Pirate Radio
Richard Curtis
Open iTunes to preview, buy, and download this movie.
Plot Summary
From the creator of Love Actually and Notting Hill comes a trip back to the freewheeling, free-loving ’60s when the very rock music that inspired a generation was censored by the government. When a group of rebellious deejays decides to defy the ban, they take to the seas to broadcast music and mayhem to millions of adoring fans. Featuring a soundtrack that includes The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and many more, it’s a feel-great film based on a true story that critics cheer is "exuberant!" (John Powers, Vogue)
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Producers
Movie Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes
TOMATOMETER
60%- Reviews Counted: 153
- Fresh: 92
- Rotten: 61
- Average Rating: 5.6/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Boys will be boys and often at top volume in Pirate Radio, Richard Curtis's fanciful fiction about rebel broadcasters.
Fresh: The boat nearly sinks from character overload, and Curtis brakes when you most want him to gun it. But there's no denying the comic energy of the cast.
Rotten: Despite Curtis' bumbling, Pirate Radio manages to stay afloat bravely enough -- at least until the climax, which comes off as a confused marriage between Top of the Pops and Titanic.
Rotten: I started glancing at the time well before the midway mark.
Customer Reviews
Nicely cast, good tunes
Sure, I was around when Pirate Radio was happening, so maybe I do like the movie because it reminds me of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. The movie was a surprise, and a good one. I enjoyed the casting and costuming, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson and Rhys Ifans. The tunes, while not strictly dating from the 60's, were well chosen, perfect for a rainy afternoon on the couch with The Big Lebowski. Don't look here from serious drama. It was enjoyable and entertaining.
Can't decide
Was Pirate Radio a bad movie? Or was it simply too nostalgic & friendly to possibly be any good?
Like an animated film, the characters are overly-colorful, the jokes (while rapid) are lightweight, and there's never any true crisis to be averted -- most times, a conflict that arises is neutralized immediately in the next scene. It's your Full Monty/Biily Elliot/Saving Grace-class feel-good-British-comedy-that-gets-an-American-release with less quirkiness and quite honestly nothing truly at stake until 5 minutes before the end. It feels like you're watching someone else's edited memories of the era.
It is presented as "based on a true story", but I believe the problem was the true story could be summarized in a quarter-page story in the paper.
Basically, if you do not personally remember the 60s, odds are you won't be pleased with this movie.
Pirate Radio Rocks
A brilliant comedy set in the 60’s, during a time where free love and music reigned supreme! You will reminisce of your “rebellious” music listening and impressionable years, which we all experience during our lives, and Pirate Radio will help you bring back those bittersweet memories. Pirate Radio demonstrates that regardless of your generation, a common denominator that we all share is a love of music; and that music is not only a form of entertainment, but also a medium that binds us.
Viewers Also Bought
- The Informant!
- Steven Soderbergh
- View In iTunes
- Whip It
- Drew Barrymore
- View In iTunes
- Youth In Revolt
- Miguel Arteta
- View In iTunes
- The Invention of Lying
- Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson
- View In iTunes
- A Serious Man
- Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- View In iTunes
