The Boat That Rocked ( 2009 ) ( Pirate Radio ) ( Good Morning England ) [ Blu-Ray, Reg.A/B/C Import - United Kingdom ]

This movie has many high points, the comedy is fun, acting is fun, music is great and visually it's appealing. I gave this movie a one star rating as a protest because it shows unabashedly the common place abuse of women that men have for years accepted as 'locker room talk'. At one point one of the DJs has a girl in his room to have sex with and he tries to talk another shipmate into sneaking into the room with the lights out to have sex with her and she will never know. Thankfully this doesn't take place and the lights accidentally come on in the room, but it's a hard pillow to swallow that this does happen. All in all this was a fun movie to watch, but I sincerely hope in the future that movie makers will make sure to not play down or make into a joke the sexual abuse that women routinely are subjected to. 1 in 5 women will be raped or attempted raped in her lifetime, it's not a joke.

This movie is based on the days in Britain before the BBC allowed independent radio stations within the country. So for all hip music, ALL of it, DJ's would set up "pirate" radio stations broadcasting off the English coast. This is based on the most famous, Radio Caroline, which was broadcasting when I lived there in the early '70's. I had a pal who used to get someone to take him out to the ship, where he'd spend the weekend with all the DJ's. It's funny as blazes, as well as moving, and the MUSIC: The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Who, EVERYONE was played there. Watch it, it's a groovy film!

Please be aware, the review that follows is for the Brit blu-ray version of this film. For some reason Amazon posted it with the vastly inferior US version, explained below. Trust me, find the mutiple-zone version of the UK blu ray release:Original review: This is the full uncut version of the movie that was released as "Pirate Radio" in the United States. The U.S. version was horrid, had most of the good scenes cut out (for length, I guess) and was an inferior film. This blu ray film, in its full length state, is wonderful. The movie tells the very real story (in fictionalized form, of course) of how off-shore radio stations in the U.K. in the early 1960s introduced Europe to rock 'n roll. It's amazing, but much of the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and other groups of the early rock days (in terms of the Brit Invasion, at least) were not given much airplay on the BBC because the stations (and advertisers) didn't feel it was appropriate. Most music fans got their first dose of great R&R from the off-shore pirate stations.This is a great movie, very fun, with a brilliant soundtrack. The film is a bit too long in some ways, but better than the U.S. version by far. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (RIP) has a great role.

I remember Pirate Radio stations, listening to them in the wee hours of the morning, often with my dad who was a radio nut (born in 1925, BTW). I hadn't heard many of these songs for nearly 50+ years and that was wonderful. AS for the social and sexual mores of the time? People were looking for freedom then; now people are looking for stuff to be pissed off about.

“Pirate Radio” melds terrific casting with an elite soundtrack, and embeds it in a ship-turned-radio station, circa 1966. When a film champions rock 'n' roll, it's mandatory viewing, and this one takes the baton from music-driven classics like  "High Fidelity"  and  "24 Hour Party People"  only to exact its own influence on rock love letters like raunchy record label satire  "Stadium Anthems." In its infancy, rock ‘n’ roll was the alleged "devil’s music," and here we visit Britain in its nascent outbreak. Rhys Darby, Nick Frost, and Philip Seymour Hoffman are disc jockeys in the onset stages of the sounds that changed the world. And they’re joined by acting finery no less massive than the great Kenneth Branagh.Rock has always had a gloriously seedy underbelly. Yet when it makes it on screen, it’s often treated to a cinematic gloss which does creep in on “Pirate Radio.” But its sporadic over-stylization can't mar the film's great premise. This is an entertaining music movie. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!) - WATCHED IT? THEN WATCHLIST:  "High Fidelity,"   "24 Hour Party People,"   "Stadium Anthems."

Most Fun! I've had watching a video since, well, idunno when, but a long, long time.It was a big surprise - only watched it because the advertisement said ' from the creator of "Love Actually" and "Notting Hill" ' and since "Notting Hill" is my favorite romantic comedy, figured it was worth the time. Richard Curtis also wrote "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994) and "About Time" (2013) and did not let me down with "Pirate Radio" script.Absolutely nothing is politically correct ...just the way it was in the mid-60's.

Even though Amazon's wrong description is for "all regions", this will not play in my Sony Blu-ray player. I've watched the U.S. version of this film off of a premium cable channel several times and LOVED it, but I really wanted to see the original full, un-butchered movie - I've read that all the great parts were cut out of the U.S. version. I would rate even the edited version a 5 star movie; I assume the original uncut release would be a 5+. FANTASTIC music!

This is an entertaining glimpse into the past when rock & roll music was considered a threat to the social and political order of Great Britain. It was the 60s and the musical subversives were brainwashing vulnerable teenagers with scandalous music lol! It's a little on the silly side, with characters who seem a bit exaggerated. But the overall story does a great job of documenting an interesting chapter in our cultural history. The sound track alone makes it worthwhile.

As one who was a teenager in the Pirate Radio era, I really enjoyed this as it was such an accurate reflection of the time. Living in Somerset at the time, I could only receive Radio Caroline, Radio London etc with difficulty and a 70' aerial wire! When the BBC only played less than an hour of pop music per day and the only alternative was Radio Luxembourg after dark, the impact which the pirates made cannot really be appreciated by those who weren't there.Perhaps too many characters in the movie, but the pomposity of the government was played very realistically. I'm sure people can recognise who represents Emperor Rosko, John Peel, Simon Dee, Dave Cash etc. on the ship - and the 2 hours flew by whilst I was watching the film!Of course the music was wonderful too!

A generous critic might describe this film as a restrained version of factional events.Radio Caroline was I believe the basis for this storyline. Radio Caroline!! Pirate radio at its most gaudy; the compact seedbed of British rock n roll radio! and the cast has great promise. I had great expectations . But all foundered on this haphazard chaotic poorly scripted piece of tedium.Little by way of humour or character or storyline. Kenneth Branagh played his Home office minister totally straight. Not a hint of send-up. I wanted more Carry-on, more Python, more laughs! The running jole of Mr Twat would have sufficed once, but seemed to become the staple joke. Thin stuff.I could not bring myself to watch more than an hour of this twaddle. You have been warned.

This comes from the Richard Curtis stable and should sit alongside ‘Notting Hill’, ‘Four weddings’ and ‘Love actually’. I say it should but in my humble opinion it’s so much better than its stable companions. For anyone who remembers the illicit joy of pirate radio and the wonderful music of the late sixties, add some witty dialogue, enchanting characters and the charm of the era, you’ll love this film. I’ve watched this film a dozen times, have introduced friends and family who equally adore this feel good delight. The list of epic participants is long, Bill Nighy, Chris O’Dowd, the tremendous and sadly no longer with us Philip Seymour Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh etc etc. I shall be thrilled to watch ‘The boat that rocked’ a dozen times more, and some.

Excellent dvd, a very warm look at the radio piracy that existed in the early sixties, which a certain age group can relate to, especially myself!!I enjoy any film with Bill Nighy, actually they're all good in it, and although a light hearted romp, you do get some of the flavour of those times, and an overbearing angry medium of authority!!!

The Boat That Rocked is a brilliant comedy, well worth watching for all ages.This is the story of a radio station set up on a ship, that everyone should either know or have heard about. Called Radio Caroline, for those of us who remember it.I have to admit I never listened to them.