The Rocket Post (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Stephen Whittaker

Writers:

James MacInnes (writer)
William Morrissey (writer)

Release Date:

24 November 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

First Sexual Experience | Remote Island | Female Nudity | Doomed Love | Scotland

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Ulrich Thomsen	...	Gerhard Zucher
Shauna Macdonald	...	Catriona Mackay
Gary Lewis	...	Jimmy Roach
Kevin McKidd	...	Thomas McKinnon
Patrick Malahide	...	Charles Ilford
Eddie Marsan	...	Heinz Dombrowsky
Clive Russell	...	Angus MacKay
Jimmy Yuill	...	James MacLeod
Ian McNeice	...	Alex Miln
John Wood	...	Sir Wilson Ramsay
Niall Maclennan	...	James Maclellan
Alasdair Maclennan	...	Paul Maclellan
Tim Barlow	...	Hector McDougal
Iain MacRae	...	Islander 1
Lewis Iain MacNeill	...	Islander 2
Ralph Riach	...	Old Donald
Deirdre Davis	...	Christine Maclellan
Brian Pettifer	...	Reverand Shand
Roderic Culver	...	Captain Von Struge
Malcolm Storry	...	Captain Kultz
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hannah Tiffin	...	Maid

Directed by
Stephen Whittaker

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
James MacInnes		writer
William Morrissey		writer

Produced by
Alison Barnett	....	line producer
Tony Caplin	....	associate producer
David Kennaway	....	co-producer
Charlie Savill	....	executive producer
Mark Shorrock	....	producer

Original Music by
Nigel Clarke
Michael Csányi-Wills

Cinematography by
Richard Greatrex

Film Editing by
Beverley Mills

Art Direction by
Steve Carter

Set Decoration by
Liz Griffiths

Costume Design by
Stewart Meachem

Makeup Department
Faye De Bremaeker	....	assistant hair stylist (as Fay De Braemaker)
Faye De Bremaeker	....	assistant makeup artist (as Fay De Braemaker)
Polly Fehily	....	daily hair stylist (as Polly Fehilly)
Polly Fehily	....	daily makeup artist (as Polly Fehilly)
Sindy Hely	....	daily hair stylist
Sindy Hely	....	daily makeup artist
Dianne Jamieson	....	daily hair stylist
Dianne Jamieson	....	daily makeup artist
Fiona Maynard	....	daily hair stylist
Fiona Maynard	....	daily makeup artist
Julie McGuire	....	daily hair stylist
Julie McGuire	....	daily makeup artist
Catherine Muir	....	daily hair stylist
Catherine Muir	....	daily makeup artist
Susie Munachen	....	daily hair stylist
Susie Munachen	....	daily makeup artist
Kerry Scourfield	....	assistant hair stylist
Kerry Scourfield	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Polly Duval	....	post-production supervisor
Candy Lewiston	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jane Burgess	....	third assistant director
Sean Guest	....	first assistant director
James Haven	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Terry Babcock	....	plasterer
Muir Balfour	....	carpenter
Mat Bergel	....	stand-by props
Sandy Borthwick	....	painter
Phil Bowen	....	chargehand carpenter
Mark Brady	....	carpenter
Reginald Bramner	....	prop dressing crew
Arabella Bristol	....	art department assistant
Frank Cameron	....	carpenter
Tristan Carlisle-Kitz	....	props
Paul Caswell	....	prop dressing crew
Susan Collin	....	art department trainee
Penny Crisp	....	scenic artist
Stewart Cunningham	....	dressing prophand
Paul Curren	....	supervising painter
Sam Curren	....	painter
Gerald Deery	....	prop dressing crew
Conor Dennison	....	set designer
John Donnelly	....	carpenter
Gordon Fitzgerald	....	property master
Iain Geddes	....	chargehand painter
Bobby Gee	....	stand-by painter
Christine Gibson	....	art department assistant
Richard Hassall	....	stand-by carpenter
Christopher Higson	....	supervising carpenter (as Chris Higson)
Douglas Ingram	....	storyboard artist
Piero Jamieson	....	props
Scott Keery	....	prop dressing crew
Peter Knotts	....	carpenter
Neil Marston	....	prop dressing crew
William Maxwell	....	carpenter
John McNeilage	....	prop dressing crew
Tim Monroe	....	assistant art director
Niall Moroney	....	draughtsman
Stephen Page	....	plasterer (as Steve Page)
Stephen Querns	....	painter
Alex Robertson	....	carpenter
Zoe Smith	....	assistant set decorator
Sam Stokes	....	stand-by art director
Danny Sumsion	....	construction manager
Emma Vane	....	draughtsman
David Weatherstone	....	prop storeman
Colin Woodbridge	....	carpenter
Dean Wye	....	plasterer

