Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Wordiezett So much average

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

tomgillespie2002 Long before Nick Love was helping stockpile DVD bargain bins with those terrible football hooligan movies (including a remake of this film), Alan Clarke - the highly underrated director responsible for such landmark British TV dramas Scum (1979) and Made in Britain (1982) - released The Firm, causing a moral public outcry that was the fashion of Thatcher-era Britain in the process. On the surface, it seems to glamorise these yobs and their violent tendencies, but viewing it in hindsight, it's actually about a Britain suddenly awash with money during the 'Lawson Boom', with the thugs caught up in it having grown bored and seeking out that extra buzz they receive from brutality.Although they are essentially 'football' hooligans, Clarke makes a point of showing little of the game itself. Apart from the glimpse of Arsenal's old Highbury stadium and a Sunday-league kick-about at the start, the beautiful game is little more than an excuse for these idiots to go to town on each other. ICC ringleader Bex (Gary Oldman) hopes to unite rival firms in order to take on the Europeans in the upcoming Europeans Championships, but his opposite numbers, including the particularly loathsome Yeti (Philip Davis) of the Buccaneers, inform him that his firm must rumble with theirs first if he wants to be top dog. This however is only a loose plot that binds together what is ultimately a slice-of-life approach.While the media portrayed these men as disaffected youth, a lot of them were in fact middle-class, able to afford fancy cars and suburban housing. Bex is happily married with a young son, making a comfortable living as an estate agent. When his son picks up his father's Stanley knife and starts to chew it, Bex's domestic life is thrown into disarray. It's in these quieter moments that the film is at its most disturbing, and in truth, there is less violence on show than the controversy drummed up on its release would have you believe. And when it does come - a young ICC member gets a particularly nasty face slashing - its all the more powerful. The open-ended final scene holds back from making any overt social or political statements but instead lingers with an observant fascination at these lager-swilling arseholes. Like with Scum and Made in Britain, The Firm defines the mentality of Britain at the time, and features what is undoubtedly Oldman's finest performance.

Theo Robertson This was regarded at one point as being the greatest ever film to feature football hooliganism so much so that when Nick Love remade it in 2009 you'd think he'd committed the worst cultural taboo imaginable judging by some reactions . To be fair to Love his remake wasn't so much a remake but more of a reworking of the original story where a peripheral character became the story's focus and where character dynamics were completely different . Even so the original version of THE FIRM has gained such a reputation over the years it's almost like the holy grail of hooligan films . After seeing it again I have to question why this is ? Certainly it's a very entertaining film but not necessarily for the right reasons . The story centres around which football firm will be leading the charge of English football violence at the 1988 Euro Championship in West Germany . It's dog eat dog , survival of the fittest as a group of well known British actors from EASTENDERS , ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES and CORONATION ST try and mince one another to death . It's WWF meets Derek Jarman as they try and come up with the meanest put down while trying to act all tough and macho . I'll give the cast some credit and say they must have put a lot of rehearsal in to this because the lines are genuinely funny even though one suspects they weren't supposed to be Alan Clarke seems a strange choice as director . Regarded as one of the greats of British realist cinema and whose inspiration is still felt today he can't really make the characters or situations any more realistic than the cartoonish characters appear to be on the written page . Worse than that his realist style seems to jar with the genuinely cartoonish witty one liners that contradicts the feeling this might in anyway be a realist film . His use of steadicam used so effectively in SCUM is slightly distracting THE FIRM also suffers from a very dated feel . The thugs seen here are relatively old and affluent and you can see there's a slight social commentary equating soccer violence with Thatcherism and social mobility . But at the end of the day everything about it has a camp feel and one wonders if the demise of the football hooligan had a lot to do with them being portrayed as latent homosexuals which is definitely a feeling you get with this film

AlistairJones A short but great movie. Gary Oldman's acting is nuts in portraying a psycho hooligan. The ending is short, sharp and left me chilled.It's a fair point from other posters that in their hey-day the ICF had a hell of a lot more numbers than shown in the film. However Oldman's acting stands out and whilst people say the production is poor I feel this adds to the 80s effect. Oldman's character, a run of the mill middle class lad, is very convincing in how he becomes a crazed hooligan on match days and when out with the lads. The knock on effects on his bad treatment of his wife and baby adds to the reality.I'd recommend anyone to watch this movie, as long as you're not offended by violence. It's only just over an hour of your time and leaves a powerful message.

Bon_Jovi_chick I only watched this film last night and despite its short length, its really good. One of the very few films that Gary shows off a lovely British accent. You see Gary as a proud guy who is violent but also has a heart and cares for his wife and child.I recommend this film to hard core Gary Oldman fans only though. Others may not like its content.Is there no film that Gary cant do!!!!10/10