Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-09-07
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 129 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Richard Curtis turned his talents to telling the story of 1960s pirate radio with The Boat That Rocked. And while the film may not have scaled either the commercial or critical heights of some of his earlier work, there are still plenty of reasons to commend the film.

Chief among them is the excellent cast. The Boat That Rocked brings together a welcome collection of British talent, including Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost and Gemma Arterton, and then they’re joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Between them, they effectively recall the Radio Caroline story, as a pirate radio station is set up on a North Sea cruising yacht, broadcasting to England. Said broadcasts become wildly popular, making celebrities out of some of those concerned. Yet naturally enough, the authorities, led by Branagh’s Sir Alistair Dormandy, aren’t best pleased.

Curtis then laces The Boat That Rocked with plenty of comedy, and a killer soundtrack. But he loses his focus when editing the film down, as it’s a movie that, try as it might, still manages to outstay its welcome by a good 20 minutes. It doesn’t help that he’s simply trying to cram too much in here, and contrasted with the tight screenplays of some of his earlier films (take the script of Notting Hill as an example), it’s curious that he chooses to do so.

Yet quibbles aside, The Boat That Rocked is still a fine comedy, with a real love for its subject matter. It arguably works best in the home, too, over the big screen, and with many laugh-out-loud moments, and some memorable characters, it’s ultimately hard to resist the film’s many charms. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Writer-turned-director Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill) directs a cast comprising the cream of British acting talent—which includes Bill Nighy (Notes On A Scandal, Love Actually), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill, Once Upon A Time In The Midlands), Nick Frost (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Celebrity), along with one lone American star in the shape of Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote, Doubt)--in this comedy set in Britain in 1966. With the BBC only allowing two hours of rock and roll to be played on its airwaves per week, a pirate radio station aboard a North Sea-cruising yacht broadcasts music to the pop-starved masses, turning its seafaring disc jockeys into overnight superstars.

Taking the infamous Radio Caroline as inspiration, The Boat That Rocked is an hilarious feel-good romp in the tradition of Curtis' best-loved work, and benefits from a knockout soundtrack featuring some of the most memorable tracks of the time.

Customer Reviews

The Boat That Rocked
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The Boat That Rocked is an understated mix of music and cinemography, which (as a film lover and music lover) completely rocked my evening. The characters are a believably ecclectic group, headed by Quentin (Bill Nighy), living as a group of pirate radio DJs aboard the Radio Rock boat, somewhere in the North Sea. The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Gavin (Rhys Ifans) and Dave (Nick Frost) are the other main DJs, supported by a plethora of other shows which run 24 hours a day. Without ruining the plot, the film follows the lives of this bunch, with the usual antics that result from a group of men living together in group isolation.

There were two things I loved the most about this film. The first was that the filming methods used made me feel like I was on board taking part, rather than an outsider looking in. This really took the audience into the centre of when the characters were living through, and made the film so much more believable and *real*. The second thing was the music - I've grown up being fed healthy doses of Radio 2 and dispite only being 24 I recognised and could appreciate every song I heard. And it made me feel so darned patriotic, knowing that it was BRITISH music and BRITISH pirate radio stations such as Radio Rock that made todays radio what it is. Just imagine what radio could be like now without the influence of 1960s rock, and then bring in the realisation that without Johnnie Walker, John Peel et al, it wouldn't be what we hear today. Its interesting to know that it was only the introduction of BBCs Radio 1 in 1967 that finally brought pirate stations to their knees, yet until then it was only in the hands of the priates, the actions of which are immortalised in this film. You gotta love it!!

This is a fantastic film, I thoroughly enjoyed every second. It could be accused of being a little stretched in places, but the music easily made up for the maybe three occasions where I felt this. It is hilariously funny, especially given the cast, and is a fantastic tribute to the pirate DJs and their influence on popular radio. Top notch, one of the best I've seen in a while, and thoroughly recommended :-)

Hilarious film with a superb soudtrack!
There were moments in this film I laughed so hard I was crying! It is easily the funniest film I've seen so far this year.

There isn't a single character that I found tedious or unnecessary. I would have thought that having such a large cast of big names would make the film seem more disjointed as they each wrestle for screen time and laughs, but in actual fact the charcters work brilliantly together as a group and are equally entertaining. Kenneth Branagh really brings his uptight, stuffy villian of the piece to life clashing wonderfully with Bill Nighy and co at radio rock. The script is a little cliched in places, but still fantastic despite this and the plot highly amusing rounded off by a enjoyable, even slightly dramatic and maybe moving, ending.

Despite only being in my 20's I have listened to a lot of 60's music over the years and recognised many favourites as well as some more obscure choices throughout the film with a familiar fondness, proving even younger generations can appreciate some of the most classic tunes of the time period on display here! I have already seen the film a second time at the cinema and laughed just as much as on my first viewing. As soon as it is released I'll be waiting for my copy to drop thorugh the letter box!

The truth was stranger than fiction!
Well, for a start the station wouldn't have been called Radio Rock back in 1966 - Radio Pop if anything. The Rock music genre was pretty ill defined in sixty six and the term "Rock" would still have been more associated, by most people, with Rock & Roll rather than what we know as Rock music today. And I could nit-pick my way through the whole of this overlong (2 hours plus - and 40 odd minutes of outtakes) and overblown saga of this very disappointing and anachronistic offering from Richard Curtis.

If you listened to British radio in the sixties you will probably be unable to resist watching this film at some point - I listened then and I have actually bought the DVD! Although Richard Curtis refers to some actual incidents - weddings onboard, DJs up the mast etc. - there is just so much nonsense contained as well that it soon looses whatever credibility it may have had.

If you enjoy the type of film Richard Curtis is famous for you will enjoy at least some parts of this story. For those who actually lived through the sixties, Richard Curtis' parallel universe look at the world of offshore radio probably strays too far from reality to be meaningful. A good soundtrack is rather spoilt by the fact that many songs featured are from much later in the decade - why not at least have just used contemporary singles or ones from earlier for realism??!!

The story of what happened to British radio in the mid sixties would make a cracking film - far weirder than anything in Richard Curtis' fictional world! If you want a good half true sixties story then buy yourself the "Telstar" DVD instead of this tosh! The Boat That Rocked is for fans of Richard Curtis only - and is far from his best work.