This is a black comedy about two men who makes a fortune by selling bodies to the medical profession for anatomy classes.The story of "Burke and Hare" is dark and disturbing if you think about it, but it does not feel this way when you watch it. Instead, it appears lighthearted and likable, even though the main characters commit the most heinous crimes. The plot is engaging, and I feel a little sorry for Dr Knox and William Burke for their fate to end like that.The film has loads of dark humour. It is funny in its own unique way, not the laugh out loud nonsense type of funny. It is worth a watch if you come across this film.

For a comedy set in the 19th century, then "Burke and Hare" did work out quite well. Especially because the whole atmosphere throughout the movie was really awesome. There was so much attention to detail in the sets and the decorations, so you genuinely believed that you were actually right there in the 19th century Edinburgh.The story told in the movie is quite interesting, and you get yourself into it right away. So that worked out quite well. And you are anxious to see what happens next to the two 'entreprenours' and what mishaps lurk around the corner. The whole light-hearted take on the grave robbing business was a much welcomed blow of fresh air. It was grim without being too serious, so thumbs up for that.As for the cast in the movie, just one thing to say really; wow! There were so many really good actors/actresses in the movie. I was surprised to see Tim Curry (playing doctor Monro) in the movie, and despite having a small role he did it with style. Well there is no doubt that the two leading men, Simon Pegg (playing William Burke) and Andy Serkis (playing William Hare) were the driving force of the movie, and those two worked really well together. There was an odd, dark chemistry between those two on the screen.After having seen the movie, I was left with a thought that it would be cool if these two characters also made it on to an ongoing TV show, because it did seem like it had enough value to actually pull off a TV series as well. Burke and Hare are two characters that really are funny and unique.

Or Hare-brained is more like it. Have you ever heard of the expression Burking? NO? Well in this film we have it all.This film stars Simon Pegg(or Pegg-head as I like to call him). This fellow has gone down in the world. I thoroughly enjoyed Shaun Of The Dead.In this one: he stinks.This story is based on The Burke and Hare murders (also known as the West Port murders) were serial murders perpetrated in Edinburgh, Scotland, from November 1827 to 31 October 1828. The killings were attributed to Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare, who sold the corpses of their 17 victims to provide material for dissection. Their purchaser was Doctor Robert Knox, a private anatomy lecturer whose students were drawn from Edinburgh Medical College. Their accomplices included Burke's mistress, Helen McDougal, and Hare's wife, Margaret Laird. From their infamous method of killing their victims has come the word "burking", meaning to purposefully smother and compress the chest of a victim, and a derived meaning, to quietly suppressBack to the film: the plot is a parody of the actual killings. Burke is shown to be a romantic in the film (as well as a man of principles), madly in love with Helen McDougal (Isla Fisher) - under the name Ginny Hawkins - a former prostitute, attempts to attract the attention of everyone in the bar by doing an extract from the William Shakespeare play Macbeth. You feel sympathetic towards Burke.The character of Hare is shown as a man who lives only for himself. He even forsakes his best friend Burke at the end of the film. In this film Hare is NOT dealt with by the mob at the end of the film. In this one: he opens his own funeral parlour.Ronny Corbett(star of the Two Ronnies BBC TV series) makes a welcome appearance. In this film he looks like a parody of Napoleon Bonaparte. Christopher Lee makes a cameo appearance as Joseph.William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis) attempting to sell cheese mould which they state is growing moss. When they are found out, they flee back to an Inn owned by Hare's wife Lucky (Jessica Hynes), who states that one of their lodgers has died. Burke and Hare decide to transport the corpse to Knox. They are forced to break the corpse's spine in order to fit inside the barrel.Burke and Hare arrive at Knox's castle and present the now mangled corpse to Knox. Knox then agrees that if the pair bring him two bodies a week for dissection, he will pay them a large amount of money.Joseph one of the lodgers at the Inn, is an elderly man, near death and before he can die a natural death, this process is speeded up by the duo of Burke and Hare. They take his body to Dr. Robert Knox (Tom Wilkinson), who gives them both a large amount of money.From then onwards, Hare thinks this is a very lucrative business.Verdict: the film is very poorly scripted and the comedy is insufficient and falls flat on its face. Even Ronnie Corbett can't save this film.I have seen 3 films which are far superior than this. They are 1. The Body Snatcher (1945) 2. The Flesh And The Fiends, and 3. The Doctor And The Devils (1985).If the script had been good and with better choice of actors as Burke and Hare, this film could have been better.

If it wasn't for the presence of Simon Pegg, it would be fair to say 'Burke and Hare' would have fallen under the slew of heavily-hyped 3D blockbusters. Fortunately that isn't the case, as 'Burke and Hare' is one of the funniest movies of the year.The plot concerns William Burke (Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis, Gollum from the 'Lord of the Rings' movies) -two struggling businessmen looking for their next big idea in 1828 Edinburgh. With Scotland famed for their medical schools, they soon find their niche: selling dead bodies to doctors. With already-dead bodies in short supply, they're forced to take matters into their own hands, helped by Hare's wife Lucky (Jessica Hynes). Their scheme is pushed along by Burke's desire to finance the first all-woman production of 'Macbeth', mainly to win the attention of Jenny (Isla Fisher). Hot on their trail is Captain Tam McLintoch (Ronnie Corbett).'Burke and Hare' is a rare comedy in that it sustains the laughs - even to its bittersweet ending - without resorting to cheap gimmicks or gross-out humour (though there are a few scenes with the dead bodies being dissected, so the squeamish should be on guard). There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well. The film is boosted by a strong cast, which includes Bill Bailey (almost unrecognisable clean shaven), Christopher Lee, Tim Curry and Steven Merchant. My only criticism is that some of the dialogue is difficult to pick up due to the at times hard to understand Scottish accents.