The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked (retitled Pirate Radio in North America) is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour

Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh. Set in 1966, it tells the story of the fictitious pirate radio station

"Radio Rock" and its crew of eclectic disc jockeys, who broadcast rock and pop music to the United Kingdom from a ship anchored in

the North Sea while the British government endeavors to shut them down. It was produced by Working Title Films for Universal

Pictures, and was filmed on the Isle of Portland and at Shepperton Studios.

Audience• The film is rated a 15 containing strong language and

moderate sex references. This hints at the target audience of young adults. It can also hint that the genre is a comedy, as it is for a mature audience, but does not have any warnings associated with other genres (e.g. horror= violence/gore etc.).

• From looking at the film opening and the age rating, it says that it is possibly a film aimed at men, however not ruling out women as an audience.

• In addition, the film could also be aimed for adults who lived during the sixties. This would make the film a way of looking back to this period when they were younger and remembering pirate radio.

Mise-en-scene

• C- In the opening scene to the film, we see two parents and a child wearing clothes common of the 60’s, giving the audience an idea of the time the film is set. Later, we also see one of the main characters (“The Count”), wearing dirty, messy clothes which helps to tell he is a pirate radio broadcaster and that he is not common in the way people dressed then.

• L- The scene starts at night, with house light bulbs providing high key lighting. This gives a more comfortable, homely feeling, and tells us at what time people listen to radio in secret.

• A- In the opening, the film shows us an idea of how adults and children were in the time of the setting, i.e. the adults seem old fashioned and boring, sat reading a newspaper at night, while the children are more rebellious and mischievous by listening to pirate radio when they should be asleep.

• M- The first we see of the Count, we see he has yellow teeth, showing him to be more of a slob and that he doesn’t care too much for his health, creating the idea of him being a rebel more obvious.

• P- The intro shows a lot of younger people listening to their own radios, which tells the audience that a lot of young people pay attention to the rock stations. We also see the Count using a radio microphone, making it clear that he is a radio broadcaster and that many younger people listen to him.

• S- From the introduction to the film, the film tells us it is set in Britain, 1966, the golden era for rock being played on radio. There is also a view of a taxi driving down a harbour, suggesting this location may be significant, or that the character (Carl) is travelling on a boat.

Editing• In the start of the opening, there is a lot of slow/ normal paced editing showing

everyday family life, possibly reflecting back on the parents being boring compared to when listening to radio. Although, this then picks up into more fast paced editing when James turns on the radio and the Count appears. This helps to match the pace of the background music and creates a higher interest in the film.

• During the time the boy is seen going to bed, there is an ellipsis between when he closes his room door and lying awake in bed, waiting for his parents to go to bed. By cutting to him waiting for his parent to go to bed, it shows that some time has passed and that he has been waiting a while. In addition, by waiting for his parents to go to bed, it tells us that he shouldn’t be listening, or doesn’t want his parents to hear him listening to radio. This could be hinting that the film may be a comedy/ feel-good film, as it show a light approach to the child being secretive.

• In addition, during the title montage, the clips have been edited to have a radio effect. The length of the clips follow the pace of the music (“All day and all of the night” by the Kinks), again creating interest in the in the film. The radio dial effect after just seeing the Count broadcasting, also makes it obvious that the film is centred around a specific radio station.

• During this montage , radio affect, there is a use of split screens to show people dancing and enjoying the music around Britain. By doing this, it show that many people all around Britain enjoy listening to pirate radio and their music, creating a sense of how popular pirate radio was during this time period.

Camera • In the very beginning of the scene, the use of an establishing

shot is used on the house. This helps set the scene of a British family home in the 60’s and helps explain where the boy lives later in the scene. There is also another establishing shot at the end of the opening, showing a taxi driving down the side of the harbour, again showing us the setting might be the harbour, or that Carl is travelling on a boat.

• When James is walking to his room, there is a tracking shot following him to his room. Because the camera tracks him to his room, it suggests that he may be an important character, which moves all focus on him and what he’s doing. It is later shown that by following him, we are then introduced to one of the main characters.

• The first time we see the Count talking into the radio, there is an extreme close up on his mouth to the microphone. The amount of attention on his mouth, moves the focus to what he is saying and puts a layer of mystery/ enigma about him, as we cannot see his whole face.

SoundNon- Diagetic sound:

• The sound at the beginning of different radio shows being played, automatically tells the audience that this is going to be a film focused on radio, or a specific radio show. This also includes sound motif to help set the time the film is set, through the use of sayings and radio shows we associate with radio at that time (e.g. “are you sitting comfortably”).

• There is also more fast paced music in the background once the Count is first shown. This sudden music compared with the music played previously from the older radio shows, tells that this was the time when rock and roll first came to radio. In addition, there is no sound bridge used between when the boy turns the radio on and the music. This sudden burst from the radio makes the music more exciting and adds more interest in the film.

Film conventions

• By introducing the studios of the film (Universal studios/ Working title), it may already provide interest in the film, as the studios are well known for producing good quality films.

• Before the scene begins, there is a textual introduction into the film. This intro tells us the setting ,the backstory of rock being played on radio and that people preferred pirate radio stations due to no other stations playing enough rock during 1966.

• During the montage of music throughout the opening, the names of the main actors in the film are shown, along with the name of the film at the end. These could both hint on the genre of the film as some the actors featured in the film are known for comedy films, and the name of the film suggests it might be a comedy/feel-good film.

• During the opening, there is not actually much humour involved, which is unusual for a comedy film. This means that the intro is to purely gain interest in the film and introduce comedy later in the film, making the film seem more like a feel- good film.

• From the opening, conventions of film openings met are: titles (e.g. studio, film title, main actors/ key cast etc.), establishment of setting, music to set mood, genre and gains interest in the film.

Film Enigma

• There is a fair amount of enigma during the first segment of the intro, for example, who is the boy (James)? Why’s he waiting until his parents are asleep? We ask these because we believe he is a main character, but is actually a listener to the main centre of the story.

• However, there is a lot more enigma once the Count is introduced, which is answered later in the film. For example, who is he? Why does he call himself “The Count”? Who’s the character in the taxi (Carl)? Where’s he going/ why? Because we do not know all the answers yet, it brings about more interest and encourages the audience to continue watching the film.

Thanks for watching