24 7: Twenty Four Seven (1997)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Shane Meadows

Writers:

Paul Fraser (written by)
Shane Meadows (written by)

Release Date:

1 May 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Plot:

In a typical English working-class town, the juveniles have nothing more to do than hang around in gangs...

Plot Keywords:

Boxing | Friend | Poverty | Boxing Club | Beating

Awards:

12 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Danny Nussbaum	...	Tim
Tony	...	Woody (the Dog)
Bob Hoskins	...	Alan Darcy
Bruce Jones	...	Tim's Dad (Geoff)
Annette Badland	...	Tim's Mother (Pat)
Justin Brady	...	Gadget
James Hooton	...	'Wolfman' Knighty
Darren O. Campbell	...	Daz (as Darren Campbell)
Krishan Beresford	...	Young Darcy
Karl Collins	...	Stuart
Anthony Clarke	...	Youngy
Johann Myers	...	Benny
Jimmy Hynd	...	Meggy
Mat Hand	...	Wesley Fagash
Dominic Dillon	...	Court Security Man (as Lord Dominic Dillon of Eldon)
Ian Smith	...	Prosecutor
Tanya Myers	...	Sally the Judge
Frank Harper	...	Ronnie Marsh
James Corden	...	Tonka (Carl Marsh)
Tony Nyland	...	Gadget's Dad
Collin Higgins	...	Knighty's Dad (Adrian)
Jo Bell	...	Jo
Pamela Cundell	...	Auntie Iris
Gina Aris	...	Sharon
Sammy Pasha	...	Jimmy Marsh
Paul Fraser	...	Photographer
Ladene Hall	...	Daz's Girlfriend (Pob)
Dena Smiles	...	Meggy's girlfriend (Leslie)
John Baxter	...	Man outside Shop
Maureen O'Grady	...	Knighty's Mom (Janet)
Shane Meadows	...	Man with Saucepan on Head (as Lord Shane Meadows of Eldon)
Ben Rothwell	...	Man selling Flowers
Ron Bissel	...	Boxing Match Judge
Mick Bleakley	...	Boxing Match Judge
Derek Osborne	...	Boxing Match Judge
Derek Groombridge	...	Staffordshire Coach
Liam Walsh	...	Staffordshire Boxer
Kevin Wallace	...	Staffordshire Boxer
Dave Miller	...	Phil 'The Animal' Yates
Vincent Keane	...	Stephen S. Stephenson Jr. (as Ginger Keane)
Sun Hand	...	Jordon Fangash
Sarah Thom	...	Fangash's Girl (Louise)

Directed by
Shane Meadows

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paul Fraser		written by
Shane Meadows		written by

Produced by
George Faber	....	executive producer
Sally French	....	line producer
Nik Powell	....	executive producer
David M. Thompson	....	executive producer
Imogen West	....	producer
Stephen Woolley	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Boo Hewerdine
Neil MacColl

Cinematography by
Ashley Rowe		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William Diver		(as Bill Diver)

Casting by
Abi Cohen

Production Design by
John Paul Kelly

Art Direction by
Niall Moroney

Set Decoration by
Astrid Sieben

Costume Design by
Philip Crichton

Makeup Department
Scott Beswick	....	additional hair stylist
Scott Beswick	....	additional makeup artist
Suzanna Botterill	....	additional assistant hair stylist
Suzanna Botterill	....	additional assistant makeup artist
Adrian McKenzie	....	additional assistant hair stylist
Adrian McKenzie	....	additional assistant makeup artist
Pebbles	....	chief hair designer
Pebbles	....	chief makeup designer
Tapio Salmi	....	hair stylist
Tapio Salmi	....	makeup artist
Melissa Walsh	....	additional assistant hair stylist
Melissa Walsh	....	additional assistant makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gus Maclean	....	assistant director
Pauline Oni	....	second assistant director
Ben Rothwell	....	third assistant director
Gareth Williams	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Kenny Augustin	....	property master (as Kenneth Augustin)
Brian Bird	....	dressing props
Gillian Edwards	....	production buyer
Carl Jones	....	props runaround
Emma MacDevitt	....	art department assistant
Chaz Prestidge	....	stand-by construction manager (as Chas Prestidge)
Polly Richards	....	assistant art director
Astrid Sieben	....	production buyer
Adam Southgate	....	stand-by props

Sound Department
Julie Ankerson	....	foley artist
Anstey Bligh	....	trainee sound assistant
Jens Christensen	....	dubbing assistant
John Coates	....	boom operator
John Fewell	....	foley artist
Simon Gershon	....	dubbing editor
Simon Gershon	....	sound designer
Paul Harris	....	adr recordist
Dave McGrath	....	dialogue editor
Jeremy Price	....	foley editor
Jeremy Price	....	foley recordist
Rosie Straker	....	sound mixer
Rosie Straker	....	sound

Special Effects by
Tim Baxter	....	optical effects
John Markwell	....	special effects

