Pirate Radio Sails Home on April 13th

You better find your sea legs, because on April 13th Universal Home Video will release Pirate Radio on DVD and Blu-ray. All aboard the Radio Rock!

When Carl (Tom Sturridge) gets kicked out of school, his mother decides he’d be better off living with his godfather. I don’t know what she was thinking, because Carl’s godfather is Quentin (Bill Nighy), the head honcho aboard Radio Rock. The vessel operates as a rogue radio station, broadcasting from the middle of the North Sea just outside of government jurisdiction where they can safely defy the BBC’s monopoly on radio services. But back on the mainland, minister Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh) has made it his top priority to outlaw pirate radio entirely.

Anyone with an appreciation for music, particularly 1960s rock, will thoroughly enjoy Pirate Radio. On top of its impressive soundtrack including the tunes of The Kinds, The Beach Boys, and The Who, the film has a stellar ensemble cast. On top of Nighy, Branagh, and Sturridge, there’s Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris O’Dowd, Nick Frost, Rhys Darby, Gemma Arterton, and Emma Thompson.

The movie is a bit lengthy, so you might need a short break before moving on to the bonus material. When you do, there’s an abundance to explore. The DVD version only comes with commentary from Frost, O’Dowd, director Richard Curtis, and producer Hilary Bevan Jones and some deleted scenes, but the Blu-ray edition adds on six featurettes and BD-Live access. The featurettes include "Tuning In," "7 of Heaven," "All at Sea," "Getting Ship Shape," "Hitting the Decks," and "Mark's Love Den."

Pricing details have yet to be announced.