Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)

The life of career criminal Carlton Leach.

Director:

Julian Gilbey

Writers:

Julian Gilbey, Will Gilbey

Stars:

Ricci Harnett, Craig Fairbrass, Terry Stone

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ricci Harnett	...	Carlton Leach
Craig Fairbrass	...	Pat Tate
Terry Stone	...	Tony Tucker
Roland Manookian	...	Craig Rolfe
Coralie Rose	...	Denny
Neil Maskell	...	Darren Nicholls
Billy Murray	...	Mickey Steele
Ian Virgo	...	Jimmy Gerenuk
Kierston Wareing	...	Kate Carter
Patrick Regis	...	Eddie
Lara Belmont	...	Karen
Emily Beecham	...	Kelly
Andy Linden	...	Peter Dunsdale
Frank Harper	...	Jack Whomes
Jason Maza	...	Rob

Storyline

Rise of the Footsoldier follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late eighties and early nineties. It is three decades of his life following him from football hooliganism, through to his burgeoning career as a bouncer, his involvement in the criminal aspects of the early 'rave' scene and subsequently to his rise to power as one of the most feared and respected criminals in the country.

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Plot Keywords:

john f. kennedy character | criminal | male full frontal nudity | male pubic hair | pubic hair | 

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody/brutal violence, torture and language throughout, drug use, sexuality, and some graphic nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kierston Wareing has also played the same character in Bonded by Blood and The Fall of the Essex Boys.

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Goofs

In the rave scene, set in 1988.. there are multiple posters advertising "Happy Hardcore". Happy Hardcore wasn't around in 1988, it wasn't until between 1991-1993 that rave music evolved in to Happy Hardcore.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Carlton Leach: It was the end of an era. But before the murders, the torture, the beatings and the ecstacy... before all of that, there was football. You see, football was where all the spite and the hatred first came from. On those terraces... well, it's where it all began for me.

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Connections

Referenced in The Hit

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Soundtracks

Cherry Red
Written by Tony McPhee
Performed by The Groundhogs
EMI Music publishing Ltd
Licensed by courtesy of EMI Records Ltd

User Reviews

heavy but good

Woo, this is one violent film (and i like that sort of thing) but be warned. Ill admit i automatically (flinched) looked away at one scene and i have seen some pretty horrific videos and not been moved.Pizza anyone!

Aside from this the film portrays the thugs fairly accurately. It may seem over the top too some but this is just what life was like in the peak days of football violence in Britain. As someone who has lived in a football obsessed city surrounded by football casuals and witnessed running street battles i thought the fight scenes were very well done. if your unlucky enough to see this type of thing in real life then you will realise just how scary they can be.

Shocked me as much as The Firm (Gary Oldman one) did although with The Firm i felt slightly for the characters (peer pressure, vulnerabilities etc) but with this film i had no sympathy whats so ever for the players in this story. Basically their a bunch of nutters that got what they deserve :)

Remember this is based on an true account of the time and is severely brutal with savage characters and moments. This was and still is life for some people. Avoid if you cannot handle the brutality of real life.

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rise of the Footsoldier

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$355,345

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carnaby International, Hanover Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1