I just got around to watching my Netflix-delivered DVD of Pirate Radio. If you saw it in the theater, you missed out on some of the best parts.
The movie, at best (in the feature-cut), is a fast-paced cluster of vignettes loosely tied around a family/love story, lavish with music from the offshore pirate era and an ending that even teared me up a bit. The ensemble works brilliantly. The fact the movie revolves around the concept of pirate radio, and the ship itself, acted more as a set-piece than a central plot device. Which is why many reviews praised it, mostly, for its music. Continue reading “Pirate Radio: DVD Beats Feature”
Tag: the boat that rocked
Pirate Radio Finally Lands on U.S. Shores
After an inexplicable two-and-a-half month delay (and name change), the feature film also known as The Boat That Rocked is now out in U.S. theaters. If it makes it to my burg, I’ll check it out in the theater; otherwise, it’s in my Netflix queue.
After short runs in the UK and France (the only two places it’s apparently been released otherwise), it’s taken in just shy of $50 million.
The Next Best Thing Since Pump Up The Volume?
There haven’t been that many big-screen films made about pirate radio. The only ones that come to mind, except for the slew of documentaries produced in the last decade or so, are On the Air Live with Captain Midnight (1979 – extra-cheese, please!), Sir! No Sir! (2005 – more of a documentary about internal military resistance to Vietnam, it highlights the role of Dave Rabbit and Radio First Termer quite prominently), and, probably the best-known of the bunch, Pump Up the Volume (1990 – a cult classic).
None of the above movies (save for the documentaries) are big on facts; to wit, the FCC does not chase people around broadcasting from Jeeps in big orange bread trucks with “F.C.C.” stenciled on the side of them. Continue reading “The Next Best Thing Since Pump Up The Volume?”