Hot Fuzz

Nicholas Angel, a recently promoted Metropolitan Police Sergeant, is reassigned to the rural town of Sandford, Gloucestershire, for being too exceptional. Angel arrests Danny Butterman for drunk driving, but later discovers that he is the son of Inspector Frank Butterman, and a police officer himself. Angel is frustrated by the village's mundanity, his and Frank's incompetent colleagues, and the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA)'s prioritisation of low crime statistics over law enforcement. Angel and Danny stop the two lead actors of a local production of Romeo and Juliet for speeding. A cloaked figure later murders the actors, and their deaths are staged as a car crash; only Angel suspects foul play.

Angel and Danny discover an illegal weapons stash, including an old sea mine, and confiscate it. Angel warms to Danny, and together they binge-watch action films at Danny's house. That night, a cloaked figure attacks wealthy land developer George Merchant in his home, and kills him in a gas explosion. Angel suspects that the deaths are connected to a recent property deal.

Tim Messenger, a local journalist, approaches Angel at the village fête, claiming to have information. However, a cloaked figure kills Messenger by dislodging masonry from the church's tower. Angel learns from Leslie Tiller, the village florist, about her plans to sell her land to Merchant's business partners. While Angel is retrieving his notebook, a cloaked figure murders Tiller with her garden shears and escapes. Angel suspects supermarket manager Simon Skinner, as the property deal would have built a rival supermarket, but Skinner has an alibi.

After surmising that there are multiple killers, Angel is attacked in his hotel room by Michael "Lurch" Armstrong, an employee of Skinner. He incapacitates Lurch and learns about a secret NWA meeting at Sandford Castle. The NWA, led by Frank, reveals that they committed the murders and staged them as accidents because each victim threatened Sandford's chances of winning "Village of the Year". Irene, Frank's late wife and Danny's mother, put everything into helping Sandford win the first-ever competition, but travellers moved in and ruined their chances the night before the adjudicators arrived, driving her to suicide. Frank has since vowed to help Sandford win "Village of the Year" every year, whatever the cost. Angel flees, but stumbles into the castle's catacombs, discovering the corpses of the NWA's victims, some of whom Angel had helped arrest or question – including his predecessor, Sergeant Popwell. Danny suddenly appears and feigns murdering Angel. While pretending to dispose of him, Danny urges Angel to return to London for his own safety. Although initially leaving for London, Angel stops at a convenience store and takes heart after seeing a display of action-movie DVDs, returns to Sandford. After visiting the police station and arming himself with the confiscated guns, Angel engages in a shootout with the NWA, with Danny joining Angel during the battle. When Frank orders the other officers to arrest them, the pair successfully convinces them of Frank's complicity.

Frank flees, and the officers besiege the supermarket, with Skinner escaping in a police car with Frank. After Angel and Danny engage the offenders in a high-speed chase and shootout, Angel corners Skinner at Sandford's model village. After a fight, Skinner is impaled on a miniature church steeple. Frank attempts to escape in Angel's car, but a swan that the pair had recaptured earlier attacks him. Angel's former superiors ask him to return to London as the crime rate has risen heavily in his absence, but Angel declines and elects to remain in Sandford.

While the officers are reviewing the paperwork of the many arrests, Tom Weaver, the last NWA member, enters the station wielding a blunderbuss. He shoots at Angel, but Danny takes the hit. In the resulting struggle, Weaver accidentally activates the sea mine, killing himself and destroying the station. One year later, Angel has been promoted to Inspector and Danny, having survived, has been promoted to Sergeant. After visiting Irene's grave, the two drive to their next crime scene.

{{cast listing|

• Simon Pegg as Nicholas Angel, a high-achieving police officer who is transferred from London to Sandford after being promoted
• Nick Frost as Danny Butterman, a Sandford police officer who loves buddy cop films
• Jim Broadbent as Police Inspector Frank Butterman, Danny's father
• Paddy Considine as Detective Sergeant Andy Wainwright, Sandford Police
• Timothy Dalton as Simon Skinner, the manager of the supermarket at Sandford
• Bill Nighy as Police Chief Inspector Kenneth, from the Metropolitan Police in London{{cite web |last1=Bhatia |first1=Aunindita |title=Bill Nighy's Best Performances, Ranked |url=https://movieweb.com/bill-nighys-best-performances-ranked/ |website=MovieWeb |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=5 October 2022}}
• Billie Whitelaw as Joyce Cooper, who runs the hotel where Nicholas stays
• Edward Woodward as Tom Weaver, a professor who represents the Neighbourhood Watch Alliance and looks over the town with a number of surveillance cameras

