RocknRolla (2008)

In London, a real-estate scam puts millions of pounds up for grabs, attracting some of the city's scrappiest tough guys and its more established underworld types, all of whom are looking to get rich quick. While the city's seasoned criminals vie for the cash, an unexpected player -- a drugged out rock 'n' roller presumed to be dead but very much alive -- has a multi-million dollar prize fall into... See full summary »

Director:

Guy Ritchie

Writer:

Guy Ritchie

Stars:

Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandie Newton

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gerard Butler	...	One Two
Tom Wilkinson	...	Lenny Cole
Thandie Newton	...	Stella
Mark Strong	...	Archy
Idris Elba	...	Mumbles
Tom Hardy	...	Handsome Bob
Karel Roden	...	Uri Omovich
Toby Kebbell	...	Johnny Quid
Jeremy Piven	...	Roman
Ludacris	...	Mickey (as Chris Bridges)
Jimi Mistry	...	Councillor
Matt King	...	Cookie
Geoff Bell	...	Fred the Head
Dragan Micanovic	...	Victor
Michael Ryan	...	Pete

Storyline

Lenny Cole, a London mob boss, puts the bite on all local real estate transactions. For substantial fees, he's helping Uri Omovich, a Russian developer. As a sign of good faith, Omovich loans Cole a valuable painting, promptly stolen off Cole's wall. While Cole's men, led by the dependable Archie, look for the canvas, three local petty criminals, the Wild Bunch, steal money from the Russian using inside information from his accountant, the lovely Stella. Meanwhile, a local drug-addled rocker, Johnny Quid, is reported drowned, and his connection to Cole is the key to unraveling the deceits and double crosses of life in the underworld.

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Plot Keywords:

accountant | painting | man in underwear | altered version of studio logo | held at gunpoint | 

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Taglines:

A story of sex, thugs and rock 'n roll.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, drug use and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Studio Canal [France] Warner Bros. [Japan]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rock et escrocs

Filming Locations:

Abandoned Railway Line, near London City Airport, Newham, East London, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$144,701 (USA) (10 October 2008)

Gross:

$5,694,401 (USA) (19 December 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, Toff Guy Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The band playing in the club scene are The Subways with their song 'Rock & Roll Queen'.

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Goofs

When we first meet Johnny, he flashes back to his childhood, singing in his bedroom. We are indicated it is fifteen years earlier by an on screen note. As the scene progresses and we see more of the boy's room, a Playstation video game console can clearly be seen under the boy's television. If the movie took place in the year 2008, this scene would be taking place in 1993, but this console was not released until the end of 1995.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Archie: People ask the question... what's a RocknRolla? And I tell 'em - it's not about drums, drugs, and hospital drips, oh no. There's more there than that, my friend. We all like a bit of the good life - some the money, some the drugs, others the sex game, the glamour, or the fame. But a RocknRolla, oh, he's different. Why? Because a real RocknRolla wants the fucking lot.

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Crazy Credits

There is a scene in the closing credits: the complete scene of One Two dancing with Handsome Bob at the gay bar.

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Connections

Referenced in Blokes, Birds and Backenders (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Do The Pop"
Written by Deniz Server Tek (as Tek), Mark Stephen Sisto (as Sisto)
Published by Universal Music Publishing LTD
Performed by Radio Birdman
Licensed courtesy of Citadel/Trafalgar Music

User Reviews

Guy Ritchie, Rock 'N' Roll King

While seeing the dark knight a trailer for a new guy ritchie film came up.

I wasn't particularly swayed too much by this trailer but considering the summer period was almost over and we film lovers now have to survive the cheap horror winter season, Rocknrolla seemed like a nice surprise.

So i saw it last night.

And, to the tell the truth, i absolutely loved it! Obviously apart from guy ritchies excellent direction it had some absolutely fantastic dialouge with some pin sharp conversations and trademark British humour.

The story revolves around several characters, each do something that affects another character within the story. Characters are The Wild Bunch with Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton the accountant, Tom Wilkinson the gangster.

I could say more but there are a lot.

The film to start i found was rather complicated but as time went on i got used to all the characters and they're relationships etc etc.

It's filled with some great top notch sequences but my favourite and the crowds favourite was "The Invincible Russians" Overall this is a great film and breaks the dead lock of cheesy cheap films we get around this time of year.

go see it now!