The Football Factory
Encyclopedia
The Football Factory is a 2004 English film directed by Nick Love
and stars Danny Dyer
, Tamer Hassan
, Frank Harper
and Neil Maskell
. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name
by John King
.
The film is the first foray into film-making by video game producers Rockstar Games
, credited as Executive Producers.
In 2004, Chelsea F.C.
football supporters' fanzine cfcuk produced a special edition - "cfcuk - The Football Factory" to coincide with the release of the film.
, and the Bushwhackers, who support Millwall
. Throughout the movie, the Headhunters fight with other English groups such as those supporting Tottenham Hotspur
, Liverpool
, and Stoke City
.
The film follows Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer), a football hooligan in his late 20s who has begun to question his morals and the morals of those around him. Tommy's major conflict in the film stems from his inevitable aging. Although he loves his weekend 'meets', he knows he cannot possibly play forever.
While enjoying a night out with his pal Rod, they meet a couple of young women in a bar and both end up back at one of the girls' house. In the morning, Tommy wakes find the girl's brother holding a knife to his throat. Rod creeps up and hits the man over the head with a cricket bat, and they both are able to escape. It then emerges that the girl's other brother is Fred (Tamer Hassan
), leader of their rival firm Millwall.
The remainder of the film focuses on Tommy trying to evade the Millwall gang seeking retribution for the attack, while trying to understand the strange dreams that plague him throughout the film.
In the end, it is revealed the mysterious figure in his dreams is Zeberdee (Roland Manookian
). In the final battle, Tommy's true identity is revealed to have been known by Fred, who violently assaults Tommy with a brick. This scene was heavily criticised in the industry as it shows an excessive amount of over the top violence and it was lacking in 'reemness' according to Rotten Tomatoes
The ending of the film reveals Tommy survived his attack, and is bed-ridden alongside his grand-father Bill Farrell (Dudley Sutton
). In a moment of self-clarity, Tommy realizes that fighting alongside his fellow men is "worth it", and stumbles to the bar to reunite with his friends. He learns psychopath Billy Bright has been incarcerated and the movie's final moment witnesses the death of Zeberdee at the hands of a drug-dealer who wanted revenge on Zeberdee for attacking him (and stealing his drugs) earlier on in the film.
Nick Love
Nick Love is a British film director and writer. Love came to public attention in the UK after making the films The Football Factory, The Business and The Firm. He has two 'Millwall' tattoos, including one on the inside of his bottom lip.Love is well known for collaborating with actor Danny Dyer...
and stars Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
, Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan is a British actor of Turkish Cypriot descent.-Early life:Hassan was born in London, England into a Turkish Cypriot family. Having sustained an injury in boxing, Hassan started to run nightclubs and restaurants and is now the owner, chairman and player/coach of Greenwich Borough and...
, Frank Harper
Frank Harper
Frank Harper is a British actor and film producer. He is best known for his "Hard Man" roles, such as Billy Bright in The Football Factory , Dog in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels .-Career:...
and Neil Maskell
Neil Maskell
Neil Maskell is an English actor who generally appears in British gangster and football hooligan films alongside actors promoted by Nick Love, Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie. He is probably best remembered for playing Rod in the hit film, Football Factory, alongside Danny Dyer and Frank...
. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name
The Football Factory (novel)
The Football Factory is a novel by John King. The book follows a group of working class English men who support Chelsea F.C. and indulge in football hooliganism. The principal character/narrator is Tommy Johnson, with vignettes from minor characters interspersed throughout the novel...
by John King
John King (author)
John King is an English novelist who has written a number of books which, for the most part, deal in the more rebellious elements driving the country’s culture. His stories carry strong social and political undercurrents, and his debut The Football Factory was an instant word-of-mouth success. It...
.
The film is the first foray into film-making by video game producers Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
, credited as Executive Producers.
In 2004, Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
football supporters' fanzine cfcuk produced a special edition - "cfcuk - The Football Factory" to coincide with the release of the film.
Plot
"The Football Factory" focuses on two different groups of English football supporters—the Headhunters, who support ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, and the Bushwhackers, who support Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
. Throughout the movie, the Headhunters fight with other English groups such as those supporting Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, and Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...
.
The film follows Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer), a football hooligan in his late 20s who has begun to question his morals and the morals of those around him. Tommy's major conflict in the film stems from his inevitable aging. Although he loves his weekend 'meets', he knows he cannot possibly play forever.
While enjoying a night out with his pal Rod, they meet a couple of young women in a bar and both end up back at one of the girls' house. In the morning, Tommy wakes find the girl's brother holding a knife to his throat. Rod creeps up and hits the man over the head with a cricket bat, and they both are able to escape. It then emerges that the girl's other brother is Fred (Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan
Tamer Hassan is a British actor of Turkish Cypriot descent.-Early life:Hassan was born in London, England into a Turkish Cypriot family. Having sustained an injury in boxing, Hassan started to run nightclubs and restaurants and is now the owner, chairman and player/coach of Greenwich Borough and...
), leader of their rival firm Millwall.
The remainder of the film focuses on Tommy trying to evade the Millwall gang seeking retribution for the attack, while trying to understand the strange dreams that plague him throughout the film.
