punishment views known. While we watch Gadd portrayed uncannily by the relatively unknown Hilton McCrae goes through the whole legal hoopla, goes through court and the subsequent moments after he is found guilty and awaits execution.
I won't make my own views of capital punishment a secret, I'm very much against it but even those who condone it have to confess that "The Execution of Gary Glitter" is blatantly biased, one-sided right-wing propaganda at its worst, not to mention that the decision to choose Glitter as the focus of this mockumentary leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and for that matter is tasteless in the extreme. It's a miracle that there wasn't some moral uproar after it was aired which says something about the times we live in. It's shocking that this receives little or no complaints and yet "Jerry Springer: The Opera" receives the record for the most complaints ever for a Televised programme.
The premise of the mockumentary is in itself fundamentally flawed as the fact that Glitter is unaware that capital punishment has been reintroduced means that one of the major arguments put forward about the death penalty is that it is supposed to work as a deterrent. So the arguments that it may not be are rather conveniently swept under the carpet.
The fact that Gary Bushell, a self-confessed homophobe has the audacity to talk about human decency is laughable and that he obtusely and arrogantly labels anti-capital punishment advocates as left-wing, liberal parasites is feeble pompous generalising. All the anti-capital punishment supporters are portrayed as moronic, ignorant uneducated "hippies" while the pro-death penalty supporters are presented as more rational, caring decent people who are fiercely protective of their children.
It seems that the programme is nothing more than a cynical attempt to manipulate its audience and in the most distasteful and exploitative manner possible. Why I wonder did the filmmakers create a mockumentary based around a fictional murderer for example? But instead, we have a real criminal and one who is known to virtually everyone as having committed arguably the most hated and most taboo of crimes, while the inclusion of real footage of Glitter making his infamous statement after leaving prison just strikes me as tasteless and unnecessary.
Credit where credit is due, the film is well made and Hilton MacCrae who portrays the "alternate" version of Glitter give a chilling and uncannily convincing performance as the fallen rock star while many of the prison and court scenes are astonishingly brought to life. But this is an un-well intentioned piece of fluff which is not only insulting to anti-capital punishment supporters but insulting to the intelligence of any viewer who the filmmakers would think would be taken in by such unashamedly biased propaganda.
- The-Last-Prydonian
- Mar 5, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
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