My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) dir. Stephen Frears

Gordon Warnecke and Daniel Day-Lewis in MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE directed by Stephen Frears

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

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Starring Daniel Day–Lewis and Gordon Warnecke, and directed by Stephen Fears with an Oscar-nominated original screenplay by Hanif Kureishi, My Beautiful Laundrette broke major ground in its bold exploration of race and sexuality in Thatcher-era London. The film’s depiction of, and significance to, British South Asian and LGBTQ+ communities cannot be overstated. via studio voltaire

My Beautiful Laundrette: Continuity, costume notes, polaroids

These extensive costume and continuity notes were produced during the filming of My Beautiful Laundrette, a 1985 film written by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Stephen Frears. Originally devised for television, Kureishi’s first screenplay was shot on a low budget in only six weeks. Set in Thatcher-era south London, the film is a ground-breaking exploration of race, class, politics and sexuality. It centres on Omar, a young British-Pakistani man who is given the opportunity to renovate his uncle’s laundrette, and Johnny, his boyhood friend who has fascist sympathies and who becomes Omar’s lover. The romantic relationship between these young men develops alongside the film’s other concerns ─ such as the British Asian struggle to maintain ethnic identity while assimilating into Western society, represented by Papa Hussain, an alcoholic, disillusioned socialist, and Uncle Nasser, a rich entrepreneur. The film stars Saeed Jaffrey (Nasser), Roshan Seth (Papa Hussain), Daniel Day Lewis (Johnny) and Gordon Warnecke (Omar). My Beautiful Laundrette became a huge commercial and critical success after it was applauded by film critics at the Edinburgh Film Festival, leading to international distribution for cinema in 1986 and an Oscar nomination for Kureishi. What are continuity notes? When shooting a film, continuity notes are logged for every take to ensure continuity between screen direction, action, costume, props, and so on. Photographs, like the Polaroids shown here, support the work. Written in a messy hand, these notes convey the sense of an animated atmosphere on set. For a film that is so concerned with identity and boundaries between characters, the continuity notes emphasise the role of costume as a signifier of status. Note the flash suit and aviator sunglasses worn by nouveau riche drug trafficker Salim, and the transformation of Omar from an unemployed lad in jeans and sweatshirt to the cleaned-up, suited businessman who is increasingly swayed by Thatcherite economic competiveness.

© Hanif Kureishi (Screenwriter), Penny Eyles (Script supervisor) Held by the British Library (1) (2) (3) Individual pieces in the link

Still waiting for a sex scene that makes me feel what I felt the first time I watched Daniel Day-Lewis spit champagne into Gordon Warnecke’s mouth as they made love in a back room, completely oblivious to the uncle and his mistress in the background as the music swells

My Beautiful Laundrette: a young Pakistani man hires an old friend to help run his uncle’s run down laundromat in South London, rekindling their former romance in the process. Few onscreen relationships are as authentic as Omar & Johnny’s!

daniel day-lewis and gordon warnecke as johnny and omar in my beautiful laundrette (1985) dir. stephen frears

My Beautiful Laundrette dir. Stephen Frears (1985)

MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985) dir. Stephen Frears In a seedy corner of London, Omar, a young Pakistani, is given a run-down laundromat by his uncle, who hopes to turn it into a successful business. Soon after, Omar is attacked by a group of racist punks, but defuses the situation when he realizes their leader is his former lover, Johnny. The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success. (link in title)

I just watched My Beautiful Laundrette, and the thing that struck me the most is how loyal Johnny is to Omar… like that boy is down bad. The moment they’re reunited, Johnny is ready to ditch his friends and his whole lifestyle to do whatever Omar asks him. I kind of thought going in that Johnny was going to be a stereotypical macho, gruff guy on the outside who only shows his affection reluctantly and in secret and it’s actually the opposite. He’s so gentle and wants so badly to do right once Omar gives him the chance. And he doesn’t care at all that his punk friends see him with a man, and a Pakistani man no less!! Omar is quite dismissive of Johnny on several occasions and that boy just takes it and keeps running back as soon as he’s called. Maybe making up for his actions against Omar and his family in the past that are referenced multiple times. But at the point in his life in the film, he is 100% devoted to Omar and so happy to be. Like he says to Omar: he can’t say anything to change his past actions, but he can do things to show to Omar that he’s with him now. And then he spits champagne in his mouth.

My Beautiful Laundrette

1985

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can we talk about how the song fits a bit with them?

Movie: My Beautiful Laundrette🤍

Hanif Kureishi says he may never be able to walk or hold pen again after fall in Rome | Books | The Guardian

Fuuuuuuuck... he's one of my favorite authors and My Beautiful Laundrette is one of my favorite films... Wishing him a full recovery...