• Bill Bailey as Sergeants Turner, both twin-brother desk sergeants at Sandford
• David Bradley as Arthur Webley, a farmer at Sandford who has an impenetrable accent and a huge stockpile of weapons including a sea mine
• Adam Buxton as Tim Messenger, journalist at the Sandford Citizen
• Olivia Colman as PC Doris Thatcher, the sole female police officer in Sandford
• Ron Cook as George Merchant, a land developer who has a large mansion at Sandford
• Kenneth Cranham as James Reaper, a farmer at Sandford
• Peter Wight as Roy Porter, Mary's husband, landlord of Sandford's pub, The Crown
• Julia Deakin as Mary Porter, Roy's wife, landlady of Sandford's pub, The Crown
• Kevin Eldon as Sergeant Tony Fisher, Sandford Police
• Martin Freeman as Sergeant, from the Metropolitan Police in London
• Paul Freeman as Rev. Philip Shooter, an Anglican cleric in Sandford
• Karl Johnson as PC Bob Walker, the oldest officer in the Sandford police
• Lucy Punch as Eve Draper, an amateur actress who works for the Sandford town council
• Anne Reid as Leslie Tiller, a florist in Sandford
• Rafe Spall as Detective Constable Andy Cartwright, Sandford Police
• David Threlfall as Martin Blower, an actor and solicitor
• Stuart Wilson as Robin Hatcher, the town's doctor
• Rory McCann as Michael Armstrong/"Lurch", a huge, but dimwitted employee of Skinner's supermarket

• Robert Popper as (Not) Janine, whom Nicholas mistakes for Janine
• Joe Cornish as Bob
• Chris Waitt as Dave
• Eric Mason as Bernard Cooper, Joyce's husband, who co-runs the hotel
• Lorraine Hilton as Amanda Paver, the headmistress of the local school
• Patricia Franklin as Annette Roper, a shopkeeper
• Stephen Merchant as Peter Ian Staker, a resident of Sandford who calls about the village swan going missing, and whom Nicholas initially believes to be a prank caller, due to his initials and surname being P. I. Staker (i.e. "piss-taker")
• Tim Barlow as Mr. Treacher, an old man resident in Sandford
• Ben McKay as Peter Cocker, a shoplifter in Sandford
• Alice Lowe as Tina, an employee at Mr Skinner's supermarket
• Maria Charles as Mrs. Reaper
• Steve Coogan (uncredited) as Metropolitan Police Inspector{{cite news |title=You're A Doctor, Deal With It: 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Hot Fuzz |url= https://screenrant.com/hot-fuzz-movie-behind-scenes-facts-information-trivia/ |work=Screen Rant |access-date=23 October 2022}}
• Cate Blanchett (uncredited) as Janine, Nicholas' ex-girlfriend and a Metropolitan Police forensics investigator{{cite news |title=Five celebrity movie cameos you totally missed |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/five-celebrity-movie-cameos-you-totally-missed/news-story/a3c7d47ac26b48f025108d8333a4f695 |access-date=17 September 2019 |work=News.com.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924141622/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/movies/five-celebrity-movie-cameos-you-totally-missed/news-story/a3c7d47ac26b48f025108d8333a4f695 |archive-date=24 September 2018 |url-status=live}}
• Peter Jackson (uncredited) as a demented man dressed as Father Christmas, who stabs Angel in the hand{{cite web |url=http://www.bullz-eye.com/mguide/reviews_2007/hot_fuzz.htm |title=Hot Fuzz review |first=Jason |last=Zingale |access-date=30 April 2008}}
• Edgar Wright (uncredited) as a shelf stacker{{cite web |last1=Toppel |first1=Fred |title=Hot Fuzz cameos. |url=http://www.canmag.com/nw/7400-hot-fuzz-wright-cameos |website=CanMag.com |access-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806140419/http://www.canmag.com/nw/7400-hot-fuzz-wright-cameos|archive-date=6 August 2017|url-status=usurped}}{{cite web |title=15 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Hot Fuzz |url=http://www.ifc.com/2014/11/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-hot-fuzz |website=IFC.com |access-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804113449/http://www.ifc.com/2014/11/15-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-hot-fuzz|archive-date=4 August 2017|url-status=dead}}

