Pirate Radio

R

Released Nov 13, 2009

2 hr. 9 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

60%

167 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1966, BBC radio broadcasts less than an hour of pop music a day, forcing pirate DJs to take up the slack from boats anchored outside British waters. Quentin (Bill Nighy) is the commander of such a pirate station, overseeing a host of seedy, lusty and dope-smoking DJs, including the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Dave (Nick Frost), who makes it his personal mission to see to it that Quentin's newly arrived godson (Tom Sturridge) loses his virginity.

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Critics Consensus

The good cast and rollicking soundtrack eventually drown when this comic homage to pirate radio loses its quippy steam.

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Jack V

slucajno sam rejtovo nisam gledao

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/24

Full Review

John S

Terrific film - typically British and a bit low on production values, but great soundtrack and spirited acting. I liked it a lot.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/10/23

Full Review

Tim S

One of the all-time great rock & roll films. Hilarious and cool from start to finish.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/20/23

Full Review

DavidJames D

The boat that Rolled … tame n lame. As safe as Red Nose Day evening tv. Kenneth Branagh as the baddie - yawn. This thinks it's funny :-( Plenty of overacting … a wasted opportunity to explore one of the most explosive times in rock n roll & British music radio. Read Johnnie Walker's autobiography instead.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Julia S

One of my favourite films ever. Impossible to watch it without dancing on your sofa 😂 Kind, light-hearted and sweet it will cheer you up and leave a very pleasant aftertaste. :)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/10/22

Full Review

dave s

On the bright side, Pirate Radio features a fantastic cast, including the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, and Bill Nighy, among others, and has snippets of countless great rock songs from the mid-1960s. However, it's a movie that doesn't really go anywhere, a plot that seems content to simply recycle itself over and over again until it reaches its ridiculous conclusion. To avoid censorship, a group of DJs set up shop in a boat off the coast of England where they are immune from broadcasting restrictions. They party and play some great tunes and…well, that's about it. The movie alternates between life on the boat, the adoration of their devoted fans, and the government's efforts to put a stop to their hedonistic ways, and then repeats the cycle endlessly, all leading to the absurd final scene. It's not as though it's not sporadically entertaining, because it is. It's just painfully repetitive.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Richard Curtis

Director

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Count

Bill Nighy

Quentin

Rhys Ifans

Gavin

Nick Frost

Dave

Kenneth Branagh

Dormandy

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

The Boat That Rocked is pointless, shapeless, historically bogus and so emotionally disengaging you can't even feel the soundtrack.

Aug 29, 2018

Full Review

Perri Nemiroff

CinemaBlend

No morals, no shame and good music; who wouldn't want to climb aboard Radio Rock?

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 14, 2010

Full Review

Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

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.

Nov 22, 2009

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Pirate Radio is a film about the beginning of an age, and it captures that energy quite well. The plot may be treated in perhaps too fluffy a manner, but it’s an enjoyable experience, even if it was chopped and abbreviated by the distributor.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 30, 2023

Full Review

Jonah Koslofsky

The Spool

The camera in Pirate Radio won't stop wobbling - it's so damn annoying.

Mar 19, 2021

Full Review

David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

In Curtis's somewhat primitive view of things, the 1960s prove to have been about sleeping with whomever you liked, vaguely anarchic attitudes, and listening to loud music.

Feb 13, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1966, BBC radio broadcasts less than an hour of pop music a day, forcing pirate DJs to take up the slack from boats anchored outside British waters. Quentin (Bill Nighy) is the commander of such a pirate station, overseeing a host of seedy, lusty and dope-smoking DJs, including the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Dave (Nick Frost), who makes it his personal mission to see to it that Quentin's newly arrived godson (Tom Sturridge) loses his virginity.

Director: Richard Curtis
Executive Producer: Richard Curtis, Debra Hayward, Liza Chasin
Screenwriter: Richard Curtis
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Working Title Films
Rating: R (Language|Brief Nudity|Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 13, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $8.0M

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