Chris Morris (I)
- 62 years old
- English
- Actor, writer, director, producer and composer
Press clippings Page 7
Brass Eye 20 years on: the unstoppable genius of Morris
I'll be honest. Putting the Brass Eye DVD into the player, I was worried about how the series would have aged. Fully 20 years to the month from when it was first broadcast, how would it stand up to being revisited? After all, this was satire at its most cutting, directly addressing the issues of the time: surely it would have dated like crazy?
Dave Fawbert, ShortList, 9th February 2017Brass Eye at 20: still Chris Morris at his best
From Cake to Paedogeddon, Chris Morris's epochal satire always said the unsayable. No other comedy has touched it - or even come close.
Phil Harrison, The Guardian, 30th January 201710 moments that made Brass Eye the funniest show ever
The brainchild of enigmatic satirist Chris Morris, Channel 4's Brass Eye only lasted for six episodes and a special - albeit the most controversial one of all time.
Jon O'Brien, Metro, 29th January 20177 clips that prove Chris Morris's also a musical genius
Looking back at Morris's body of work, 20 years after the first episode of Brass Eye was broadcast on January 29, 1997, it's clear that few people have combined music and comedy quite as successfully. Whether he's creating strung-out ambient music for a short film about a talking dog or parodying Eminem to highlight the media hysteria surrounding paedophilia, Morris's use of music strikes the balance between creating black comedy and something that's actually listenable. Below are seven of his finest music moments - just be careful not to find yourself jazzing to the bleep tone of a life support machine.
Scott Wilson, Fact Mag, 29th January 2017Is satire dead? Comics on why there are so few laughs
It's hard to poke fun at politicians in an era when they're held in contempt and every joke is policed for offence, say top television writers.
Zoe Williams, The Guardian, 18th October 2016On The Hour: revisiting a brilliant radio comedy
Armando Iannucci & Chris Morris' BBC Radio 4 news spoof not only gave rise to Alan Partridge but also launched countless comedy careers.
Andrew Blair, Den Of Geek, 17th October 2016How Brass Eye predicted the Brexit debate (Link expired)
The EU referendum campaign has bypassed mere silliness, and veered full-tilt into the bizarre realm of Chris Morris's controversial cult satire Brass Eye.
Mark Butler, WOW247, 22nd June 2016Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehice, series 4 review
With every new series of Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, I find myself not wanting to watch for fear of those who may judge but then almost immediately concluding that I do not care. Yes, Lee is a spiteful comic, but he is also incredibly astute. One can't help but admire his craft, even if you don't agree with his viewpoints, which are of course satirically exaggerated anyway, suggesting that those who feel alienated by his comedy may actually be misinterpreting his message. And with his frequent cuts to camera, a television audience cannot help but be drawn in, without suffering the inevitable heart palpitations that would surely follow with such a predicament.
Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 22nd April 2016How comedy became a language of democratic politics
Like all forms of resistance, comedy can both shore up and legitimate existing political structures, yet it can also, in certain moments, work to encourage revision. Here, James Brassett looks specifically at the critical nature of radical British comedy by the likes of Russell Brand, Charlie Brooker, and Stewart Lee and writes that it raises questions about the nature of resistance and reveals the deeply political nature of the British public.
James Brassett, Democratic Audit UK, 18th April 2016TV: Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, BBC2 - Childhood
There was a point during Stewart Lee's final Comedy Vehicle when I thought I could see the cogs moving. I thought I'd cracked it and knew what he was doing. And then he went and pulled the rug and dismantled the comedy process further, going out in excellent style. I'm not sure if we should be analysing this show though. As he persists in saying to speccy interrogator Chris Morris, De-Niro-in-Deer-Hunter style, "this is this".
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 7th April 2016