The Rack Pack

The Rack Pack is a 2016 British comedy-drama television film about professional snooker during the 1970s through the 1980s, focusing on the intense rivalry between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. The film is directed by Brian Welsh and was released on BBC iPlayer on 17 January 2016.

The Rack Pack
Directed byBrian Welsh
Written by
  • Mark Chappell
  • Alan Connor
  • Shaun Pye
Produced byBarney Reisz
CinematographyZac Nicholson
Edited byBen Yeates
Production
company
Zeppotron
Distributed byBBC iPlayer
Release date
  • 17 January 2016 (2016-01-17)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Cast

Release

BBC released The Rack Pack in January 2016 as an exclusive on its media service iPlayer to be available for 12 months. The Guardian's Mark Lawson said while this was not the first exclusive on BBC's service, "It clearly feels the most ambitious, and the one that might otherwise have been expected to be conventionally screened."[1] The film ranked in the top twenty requested programmes on iplayer for January and racked up over a million requests in its first three months of release. It had its television premiere on BBC Two later in the year.[2]

Reception

Rachel Ward of The Daily Telegraph said of the film's comedy, "The humour was gentle, coming from a wry recognition of the era's excesses." She said, "The film expertly gave depth to the character of Davis, with Merrick managing to convey a controlled stillness, as the future six-time world champion grew from nerdy teenager to confident ace."[3]

References
  1. Lawson, Mark (18 January 2016). "The Rack Pack: is the BBC trying to snooker Netflix?". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  2. "BBC iPlayer Original 'The Rack Pack' is to be broadcast on BBC Two following iPlayer success" (Press release). BBC Media Centre. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  3. Ward, Rachel (1 May 2016). "The Rack Pack: 'an affectionate obituary for Alex Higgins'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
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