Green Street

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Green Street Hooligans
Green Street movie poster
Directed by	Lexi Alexander
Produced by	Donald Zuckerman Deborah Del Prete
Written by	Lexi Alexander Dougie Brimson Josh Shelov
Starring	Elijah Wood Charlie Hunnam Claire Forlani
Distributed by	Baker Street Odd Lot Entertainment
Release date(s)	2005-09-09 (UK)
Running time	108 min.
Country	USA / UK
Language	English
IMDb profile

For the actual street, see Green Street (street).

Green Street is a 2005 drama film about football hooliganism in England. It was directed by Lexi Alexander and stars Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. In the United States, the film is called Green Street Hooligans, while in the United Kingdom it has the title Green Street after initially being called Hooligans. In other countries, it is called Football Hooligans. In the film, a American college student (Matt Buckner — played by Elijah Wood) falls in with a violent English football firm (the Green street Ellite) and is morally transformed by their commitment to each other. The movie received an R rating from the MPAA for brutal violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

1 Cast
2 Plot
3 Cultural context
4 Trivia
5 Awards
6 Soundtrack
7 External links

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Matt Buckner (Elijah Wood) is kicked out of Harvard after authorities discover cocaine in his room. The drugs actually belong to his roommate Jeremy Van Holden (Terence Jay) but Buckner is afraid to speak up because the Van Holdens are a powerful family. He is given $10,000 for his trouble, and uses the money to travel to Britain where his sister (Claire Forlani) lives with her husband and young son. Unbeknownst to Buckner, his sister's husband Steve (Marc Warren) is a former leader of the Green Street Elite (GSE), a fictional football hooligan firm that supports West Ham United F.C.. Buckner develops a friendship with Steve's brother Pete (Charlie Hunnam), who is the current leader, and becomes engrossed in the world of football hooliganism. After Steve is seriously injured in an attack from a rival Millwall F.C. firm, the film reaches its climax with a large fight between the two firms. During the fight, Pete is killed by the leader of the Millwall firm. Buckner then returns to the United States with his sister and nephew, confronts his former roommate and announces his intention to return to Harvard.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Cultural context

The name of the firm in film, the Green Street Elite, refers to Green Street [1] in the London Borough of Newham. Green Street is the road where West Ham United F.C.'s home stadium, Boleyn Ground (more commonly known as Upton Park) is. West Ham is supported by one of England's more notorious hooligans: the Inter City Firm (ICF). [2]. Although Green Street has received some criticism regarding the exaggerated level of violence shown between the firms in the movie, the cultural validity of the script is rooted in anthropological studies of firm behaviorism. [3] [4]

[edit] Trivia

The West Ham firm in the film is called the Green Street Elite also known as Hooligans (GSE). The real-life West Ham firm is called the Inter City Firm (ICF), so called because of the firms use of the Inter City trains to travel to away matches.
Charlie Hunnam, who plays the part of Pete Dunham, has received criticism for his attempt at a Cockney accent. Whatever part of London he may be trying to sound like in the film, Hunnam's northern roots — he is a native of Newcastle — manage to show through.
The South London Press reported that (then Millwall manager) Dennis Wise, had heavily fined and suspended two of his players for attending the film's premiere.
Terence Jay, who played Matt Buckner's (Elijah Wood) roommate, also wrote and performed several of the film's soundtracks. He is also the producer Deborah de Prete's son.
The first game in the film showed West Ham at home to Birmingham City. The action on the pitch, however, was filmed at a game between West Ham and Gillingham.
Burnley's Jon Harley makes an appearance playing for West Ham in the first game.
Although not a remake, the premise is very similar to the 1995 British-made film ID, in which the unlikely inductee to the world of football violence is an undercover police officer. Unlike ID which used fictional names, Green Street uses real club names and locations.
Claire Forlani, who is English, plays an American in the film.
Macclesfield Train Station shown in the film was actually Westbury Train Station of Wiltshire.
The song heard as they descend the steps after the Manchester brawl is "I wanna be adored" by the famous Manchester group, The Stone Roses. "Waterfall" is also heard in the film.

[edit] Awards

LA Femme Film Festival

Lexi Alexander won Best Feature (2005)

Malibu Film Festival

Lexi Alexander won Best of the Fest (2005)

SXSW Film Festival

Lexi Alexander won Special Jury Award

[edit] Soundtrack

"Shame"
- Written and Performed by Terence Jay
- With Balazs Szalai, Daesik Kim, Ricky J. Hernandez=
"Run from the Pigs"
- Written and Performed by Terence Jay
- With Balazs Szalai, Daesik Kim, Ricky J. Hernandez
"Only When I Laugh"
- Written by Ken Jones
"Hooligan Drums"
- Written and Performed by Ivan Koutikov
"The Strength of One"
- Music by Machine Head
- Performed by Christopher Mann
"A No Win Situation"
- Music by Machine Head
- Performed by Christopher Mann
"Queen's English"
- Written by Peter Batchelder, Daniel Holter and Vinny Millevolte
- Courtesy of FirstCom Music, a unit of Zomba Enterprises, Inc.
"Waterfall"
- Written by Ian Brown (as Ian George Brown) and John Squire
- Performed by Stone Roses
- Courtesy of Jive Records under license from BMG Film & TV Music
"I Wanna Be Adored"
- Written by Ian Brown (as Ian George Brown) and John Squire
- Performed by Stone Roses
- Courtesy of Jive Records under license from BMG Film & TV Music
"I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles"
- Written by Jaan Kenbrovin and John Kellette
"Def Beat"
- Written by Tom Holkenborg
- Performed by Junkie XL
- Courtesy of Roadrunner Records
"Seasick"
- Written by Willie Scott
- Courtesy of FirstCom Music, a unit of Zomba Enterprises, Inc.
"One Kick Beyond"
- Written and Produced by Junkie XL
"Stand Your Ground"
- Written by Brett L. Gordon and Alexander Lusty
- Performed by Acarine
- Courtesy of CNR Records
"Morning Song"
- Written and Produced by Junkie XL
"One Blood"
- Written by Charlie Midnight and Ivan Koutikov
- Performed by Terence Jay
"Test of a Man"
- Written and Performed by Dash
"Moving On"
- Written by Reuben Alexander, David Ireland and Kai Lemke
- Performed by Must
- Courtesy of Wind-Up Records, LLC