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TwentyFourSeven
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (15th July 2025). |
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The Film
 "TwentyFourSeven" (1997) Darcy (played by Bob Hoskins) is a middle-aged man who decides to revive a local boxing gym with the main purpose of giving some hope and positive energy to the teenage boys in the area. As many of them have gone into gang violence and drugs as their daily routine, he tries to enlist the young men into joining him on the journey. He is set to teach them discipline and respect while being able to use physical strength, but there are still obstacles to overcome such as drug addiction, bullying, and trauma from broken homes. "TwentyFourSeven" was the feature film debut of director Shane Meadows, following years of shot on video shorts and the acclaimed hour long television drama "Small Time" in 1996. This was the first time he would be shooting on 35mm film, and it would be on black and white stock, which was a rarity at that time, bearing striking visual similarities to one of the greatest boxing films of all time, "Raging Bull". Although it would share qualities in the visual style and the sporting theme, there is more kinship with director Martin Scorsese’s earlier film "Mean Streets", a film that has been a major influence on Meadow’s career entirely. The use of neighborhood locations that the filmmaker grew up around, the banter between friends and enemies through natural unfiltered dialogue with humor and aggression. Meadows has shown in his features and television productions over the years that he is able to capture raw energy from his cast effectively with a natural sense of dialogue, and while much can be credited to his script writing, much of it comes from the improvisation and input from the young sometimes inexperienced actors. Tim (played by Danny Nussbaum) comes from a home with an abusive father and a depressed mother. His father (played by Bruce Jones) is verbally abusive and easy to get into shouting matches with his son as well a his wife (played by Annette Badland), and is not keen to see any positivity from his son or elsewhere. Even when he learns about Tim’s foray into boxing with Darcy, there is no support at all. Fagash (played by Mat Hand) is constantly in the cycle of drug addiction, being in and out of juvenile centers and is not keen to change his life at all. But like Tim, Darcy sees there is hope for him by giving him support, and in his case even stands up for him in court, representing Fagash and giving him one more chance to make himself decent. Daz (played by Darren Campbell) and Benny (played by Johann Myers) are in rival local gangs, and the confrontation scene is summed up well with the spit on the crisps scene. They may be against each other on the streets, but Darcy is giving them new rules of the game to keep their differences aside and strive for discipline. Then there is Tonka (played by James Corden), who is not at all a bad kid, but a chubby kid, in which his father Ronnie (played by Frank Harper) brings him to the boxing club in order to man-up his son a bit. While Tonka is quite scared at first, Darcy is putting in extra care for the young boy, making sure that he is treated better at the boxing club than in school or the streets. For the boys, there is either no father figure at all or a distant father figure. None of them have one that cheers them on. Darcy might be the first time they have had someone like a father actually take part in their lives and throughout the story it shows how much heart can be brought to these kids that had their lives only going in a downward direction. But Darcy himself is not perfect either. Darcy is a loner, without a family or friends of his own age, and though it is never stated about his past, he does not have the same vigor and confidence when it comes to women. We do see him try to make some conversation with the shop clerk Jo (played by Jo Bell), and while he would like to ask her out on a date or make small talk, his nervousness takes over as his words become less clear, with Jo only seeing him as a customer and nothing more. He might also be a man that teaches about discipline and holding in anger and frustration, but he is also one that has pent up emotions within. Not just with people, but the whole situation in town and how nothing is being done to support the local youths. Hoskins does an excellent job as the struggling coach, having a tough side but tender heart. Though he’s played many tough characters in his past both in England and in Hollywood, this role in this independent low budget work is quite exceptional. Meadows stated that he wrote the part with only Hoskins in mind, and it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role. It’s also interesting to see early roles from actors like Danny Nussbaum, Johann Myers, and James Corden at an early age playing their roles quite well and shaping a team together. The screenplay by Meadows and his childhood friend and co-writer Paul Fraser is lean but quite heavy in context, and one that doesn’t overexplain yet gives a good amount of depth for each character and the situations they are in. Another fantastic element to the film is the soundtrack cues. Meadows has fantastic taste in music as is seen in many of his later works, and the choices made here with classics by Van Morrison and Tim Buckley, plus contemporaries with The Charlatans and Sunhouse. Sunhouse is notable as it was the band led by Meadows’ close friend Gavin Clark who helped compose the music for "Small Time" for Meadows the previous year. "TwentyFourSeven" featured two songs from Sunhouse’s upcoming then untitled debut album, but the hype and acclaim did not lead to fans or sales, resulting in the band splitting up soon after. Although Clark would continue music with the new band Clayhill in the early 2000s, mainstream success eluded him. Meadows shot a documentary short on Clark entitled “The Living Room” in 2007. From there he started to find some acclaim for his work, from the found notable acclaim with his soundtrack compositions for Meadows feature "Somers Town" in 2008, as well as with his collaborations with UNKLE on three of their albums. His soothing vocals were a far cry from his descent into alcoholism, which unfortunately led to his death in 2015 at the age of 46. Without spoiling too much of the tragedy towards the end, one of the most memorable moments is the funeral scene which in turn becomes the end credits of the film. The surviving characters are gathered, which shows the fates of certain characters (whether in marriage or with coming out of the closet, etc.) while the cast members’ names are displayed. While it may be distracting in some films which take the viewers out of the story, it is very pleasingly done in this case, giving gratitude for the performers on screen while they are still in character. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31st, 1997, followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and the BFI London Film Festival in November. Following a few more screenings at international festivals, the film received a UK theatrical release from April 3rd, 1998. The film was highly acclaimed upon release and received multiple awards at Venice, the European Film Awards, the British Independent Film Awards, and elsewhere. Nearly thirty years later, the film has received its first Blu-ray release from the BFI. Note this is a region B Blu-ray
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p AVC MPEG-4. A 35mm fine grain duplicating positive was scanned and restored at 2K resolution. The transfer here is great, focusing on the details found within the black and white, with great detail and clarity found. The image has been cleaned to remove any unsightly damage while retaining the film grain. Greyscale is excellent, showcasing the bright whites and sharp blacks. There are some minor issues of greyscale fluctuation found in backgrounds at times and some portions in which there is slightly more grain that usual, though it seems to be inherent to the source material. The transfer is not from the original negative but one generation away, and while it may have given an extra level of sharpness if it were used, but this 2K restoration is still a very good one. The film's runtime is 96:17.