Sound Department
James Andrews	....	adr recordist
Vicky Brazier	....	sound editor
Victoria Brazier	....	dialogue editor
Peter Burgis	....	foley artist
Andie Derrick	....	foley artist
Robert Farr	....	sound re-recording mixer
Matt Grimes	....	foley editor
Mike Grimes	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Stewart Henderson	....	dialogue editor
Tim Lewiston	....	sound editor
Tim Lewiston	....	supervising sound editor
Kate Morath	....	boom operator
Jeremy Price	....	sound effects editor
George Trevis	....	sound assistant
Martin Trevis	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Barry Angus	....	special effects technician
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects
Stephen Hutchinson	....	special effects technician
Pennicott Payne	....	animatronics (as Pennicot Payne)

Visual Effects by
Simon Frame	....	visual effects supervisor
Tom Hocking	....	digital compositor
Colin Laski	....	digital effects producer

Stunts
Rowley Irlam	....	stunts
Kim McGarrity	....	stunts
Gareth Milne	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Kirsti Abernethy	....	clapper loader: second unit
Jim Alloway	....	director of photography: second unit
Ian Buckley	....	additional grip
John Burgon	....	rigger
John Butler	....	rigger
David Carey	....	Steadicam operator
Bob Cooke	....	clapper loader
Anthony Cooper	....	clapper loader: second unit
James Coulter	....	additional grip
John Gamble	....	focus puller: second unit
Paul Hatchman	....	grip
Dermot Hickey	....	focus puller
Niall Higgins	....	electrician
John Howe	....	crane operator
Stuart Howell	....	Steadicam operator (as Stuart Howel)
Tony Kay	....	camera trainee
Andy Long	....	gaffer
Jay Maidment	....	still photographer
Norman McKay	....	grip trainee
Keith Mead	....	additional grip
Pete O'Connor	....	clapper loader
Stephen O'Donaghue	....	electrician
Andy Ormesher	....	electrical rigger
Terry Pate	....	crane operator
Mark Payne-Gill	....	camera operator: Eagle
Ross Pearson	....	rigger
William Tracey	....	rigging gaffer
Lorna Will	....	focus puller: second unit
Billy Wilson	....	stand-by rigger

Casting Department
Camilla Evans	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jenny Hawkins	....	wardrobe supervisor
Sarah Higbid	....	costume daily
Mike Hodge	....	additional costume assistant
Graham Hunter	....	costume daily
Fiona King	....	costume daily
John Laurie	....	costume daily
Melissa Layton	....	costume assistant (as Melissa Layton-Skorepa)
Donna Macleod	....	costume daily
Anne Matheson	....	costume daily

Editorial Department
Trevor Brown	....	colorist
Jo Dale	....	assistant editor
Teresa Garber	....	post-production executive
Peter Hunt	....	color grader
John Nuth	....	assistant editor
Melanie Schouw	....	post-production secretary

