Pirate Radio (2009)
"The Boat That Rocked" (original title)

A period comedy about an illegal radio station in the North Sea in the 1960s.

Director:

Richard Curtis

Writer:

Richard Curtis

Stars:

Michael Hadley, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Hadley	...	Mr. Roberts
Charlie Rowe	...	James
Lucy Fleming	...	Mrs. Roberts
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	The Count
Tom Sturridge	...	Carl
Ian Mercer	...	Transfer Boatman
Bill Nighy	...	Quentin
Will Adamsdale	...	News John
Tom Brooke	...	Thick Kevin
Rhys Darby	...	Angus
Nick Frost	...	Dave
Katherine Parkinson	...	Felicity
Chris O'Dowd	...	Simon
Ike Hamilton	...	Harold
Stephen Moore	...	Prime Minister

Storyline

"The Boat That Rocked" is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the '60s and pop music. It's about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves. The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock -- a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that's populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and a fearsome British government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | pop music | north sea | pirate radio | lesbian | 

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Taglines:

They rocked. They rolled. Then they sank.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

UK Germany France

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pirate Radio

Filming Locations:

Gambardella's Cafe, Blackheath Standard, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$2,904,380 (USA) (13 November 2009)

Gross:

$7,994,115 (USA) (1 January 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS (as dts)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The album Bob grabs at the end is the 1967 record, The 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion by Incredible String Band.

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Goofs

Maxell brand tape reels of 1970s and '80s vintage can be seen in some scenes.

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Quotes

Angus: And the bride is blushing now as the groom is gazing into her eyes. You can almost see Cupid fluttering his wings above their heads
[imitating wings flapping, then cawing]
Angus: No, that was a seagull.

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Crazy Credits

There is an additional scene after the credits have ended.

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Connections

References Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

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Soundtracks

"End of the World"
(1962)
Music by Arthur Kent
Lyrics by Sylvia Dee
Performed by Skeeter Davis
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited

User Reviews

So?

We went to see this because of great reviews, but were disappointed. I can see several reasons why the reviews were so great. The reviewers liked the baby-boomer music; the plot was fairly unique (unless you count the influences of "Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou", "Titanic," "MASH" and Monty Python); there was a certain appealing light heartedness and irreverence.

Well, here's a minority opinion: The plot was repetitious and dragged in the middle. The characterizations were heavy-handed and exaggerated beyond belief (as in Monty Python). The ending was an homage to "Titantic," which does not deserve an homage. It was extremely insulting to women. And the humor of being drunk and/or drugged escapes me entirely. (Recent murders and suicides of substance-abusing performers should have taken the fun out of it.)