Instant Replay: Green Street Hooligans

Viewed as probably the best film detailing football fighting, Green Street features complex and divided characters yet is ultimately a simple movie — to the violent men depicted, there is simply nothing more important than scrapping with a rival firm and grabbing bragging rights.

For episode five of Instant Replay, Alex chops it up with his old compadre Liam Nash regarding yet another classic sporting film.

General plot?

Harvard journalism student Matt Buckner is kicked out of school after taking the fall for his roommate's stash of drugs being found and relocates to London where his sister is married to Steve Dunham with a child. Quickly, Buckner is paired up with his brother-in-law's brother Pete Dunham, who he learns runs a notorious West Ham-supporting football firm called the Green Street Elite. Dunham explains football clubs have violent supporter groups that aren't so concerned about winning matches, but rather squaring up with an opponent's gang for a vicious fight, with upholding reputations the most important factor.

At his first match, Buckner is jumped by Birmingham fans but — with Dunham and the GSE's help — he fends this attack off and quickly develops a passion for his new mates, fighting, and life as a hooligan. But Bovver, the GSE's second-in-charge, does not like the American's growing influence within the firm, and when he discovers Matt is a former journalist and keeping a diary of his time in England, assumes he is an undercover journalist seeking to reveal the firm's underground secrets to the world. When Pete stands by Matt, Bovver takes matters into his own hands, ratting out Pete and his brother Steve — a former GSE top boy — to fierce rival Millwall firm leader Tommy Hatcher.

In a savage fight, Tommy settles an old score by stabbing Steve in the throat and, while he fights for his life in hospital, a massive retaliation bout is planned. A badly-injured Pete is beaten to death by Tommy, at which point the severity of the situation and the pointlessness of the fighting seems to sink in for both sides.

Talking points?

Alex: For such a dark, violent and barbaric concept, Green Street is particularly rewatchable. What makes it like that for you?

Liam: Although harbouring fairly sinister undertones, it provides a particularly accurate insight into British football culture and hooliganism, which has been largely untouched on the silver screen since — a factor which I believe grants the film a timeless sticker of approval. Everything from the authentic slang and colloquial interaction between GSE members, to the attire and mannerisms (peep the Stone Island drip everywhere), most of what is portrayed in Lexi Alexander's jarring work can be witnessed at any pub or stadium in the United Kingdom on any given weekend.

Alex: It is a particularly dark subject matter, not made any brighter by the film's major events — the stabbing of Steve and the murder of Pete. Look no further than the one-sided beatdown the GSE took late in the film for evidence this is not your typical Hollywood flick, as (outside of Matt's ridiculous return to Harvard to clear his name) we didn't really get a fairytale ending.

Acting/casting notes?

Alex: The lead role of Matt is played by Elijah Wood — did you buy Frodo as an aspiring hooligan?

Liam: I might be swaying left of the norm, but the contrast Elijah Wood provides against a largely ‘chavvy’ cast works well for me as a viewer. His acting prowess actually masks some of the film's minor flaws (take Charlie Hunnam's (Pete) weird concoction of London accents for example), and although he is never truly integrated as a fully-fledged hooligan, his transition from start to finish shows plenty of character growth.

How realistic is the sporting action?

Alex: Let's be honest; while football gives the fighting some context, it means little more than that in Green Street. For the record, the one football scene sees West Ham knock off Birmingham 3-0.

But how realistic is the severity of the fighting? It is hard to answer anything other than very. There's been legitimate deaths on both sides from this rivalry; violence caused the death of a Millwall fan in 1976, while a West Ham fan was murdered in 1986. Even just a decade back when the sides were drawn for a rare match-up in the League Cup, there were multiple pitch invasions and pre-match violence had a Millwall fan stabbed.

Liam: The deep-seated hatred between rival firms was well represented in the film's fight scenes, while visual imagery such as large snaking crowds spilling out from the pubs to the stadium serves as precursor to how instances of intoxicated tomfoolery can easily take a turn for the worse at such emotionally-charged events.

Favourite scene?

Alex: Pete's introduction at Steve's and Shannon's house is incredible. He swaggers in ("aye, aye bruv!"), heads straight to the fridge and helps himself to a cold one, says hello to his sister-in-law ("Jesus Shannon, you look rough"), badgers their baby child to the point of tears by screaming a West Ham song in its face, before just totally belittling Matt. He goes on to ask/demand 100 quid from Steve, money he only gets on the proviso he takes Matt to the football match. In less than two minutes, we pretty much know exactly what Pete is all about.

Liam: In a similar vein to Pete's intro, Bovver's first on-screen interaction purveys the sort of person the filmmaker wants us to get to know. After Matt is welcomed with fairly open arms by the rest of the crew, Bovver's frosty nature is evident as he completely disregards the American's embrace, and immediately begins berating him in front of the others as if he isn't there. Straight away, the film's ‘Judas Ascariot’ drives a wedge between the two protagonists within a matter of seconds, creating a thick tension to only increase as the film progresses.

Alex: And there's a bunch more truly iconic scenes. The first day at the pub where they belt out West Ham's songs and discuss The Karate Kid in great detail and Matt's first fight where he nearly cops a Chelsea Grin stand out, before the two major fights.

Liam: The final fight scene with One Blood playing in the background is a chilling setup, similar to a Braveheart battle or something of that ilk. In that scene, the tragedy and petty hate between the rivals can be summed up by Pete who bellows at Hatcher in an attempt to save Matt and his sister: "We didn't kill your son Tommy, you did. You should've protected him. He was your son!”

Alex: I did mean to bring this up. Can you think of many more ludicrous decisions in movies than Shannon realising her brother and brother-in-law had gone to a fight, then driving there herself to try and stop them? And then she gets out of the car, just truly putting herself right in harm's way. What was she thinking?

Best quote?

“See, now that's just plain rude. But hey, if you fancy it, who are we to let you down?" — Pete to Tottenham supporters when they come looking for a fight.

“You don't run. Not when you're with us. You stand your ground and fight." — Pete to Matt when confronted by 50-plus Birmingham fans.

“Millwall and West Ham firms hate each other more than any other firms by far.” "Sort of like the Yankees and the Red Sox.'' "More like the Israelis and the Palestinians." — Pete describing the animosity between the two rival firms.

“Fancy a pint?" "No." "Oh come on, you're the one who's got to buy the bleeding thing." — Pete to Matt after they each come to blows with Steve.

“Once you've taken a few punches and realised you're not made of glass, you don't feel alive unless you're pushing yourself as far as you can go." — Matt summarising his new-found love of fighting.

“Me old mate Bovver. You never could turn down a good scrap." — Pete to Bovver after he returns from exile to attend the final fight.