Music Department
Mikael Carlsson	....	executive soundtrack producer
Geoff Foster	....	score recordist
Jake Jackson	....	assistant music engineer
Ion Metsovitis	....	assistant music engineer
Robin Page	....	conductor
Jill Streeter	....	score preparation (as Jill Streater)
John Warhurst	....	music editor: temp music
Alison Wright	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Charles Bodycomb	....	armorer
Stephen Burt	....	location manager: mainland
Liza Carmel	....	production coordinator
Nicky Coats	....	production accountant
Kate Cobbold	....	assistant accountant
William Conacher	....	dialect coach
Matt Curtis	....	title designer
David Davidson	....	marine coordinator
Rebecca Dilworth	....	floor runner
Clair Dobbs	....	unit publicist
Graham Galloway	....	production runner
Joanne Gibson	....	production secretary
Jo Gibson	....	production assistant
Ruth Goodswen	....	assistant: Mr. Shorrock
Martin Henderson	....	assistant location manager
Kash Javaid	....	unit publicist
Susanna Lenton	....	script supervisor
Isla MacDonald	....	stand-in
Donald MacKinnon	....	location manager (as Donald 'Bovy' MacKinnon)
Iain MacLean	....	location assistant
Lynn MacLean	....	choreographer
Donna Macleod	....	stand-in
Richard McHale	....	crowd runner
Ralph McNeill	....	assistant marine coordinator
Ciara Parkes	....	unit publicist
Janet Riddoch	....	location scout
Imogen Stringer	....	assistant coordinator
Paul Swann	....	laboratory liaison
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Ultimate Pictures

Distributors

• Gravitas Ventures (2008) (worldwide) (TV) (VOD)
• Lionsgate (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Hannover House (2006) (USA) (all media)

Special Effects

• Cine Image Film Opticals (main and end titles) (digital effects) (opticals)
• General Screen Enterprises
• Men From Mars

Other Companies

• ARRI Lighting Rental  lighting equipment
• ARRI Media  camera equipment
• Air Lyndhurst Studios  music recorded at
• Air-Edel Recording Studios  music recorded at
• Angels the Costumiers  costumes supplied by
• Axis Films  sound equipment
• CastingCall  extras casting
• Global Music Service  music copyist
• Goldcrest Post Production London  re-recorded at
• Hyperactive Broadcast  editing equipment
• MovieScore Media  soundtrack
• Perdix Firearms Ltd.  weapons
• Professional Negative Cutting  negative cutting
• Reel Skill Film Cutting  negative cutting
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script

Runtime:

UK:112 min (uncut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Color (Technicolor)

Certification:

UK:12A

Filming Locations:

Taransay, Western Isles, Scotland, UK

Company:

Ultimate Pictures

A Wonderful Breath of Fresh Scottish Air

This is the kind of film they used to make, amusing, heart-warming, troubling, authentic, with convincing performances by people without nose jobs, boob jobs, eye jobs, in other words real people. Shauna Macdonald plays the female love interest, and she is so real you want to give her a cuddle at the very least. Imagine that, a real girl in a movie, whatever next? Hollywood would hate her, because her freshness is a sharp rebuke to every false starlet in Tinseltown. This story has the same hilarious feel as Sandy Mackendrick's classic 'Whisky Galore', with the gnomic humour of remote Scottish islanders puncturing the pretensions of intruders from outside and enjoying a wee dram from time to time (the actual intervals between those times often being rather short). Director Stephen Whittaker displays a rare skill in pulling this off just right, and it is shocking to discover that he died before his film's release, aged only 56, which was clearly a substantial loss to the screen. Ulrich Thomsen does very well at playing a German rocket scientist who in the late 1930s goes to Scarp in the Isle of Harris to build a small rocket to carry postal packets between the islands. There he falls in love with the alluring Macdonald lass, and she reciprocates the affection. Some wonderfully colourful local characters decorate the tale, and the film is pure delight. There is of course the threat of imminent war with Hitler, and we learn that Hitler executed 1000 rocket scientists who refused to build weapons of war, which is a shocking statistic. Tragic love is never far from view, but lips must remain sealed in a review as to what happens in the end. This film is a magnificent example of just the kind of films which people in Britain should be making. But are they being properly released? In a nation whose tastes have been so corrupted by reality TV shows, where repulsive nonentities have become the national heroes, is there even a market anymore for a film like this? After all, there is no grunting sex, there are no close-ups of suppurating wounds or of anyone's genitals, there are no drugs taken, there are no mindless celebrities prancing around wanting to be looked at, and so one wonders whether there is anything to interest a public which has become so decadent and jaded that only the most extreme sensations can briefly alleviate the tedium of their pointless existence. Anyone who is looking for an antidote to the vacuity of contemporary Britain can take refuge in this refreshing and honest film.