}}

Director Edgar Wright wanted to write and direct a cop film because "there isn't really any tradition of cop films in the UK... We felt that every other country in the world had its own tradition of great cop action films and we had none."{{cite news |title="Hot Fuzz" Q&A: Flushing Birthday Cakes with Edgar Wright and Nick Frost |newspaper=New York Post |last=Christianson |first=Emily |url=http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/movies/news/n12889.htm |access-date=6 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225020858/http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/movies/news/n12889.htm |archive-date=25 December 2007}} Wright and Pegg spent eighteen months writing the script.{{cite web |title=Hot Interview with Director/Screenwriter Edgar Wright and Actor Nick Frost of Hot Fuzz |work=Gather.com |last=Wilson |first=Stevie |url=http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977070586 |access-date=23 March 2009 |date=31 July 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012130637/http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977070586 |archive-date=12 October 2007}} The first draft took eight months to develop, and after watching 138 cop-related films for dialogue and plot ideas and conducting over fifty interviews with police officers for research, the script was completed after another nine months.{{cite web |title=Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost talk Hot Fuzz |work=BigFanBoy.com |last=Murray |first=Gary |url=http://www.bigfanboy.com/pages/interviews/hotfuzz/hf.html |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803132556/http://www.bigfanboy.com/pages/interviews/hotfuzz/hf.html|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=live}} The title was based on the various two-word titles of action films in the 1980s and 1990s.{{cite web |title=Interview with the Stars of Hot Fuzz – Simon Pegg and Nick Frost |work=About.com |last=Topel |first=Fred |url=http://movies.about.com/od/hotfuzz/a/hotfuzzsp041307.htm |access-date=23 March 2009|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125200921/http://movies.about.com/od/hotfuzz/a/hotfuzzsp041307.htm |archive-date=25 January 2009}} In one interview Wright declared that he "wanted to make a title that really had very little meaning... like Lethal Weapon and Point Break and Executive Decision." In the same interview, Pegg joked that many action films' titles "seem to be generated from two hats filled with adjectives and nouns and you just, 'Okay, that'll do.'" While writing the script, Wright, as well as Pegg, intended to include Frost as the partner for Pegg's character. Frost revealed that he would do the film only if he could name his character, and he chose "Danny Butterman".{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz-Production Notes p.2 |url=http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=4056 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803171559/http://www.cinemareview.com/production.asp?prodid=4056 |archive-date=3 August 2017 |access-date=23 March 2009 |work=CinemaReview}}

File:Hotfuzzfilming.jpg.]]

