Hot Fuzz had a budget of £8 million and grossed over £48 million in the UK and $80 million in the US, making it very profitable. It was produced by British production companies and had an all-British cast and crew. The film is an action comedy spoof of British police films set in a small English village. It targets fans of comedy, action, and previous films by its director and cast. Through references to other films and genres, exaggerated British settings and police elements, it parodies the police genre while appealing to British audiences.

1. BRITISH FILM
REVISION

2. Facts
■ Hot fuzz’s budget was around about £8,000,000
■ The film generated £7.1 million in its first weekend of release in the United Kingdom
on 14 February 2007.
■ In the 20 April US opening weekend, the film grossed $5.8 million from only 825
cinemas, making it the highest per-cinema average of any film in the top ten that
week
■ However in total profit it made was an estimated £48.44 million in the UK.
■ It was also estimated that $80.74 million was profited for the USA.

3. Production Companies
■ Universal Pictures (presents)
■ StudioCanal (in association with)
■ WorkingTitle Films (asWorkingTitle)
■ BigTalk Productions (in association with)
■ Ingenious Film Partners (produced in association with)

4. ■ Simon Pegg
■ Nick Frost
■ Bill Nighy
■ Martin Freeman
■ EdgarWright (Director/Writer)
■ All of the cast and most of the crew are British which shows the brains behind the
British film and why it worked so well in the British audience area.

5. Genre
The Genre of the Film is action comedy (Hybrid Genre) and is a spoof based are the British Police
force
■ Uses British Landmarks e.g. Double Decker buses, shows it is set in England
■ Shows a contrast of City andCountry life, but exaggerates them to fit the Plot of the
film.
■ Use of Police Uniforms and terminology to show and emphasize the fact that the film
is about a policeman

6. TargetAudience
■ TheTargetAudience for this Film is:
■ Fans of Comedy films.
■ Fans of Action films.
■ Fans of ‘Shaun of the Dead’.
■ Fans ofWorkingTitle Films.
■ People wanting to watch Gory film without watching a fully blown horror film.

8. ■ The British poster has a more subtle background with the main characters in focus.
■ The American poster has a more explosive and vibrant background with the main
characters having more movement in the picture.
■ This may show that the American audience may be more interested in action in a
British film rather than a drama.
■ We can also see the church of the village in the background of the UK poster.

10. Top tip
Choose the right question!
(It is the first one on
comedy)

11. Genre Hybrid
■ Essentially anAction-Comedy, Hot Fuzz draws on a range of generic conventions
including:
– Cop films, buddy movies, horror, western
– ‘Splatstick’ – early films of PeterJackson (BadTaste, Braindead). Angel even uses
the term ‘splattered’ of the way the reporter dies
Film and popular culture references are so abundant in this film it almost becomes a
theme. Intertextuality in the extreme
■ Is this a form of film ‘bricolage’?

12. Hip Hop Montage
■ Example of a postmodern film technique
■ hip hop montage is a subset of fast cutting to portray a complex action through a rapid
series of simple actions in fast motion, accompanied by sound effects (often
enhanced)
■ Coined by DarrenAronofsky on his work in films like Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream
(2000)
■ Used when travelling to Sandford on train
■ EdgarWright also uses same technique in Sean of the Dead (2004)

13. Parody / Pastiche and Self Reflexivity
■ Opening sequence – parody of the super-cop
■ Initial conversation with Janine (Cate Blancett – uncredited) as pastiche of
romantic film
■ Parody of opening ofTrainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996) in shoplifter chase
sequence
■ Self reflexivity / self knowing:
– Parody of own film work (Sean of the Dead lines)
– Butterman as huge fan of action/cop films - the very same films Hot Fuzz pays
homage to

14. End Scene Revision

15. ■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FOzD4Sfgag

16. Suggested Revision
■ Do some background reading and take notes including:
1. Critical and popular acclaim (awards, box office, DVD sales).Was it
successful?Why?
2. Find examples of at least 5 intertextual references in the film.Why is this
something the filmmakers do? Does it add to audience enjoyment? How?
3. Read the Guardian NFT interview (in two parts).What is EW and SP’s take
on homage, parody and spoof?
4. What is the ‘Blood and Ice-CreamTrilogy’ otherwise known as?What is this a
reference to?