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All You Need Is Cash
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles) |
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 A film poster for All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles). |
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| Directed by | Eric Idle Gary Weis |
| Written by | Eric Idle |
| Starring | Eric Idle John Halsey Ricky Fataar Neil Innes Michael Palin George Harrison Bianca Jagger John Belushi Dan Aykroyd Gilda Radner Bill Murray |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
All You Need Is Cash (also known as The Rutles) is a 1978 television film that traces (in mockumentary style) the career of a British rock group called The Rutles. As TV Guide described it, the group's resemblance to The Beatles is "purely – and satirically – intentional."
The film was co-produced by the production companies of Eric Idle and Lorne Michaels, and directed by Idle and Gary Weis. It was first broadcast on March 22, 1978 on NBC, earning the lowest [1], [2] ratings of any show on American television that week. It did much better in the ratings when it premiered in the UK on BBC2 less than one week later.
The music and events in the lives of the Rutles paralleled that of The Beatles almost to the letter, spoofing many of the latter's career highlights. For instance, the animated film Yellow Submarine is parodied as Yellow Submarine Sandwich, and the song "Get Back" became "Get Up And Go". Songs from the film were released on an accompanying soundtrack. One of the Rutles songs; "Cheese and Onions" was so well made, it was thought to be an actual Beatles outtake by some Beatles fans. [[3]]
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All You Need Is Cash was one of the first films of its kind, and an inspiration for the successful Rob Reiner cult comedy film This Is Spinal Tap which followed in 1984 and was dubbed a 'mockumentary'.
The Rutles were played by Idle, John Halsey, Ricky Fataar, and Neil Innes. The band had originally appeared in a sketch on Idle's program Rutland Weekend Television. The sketch was later re-broadcast on the American TV show Saturday Night Live. For this film, Fataar replaces David Battley who had appeared as Stig O' Hara in the original sketch.
All You Need Is Cash is primarily a series of skits and gags that each illustrate a different part of the fictional Rutles story, closely following the chronology of The Beatles' own story. The cohesive glue of the film is the acclaimed soundtrack by Neil Innes, who created 19 more songs for the film, each an affectionate pastiche of a different Beatles song or genre of songs. 14 of the songs were released on a soundtrack album with elaborate packaging (The CD version subsequently added the six songs omitted from the original vinyl album.) The album was both critically and commercially successful and was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Comedy Recording of the year. The orchestrations and arrangements for the Rutles recordings were made by noted film composer John Altman.
The film is also notable for its many cameo appearances by a cross-section of both British and American comic talent, including those with ties to Monty Python, Saturday Night Live and the lesser-known but directly-related Rutland Weekend Television. Perhaps the most noteworthy cameo is by George Harrison (who had earlier appeared as himself on the Rutland Weekend Television 1975 Christmas Special). Harrison plays a TV journalist conducting an interview outside the headquarters of Rutle Corps, oblivious to the stream of people coming out of the building carrying items stolen from the office. They eventually take his microphone, a reference to The Beatles' famously plundered Apple Boutique.
The film also features cameos from Idle's fellow Python Michael Palin, several SNL cast members including Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd (as well as SNL writers and occasional performers Al Franken and Tom Davis), Bianca Jagger as Dirk McQuickly's wife Martini, Ron Wood as a Hells Angel, and Mick Jagger and Paul Simon as themselves. The film is notable for bringing together British and American comic talent in a way that has seldom happened before or since. The Beatles publicity was also parodied. Before the film was broadcast, areas of London had posters saying "The Rutles are Coming" analogous to "The Beatles are Coming" poster which announced their arrival in a town.
Ironically, in view of its later cult status, All You Need Is Cash was not a success on its American television debut and actually finished in bottom place of all programs screened that week (a source of wry pride to Neil Innes). The program fared better on its British debut on BBC television. The film's cult status grew from the success of the soundtrack album, and after the release of the film on the comparatively new medium of home video.
The show has been released on DVD, originally in a 66-minute version incorporating cuts for syndication, later in a "special edition" restored to its full length of 72 minutes and with extras including a commentary by Idle. The full-length version replaces a spoof newsreel voiceover by Idle with an American-sounding announcer.
The soundtrack was reissued on CD. It included additional tracks from the original TV sessions remixed in stereo by Neil Innes. Innes, Fataar and Halsey returned in 1996 to record The Rutles Archaeology, but without the involvement of Eric Idle.
A sequel titled The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch was produced in 2002.
- All You Need Is Cash at the Internet Movie Database
- Can't Buy Me Lunch at the Internet Movie Database
- Idle Thoughts, an interview with Eric Idle from March 2005
- All You Need Is Cash on NBC-TV, part of an anonymous fan's website
