Hooligans

I used to work in a video store in the olden days, and this movie was a little known gem that I recommended to customers.

Everything clicks in this movie. The story and characters are great. Having had friends who were into football hooliganism, in my experience everything in this movie feels very realistic.

The cast is good all the way through, especially Reece Dinsdale in the lead who delivers a real powerhouse performance. It's strange, I thought this movie might do to him what Romper Stomper did to Russell Crowe, but I can't remember seeing him in anything but this movie.

Don't bother with the sequel which has absolutely nothing to do with this movie.

This is the best football film I have ever seen, yet strangely enough not a single football match is shown. Instead, it deals with the violence off the pitch.

The story is about four police officers who go undercover to find out who is the ringleader of a group of violent thugs at a fictitious East London football team, Shadwell FC (possibly but not necessarily based on Millwall FC, a real East London team with its own share of crowd trouble). This violent drama shows how easy it is to get drawn into the whole scene, to the extent that the policemen find their mission and dedication to justice is slowly being taken over by their newly found love of Shadwell.

It is a superb character study, well acted by Reece Dinsdale and Sean Pertwee, among others, although it is Warren Clarke who really steals the show with a superb performance as the ringleader.

Non-football fans will enjoy this film as well, possibly because of the lack of any football action. It is, for example, one of my wife's favorite films, although her interest in football per se is fairly insubstantial. However, if extreme violence or 'foul' language offends you, avoid this film.

As an Eastender, I have to say this film is one of the most accurate portrayals of football violence in the area. It is also a far better 'film about football' than other recent attempts such as WHEN SATURDAY COMES or FEVER PITCH. Although it has been out on video now for over three years at the time of writing this, it is still today one of the hardest videos to get out of the video-club in the East End, as it is almost always on loan.

Enjoy! I know you will.

To be frank, everyone who I have shown this film to has loved it - it doesn't matter if you aren't into football, this is just a quality film as far as i am concerned. See how many faces you can spot in this. Maybe not big time names now but then that isn't the point - the atmosphere the film generates is superb. This isn't a Hollywood film but nor is it your typical Brit flick - no quirks here (apart from the character of Gumbo) but it does give a great account of what being at a football match is like but in a way that slightly romances football violence. In fact the violence takes a back seat to character progression and formation as the film progresses. I strongly believe the value of a ilm like this is so high because of the number of times I can watch it - surely the mark of a great film? There are only a few films that everyone has that they don't mind watching when they are considering watching one of their DVD's, and this is one that I have certainly got my money's worth from! I only wish I had watched this when it came out as I would have been even more impressed but I was put off by the cover and that the story concerned football.

This is quite simply the best football/realistic portrayal of the English working class for some time.

It pits a middle class suburbanite home owner, a true product of Thatcher's Britain, who curiously appears in a picture on the wall of several offices during the film, against the white working classes, the forgotten men of England at the time.

The film truly shows that despite all his middle class ideals, he and his friends are still the people they once were, perilously close to the edge and the violence of the impoverished forgotten young male.

The films greatest strength is perhaps that it stays away from the game of football and sticks very firmly with the soccer hooligan. You cannot ignore this film. Its charecterisation and portrayal of individuals is flawless... no wooden acting here.

Without a doubt one of the better movies to be made at this time, long forgotten and overlooked, it can actually offers an almost historical insight into the social influences of our history, and goes some way to explaining the origins annd causes of the English disease

Not bad hooligan film in 1980's Britain. Interesting story and a brilliant performance from the main character John, it was over the top but spot on. He looked like a right nutter lol.