During the latter half of 2005, Working Title Films approached several towns in South West England looking for an appropriate filming location. Pegg commented, "We're both [Pegg and Wright] from the West Country so it just seemed like it was the perfect and logical thing to drag those kind of ideas and those genres and those clichés back to our beginnings to where we grew up, so you could see high-octane balls-to-the-wall action in Frome".{{cite episode |title=Week Four 2007 |series=The Culture Show |series-link=The Culture Show |network=BBC Two |air-date=10 February 2007}} Stow-on-the-Wold was considered amongst others, but after being turned away, the company settled upon Wells in Somerset, Wright's hometown,{{cite web |title=Thank God we did screen film event! |work=Cotswald Journal |url=http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/874709.thank_god_we_did_screen_film_event/ |date=11 August 2006 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803171613/http://www.cotswoldjournal.co.uk/news/874709.thank_god_we_did_screen_film_event/|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=live}} of which he has said "I love it but I also want to trash it".{{cite episode |title=Around the West Country and into Wales |series=The Comedy Map of Britain |network=BBC Two |air-date=3 February 2007}} Wells Cathedral was digitally painted out of every shot of the cathedral city, as Wright wanted the Church of St Cuthbert to be the centre building for the fictional town of Sandford;{{cite video |title=Hot Fuzz commentary |medium=DVD |publisher=Universal Pictures}} however, the Bishop's Palace is identifiable in some shots (and was itself used as the setting for some scenes).{{cite web |title=Film locations for Hot Fuzz |url=http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/hotfuzz.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803171744/http://www.movie-locations.com/movies/h/hotfuzz.html |archive-date=3 August 2017 |access-date=23 March 2009 |work=Worldwide guide to movie locations}} While shooting scenes in their uniforms, Pegg and Frost were often mistaken for genuine police officers and asked for directions by passers-by.{{cite web |url=http://movies.sky.com/the-other-guys/buddy-cop |title=Best Buddy Cop Movies – A Celebration – Sky Movies HD |publisher=Movies.sky.com |access-date=18 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104102241/http://movies.sky.com/the-other-guys/buddy-cop |archive-date=4 November 2011|url-status=dead}} Filming also took place at the Hendon Police College, including the driving school skid pan and athletic track and at the Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre at Gravesend.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz Filming Locations |work=Movie Locations Guide.com |url=http://www.movielocationsguide.com/Hot_Fuzz/filming_locations |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803212710/http://www.movielocationsguide.com/Hot_Fuzz/filming_locations|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=dead}} Next to Hendon is Mill Hill where Finchley Nurseries is located which is where the flower shop scene was filmed.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz (2007) – The Flower Shop |url=http://www.british-film-locations.com/scene-wc/Hot-Fuzz-2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207213920/http://www.british-film-locations.com/scene-wc/Hot-Fuzz-2007 |archive-date=7 February 2018 |access-date=2 June 2018 |publisher=British Film Locations}} The final scenes were filmed at the surviving ruins of Waverley Abbey.{{Cite web|last=Medd|first=James|title=Where was 'Hot Fuzz' filmed?|url=https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/where-was-hot-fuzz-filmed|access-date=2020-08-16|website=CN Traveller|date=18 November 2018 |language=en-GB}} Filming commenced on 19 March 2006 and lasted for eleven weeks.{{cite web |title=Filming Under Way on Hot Fuzz |work=Working Title Films |url=http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/newsArticle.php?newsID=115 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060321051218/http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/newsArticle.php?newsID=115 |archive-date=21 March 2006 |date=20 March 2006 |access-date=23 March 2009}}{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz |work=Channel 4 Film |url=http://www.channel4.com/apps26/film/reviews/film.jsp?section=indepth&id=159113&page=3 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327051917/http://www.channel4.com/apps26/film/reviews/film.jsp?section=indepth&id=159113&page=3 |archive-date=27 March 2007}} After editing, Wright ended up cutting half-an-hour of footage from the film.{{cite web |title=Interview With Edgar Wright |work=IGN |last=Kolan |first=Patrick |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/14/interview-with-edgar-wright |date=13 March 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803173129/http://www.ign.com/articles/2007/03/14/interview-with-edgar-wright|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=live}}

Wright has said that Hot Fuzz takes elements from his final amateur film, Dead Right, which he described as both "Lethal Weapon set in Somerset" and "a Dirty Harry film in Somerset". He uses some of the same locations in both films, including the Somerfield supermarket, where he used to work as a shelf-stacker.

References to Shaun of the Dead are also present in the film. In one scene, Nicholas wants to chase a shoplifter by jumping over several garden fences; however, Danny is reluctant. Nicholas says, "What's the matter, Danny? You never taken a shortcut before?" He smiles assuredly before jumping over four in a row (according to the DVD commentary, Pegg vaulted over three fences, and a stunt man did a back flip over the fourth). When Danny attempts it, he trips and falls through the first fence and climbs over the second. This is almost identical to a scene in Shaun of the Dead, including the fall-through-fence gag, albeit with the pratfalling role reverse: in Shaun of the Dead it happens to Pegg's character rather than Frost's, and he falls over the fence rather than through it. The DVD commentary says that Frost purposely looked back at the camera after crashing through the fence, to show that he had done the stunt rather than someone else.

