My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi (written by)

Release Date:

April 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for success and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat.

Plot Keywords:

Thatcher | Mistress | London England | Politics | Laundromat

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Saeed Jaffrey	...	Nasser Hussein
Roshan Seth	...	Ali Hussein
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Johnny (as Daniel Day Lewis)
Gordon Warnecke	...	Omar Hussein
Derrick Branche	...	Salim N. Hussein
Rita Wolf	...	Tania N. Hussein
Souad Faress	...	Cherry N. Hussein
Richard Graham	...	Genghis
Shirley Anne Field	...	Rachel
Winston Graham	...	Jamaican One
Charu Bala Chokshi	...	Bilquis (as Charu Bala Choksi)
Dudley Thomas	...	Jamaican Two
Garry Cooper	...	Squatter
Neil Cunningham	...	Englishman
Persis Maravala	...	Nasser's Elder Daughter
Walter Donohue	...	Dick O'Donnell
Nisha Kapur	...	Nasser's Younger Daughter
Stephen Marcus	...	Moose
Badi Uzzaman	...	Dealer
Ayub Khan-Din	...	Student
Gurdial Sira	...	Zaki
Chris Pitt	...	Kid One
Dawn Archibald	...	Gang Member One
Kerryann White	...	Kid Two
Gerard Horan	...	Telephone Man
Jonathan Moore	...	Gang Member Two
Ram John Holder	...	Poet
Colin Campbell	...	Madame Butterfly Man
Bhasker Patel	...	Tariq
Dulice Liecier	...	Girl in Disco (as Dulice Leicier)
Sheila Chitnis	...	Zaki's Wife
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Persis Khambatta	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Stephen Frears

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hanif Kureishi		written by

Produced by
Tim Bevan	....	producer
Sarah Radclyffe	....	producer

Original Music by
Ludus Tonalis

Cinematography by
Oliver Stapleton

Film Editing by
Mick Audsley

Casting by
Debbie McWilliams

Production Design by
Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski		(as Hugo Luczyc Wyhowski)

Costume Design by
Lindy Hemming

Makeup Department
Elaine Carew	....	makeup artist
Wendy Rawson	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Jane Frazer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gary Davies	....	third assistant director
Simon Hinkly	....	first assistant director
Waldo Roeg	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Mark Allett	....	stand-by props
Alison Dominitz	....	assistant art director
Alastair Gow	....	constructor
Raymond Perry	....	stand-by props (as Ray Perry Jr.)
Ray Perry Sr.	....	property master
Julian Rothenstein	....	graphic artist
Robin Thistlewaite	....	constructor
Jeanne Vertigan	....	production buyer

Sound Department
Albert Bailey	....	sound recordist
St. Clair Davis	....	boom operator
Peter Maxwell	....	dubbing mixer
'Budge' Tremlett	....	dubbing editor
Matthew Whiteman	....	assistant dubbing editor
Steve Hancock	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Stunts
Jim Dowdall	....	stunt coordinator
Tracey Eddon	....	stunts (as Tracey Eddons)
Wayne Michaels	....	stunts
Nosher Powell	....	stunt coordinator
Rocky Taylor	....	stunt coordinator
Tip Tipping	....	stunts
Bill Weston	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Fiona Cunningham-Reid	....	clapper loader
Malcolm Davies	....	gaffer
Martin Duncan	....	electrician
Tony Hare	....	electrician
Anthony James	....	camera trainee
Steve Keith-Roach	....	focus puller
Mike Laye	....	still photographer
Dave McWhinney	....	electrician (as Dave McWhinnie)
Jamie Monks	....	second camera grip
Jim Monks	....	camera grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karen Sharpe	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Jason Adams	....	first assistant editor
Chris Cook	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
Stanley Myers	....	music producer
Hans Zimmer	....	music producer

Transportation Department
Harry Vincent	....	driver: property

Other crew
Ronald Bailey	....	national film school attachment
Jo Brown	....	national film school attachment
Chris Bruce	....	unit runner (was: Bruce, Chris 20030812)
Abdul Chowdray	....	national film school attachment
Bill Craster	....	production accountant
Anuree De Silva	....	national film school attachment
Penny Eyles	....	continuity
Sam Garwood	....	production runner
Graime Marmion	....	assistant production accountant
Charlie McGrigor	....	unit runner
Rebecca O'Brien	....	location manager
Sarah O'Brien	....	production assistant
Andrew Young	....	projectionist

Production Companies

• Channel Four Films
• SAF Productions
• Working Title Films

Distributors

• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Homescreen (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Karl-Lorimar Home Video (KLV-TV) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• MCA Home Video (1986) (Canada) (VHS)
• Mainline Pictures (1985) (UK)
• Mundial Filmes (Brazil) (video)
• Orion Classics (1986) (USA)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1986) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Virgin Video (1986) (UK) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Film Lighting Services  lighting equipment
• Frameline Productions  titles
• Griptruck  camera equipment
• Technicolor  processing

Also Known As:

Én szép kis mosodám (Hungary) [hu]
A Minha Bela Lavandaria (Portugal) [pt]
Benim güzel çamasirhanem (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Mein wunderbarer Waschsalon (West Germany) [de]
Mi hermosa lavandería (Spain) [es]
Minha Adorável Lavanderia (Brazil) [pt]
Moja piekna pralnia (Poland) [pl]
My Beautiful Laundrette (France) [fr]
Oraio mou, plyntirio (Greece) [el]
Poikien pesula (Finland) [fi]
Rakas pesulani (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Ropa limpia, negocios sucios (Argentina) [es]

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Urdu

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 | Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

245 Queenstown Road, Battersea, London, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) and A Room with a View (1985) both opened in New York on the same day, March 7, 1986. Both movies featured Daniel Day-Lewis in prominent and very different roles: in A Room with a View, he played a repressed, snobbish Edwardian upperclassman, while in Laundrette, he played a lower-class gay ex-skinhead in love with an ambitious Pakistani businessman in Thatcher's London. When American critics saw Day-Lewis, who was then virtually unknown in the US, in two such different roles on the same day, many (including Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times and Vincent Canby of The New York Times) raved about the talent it must have taken him to play such vastly different characters.

Quotes:

Nasser: [Nasser bursts into the room where Johnny and Omar made love just moments before] What the hell are you doing? Sunbathing?
Omar: Asleep, Uncle. We were shagged out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Do the Right Thing (1989)

Quirky Comedy-Drama Is Excellent

"My Beautiful Laundrette" manages to do the difficult task of presenting important social issues without sacrificing entertainment value. It is also one of the few modern films that embraces realism without ever looking amateurish. The movie is about two friends (the son of a Pakistani couple and a white punk) who try to turn a rundown Laundromat into a financially successful business. Naturally, their ethnic backgrounds create a lot problems for both young men. Racial tension is one of the film's main themes, but director Frears never allows this aspect of the story spoil the fun. The movie deals with serious issues, but events are presented in a serious-humorous manner. The film is indeed quite funny, even though it is obvious that Frears is trying to make a serious social commentary. Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent in one of his first starring roles, but the film belongs to Gordon Warneke, who gives a moving, gentle performance. It is a modest production, but it is has a big heart. A true 'sleeper' and a triumph for Frears and company.