Breaking Glass

PG

1980

1h 44m

Musical

List

Reviews

88%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A London punk rocker (Hazel O'Connor) rises and falls with her group, backed by a hustler (Phil Daniels) and a shady producer (Jon Finch).

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Nov 01

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Breaking Glass on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Audience Member

Hazel O'Connor stars as a young singer who writes ferocious, angry post-punk songs. She meets young hustler Phil Daniels who talks his way into becoming her manager. They recruit a band that includes Jonathan Pryce as a deaf saxophone player. They struggle to make it, finally getting a record deal that leads to her corruption. This isn't a very original story, but it's an uncharacteristically dark and cynical version of this kind of story. The film doesn't really see punk rock as a wonderful alternative to mainstream culture, depicting the fans as dumb, violent thugs. The film really endorses fierce individualism above anything else, suggesting that all anything short of independence is corruption. O'Connor wrote all the songs for the film, and they are wonderful songs that don't really conform to any particular genre.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a cult film of my teen years the soundtrack out performs this classic tale of boy meets girl... or beware of what you wish for!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

??????????? ?????????? ? ?????????????? ??????-??????? ???????? ???? ????????, ? ??? ???, ??? ????? ?????, ?????? ??? ????? ?????? ????????????? ???????. ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ? ??????? ???-?????? ????? ??? ?????.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Its an interesting film about the music industry during the new wave age, but I felt that it was not enjoyable enough, and the best character, which was the saxophone player, was not used enough. Still, it is fairly well made and is still worth to watch

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Although a bit too bleak and gritty, the music and performance of O'Connor was great. Hope she is less angry now.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Great soundtrack-decent story

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Brian Gibson

Director

Phil Daniels

Danny

Hazel O'Connor

Kate

Jon Finch

Woods

Brian Gibson

Writer

Davina Belling

Producer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…a gritty British music-industry drama that lands somewhere between Black Swan and Vox Lux...

Rated: 4/5

Apr 4, 2023

Full Review

Jason Shawhan

Nashville Scene

Singer-songwriter/actress Hazel O'Connor made her debut with Breaking Glass, a nervy, wild-hearted neon scream of a movie.

Sep 8, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

A London punk rocker (Hazel O'Connor) rises and falls with her group, backed by a hustler (Phil Daniels) and a shady producer (Jon Finch).

Director: Brian Gibson
Screenwriter: Brian Gibson
Rating: PG
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 15, 2016
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby

Most Popular at Home Now