Plot
Rise of the Footsoldier follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals...
Release Year: 2007
Rating: 6.8/10 (9,226 voted)
Director:
Julian Gilbey
Stars: Ricci Harnett, Terry Stone, Craig Fairbrass
Storyline Rise of the Footsoldier follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late eighties and early nineties. It is three decades of his life following him from football hooliganism, through to his burgeoning career as a bouncer, his involvement in the criminal aspects of the early 'rave' scene and subsequently to his rise to power as one of the most feared and respected criminals in the country.
Writers: Julian Gilbey, Will Gilbey
Cast: Ricci Harnett
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Carlton Leach
Terry Stone
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Tony Tucker
Craig Fairbrass
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Pat Tate
Roland Manookian
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Craig Rolfe
Coralie Rose
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Denny
Neil Maskell
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Darren Nicholls
Billy Murray
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Mickey Steele
Ian Virgo
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Jimmy Gerenuk
Kierston Wareing
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Kate Carter
Patrick Regis
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Eddie
Lara Belmont
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Karen
Emily Beecham
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Kelly
Frank Harper
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Jack Whomes
Jason Maza
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Rob
Mark Killeen
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Terry
Opening Weekend: £85,903
(UK)
(9 September 2007)
(138 Screens)
Gross: £170,397
(UK)
(30 September 2007)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Goofs:
Anachronisms:
When the ICF are on the bus to Man Utd game (5 mins in to film) they are spraying cans of alcohol and you can see a can of Magners (black can introduced in 2007).
Quotes:
[first lines]
Carlton Leach:
It was the end of an era. But before the murders, the torture, the beatings and the ecstacy... before all of that, there was football. You see, football was where all the spite and the hatred first came from. On those terraces... well, it's where it all began for me.
User Review
Decent - don't believe the reviews
Rating: 7/10
I've just seen this at the cinema, and I can't believe it's had such
bad reviews. I can only think critics are offended by the subject
matter, as this is a pacey, well-acted, stylishly shot exploitation
movie. Yes, the central characters are unpleasant, but when did that
have anything to do with the quality of the film itself? That's like
saying Guernica is a bad painting as it portrays a bombing, and
bombings are NOT NICE...
Seriously though, if you like hard-boiled, brutal, gripping "TOUGH GUY"
cinema, you will enjoy this. The 80s/90s period detail is captured very
well, with haircuts, fashions and soundtrack, and the violence doesn't
let up. I was half expecting some sub-Guy Ritchie cringe-worthy thing,
but it's not like that at all. The plot focus does shift from Leach to
his cohorts in the film's latter half, which some viewers seem to have
a problem with, but not I. ROTF barrels along and seems shorter than
its near-two hour running time. Plenty of brutality, nudity, swearing
and drug abuse. Sweet!
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