Hooligans (2005)

Director:

Lexi Alexander

Writers:

Lexi Alexander (story) &
Dougie Brimson (story) ...

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Stand Your Ground And Fight.

Plot:

A wrongfully expelled Harvard undergrad moves to London, where he is introduced to the violent underworld of football hooliganism.

Plot Keywords:

Reputation | Molotov Cocktail | Aggression | Date | Airport

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

David Alexander	...	Nigel
Oliver Allison	...	Ben Dunham
James Allison	...	Ben Dunham
Joel Beckett	...	Terry
Geoff Bell	...	Tommy Hatcher
Kieran Bew	...	Ike
Andrew Blair	...	Announcer
David Carr	...	Clive
Brendan Charleson	...	John Morris
Scott Christie	...	Millwall Lad / Ricky
Alec Dalman	...	Security Guard
Claire Forlani	...	Shannon Dunham
Jacob Gaffney	...	Todd
Henry Goodman	...	Carl Buckner
Leo Gregory	...	Bovver

Also Known As:

Football Hooligans (Singapore: English title)
Green Street (UK)
Green Street Hooligans (USA) (new title)
The Yank (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brutal violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | Singapore:M18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | France:-16 | Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #41109) | Portugal:M/16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Hungary:18 | Mexico:C | Australia:MA | Czech Republic:15 | UK:18 | Ireland:18

Filming Locations:

Bank Underground Station, London, England, UK

Company:

Baker Street

Trivia:

The film's British title, "Green Street", comes from the street in London where the Boleyn Ground (formerly Upton Park) is located.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the scene where the motorcyclist is going through the tunnel to visit 'the enemy' in Millwall, the sign says "Welcome to Millwall, London Borough of Tower Hamlets". Firstly, no sign would say Millwall but Bermondsey and secondly, Bermondsey, therefore, Millwall, is in the London Borough of Southwark.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pete Dunham: Fuck me. If I knew we was going to a bar mitzvah, I would have brought me fuckin' skull cap. Mate, Tottenham's due north. Are you lost? Or just fucking stupid?

Movie Connections:

References The Karate Kid (1984)

Soundtrack:

Moving On

Excellent film about football hooligans

I saw this at a mystery preview screening where I didn't know what film was going to be shown. Sometimes these previews turn out to be real turkeys but thankfully that wasn't the case this time.

Without revealing too much of the story, Elijah Wood's character gets kicked out of Harvard for a drug offence he didn't commit. He flies to London to visit his sister and quickly gets caught up in a small group of West Ham United supporting hooligans called the Green Street Elite.

The film does slightly glamorise the violence, but ends on a moralising note. An engaging storyline, good cinematography and decent cast performances make this a very enjoyable film.

Two minor demerits: 1) Charlie Hunnam's "cor blimey guv'nor" accent owes more to Dick van Dyke than London's East End.

2) To establish that Wood's character has landed in London, we hear this frankly ridiculous message over the airport's PA system - "this is a security announcement at London Heathrow airport". Presumably this was inserted for the hard of thinking.

To all the Americans who have commented that they'd avoid British football matches as a result of this film, I point out that this film is fiction - not a documentary. Hooligans are an absolutely tiny minority of the crowd at a football match and even then they invariably only fight among themselves rather than randomly attacking innocent members of the public (something the film accurately portrayed).

All in all, an excellent film, worth going to see.