Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Riff-Raff

  • 1991
  • R
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
Robert Carlyle and Emer McCourt in Riff-Raff (1991)
The story of Stevie, a construction worker, and his girlfriend, an unemployed pop singer, serves to show the living conditions of the British poor class.
Play trailer2:12
1 Video
18 Photos
ComedyDrama

The story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.The story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.The story of construction-worker Stevie and his unemployed pop-singer girlfriend shows the living conditions of the British poor class.

  • Director
    • Ken Loach
  • Writer
    • Bill Jesse
  • Stars
    • Robert Carlyle
    • Emer McCourt
    • Jim R. Coleman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    5.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ken Loach
    • Writer
      • Bill Jesse
    • Stars
      • Robert Carlyle
      • Emer McCourt
      • Jim R. Coleman
    • 14User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 5 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:12
    Trailer

    Photos18

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 10
    View Poster

    Top cast44

    Edit
    Robert Carlyle
    Robert Carlyle
    • Stevie
    Emer McCourt
    Emer McCourt
    • Susan
    Jim R. Coleman
    • Shem
    • (as Jimmy Coleman)
    George Moss
    • Mo
    Ricky Tomlinson
    Ricky Tomlinson
    • Larry
    David Finch
    • Kevin
    Richard Belgrave
    • Kojo
    Ade Sapara
    Ade Sapara
    • Fiaman
    Derek Young
    • Desmonde
    Bill Moores
    • Smurph
    Luke Kelly
    • Ken Jones
    Gary Lammin
    Gary Lammin
    • Mick
    • (as Garrie J. Lammin)
    Willie Ross
    • Gus Siddon
    Dean Perry
    • Wilf
    Dylan O'Mahony
    • Youth
    Brian Coyle
    • Youth
    Stuart Peveril
    • Youth
    Terry Bird
    Terry Bird
    • Van Driver
    • Director
      • Ken Loach
    • Writer
      • Bill Jesse
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Raining Stones
    7.3
    Raining Stones
    Carla's Song
    6.7
    Carla's Song
    Ladybird Ladybird
    7.4
    Ladybird Ladybird
    My Name Is Joe
    7.4
    My Name Is Joe
    The Navigators
    6.9
    The Navigators
    Land and Freedom
    7.5
    Land and Freedom
    It's a Free World...
    7.0
    It's a Free World...
    Bread and Roses
    7.0
    Bread and Roses
    A Fond Kiss
    7.1
    A Fond Kiss
    Hidden Agenda
    6.9
    Hidden Agenda
    Sweet Sixteen
    7.4
    Sweet Sixteen
    The Spirit of '45
    7.1
    The Spirit of '45

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The characters' local regional and Cockney accents were so heavy that the film provided subtitles, even for British audiences.
    • Goofs
      Between 7:56 and 8:00 minutes in, as Robert Carlyle enters his squat for the first time, the boom is clearly visible under the ceiling and the boom operator on the left as Robert walks by.
    • Quotes

      Susan: Do you ever get depressed?

      Steve: No. Depressions are for the middle classes. The rest of us have got an early start in the morning.

    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Untamed Heart/Strictly Ballroom/Groundhog Day/Love Field/Riff-Raff (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      Always On My Mind
      Composed by Johnny Christopher (as J. Christopher), Francis Zambon (as M. Jones) and Wayne Carson Thompson (as W. Thompson)

      Performed by Emer McCourt

    User reviews14

    Featured review
    8/10

    Powerful 1980's Thatcherite comedy-drama that is well worth watching.

    It is rare that a drama is anything about your life or any part of it. I apologise is your job is searching for serial killers or on your way to becoming a world sporting champion after overcoming cancer, but what we have here is a little bit of (UK) working class reality. Trust me I was there and so was the late writer Bill Jess.

    (Jess died shortly before this film came out.)

    I worked on a building sites at weekends as a 15 year old and although I have no pictures or film to remind - at least I have this and the buildings that I helped construct.

    I have met all of the people under the loop here (not always on building sites though) and, to be quite frank, it is all a bit frightening. However I lived in a predominantly white district so I had no experience of on-the-job multiculturalism, and that is the only part I cannot really comment upon or relate to.

    Robert Carlyle is a genius at portraying the British working-class. Maybe he is the real thing, in part, but he seems able to transform himself physically as well as mentally. I have never seen him overact in anything and he has had plenty of opportunities. He even takes on impossible parts like Hitler!

    Here he is a Glasgow jailbird, squatting in London and hoping to make a few quid on the black economy. He hooks up with a girl that claims to be a singer and poet, but is actually only in to hard drugs. He deals with the situation the best he can using the only language he can.

    London is the 1980's was one of the cheapest places in the world to live. You wanted a flat? - get a crowbar - here's your flat! Well for a short while before the heavy mob show up. That is how the rock group The Police first got to live in our capital city!

    (Today building sites are full of foreign workers - some legal, some not - that don't squat but live in the back of vans parked on or near the site.)

    Strangely, Ricky Tomlinson became a actor after being banned from building sites due to his political activities. In 1973 he sent to jail (see his IMDb bio) in an episode that shows British justice at its worst: Charging someone with a serious offence and then trying to get a guilty plea in return for a lesser charge. Ricky - being a man not a mouse - didn't fall for it. Others did, making it look extra bad for him.

    He later went to be a popular man on TV and British film and will earn over a million dollars from his autobiography "Ricky"!

    What makes this film even more frightening is the dramatic conclusion. Something similar (although not quite as serious) happened where I worked - although not while I was there.

    In a coincidence that would make a TV script writer blush I was with the boss of the said firm in a van and we passed the subject in the street. "He got very lucky," said Mr Boss-man waving from the van, "he landed on his head and that is what saved him." It was pure Ken Loach moment, so I hope he is reading this.
    • Pedro_H
    • Oct 20, 2004
    • Permalink

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    FAQ18

    • How long is Riff-Raff?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 12, 1993 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Olos
    • Filming locations
      • Deaconess Court, Tottenham Green East, Tottenham, London, England, UK(The building site)
    • Production companies
      • Parallax Pictures
      • Channel Four Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $295,444
    • Gross worldwide
      • $295,444
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Robert Carlyle and Emer McCourt in Riff-Raff (1991)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Riff-Raff (1991) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.