In the end, it is revealed the mysterious figure in his dreams is Zeberdee (Roland Manookian
Roland Manookian
Roland Manookian is an English actor of Armenian descent, who is most notable for his role as Zebedee, in the 2004 film The Football Factory, and as Craig Rolfe in Rise of the Footsoldier in 2007. He has also appeared in Guy Richie's Rocknrolla and Nick Love's Goodbye Charlie Bright and The Business...
). In the final battle, Tommy's true identity is revealed to have been known by Fred, who violently assaults Tommy with a brick. This scene was heavily criticised in the industry as it shows an excessive amount of over the top violence and it was lacking in 'reemness' according to Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
The ending of the film reveals Tommy survived his attack, and is bed-ridden alongside his grand-father Bill Farrell (Dudley Sutton
Dudley Sutton
-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
). In a moment of self-clarity, Tommy realizes that fighting alongside his fellow men is "worth it", and stumbles to the bar to reunite with his friends. He learns psychopath Billy Bright has been incarcerated and the movie's final moment witnesses the death of Zeberdee at the hands of a drug-dealer who wanted revenge on Zeberdee for attacking him (and stealing his drugs) earlier on in the film.
Cast
- Danny DyerDanny DyerDanny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
— Tommy Johnson, a bored twenty something who lives for the weekend. The thrill of the big Millwall versus Chelsea meet leaves his life scrambled as he tries to pull himself out of his nightmare. - Frank HarperFrank HarperFrank Harper is a British actor and film producer. He is best known for his "Hard Man" roles, such as Billy Bright in The Football Factory , Dog in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels .-Career:...
— Billy Bright, is a forty something forming part of the older generation of The Firm. He is full of bitterness in what he sees as the country and system that have failed him. Away from the crowds where he commands an audience to impress the younger guys, he's a sad and lonely character whose life is fast spiralling out of control. - Neil MaskellNeil MaskellNeil Maskell is an English actor who generally appears in British gangster and football hooligan films alongside actors promoted by Nick Love, Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie. He is probably best remembered for playing Rod in the hit film, Football Factory, alongside Danny Dyer and Frank...
— Rod, Tommy's oldest friend and confident, ambling along the path led by his mates. - Roland ManookianRoland ManookianRoland Manookian is an English actor of Armenian descent, who is most notable for his role as Zebedee, in the 2004 film The Football Factory, and as Craig Rolfe in Rise of the Footsoldier in 2007. He has also appeared in Guy Richie's Rocknrolla and Nick Love's Goodbye Charlie Bright and The Business...
— Zeberdee, younger breed coming through the ranks of Chelsea, his life has already run into a cul de sac of crime and drugs. With nothing to lose and no one to look out for him, Zeberdee aspires to be a future top boy, unfortunately his lack of intellectual guile gets him into trouble. - Calum MacNab - Raff, Zeberdee's best friend.
- Tamer HassanTamer HassanTamer Hassan is a British actor of Turkish Cypriot descent.-Early life:Hassan was born in London, England into a Turkish Cypriot family. Having sustained an injury in boxing, Hassan started to run nightclubs and restaurants and is now the owner, chairman and player/coach of Greenwich Borough and...
— Millwall Fred, heads the rival Millwall firm an arch enemy of Chelsea, things come to ahead when Tommy inadvertently crosses path with Fred and a revenge situation begins. - Dudley SuttonDudley Sutton-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
— Bill Farrell, is representative of the older generation from a bygone era, a second-world war veteran in his late seventies who lives out the remainder of his days with childhood friend Albert Moss who plan to retire in Australia. - John JunkinJohn JunkinJohn Francis Junkin was an English radio, television and film performer and scriptwriter.In 1960 Junkin joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop, and played the lead in the original production of Sparrows Can't Sing...
— Albert Moss - Jamie ForemanJamie ForemanJamie Foreman is an English actor best known for his roles as Duke in Layer Cake and Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist . He played opposite Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke in Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth and also featured in Elizabeth , Gangster No. 1 and Sleepy Hollow...
— Racist Taxi Driver who is never afraid of letting his customers know his true feelings about society. - Tony Denham — Harris, the Chelsea firms head who runs it like a military operation.
- Kara TointonKara TointonKara Louise Tointon is a British actress, best known for playing Dawn Swann in BBC soap opera EastEnders. Tointon was the 2010 winner of BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing.-Early life:...
— Shie - Sophie Linfield — Tamara
- Danny KellyDanny Kelly (journalist)Danny Kelly is a music journalist, sports presenter and internet publisher. He is the former editor of the music weekly New Musical Express....
— Radio announcer
See also
- The Real Football FactoriesThe Real Football FactoriesThe Real Football Factories is a documentary series shown on the Bravo TV channel in the UK and created by Zig Zag Productions. The show looks at the in-depth life of football hooligans and hooligan firms. Interviews are conducted with past and present hooligans.The presenter of the show, Danny...
- The Real Football Factories InternationalThe Real Football Factories InternationalThe Real Football Factories International is a documentary style program about football hooliganism across the world. The Real Football Factories was the first series, where presenter and actor Danny Dyer travelled the UK, meeting some of the more notorious football firms. In this spin-off series,...
- Football HooliganismFootball hooliganismFootball hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...