Frost's characters (Danny in Hot Fuzz, Ed in Shaun of the Dead) have a liking for Cornetto ice cream.{{cite news |title=Simon Pegg and Nick Frost |publisher=CraveOnline |url=http://www.craveonline.com/lifestyle/articles/157660-simon-pegg-and-nick-frost |date=9 April 2007 |access-date=6 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221000858/http://www.craveonline.com/site/157660-simon-pegg-and-nick-frost |archive-date=21 February 2016 |url-status=dead }} Pegg and Wright have referred to Hot Fuzz as being the second film in the "Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy", with Shaun of the Dead being the first and The World's End being the third.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7642129.stm |title=Interview with Simon Pegg |access-date=23 March 2009 |publisher=BBC |date=1 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804052649/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7642129.stm|archive-date=4 August 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/apr/03/news.uk |last=Brown |first=Mark |title=Spaced duo savour sweet taste of success |access-date=23 March 2009 |date=3 April 2008 |work=guardian.co.uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306144933/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/apr/03/news.uk|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Various scenes in Hot Fuzz feature a variety of action film DVDs such as Police Story 3: Super Cop and scenes from Point Break and Bad Boys II. Wright revealed that he had to get permission from every actor in each video clip, including stunt men, to use the clips and for the use of the DVD covers had to pay for the rights from the respective studios.{{cite web |title=Interview: Edgar Wright Tackles Hot Fuzz |work=Movie Web |last=Chupnick |first=Steven |url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/57/19157.php |date=17 April 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070423025620/http://www.movieweb.com/news/57/19157.php |archive-date=23 April 2007}} The film parodies clichés used in other action movies. On the topic of perceived gun fetishes in these movies, Pegg has said, "Men can't do that thing, which is the greatest achievement of humankind, which is to make another human, so we make metal versions of our own penises and fire more bits of metal out of the end into people's heads... It's our turn to grab the gun by the hilt and fire it into your face." Despite this, Pegg maintains that the film is not a spoof, in that "They lack the sneer that a lot of parodies have that look down on their source material. Because we're looking up to it."{{cite magazine |last=Collis |first=Clark |title=Brits and Giggles |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=13 April 2007 |url=https://ew.com/article/2007/04/18/why-theres-so-much-buzz-about-hot-fuzz/ |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807153155/http://ew.com/article/2007/04/18/why-theres-so-much-buzz-about-hot-fuzz/|archive-date=7 August 2017|url-status=live}} The film also includes various references to The Wicker Man, in which Edward Woodward had played a policeman tough on law and order.{{cite news |last=Stratton |first=David |title=Hot Fuzz |publisher=At the Movies |url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1863475.htm |access-date=6 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511070152/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1863475.htm|archive-date=11 May 2016|url-status=dead}}

In 2020, Wright indicated on social media that the title of the film was an apparent reference to the 2004 debut studio album Hot Fuss by the Killers.{{cite web | last=Lockyer | first=Margaret | title=Hot Fuzz Fan Finds Long-Overlooked Easter Egg (and Edgar Wright Approves) | date=April 22, 2020 | url=https://www.cbr.com/hot-fuzz-fan-finds-easter-egg-edgar-wright-approves/ | work=cbr.com }} However, he has also said that the title of the film "means nothing."{{cite av media | title=Hot Fuzz Video Blog - Comic Con - 1 of 2 | date=August 3, 2006 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob4wO0xZu9g | via=YouTube }}{{cite web | title=HOT FUZZ AT COMIC-CON PART 1 | access-date=February 22, 2025 | url=http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/featureProductionDiary.php?featureID=147 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821215135/http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/featureProductionDiary.php?featureID=147 | archive-date=August 21, 2006 | url-status=dead | work=workingtitlefilms.com }}

To illustrate the destruction of the mansion as a result of the gas explosion, gas mortars were placed in front of the building to create large-scale fireballs. The wave of fire engulfs the camera, and to achieve that effect, gas mortars were used again but were fired upwards into a black ceiling piece that sloped up towards the camera.{{cite news |title=Hot Fuzz: A Cop Spoof CG Investigation |work=VFXWorld |last=Bielik |first=Alain |url=http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=1e242f07&atype=articles&id=3253 |date=20 April 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502141934/http://vfxworld.com/?sa=adv&code=1e242f07&atype=articles&id=3253 |archive-date=2 May 2007}} When the sequence was shot at a high speed, the flames appeared to surge across the ground. For one of the final scenes of the film, the Sandford police station is destroyed by an explosion. Part of the explosion was created by using a set model that showed its windows being blown out, while the building remained intact. The actual destruction of the building was depicted by exploding a miniature model of the station.

Similar to the work in Shaun of the Dead, blood and gore was prevalent throughout the film. Visual effects supervisor Richard Briscoe revealed the rationale for using the large amounts of blood: "In many ways, the more extreme you make it, the more people know it is stylised and enjoy the humour inherent in how ridiculous it is. It's rather like the (eventually) limbless Black Knight in [Monty Python and the Holy Grail]." The most time-consuming gore sequence involved a character's head being crushed by a section of a church. A dummy was used against a green screen and the head was detonated at the point when the object was about to impact the body. Throughout the film, over seventy gunfight shots were digitally augmented; Briscoe's rationale for adding the additional effects was that "The town square shootout, for example, is full of extra little hits scattered throughout, so that it feels like our hero characters really do have it all going off, all around them. It was a great demonstration of [how] seemingly very trivial enhancements can make a difference when combined across a sequence."

