A band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.A band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.A band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 9 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
If you're looking for an evening of pure escapist fun, feeling generally nostalgic and cool about the legacy of the 60s fashion and music, and would like to forget history for a while and go with the party mood, go see this film - you won't be let down and you'll get what you're looking for: an amazing soundtrack (although, as many didn't hesitate to point out, not entirely historically accurate), with the likes of The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Dusty Springfield, The Hollies, Jimmy Hendrix, Buddy Holly, and many many more, with the charismatic Bill Nighy and a bunch of other not-quite-so-ordinary eccentric characters, more or less familiar to you, depending on how you enjoy British (and American) comedy (e.g. IT Crowd). Even if you don't know the actors, even if you're not into the music of the 60s, you've got pure feel-good fun thrown in to top it off for a great evening of the 60s Rock'n'Roll partying. And it's partying in the true 60s sense of the word.
On the other hand, if you're looking for profound plot development, historical accuracy and consistency, or a true story of a real pirate radio station Caroline that inspired the story, or, in fact, would like to see a true depiction of the life in the UK in 1966, do NOT go see this film, because you might leave disappointed.
It's as simple as that.
So, a definite recommendation for cinema viewing because of the necessary volume that the speakers allow you there to enjoy the music to the fullest (and, let me say one more time what music it is!), but stay out if you're not in a party mood.
I give it 8/10 for the feel-good, cool entertainment it brings and.... well, for the Rock'n'Roll.
Have fun!
It's a simple, "feel good" movie with the greatest music of the 60's and 70's that will make you smile. Sure it's not realistic when it comes to peoples communications and reactions to certain incidents but thats the charm of it. It even has a little twist of drama but not enough to ruin the comedy.
It was amazing to me how the soundtrack just managed to get better and better, endless amount of rock/pop singles, thoughts like "aaaa i love that song" and " ohh man i had forgotten that one" often occurred to me.
I thought the characters and the actors were great although some of the characters we're a bit useless i liked them after i was about 20 min into the film.
I think we could use some pirate rock stations where i live, stations that will play and say what ever they please.
Final words. A movie witch is fun to watch.
Really can't find anything terribly wrong with this aside from the mild sexism but it's so subtle, I hardly noticed.
I've been going through a really rough time personally and watching this cheered me. What more could you hope for?
I saw this movie years ago and came upon it again just today and it is still as good as the first time I saw it. Come on, British rock, mini skirts, white boo ga loo boots and everything else that came from Britain. Life was fun, exciting and free. I can only wish that new generations can listen to the wonderful sounds of British and new wave US rock from that era. It was a great time to be alive!
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene in which Young Carl sulks about Marianne was originally supposed to be about eight seconds long and contain nothing but Tom Sturridge sitting on a bench and looking sad. Will Adamsdale and Ike Hamilton happened to be there, so executive producer, writer, and director Richard Curtis told them to have a go at what they would have done if their friend was in the same situation. He put on "So Long, Marianne" and they came up with everything that remains in the scene.
- GoofsThe characters frequently use vernacular that was not made popular until much later than 1966. Characters refer to protection as 'condoms,' which were much more commonly called 'Johnnies' in the 60s. Also, Young Carl is told that when dealing with Thick Kevin, it was important to "think outside the box," a term not coined in general use until the early 90s.
- Quotes
The Count: To all our listeners, this is what I have to say - God bless you all. And as for you bastards in charge, don't dream it's over. Years will come, years will go, and politicians will do fuck all to make the world a better place. But all over the world, young men and young women will always dream dreams and put those dreams into song. Nothing important dies tonight, just a few ugly guys on a crappy ship. The only sadness tonight is that, in future years, there'll be so many fantastic songs that it will not be our privilege to play. But, believe you me, they will still be written, they will still be sung and they will be the wonder of the world.
Gavin Cavanagh: Hit it!
- Crazy creditsThis film is dedicated to all who worked and broadcast on the pirate stations - all those wonderful years, all day and all of the night.
- Alternate versionsUS distributor, Universal have chosen to re-title the film as "Pirate Radio" and release it under Focus Features in US territories. This new version will be edited for length by director Richard Curtis after some European reviewers cited its 135 minute running time as a factor in its diminished success.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009)
- SoundtracksAll Day and All of the Night
Written by Ray Davies
Performed by The Kinks
Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Boat That Rocked
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $8,017,917
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,904,380
- Nov 15, 2009
- Gross worldwide
- $36,352,467
- Runtime
- 2h 15m(135 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
- 2.39 : 1