Brassed Off is a 1996 black comedy British film written and directed by Mark Herman. This film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. The soundtrack for the film was provided by The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own struggles against pit closures. Certain aspects of the film are scoffed at by some in the brass band world , but it is generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. Parts of the film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances.

Channel 4 and The Guardian both sponsored what was expected to be a low-profile film; it was not expected to gain the wide audience that it has done. Having expected viewers to be mostly those with past links to coal-mining, the film does not make explicit the political background to the plot. The American marketing for the film (and subsequent VHS and DVD releases) portrays the film as a cheerful romantic comedy with nearly no mention at all about the musical or political elements.

The film stars Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film was well received as a comedy, and by some as a political statement about the state of traditional coal mining communities in Britain. The film has also become an infamous example of a poor imitation of the Yorkshire dialect and accent, and is often contrasted with Kes, which was set in nearby Barnsley.

The film was particularly well received in former mining communities, who felt it accurately reflected the suffering they faced due to the attack on their industry by the Thatcher and Major governments. It is set during the reign of Major, when Michael Heseltine presided over a huge programme of pit closures, as President of the Board of Trade.

In existence for a hundred years, Grimley Colliery Brass band is as old as the mine. But the miners are now deciding whether to fight to keep the pit open, and the future for town and band looks bleak. Although the arrival of flugelhorn player Gloria injects some life into the players, and bandleader Danny continues to exhort them to continue in the national competition, frictions and pressures are all too evident. And who's side is Gloria actually on? Written by Jeremy Perkins

A small Yorkshire mining town is threatened with being shut down and the only hope for the town's men is to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win. In joining the band she puts her relationship with her childhood sweetheart Andy (Ewan McGregor) on the line. Written by