The first two teaser trailers were released on 16 October 2006. Wright, Pegg, and Frost maintained several video blogs, which were released at various times throughout the production of the film.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz Con Blogs |work=JoBlo.com |last=Frey |first=Jonathan |url=https://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=12379 |date=7 August 2006 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060812123320/http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=12379 |archive-date=12 August 2006}} Wright and Frost held a panel at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con to promote Hot Fuzz, which included preliminary footage and a question and answer session.{{cite web |title=Con:Hot Fuzz |work=JoBlo.com |author=JoBlo |url=https://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=12242 |date=27 July 2006 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907054430/http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=12242 |archive-date=7 September 2006}} The two returned to the convention again in 2007 to promote the US DVD release.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz's Edgar Wright and Nick Frost at Comic-Con |work=MonstersandCritics.com |last=Reilly |first=Maura |url=http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1340092.php/Hot_Fuzz%92s_Edgar_Wright_and_Nick_Frost_at_Comic-Con |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071012150030/http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/features/article_1340092.php/Hot_Fuzz%92s_Edgar_Wright_and_Nick_Frost_at_Comic-Con |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2007 |date=7 August 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009}} Advance screenings of the film took place on 14 February 2007 in the UK and the world premiere was on 16 February 2007. The premiere included escorts from motorcycle police officers and the use of blue carpet instead of the traditional red carpet.{{cite web |title="Hot Fuzz" World Premiere |work=Working Title Films |url=http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/newsArticle.php?newsID=164 |date=16 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070801195447/http://www.workingtitlefilms.com/newsArticle.php?newsID=164 |archive-date=1 August 2007}}

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 91% approval rating with an average rating of 7.7/10 based on 204 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The brilliant minds behind Shaun of the Dead successfully take a shot at the buddy cop genre with Hot Fuzz. The result is a bitingly satiric and hugely entertaining parody."{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz (2006) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_fuzz/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=8 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830142445/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hot_fuzz|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}} It has a Metacritic score of 81 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz |work=Metacritic |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hot-fuzz |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014210225/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/hot-fuzz|archive-date=14 October 2017|url-status=live}} Olly Richards of Empire praised the chemistry between Pegg and Frost, saying: "After almost a decade together, they're clearly so comfortable in each other's presence that they feel no need to fight for the punchline, making them terrific company for two hours".{{cite magazine |title=Hot Fuzz (TBC) |magazine=Empire |last=Richards |first=Olly |url=https://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=10243 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207141240/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/hot-fuzz/review/|archive-date=7 December 2017|url-status=live}}

Philip French of The Observer, who did not care for Shaun of the Dead, warmed to the comedy team in this film.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz |work=guardian.co.uk |last=French |first=Philip |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/feb/18/comedy.thriller |date=18 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219003505/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/feb/18/comedy.thriller|archive-date=19 December 2017|url-status=live}} The film also received positive reviews in the United States. Derek Elley of Variety praised Broadbent and Dalton as "especially good as Angel's hail-fellow-well-met superior and oily No. 1 suspect".{{cite magazine |title=Hot Fuzz |magazine=Variety |last=Elley |first=Derek |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/reviews/hot-fuzz-1200510204/ |date=20 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709080849/http://variety.com/2007/film/reviews/hot-fuzz-1200510204/|archive-date=9 July 2013|url-status=live}} As an homage to the genre, the film was well received by screenwriter Shane Black. Despite being mostly praised, not all reviews were positive. The Daily Mirror gave Hot Fuzz only 2/5, stating that "many of the jokes miss their target" as the film becomes more action-based.{{cite news |title=Hot Fuzz |newspaper=Daily Mirror |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/entertainment/movies/tm_headline=hot-fuzz%26method=full%26objectid=18621717%26siteid=89520-name_page.html |date=16 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218092947/http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/entertainment/movies/tm_headline%3Dhot-fuzz%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D18621717%26siteid%3D89520-name_page.html |archive-date=18 February 2007|url-status=dead}} Anthony Quinn of The Independent said, "The same impish spirit [as in Spaced] is uncorked here, but it has been fatally indulged".{{cite news |last=Quinn |first=Anthony |title=Hot Fuzz (15) |newspaper=The Independent |url=http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/reviews/article2272682.ece |date=16 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070227050531/http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/reviews/article2272682.ece |archive-date=27 February 2007}}

