Comments on: The Movie is Not Called Pirate Radio – It’s The Boat That Rocked

By: Pat

Pat — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:43:22 +0000

I really thought the American was meant to be the DJ with the American accent on Caroline??? Kid something, I can’t quite remember that long ago.
Agree that Rhys Iffans performance was a tour de force! I thought he should have some sort of award for it.
Judging by the impressions here about The King’s Speech, which many people I know thoughty was about Martin Luther King, I wonder what they all thought Pirate radio was about ?
Re. Catering to American culture. King Edward gives a little speech before abdication and he pronounces a word in the most blatant American way. It wasn’t “skedule”, but along those lines. It made me wince!

By: lynn elwood

lynn elwood — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 14:00:36 +0000

i love british comedy,i grew up on benny hill & Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
i just melt 4 a british accent! my 2 kids r bbc america lovers. we love doctor who the most,& being human is pretty awesome. then i heard they were making a “being human” 4 sci fi channel & my kids & i were left with wondering why they had 2 remake a show that we already have in the states. besides watching tv shows without british actors sucks.
that is definatly part of the draw of bbc,besides the great programs! i cant wait 2 tell my daughter 27 & son 15 that the uk versions of harry potter r different. they r crazy 4 potter,& they will notice the small differences in the movies because they havewatched them all tons of times!!! my daughteralready complains when the movie doesnt match the book!!!

By: Bubba T

Bubba T — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:15:02 +0000

I just watched it last night with my girlfriend and her roomate and my girl picked it over Twilight if you can believe that. (we’re all in our 40′s)
We really enjoyed it. We loved the music and British wit. I’m glad I didn’t see the watered down American version. I lived in Guernsey for a few mo when I was 4 so I guess you could say I’m fairly pro-British. I grew up on The Beatles and Monty Python’s Flying Circus so I’m a great admirer of UK flicks.
It was great to see Bill Nighy in a non menacing role. Kenneth Branagh and Hoffman were also great. But then they usually are.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:18:23 +0000

I already did watch the original, which was why I posted the reply

By: John

John — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:13:15 +0000

Well, if you check out the new article that was just published, I do a pretty bare-bones review of the differences between the UK and US versions. Really, the name change was the only change I cared for. After seeing this movie in Rome, drinking the kool-aid, and coming back a total fan of it, I felt like I got tongue-tied every time I said the name. Even if you’re talking about Harry Potter or Star Wars films, you may notice you have a tendency to say “Goblet of Fire” or “Return of the Jedi.” “Pirate Radio” essentially said exactly what the film is about–pirate radio stations. Americans may not know squat about Radio Caroline, but they’ll get what it’s about with that title. It’s just a marketing thing.

Tom–reading over your post I got a flash of Mighty Boosh Series 1. “I am a rocker and he is a mod. We are mortal enemies!” lol

Melissa–if you liked that, you should watch the original.

Dominic–Would you, in fact, argue that Her Majesty has more than one emotional expression?

By: lewkeo

lewkeo — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:45:39 +0000

This Pirate Radio re branding is just more of the same ….now we have George Clooney voicing Mr Fox in R Dahls classic and ofcourse the evil farmers are all played by English actors.
I’m a Brit living in the States and why are we always The evil genius,the overly bookish weak link or traitorous coward?….I’m surprised my American children put up with me, even kids shows are fixed this way. Take ‘Bob the Builder’ all the original British accents have been changed to stock wholesome American…except ofcourse for ‘spud’(the shows weak link/buffoon)who retains his English accent.
i’m embarrassed for you clued Yanks.. planet America…twirling on the bliss twig of ignorame. Can you imagine us Brits changing the accents in Sesame street or where the wild things are… in the UK even our most uncultured ,uneducated demographics don’t need such sly winking usery.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:49:29 +0000

I saw the movie as “Pirate Radio” this week. I LOVED it. I was unaware it was released under a different title months ago in the UK, but was delighted since I’d be able to get a copy of the DVD sooner than I thought (yes, I enjoyed it THAT much). I was disappointed when I saw some of the poor reviews that it had received.

I think the newer cut actually used the criticisms it had originally got to improve the story. I understand how the trailer made it LOOK like they were playing up Hoffman’s role, but the film essentially stayed the same. Just writing this so you, Jonathan, can have your mind at ease. Don’t waste your money seeing the EXACT same movie you already saw (plus or minus a few random scenes), but know that the film was not “assaulted by the American Movies studios.”

By: dominic

dominic — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:02:46 +0000

To be honest, the film bombed in Britain & got poor reviews. I wouldn’t have thought that any audience outside of Britain ( or even a British audience ) would either know or care that much about Radio Caroline. I’m not sure why the film was made at all. Given that Curtis has aimed films squarely at a non British audience ( ie. he has taken British themes & somewhat cynically watered them down for mass consumption ) with “Notting Hill”, “Love Actually”, etc., I’d argue that “The Boat That Rocked” was made more as an export British film rather than a homegrown one. In fact, I’d argue that most British films made in the last 20 years were made for export, given that they portrayed British stereotyopes/institutions ( “The Queen” or the Harry Potter series ) or were costume dramas.

The Harry Potter series, for instance, borrows heavily from the US film, “Young Sherlock Holmes”. I think that catering for international audiences, specifically North American, has long been de rigeur for British cinema.

By: Tom

Tom — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:58:41 +0000

I saw this film shortly after it came out, and I thought that it was pretty good. Certainly better than most other films I had seen recently. But until now, I had no idea that it had been renamed and cannibalised accross the pond.

Jonathan- have you heard of a film called Quadrophenia? It’s set in the same era as this, and deals with musical culture, except from the point of view of the Mods and Rockers (gang culture that appeared in England during the 60s), and the Second Battle of Hastings (massive gang fight that took place in Brighton between the mods and rockers). You might enjoy it, because it takes a close look at aspects of English culture and history, and it’s a very English film all around.

Tom

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:56:39 +0000

I personally adored “The Boat That Rocked”, but I’m slightly obsessed with Brit radio anyway. I’ve found this rebranding of the film (and re-editing) offensive. No offense to Hoffman, but the stars of this film are Bill Nighty and Rhys Ifans, both of whom should be fairly well known on their own. Ah well, I recommend the soundtrack for the British version.

By: G Valentino

G Valentino — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:34:02 +0000

I was in London when the film premiered (saw them putting up the stage in Leicester Square). I liked the title and the poster they used there, are it really summed up the spirit of the time. Also I loved how there it was “with Phillip Seymour Hoffman” and here it’s “STARRING Phillip Seymour Hoffman.”