"it’s ultimately hard to resist the film’s many charms"

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51 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.

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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 :-)

A rocking boat trip down memory lane
I took my mother to see this film at the cinema as she loves anything with 60's music and remembers the good old days when Radio Caroline launched and caused so much controversy. It seemed like the perfect film for her to watch and have a stroll down memory lane, allowing her to reminisce about her misspent youth and she wasn't disappointed!

The Boat That Rocked, written and directed by Richard Curtis, is the story of Radio Rock, a fictitious pirate radio station, based loosely on the experiences of Radio Caroline and other such pirate stations that broadcast from ships off the coast of Britain. Set in 1966 it documents the conflict between the British Government and the radio "rebels", who dared to illegally broadcast rock and roll music without a broadcasting license.

Most people associate Richard Curtis with romantic comedies and the Boat that Rocked certainly fit this category, however romance is not the main focus of this film and I would definitely not describe it as a chick flick. While he is probably best known for films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually many people seem to gloss over the fact that he's been involved in numerous other comedy projects, including writing for Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley and Mr Bean. In this particular film he has focussed more on the eclectic mix of characters, how they interact with one another in a confined space and their individual idiosyncrasies, with the love stories playing on for the most part in the background. (Having said that there are some sickeningly lovey dovey moments for those of us that love a bit of romance which seems to be a requisite for Curtis' films!).

Initially I found the film a little slow going and have to admit I was a little disappointed that so many actors, who I usually consider to be very funny, were not up to their usual standards. With a cast that boasts the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Jack Davenport, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, I went in with extremely high expectations. My first impression was however that perhaps the film was trying a little too hard to be funny, gradually though I found myself sucked in and ended up really enjoying the film. There were some particularly funny, laugh out loud moment that we were still chuckling over a few days after the film, especially from the character Thick Kevin (Tom Brooke) who, in my opinion, was one of the highlights of the film.

Despite the slow start to the film I would thoroughly recommend this film, it gets better as it goes along. If nothing else the soundtrack itself provides a fantastically nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who was around in the 60s.

Summary: A fantastically nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who was around in the 60s

The film that rocked my socks off
I am pre-ordering this for my birthday next month (This tells you a lot in itself - I don't buy many DVDs as we subscribe to LoveFilm and I like to buy old VHS tapes from the charity shop for 25p)! I am not going to attempt an erudite nor detailed review. I just want to say that I watched it two and half times on the way to and from NYC (the darn pilot wouldn't delay the landing at LHR so that I could finish it the third time)! I laughed, I cried - I LOVED its exuberance, music, characters, storyline, everything.... So I was downright depressed by all the nitpicking, purist reviews I read on my return (not on Amazon) - SO WHAT if it is supposed to be set in 1966 and there are songs from 1967 or some car model/DJ's microphone is wrong?! And silly comments about Branagh's character being right wing when the minister who tried (and I think succeeded) to sink pirate radio was actually Tony Benn (left wing). I don't think Curtis was attempting a documentary here. I know that I am in a minority (even among those who liked the film) when I say that I didn't think it was too long. I understand that 20 mins will be cut for the US version - ouch. Anyway I was sad when it was over and could have watched it and watched it. I did ... actually. It is a jolly romp and a hoot and I loved it. So there.