The film The Boat That Rocked is a 1960s period comedy about an illegal radio station operating in the North Sea. It was directed by Richard Curtis and produced by Working Title Films for Universal Studios with a production cost of £50 million. Though set on a boat, most of the budget went to the all-star cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, and Kenneth Branagh. The film appeals to both older and younger audiences through its music, comedy, and depiction of pop culture topics like sex and drugs.

1. The Boat That Rocked
Case Study

2. Background Information
♪ Period comedy about an illegal radio
station in the North Sea,1960’s.
♪ Renamed Pirate Radio in North America
and had 20 minutes taken off at the end
after the film’s commercial failure in the
British Box Office.
♪ In the first 12 weeks of it’s release, the
British Box Office’s revenues were less
than a quarter of it’s production costs -
£6.1 million.

3. Production
♪ Written and directed by Richard Curtis
♪ Made by Working Title Films for Universal
Studios.
♪ The production cost totalled up to £50
million.
♪ North Sea scenes were shot off Portland
Bill
♪ Interior shots filmed inside a warehouse in
Osprey Quay on the Isle of Portland and
at Shepperton Studios

4. If you didn't know how much the film
cost to make, how could you tell?
You could eliminate the setting from
being “big budget” as it probably did
not cost as much as most movie sets
would. Money would have been spent
mostly on actors as they are very well
known, award winning actors and
distribution, posters and
advertisement. There aren’t a lot of
special effects but the specific one that
there is (the rushing water in the boat)
must have cost quite a lot. Some money
would have to go to the artists’ music

5. How can we tell the genre of the film?
How does the film fulfil its purpose of
the genre?
The movie is very humorous, and
the characters have laid
back, witty and care free
attitudes.

6. How is it targeted towards a) a US
market? b) a UK market? (Both
production and distribution)
a) In terms of being targeted
towards a US market, it stars Phillip
Seymour Hoffman who is an American
actor to advertise the film to
Americans. A majority of Americans
are hugely into pop and
rock, another incentive to watch it.
b) The cast is predominantly
British, enticing the British audience.
It’s inspired by a true story that was
directly linked to Britain. Music is

7. How can we tell it isn't a big-budget
Hollywood film?
The setting gives away that it’s not a
big-budget film. There are no over
the top special effects apart from
the boat sinking. The storyline is very
specific, whereas some Hollywood
films would reach out to a much
wider audience with a suitable
storyline.

8. What do we think they spent the most
money on, in terms of production?
In terms of production, I think they
spent the most money on
actors, possibly props as well. The
props especially as they represent
the time period in which it is set. The
special effect of the water pouring in
and the boat sinking must have cost a
significant amount too.

9. How has the language changed over
time? How is it similar/different? How
does this draw in specific audiences?
The language is not too different. It is
modern language but what we would
know as over exaggeration of
swearing, that suggests how much of
a big deal swearing was in that era.
It’s not what they say that
represents the time period; it’s how
they say it. The language will draw in
the younger generation as well as
the older generation; it is suitable

10. Does the film have any qualities of a
Hollywood Blockbuster?
In terms of a Hollywood
blockbuster, it has the special
effects of the water rushing in the
boat, the sinking of the boat and the
stunt with The Count and Gavin. The
storyline does not have a lot of
thrilling or dramatic moments or
twists, which is what a Hollywood
blockbuster would consist of. The
“happy ending” aspect is very

11. Are there any well-known
actors that tempt you to
watch the film? Do they
fulfil your expectations?

12. Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy is incredibly
well known for being in
Harry Potter, Pirates of
the Caribbean, Love
Actually and Hitch Hikers
Guide to the Galaxy. He
fulfils your expectations
by being a high
maintenance character
which he is in Harry
Potter and Pirates of the
Caribbean, and he is very

13. Nick Frost
Nick Frost is known
for a lot of comedies
with his “partner-in-
crime” Simon
Pegg, such as Hot
Fuzz, Shaun of the
Dead and Paul. He is
renowned for being
very funny, which he is
in this film.

14. Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh is a
Shakespearian
actor, who
generally plays
“posh” characters.
He’s starred in Harry
Potter, Valkyrie and
is known for
Shakespearian
theatre. He fulfils
the expectations in
this film by taking
on the role of
someone who is

15. How does it appeal to younger
audiences?
This film appears to the younger
audiences with the aspect of comedy
and displays popular topics amongst
the younger audience like sex, drugs
and music. Music especially entices
the younger audience because it has
increasingly become part of our
culture.

16. How does the music (production) help to
sell (advertise) the film?
The music may bring back memories
to the certain older
audience, creating interest. This
older audience may have children
and want to educate them about the
music they listened to when they
were their age.

17. There was around 5hrs of footage for a
2 hour film. What does this tell you
about the production?
This tells you that they had a lot of
money put into the production of it. A
lot of money would have been saved
on the setting so they could easily
produce more hours than they
needed. Also because it was based on
a historical event, they had more to
go on.