Stunts
Vincent Keane	....	stunt coordinator (as Ginger Keane)

Camera and Electrical Department
Joss Barratt	....	additional still photographer
Ian Clark	....	focus puller
Paul Dibden	....	electrician
Richie Donnelly	....	clapper loader
John Donoghue	....	gaffer
Abbie Ewing	....	additional electrician (as Abbi Ewen)
Dave Glossop	....	stand-by rigger (as David Glossop)
Kevin Higgins	....	camera grip
John Howes	....	crane technician
Bob Langridge	....	grip: second camera
Andy Newall	....	focus puller: second camera
Kenny Palmer	....	additional electrician
Ashley Rowe	....	camera operator
Gregory Shummon	....	best boy electric
Laurie Sparham	....	still photographer
Alan Stoyles	....	stand-by rigger
William Tracey	....	best boy
David Wall	....	electrician
Nigel Willoughby	....	camera operator: second camera
Edward Wright	....	camera trainee

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tami French	....	additional wardrobe assistant
Theresa Hughes	....	wardrobe supervisor
David Sanderson	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Lorraine Armstrong-Esther	....	post-production coordinator
Carol Houtman	....	assistant editor
Stephen Law	....	post-production: delivery
Clive Noakes	....	color grader

Music Department
Boo Hewerdine	....	music producer

Other crew
Dena Barnett	....	floor runner
Dominic Dillon	....	assistant to director
Janey Dillon	....	floor runner
Sara Dixon	....	accounting assistant
Cathy Doubleday	....	script supervisor
Derek Groombridge	....	boxing advisor
Suzie Halewood	....	production secretary
Rob Jones	....	unit location manager
Vikki Luya	....	unit publicist
Mick O'Reilly	....	location assistant
Lita O'Sullivan	....	production accountant
Sammy Pasha	....	assistant: Bob Hoskins
Alison Pitman	....	location assistant
Robyn Slovo	....	script editor
Winnie Wishart	....	production coordinator
Nigel Wood	....	production accountant
Philippa Wood	....	assistant to executive producer

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Scala Films

Distributors

• Finnkino (1999) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Pathé (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (Spain)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• Bedford Entertainment
• Finnkino (2000) (Finland) (VHS)
• Finnkino (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• October Films (1998) (USA)
• Pathé (1999) (UK) (VHS)
• Pathé (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Primer Plano Film Group (Argentina)
• RCV Film Distribution (Belgium)
• RCV Film Distribution (Luxembourg)
• RCV Film Distribution (Netherlands)
• Tobis Filmkunst (Germany)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2001) (Germany) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2005) (Finland) (TV) (Teema)

Other Companies

• A1 Mobile  facilities vehicles supplier
• ARRI Lighting Rental  lighting equipment
• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Anglo American Filming Vehicles  action vehicles supplier
• Bell Lighting Ltd.  lighting equipment
• Capital FX, London  titles and opticals
• Corbett & Keene  publicity
• Creative Partnership  titles
• Fusion  cutting rooms
• Lightworks (II)  editing systems
• Panavision UK  grip equipment provided by
• Prop Fram Ltd.  animals
• Richmond Film Services  sound equipment
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Take Five  catering
• Tru-Cut  negative cutting
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound re-recorded at

Also Known As:

TwentyFourSeven

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong violence, language and drugs, and for strong scenes of sexuality.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

Ronnie Marsh: [handing Darcy a wad of money] Here's an orangutan; a serious monkey.

Movie Connections:

References "Neighbours" (1985)

Soundtrack:

Wild Night

"If you lose your temper you lose everything"

TwentyFourSeven is a pleasing film from director Shane Meadows who also acted and co-wrote the screenplay. Rather sensibly for a first-time endeavour, he's opted for a low-key work rather than the flashy fragmented works of other young debutantes (Guy Ritchie please take note).

The story is alarmingly simple and is thus: Alan Darcy (Bob Hoskins, excellent) helps out wayward youths in a harsh Northern town by running a boxing club. And that, basically, is it. The film perhaps plays on too narrow a canvass and it's "life is harsh" rhetoric can be mildly overstated. Witness the habitual drug user who turns up to a bout with the largest spliff in history. This guy does drugs, and in case you don't get the point, here's a telescopic joint that would bankrupt Columbia. Bruce Jones' wife-beater can also be a little one-dimensional, saved only by the actors' charm. Yet the fact that the screenplay is so modest in it's ambitions helps it immensely. A lesser talent would have thrown everything at the screen for his first full-length work, yet Meadows tells his tale and tells it well.

Dialogue that could veer towards slight pretention is saved by the wonderful Hoskins, while the real triumph is the black and white filming. This isn't the Schindler's List type of black and white; a dull grey that looks like a normal film with the colour control on your TV turned down. This is a dark, grimy black and white that takes away any contemporary restraints. Particularly notable are the scenes set against the woods and train car, and the pace they evoke. This is a film that doesn't drag but takes it's time with precision. It will entertain you and doesn't need to rush it. Impressive.