Audio
English LPCM 2.0 stereo The original stereo audio is offered in uncompressed form. It is a dialogue heavy feature so voices are centered and sound very clear throughout. Stereo separation is used well for soundtrack cues as well as background effects such as during the competition with the noise from around the gym and the spectators. Dialogue, music and effects are well balanced, and there are no issues of dropout or damage to be heard. A great effort with the remastering of the audio. There are optional English HoH subtitles for the main feature, in a white font which are easy to read and well timed.
Extras
Audio commentary by Andrew Graves (2025) This new and exclusive commentary has Andrew Graves, the author of “Welcome to the Cheap Seats: Silver Screen Portrayals of the British Working Class”. Discussed are about Meadows’ use of music, the casting of Hopkins against the young actors as well as pointing out some of the notable names, the use of natural language, information on characters and the themes of teen disillusion in the suburbs of the period, and much more. While there is a lot of good information, there is surprisingly little on details of the actual production itself, and also not too much about where the film fits within Meadows’ full filmography. in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles The Guardian Interview: Shane Meadows and Bob Hoskins (1997) (79:11) This on stage chat has Meadows and Hoskins discussing the film with critic Derek Malcolm after a screening at the BFI National Film Theatre on November 20th, 1997. Talked about are Darcy’s character and the real life counterpart from Meadows’ past, the depiction of the estates in Nottingham, the casting of Hoskins in the lead, Meadows’ time making shorts, Hoskins’ early career and his Hollywood years, their lament for British features not getting enough attention in their home country, and much more. There are some audience questions at the end, but because they are not given microphones, it is near impossible to hear what their questions were. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Ritchie, The World’s Light-Weight Boxing Champion" 1914 newsreel (0:44) Willie Ritchie was an American boxer that held the title of world lightweight champion from 1912 to 1914. This vintage newsreel short shows Ritchie while training for his upcoming fight against British lightweight champion Freddie Welsh. The fight took place on July 7th, 1914, and Welsh would become the new world champion. The newsreel starts with tinted red titles, though the footage itself is in black and white. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, Music LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Twelve Hours Punching" 1924 newsreel (1:38) Presented here is a Topical Budget newsreel from a boxing tournament at Alexandra Palace in 1924 with amateur boxers in the ring. The black and white image is quite good with greyscale and sharpness, though there is some major damage towards the end on the left half of the frame. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, Music LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Trailers (with Play All) (4:24) - Trailer 1 (2:08) - Trailer 2 (2:15) Two original UK trailers are presented here, both slightly differing in scenes shown and music cues used. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.85:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Booklet The first pressing includes a 24 page booklet. First is the essay “Spitting on Your Chips: Class, Shane Meadows and TwentyFourSeven” by Andrew Graves. There is a lot of good information on the film and its surroundings here, with not much overlap between his commentary track. Next is “Down the Pub, Into the Ring; A Nottingham Boxing Story” by Caj Sohal, which looks at the locations and the imagery shown of the city, and his personal experience of going to (and quickly quitting) a boxing club. Then there is “If You’ve Never Had Anything to Believe in, You’ll Always Be Poor: Men and Masculinity in TwentyFourSeven” by Tim Coleman focusing on the differing male relationships shown in the story. There are also full film credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements, and stills from the production which are printed in color. It is always a surprise to see color shots from a well known black and white film, though it can be a bit jarring. The film was previously released on the DVD format in the UK by Optimum Releasing. This included a commentary by Meadows and Fraser, which was a first for both of them. They have some good laughs and give a lot of great information on the production and funny anecdotes such as Hand’s nude shots and why they could not be reshot because of an odd continuity reason. Meadows is always great to listen to, and it’s a shame that it could not be included on the Blu-ray, presumably due to rights issues. The DVD also included Meadows’ 2000 black and white boxing short "Three Tears For Jimmy Prophet", which is also sadly missing from the Blu-ray release. While the BFI’s Blu-ray is great with the included extras, fans will still want to keep the Optimum DVD for those excellent extras. It’s also unfortunate that Meadows was not involved in any new extras like a retrospective interview, though it may be due to his busy schedule with the production of “Chork”, filmed earlier this year and set for release in 2026. Other notable clips: A clip from the film, courtesy of the BFI The Charlatans performing "Norht Country Boy" Sunhouse performing "Monkey Dead" Sunhouse performing "Crazy on the Weekend" "The Living Room" by Shane Meadows (2007)
Overall
"TwentyFourSeven" is an exceptional first feature length film from director Shane Meadows, who has gone on to a wonderfully great career showcasing the youth and the working class of Britain in a number of works. With great performances from Hoskins and the younger performers, it's an absolute gem of independent British filmmaking that still stands strong nearly three decades later. The BFI's Blu-ray is great with a strong transfer and a great selection of extras, though note it does not port over the older Optimum Releasing DVD extras. Still comes as highly recommended. Amazon UK link
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