In 2016, Empire magazine ranked Hot Fuzz 50th on their list of the 100 best British films, with their entry stating, "the second in their planned trilogy again nails the genre clichés, with everything from Point Break to Bad Boys II (both openly referenced) humorously homaged. Pegg's natural chemistry with long-time real-life pal Frost remains endearing as ever. Elsewhere, the Scooby-Doo-meets-Scream mystery is peppered with Britain's finest talent, playing up the English small-town clichés to great effect in a brilliantly incongruous meeting of sleepy rural life and stabby violent action."{{cite news |title=The 100 best British films |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |access-date=4 September 2019 |work=Empire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904144411/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |archive-date=4 September 2019 |url-status=live}}

The film generated £7.1 million in its first weekend of release in the United Kingdom on 14 February 2007.{{cite news |title=Hot Fuzz heats up UK box office |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6379441.stm |date=20 February 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105143624/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6379441.stm|archive-date=5 January 2009|url-status=live}} In 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.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz (2007) |work=Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hotfuzz.htm |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830183436/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hotfuzz.htm|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}} Its opening weekend take beat the $3.3 million opening weekend gross of Pegg and Wright's previous film, Shaun of the Dead. In its second weekend of release, Rogue Pictures expanded the film's cinema count from 825 to 1,272 and it grossed $4.9 million, representing a 17% dip in the gross.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz-Weekend Box Office |work=Box Office Mojo |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=hotfuzz.htm |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124002301/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=hotfuzz.htm|archive-date=24 January 2009|url-status=live}} Altogether, Hot Fuzz grossed $80,573,774 worldwide. In nine weeks, the film earned nearly twice what Shaun of the Dead made in the US, and more than three times its gross in other countries.{{cite web |title=Shaun of the Dead |work=Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shaunofthedead.htm |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124002215/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=shaunofthedead.htm|archive-date=24 January 2009|url-status=live}}

The DVD was released on 11 June 2007 in the UK. Over one million DVDs were sold in the UK in the first four weeks of its release.{{cite news |title=Comic-Con: Hot Fuzz on DVD Today, Play the Shootout Game Now! |publisher=Cinematical |last=Kelly |first=Kevin |url=http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/31/comic-con-hot-fuzz-on-dvd-today-play-the-shootout-game-now/ |date=31 July 2007 |access-date=23 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903055605/http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/31/comic-con-hot-fuzz-on-dvd-today-play-the-shootout-game-now/ |archive-date=3 September 2007}} The two-disc set contains the feature film with commentaries, outtakes, storyboards, deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, video blogs, featurettes, galleries, and some hidden easter eggs. The DVD also features Wright's last amateur film, Dead Right, which he described as "Hot Fuzz without the budget". The film appeared on region 2 DVD earlier than the theatrical release date in Germany, which was on 14 June 2007.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz – Zwei abgewichste Profis |work=Kino.de |url=http://www.kino.de/kinofilm/hot-fuzz-zwei-abgewichste-profis/103220 |language=de |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812025256/http://www.kino.de/kinofilm/hot-fuzz-zwei-abgewichste-profis/103220|archive-date=12 August 2011|url-status=live}} In the commentary with director Wright and fellow filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, they discuss nearly 200 films.{{cite web |title=Every film mentioned by Edgar Wright and Quentin Tarantino in their Hot Fuzz commentary track |work=Tysto.com |url=http://tysto.com/articles08/q1/20080114hotfuzz.shtml |date=14 January 2008 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422164535/http://www.tysto.com/articles08/q1/20080114hotfuzz.shtml|archive-date=22 April 2009|url-status=live}}

