Big Picture Big Sound

The Film

They sold they their souls for rock and roll, and ended up on a pirate ship. Now if that doesn't rock, nothing does.

Pirate Radio is Richard Curtis' directorial follow-up to 2003's Love Actually. Like that all-star romp, Pirate Radio has a good story, a ton of characters, and a big musical number. However, no amount of rock and Philip Seymour Hoffman (and there's a ton of both) will make this movie as cool as it thinks it is.

In 1966, The Beatles and Stones were in their heyday, but you wouldn't know it because the BBC wouldn't let anyone broadcast it. At least, not on their airwaves. In a very Footloose-esque move, a band of merry (and possibly drug-induced) DJs set sail on this ship of fools, with the intent of broadcasting rock around the clock.

The plot sounds good and so does the movie's soundtrack, thanks to Bowie, The Kinks, The Who, Hendrix, and countless others. It also has countless talent in the cast, which includes Bill Nighy, Rhys Darby, Rhys Ifans and Kenneth Branagh (and did I mentioned Philip Seymour Hoffman?). However, the film just has a few too many characters to keep up. Instead, it plays off like one big frat party: It looks like fun, but you don't really know who anyone is or where they keep the booze.

Want to sample a little more of Pirate Radio? Check out Lexi Feinberg's theatrical review of the movie.

The Picture

This pirate ship actually has a bit of video treasure. The 2.35:1 transfer is booming with '60s sites and sounds (see below). When ladies prepare to board, the pirates get a jolt of excitement. Your eyeballs will too. From the ocean to the bold prints, everything is super detailed with one trippy color palette. Many of the characters don't have the same flair for funky fashions, but their surroundings sure do, from furniture to album cover art.

The Sound

No matter how many big names Richard Curtis stuffs into this production, the soundtrack is the real star here. After all, it's hard to upstage The Beach Boys, The Who, and even The McCoys. The DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack does a very nice job pumping out the most powerful part of Pirate Radio, as well as the dialogue. There are also a few ambient sounds, but for a movie that takes place in the middle of the ocean, we were expecting to ride the wave of background noises a little harder.

The Extras

A whopping 68 minutes of deleted scenes are here, but they were clearly deleted for a reason. Many of them actually drag out existing scenes in the movie. Unfortunately, very few give any additional insight into the movie's many characters. If you're looking for some of that, the 20 minutes of featurettes should fill in a few historical and production gaps. Other than that, the disc has commentary and a little optional ticker for news on Blu-ray-specific features and upcoming Universal releases.

Final Thoughts

Richard Curtis sure knows how to put out a casting call. Unfortunately, he never seems to know what to do when everyone shows up. Pirate Radio does rock, but doesn't roll all that well, due to its giant cluster of characters. One thing Curtis does have going for him is that he knows how to use the power of music. Sadly, the same can't be said for this film's all-star cast.

Product Details

• Actors: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Kenneth Branagh
• Director: Richard Curtis
• Audio/Languages: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English), DTS 5.1 (French, Spanish)
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Region: A
• Number of Discs: 1
• Rating: R
• Studio: Universal Studios
• Blu-ray Disc Release Date: April 13, 2010
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• List Price: $36.98
• Extras:
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurettes
  • Feature Commentary with Director Richard Curtis, Producer Hilary Bevan Hones and Actors Nick Frost and Chris O'Dowd
  • BD Live
  • Pocket Blur