The Football Factory/Arrivederci Millwall (DVD)

Double bill of British dramas about football violence and hooliganism. 'The Football Factory' (2004) is based on the novel by John King. Tommy Johnson (Danny Dyer) is a bright but bored 30-year-old with a steady job and close-knit family who lives for the weekend life of casual sex, lager, drugs - and violence. Through him we meet three other males in his world: Billy Bright (Frank Harper), a right-wing fascist full of bitterness at a country that he perceives as having failed him; Zeberdee (Roland Manookian), a mouthy hooligan whose life revolves around crime and drugs; and Bill Farrell (Dudley Sutton), a 70-year-old war veteran who tries to enjoy every day to the limit. Shot in documentary style using a handheld camera, the film realistically captures the lure and potency of football violence. 'Arrivederci Millwall' (1990) follows a group of hardcore Millwall supporters as they travel to Bilbao in Spain for England's World Cup matches in 1982. Their rowdy behaviour soon leads them into trouble, and the violence escalates as Billy Jarvis (Kevin O'Donohoe) steals a gun to avenge his brother's death in the Falklands conflict.