The US DVD and HD DVD release was on 31 July 2007. It opened at #2 at the American DVD sales chart, selling 853,000 units for over $14m in revenue. 1,923,000 units have been sold, acquiring revenue of $33.3 million.{{cite web |url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/HTFUZ-DVD.php |title=Movie Hot Fuzz – DVD Sales |publisher=The Numbers |access-date=18 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023123529/http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/HTFUZ-DVD.php|archive-date=23 October 2012|url-status=live}} The HD DVD edition has more special features than the standard DVD release. A three-disc collector's edition was released on 27 November 2007 and a Blu-ray edition on 22 September 2009.{{cite news |last=Ault |first=Susanne |title=Best Buy receives Blu-ray exclusives |publisher=Video Business |url=http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6617869&articleid=CA6686496 |date=28 August 2009 |access-date=6 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204175322/http://www.videobusiness.com/index.asp?layout=talkbackCommentsFull&talk_back_header_id=6617869&articleid=CA6686496|archive-date=4 December 2014|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Hot Fuzz (soundtrack)}}

The soundtrack album, Hot Fuzz: Music from the Motion Picture, was released on 19 February 2007 in the United Kingdom, and on 17 April 2007 in the United States and Canada. The UK release contains 22 tracks, and the North American release has 14. The film's score is by British composer David Arnold, who scored the James Bond film series from 1997 to 2008. The soundtrack album's "Hot Fuzz Suite" is a compilation of excerpts from Arnold's score.{{cite web |title=Hot Fuzz [Cherry Tree] Review |work=AllMusic |last=Phares |first=Heather |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-fuzz-cherry-tree-mw0000747010 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814182256/http://www.allmusic.com/album/hot-fuzz-cherry-tree-mw0000747010|archive-date=14 August 2017|url-status=live}} According to the DVD commentary, the scenes where Nicholas Angel is at a convenience store, while leaving Sandford, and his return to the police station while arming for the final shootout (found in the track "Avenging Angel"), were scored by Robert Rodríguez, who did not see the rest of the film while writing the music.

Other music from the film is a mix of 1960s and 1970s British rock (The Kinks, T. Rex, The Move, Sweet, The Troggs, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Cozy Powell, Dire Straits), new wave (Adam Ant, XTC) and a Glaswegian indie band (The Fratellis).{{cite web |title=Soundtrack details: Hot Fuzz |work=Soundtrack Collector |url=http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=78929 |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814174758/http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=78929|archive-date=14 August 2017|url-status=live}} The soundtrack album features dialogue extracts by Pegg, Frost, and other cast members, mostly embedded in the music tracks.{{cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Rafael |title=Hot Fuzz soundtrack |work=SoundtrackNet |url=http://www.soundtrack.net/album/hot-fuzz/ |access-date=23 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223010152/http://www.soundtrack.net/album/hot-fuzz/|archive-date=23 February 2014|url-status=live}} The song selection also includes some police-themed titles, including Supergrass' "Caught by the Fuzz" as well as "Here Come the Fuzz", which was specially composed for the film by Jon Spencer's Blues Explosion.

• List of British films of 2007
• Davao City, a Philippine city cited to have police authorities that underreport crimes in blotters to maintain its appearance as one of the country's safest cities{{cite news|last=Caduaya|first=Editha|title=Discrepancies in police logbooks cast doubt on Davao's low crime rates|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/mindanao/discrepancies-police-logbooks-cast-doubt-davao-low-crime-rates/|access-date=27 December 2024|work=Rappler|publisher=Rappler Inc.|date=1 August 2024}}{{cite news|last=Montalvan II|first=Antonio J.|title=The 'safest city' fiction of Davao City|url=https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/the-slingshot-safest-city-fiction-davao-city/|access-date=27 December 2024|work=Rappler|publisher=Rappler Inc.|date=5 August 2024}}{{cite news|last=Zuasola|first=Ferdinand|title=Despite broad daylight murder of ex-mayor, Davao remains a safe city – police|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/mindanao/police-assert-davao-remains-safe-city-murder-cateel-davao-oriental-ex-mayor-giselo-castillones/|access-date=27 December 2024|work=Rappler|publisher=Rappler Inc.|date=28 November 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Hot Fuzz.ogg|date=25 August 2022}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• {{IMDb title|0425112}}
• {{mojo title|hotfuzz}}
• {{rotten-tomatoes|hot_fuzz}}
• {{Metacritic film}}
• {{British Comedy Guide|film|hot_fuzz}}
• [http://filmmakermagazine.com/1260-edgar-wright-hot-fuzz/#.UvvcsPldWZU The Director Interviews: Edgar Wright, Hot Fuzz] at Filmmaker Magazine

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Category:2007 films

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Category:British action comedy films

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Category:British buddy comedy films

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Category:Films directed by Edgar Wright

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