Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Rise of the Footsoldier Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 6, 2010

Based on a true story, Julian Gilbey's "Rise of the Footsoldier" (2007) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with Julian and Will Gilbey; making of; an interview with Carlton Leach; deleted and extended scenes; audition sessions; outtakes; stills gallery; and the film's original theatrical trailer. Without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Carlton Leach

It is true. Had it not been for Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), we would not have seen the likes of Nick Love’s The Football Factory (2004) and The Business (2005), Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake (2004), Lexi Alexander's Hooligans (2005), Donal Maclntyre’s A Very British Gangster (2007), Jon S. Baird's Cass (2008), and Julian Gilbey’s Rise of the Footsoldier. I am unsure if this is a good thing, as the majority of these films are hardly as memorable, or important, as some critics claim, but you’ve got to give Ritchie credit - he started it all.

If you have already seen some of the films I mentioned above, then you should have a pretty good idea what to expect from Rise of the Footsoldier - heavy British accents, excessive cursing, smoking hot women, and wise guys blowing each others’ brains out. A solid soundtrack, too.

Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett), a tough goon from Essex, is our man. Right from the get-go, he tells us that before the murders, the torture, the beatings and the ecstasy pills, there was football. That's where it all started. And it was hate that united the fans, not the beautiful game. First, they started beating each other up before and after the games. Then, they did it during the games.

Carlton and his boys were West Ham United fans. By the early 80s, most everyone in Essex knew them as the I.C.F. - the Inner City Firm. Even the local crime bosses took an interest in their activities. In fact, some were so impressed with the I.C.F. that they asked a few of its members to come work for them. Carlton was offered a job as a doorman at a decent night club.

Carlton's wife left him when she found out that he was cheating on her but he did not care. There were plenty of "birds" around. During a massive clash with a group of Arsenal fans, however, someone nearly split his head open with a hatchet, and he started thinking about the future. For the first time in his life Carlton felt alone. Then he realized that he needed money - lots of it.

An old-timer offered Carlton a new job at a bigger and more prestigious club. He immediately picked up some of the toughest boys in the area and founded his own firm. The money was great and so were the women. Around the same time he started doing drugs; first, it was the love pill, then it was heroin. He even started using steroids.

During the mid 80s, Carlton met Tony Tucker (Terry Stone), an aspiring gangster, who loved beautiful women and champagne. He ran the security for some of the toughest firms in London and knew where the big money was. Tucker showed Carlton how to invest what he did not spend on drugs and steroids.

Things got out of control when some of Carlton's boys started pushing heroin behind his back. They stole a huge load from the Turkish mafia and heads started rolling. The ones who survived left Carlton's firm and never came back.

During the mid 90s, Tucker introduced Carlton to Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass), a legendary Essex goon, and a whole bunch of other guys with big ambitions. It was the beginning of the end. Carlton, Tucker and Tate became so arrogant that most everyone in the area started avoiding them, including some of their best pals. On December 7, 1995, Tucker, Tate and one of their closest associates were found dead in a Range Rover parked in a farm in Rettendon, Essex. Carlton got the message and left the business.

Rise of the Footsoldier is a violent and disturbingly graphic British gangster film that comes extremely close to promoting what it supposedly critiques. There is an audio commentary with writer/director Julian Gilbey and his brother Will Gilbey on this Blu-ray disc in which they explain why the clashes between the gangsters and all the killings in their film had to be so uncompromisingly graphic - the two wanted to show how quickly football hooliganism in Essex evolved into something a lot more serious and better organized.

Unfortunately, for the most part Rise of the Footsoldier does look and feel like a giant uncensored MTV-eqsue clip glamorizing a group of British thugs with an extremely limited vocabulary. The film barely touches upon the social conditions that apparently fueled football hooliganism in Essex while it spends an enormous amount of time depicting in detail the criminal deeds of its main protagonist and his best friends.

Rise of the Footsoldier Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Julian Gilbey's Rise of the Footsoldier arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

This is a strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is convincing, contrast levels pleasing and clarity good. The color-scheme fluctuates as the action moves from the late 70s and 80s into the 90s, with blacks, grays, browns, and blues being the prominent colors. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. There are no disturbing digital artifacts either. I also did not see any traces of excessive noise reduction to report in this review. Blown through a digital projector, the film looks fantastic - the image is tight around the edges and healthy looking. With the exception of the archival footage, large cuts, debris, dirt, or stains are nowhere to be seen. To sum it all up, this is a strong high-definition that will undoubtedly please fans of the Rise of the Footsoldier. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content.

Rise of the Footsoldier Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is strong and punchy, the surround channels intelligently used and the high-frequencies not overdone. Ross Cullum's soundtrack is fairly well balanced with the dialog. The original tracks also sound good. While viewing the film, I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hiss to report in this review.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is also convincing. In fact, given that I had a great deal of trouble following the dialog, I think that I prefer it over the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track because balance is slightly better on it.

The fact that Optimum Home Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature is beyond disappointing. There are parts in the film where I had absolutely no idea what was being said, which is why I assume that I am not alone in thinking that optional English subtitles should always be included with these types of films - not only because of the heavy accents but because of the slang that is often heard in them.

Rise of the Footsoldier Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Feature commentary - a rather strong audio commentary with Julian and Will Gilbey in which they discuss the how Rise of the Footsoldier came to exist, its production history, Carlton Leach and his story, the controversy surrounding the film, etc.

Making of - a long and very informative featurette with plenty of raw footage from the shooting of the film and an abundance of very interesting comments from different cast and crew members, etc. In English, not subtitled. (78 min).

Interview with Carlton Leach - I found this interview with the notorious gangster a lot more intriguing than the actual film. Obviously, he is a very controversial figure who some would say got what he deserved, which is why I thought that his comments on the film and many of the events that are depicted in it were quite fascinating. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

Deleted & extended scenes - a gallery of twenty eight deleted and extended scenes. Some of the extra footage is without sound.

Auditions - six audition sessions for some of the key characters in the film. A few of these are actually quite hilarious. (21 min).

Outtakes - a collage of outtakes. The majority of the outttakes are without sound. (19 min).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (2 min).

Stills gallery -

Rise of the Footsoldier Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you like excessively violent low-budget British films with few redeeming qualities, if any, then you don't want to miss Julian Gilbey's Rise of the Footsoldier. If you don't, I suggest that you stay as far away from this one as possible. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment, looks and sounds very good. It is, however, Region-B "locked". RENT IT.