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Pirate Radio

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Pirate Radio (2009)

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Reviews Counted:96

Fresh:57

Rotten:39

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: It lacks genuine rock & roll raunch, but Richard Curtis' ode to the offshore radio stations of 1960s Britain has enough laughs and great tunes to stay smoothly afloat.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, and some sexual content including brief nudity.

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Nov 13, 2009 Wide

Box Office: $5,173,556

Synopsis: Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic,... Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic, played rock records and broke the law all for the love of music. The songs they played united and defined an entire generation and drove the British government crazy. By playing Rock n Roll they were standing up against the British government who did everything in their power to shut them down. The band of rebels is lead by The Count, played by the Academy Award Winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin the boss of Radio Rock, Gavin the greatest DJ in Britian, Midnight Mark, Doctor Dave and Young Carl who comes of age amidst the chaos of sex, drugs and rock n roll. The film features an unbelievable selection of music including The Beatles, The Stones, Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens just to name a few. The film is laugh out loud funny and speaks to the rock n roll rebel in all of us. --© Focus [More]

Starring: Philip S. Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost

Starring: Philip S. Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Sturridge, Jack Davenport, Ralph Brown, Chris O'Dowd, Rhys Darby, Will Adamsdale, Tom Brooke, Tom Wisdom, Katherine Parkinson, Ike Hamilton, January Jones, Tallulah Riley

Director: , Richard Curtis

Director: , Richard Curtis
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis
Producer: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Hilary Bevan Jones
Studio: Focus Features

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Reviews for Pirate Radio

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Curtis's movie is loosely based on the historical truths of the time, but it isn't meant as a documentary, a rockumentary, or even a docucomedy. It's just a hell of a lot of fun.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
11/22/09
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's a lot like a good rock song: not overly deep, but a lot of fun and you can dance to it.

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment Comment
11/22/09
Widgett Walls
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com

Pirate Radio misses cues but doesn't run completely aground.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
11/20/09
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

... [it] will have you humming along and leave you with a big smile, something that can be said of few movies this year.

Full Review Source: New England Movies Weekly | comment Comment
11/19/09
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
New England Movies Weekly

Pirate Radio leaves out any mention of the usual historical and cultural background, say, sex as a potential means of mixing races and classes.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment 1 Comment
11/19/09
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Grudgingly irresistible

Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
11/19/09
Amy Nicholson
Amy Nicholson
I.E. Weekly

I fell in love with it and have yet to fall out of love with it. I don't expect I shall. This is a movie I suspect I will only come to treasure more with the passage of time.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
11/18/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A movie filled with characters has wonderful potential. It's just that 'Pirate Radio' has no character development.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment 1 Comment
11/17/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

The nostalgia Sixties rock music is lovely, however ... .

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/17/09
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

to the beat of soundtrack that proves the point of why this music was feared and adored, it revels in the giddy delight of a time when all the old rules were questioned, if not thrown out

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/16/09
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

It just sits there in the water.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/16/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
At the Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Any serious music fan -- that is anyone who sees the radio pirates as kindred spirits -- will be outraged by its sloppy approach to the history of rock and roll.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment 3 Comments
11/16/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
At the Movies
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Vastly entertaining and a fascinating part of music history.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
11/16/09
Jeanne Kaplan
Jeanne Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

The Kinks, Turtles and Martha and the Vandellas would have you dancing in the aisle, but then you might miss this most unusual show.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
11/16/09
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

This Rock 'n' Roll love letter comes across as an overlong, jumbled mess of a film that has trouble finding both its voice and its focus.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
11/16/09
Frank Wilkins
Frank Wilkins
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Winning, witty, and wearing out its welcome toward the end, Pirate Radio is either a noble failure or the slightest of successes.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
11/15/09
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

The music rocks, this movie doesn't. Never rises above the sitcom level complete with stock characters you might have seen on shows like WKRP. Too bad, because the classic pop tunes used in the film are among my very favorites. Paul Chambers, CNN.

Full Review Source: CNNRadio | comment Comment
11/15/09
Paul Chambers
Paul Chambers
CNNRadio

I liked this version so much, I really want to see the longer The Boat That Rocked version. I guess on DVD.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment 1 Comment
11/14/09
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

A raucous and robust comedy about a rebellious band of deejays whose love for rock-n-roll spurs them to defy the British government in the late 1960s.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
11/14/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Though the sum isn't quite as good as the parts, the film does succeed due to its phenomenal cast, which consists of some of the best British actors working today. Philip Seymour Hoffman gives one of his most entertaining performances.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/14/09
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
 
 
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Latest News for Pirate Radio

November 12, 2009: Critics Consensus: 2012 Isn't Quite Earth-Shaking
This week at the movies, we've got a global catastrophe (2012, starring John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor) and some rock 'n' roll rebellion (Pirate Radio, starring Philip S.... More...

October 26, 2009: Total Recall: Our Favorite Rock 'n' Roll Movies
Rock music has been a big part of the movies since Blackboard Jungle made Bill Haley a legend in 1955, and although the marriage of the two mediums hasn't always been a happy... More...

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