Hooligan movies are not necessarily about street fights or battling for turf. They’re about something more instinctual — the chaos of youth, the need to belong, the quiet desperation of trying to escape a life already planned out for you. These movies don’t ask for sympathy or forgiveness. They merely show you what it’s like to live on the outside, where loyalty pains and every choice feels heavy. Here is a list of movies that don’t scream — they linger, long after the credits stop rolling.
Content
- Kicking Off
- The Firm
- Green Street Hooligans
- The Football Factory
- Rise of the Footsoldier
- The Hooligan Factory
- Cass
- Gangs of New York
- Streets of Fire
- Ultras
Kicking Off
IMDb: 6.5/10
2013, Drama
Russia, Age rating not specified
Director: Anton Bormatov
Top Cast: Mikhail Chubaev, Pavel Erlikov, Ivan Fominov
This is the story of a bunch of die-hards who have built their lives around football. But the action isn’t just on the pitch — it’s in the overnight train compartments, the dirty alleys, the fraying bonds held together by war stories and bruised pride.
What holds them together is strong, but not unbreakable. Tensions rise, loyalties shift, and the rush of belonging starts to come with a price.
When it hit Russian cinemas, it hit a nerve. Not because it glorified the scene, but because it didn’t. The film doesn’t flinch. It gets into the raw, unvarnished reality of these lives where every chant, every punch, every silence means something.
The Firm
IMDb: 7.2/10
1989, Drama
UK, TV-14
Director: Alan Clarke
Top Cast: Gary Oldman, Lesley Manville, Phil Davis
At the heart of this nasty little British film is Bex — a guy who doesn’t just watch football. He lives it. Breathes it. Maybe even loses himself in it. But it’s not really about the game. It’s about the fights — the firm. His crew. Match days turn into battlegrounds, and for them, that’s the whole point. Conflict isn’t just expected — it’s the code.
The violence doesn’t stay in the streets or spill out in bars. It seeps into everything. His home life starts to crack. The way he talks. The way he looks at himself once the adrenaline wears off. You can see it.
Gary Oldman was brilliant here. Not the Hollywood version — this is raw, twitchy, dangerous. You can’t look away.
And no, this isn’t a film about football. It’s about losing your grip. About control slipping one fight at a time. It’s about a man so deep in the fire that he doesn’t notice he’s the one lighting the match.
Green Street Hooligans
IMDb: 7.4/10
2005, Crime, Drama, Sport
USA, UK, R
Director: Lexi Alexander
Top Cast: Elijah Wood, Charlie Hunnam, Claire Forlani
So you’ve got Matt — an American kid who ends up in England after getting booted from university over something he didn’t even do. He’s not really running, but he’s definitely not sticking around either. Just wants to vanish for a bit, maybe hit reset. Then he meets Pete and the lot — this crew of football fanatics who operate by their own rules and don’t care much for the outside world.
At first, it feels good. Chants, beers, brotherhood — stuff Matt’s never really had. But that comfort doesn’t last long. The fights? They aren’t just part of the scene. Pretty soon, they are on the scene. And Matt’s in deep before he knows it.
Elijah Wood nails that slow-burn kind of performance. Matt’s always watching, always just a bit off-center — like he’s waiting for the floor to drop out. No gloss, no hero vibes. Just this quiet spiral.
The Football Factory
IMDb: 6.7/10
2004, Crime, Drama
UK, R
Director: Nick Love
Top Cast: Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan
Tommy Johnson lives fast and even loud. His world was full of football, beer, and fists flying outside stadiums like clockwork. He rides with a crew built for chaos — boys who ride the chaos, the roar, the impact. It’s all he’s ever really known. And for a while that was enough.
But then… something breaks. The fights start to feel hollow. The bruises don’t heal as fast. Mornings start to feel wrong, like something’s off, but you can’t put your finger on it. He starts having weird dreams. Starts questioning things he never used to. The life? It starts to feel less like freedom and more like a cage he built himself.
When the film dropped in the UK, it hit hard — and for good reason. It doesn’t pull any punches. No filters. Just straight into that messy space between the buzz and the fallout. Where identity gets tangled up with violence. Where being part of something costs more than it’s worth.
Rise of the Footsoldier
IMDb: 6.8/10
2007, Biography, Crime, Drama
UK, R
Director: Julian Gilbey
Top Cast: Ricci Harnett, Craig Fairbrass, Terry Stone
Rise of the Footsoldier isn’t just some gangster film — it’s Carlton Leach’s story. He rises up as a football lad, fists up on the terraces, chasing scraps like it’s a badge of honor. But it doesn’t stop there. Not for him. The fights get bloody. The heat gets turned up. Before long he’s neck-deep in drugs, crime, and the kind of violence that doesn’t leave bruises — it leaves bodies.
And this isn’t some made-up, overblown drama either. It’s based on real events, ripped straight from the chaos of the UK’s underworld in the 80s and 90s. Football culture was just the front door. What was inside was darker, messier, and a hell of a lot more dangerous.
The film has a reputation for a reason. It’s gritty, yeah — but also relentless. No gloss, no glamour. Just a man getting pulled under by the very world he thought he could control. That’s why it resonated with so many.
The Hooligan Factory
IMDb: 4.8/10
2014, Comedy
UK, Age rating not specified
Director: Nick Nevern
Top Cast: Jason Maza, Nick Nevern, Tom Burke
This one’s different. The Hooligan Factory follows Danny, young, dumb, and dreaming way too big for his own good. He thinks he’s going to be a legend in the world of football hooliganism… only problem is, he has no idea what he’s doing. Enter Dex — an ex-con, washed up and barely holding it together — who decides for some reason, to take Danny under his wing. Joined their crew, they set up their company: The Hooligan Factory. And yeah, it’s as chaotic and doomed as it sounds.
What happens next? Mayhem. Missteps. Lots of shouting. And a whole lot of idiots trying too hard to be hard. But that’s the point. This isn’t about glorifying street fights — it’s taking the piss out of the whole genre. The film goes full parody, sending up every hooligan film that’s come before it, with cheeky references, ridiculous set pieces, and no shame.
It’s the perfect watch if you love football culture but aren’t afraid to laugh at just how wild — and let’s be honest, how stupid — it can all get when taken too seriously.
Cass
IMDb: 6.5/10
2008, Biography, Crime, Drama
UK, Age rating not specified
Director: Jon S. Baird
Top Cast: Nonso Anozie, Gavin Brocker, Leo Gregory
CASS hits you so strongly because it is true. It is the tale of Cass Pennant — a black child adopted by white people brought up in England who is living where he cannot shake the reality that he is different. And from the off, it’s fists up, defenses high. He’s fighting to be respected, to have room to breathe, to live. And throughout, that is the struggle.
Cass winds up where he is meant to be, in the footy firm, where violence is currency and brutality speaks loudly. He is made huge — big, to be feared, to be untouchable. But to live like that? That wears you out. Little by little, he begins to doubt the life he is living and to wonder if there is more to it than street cred and scars. Even for those like him, perhaps change is possible.
If you’re into true stories, crime, or anything about identity and redemption, this one’s worth your time.
Gangs of New York
IMDb: 7.5/10
2002, Crime, Drama
USA, Italy, R
Director: Martin Scorsese
Top Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
Against the backdrop of New York’s 1860s gory streets, Gangs of New York is less about revenge than about the destruction of the city to be born. Amsterdam is at the epicenter, having gone back to the Five Points with one purpose: killing the one who killed his father. That one? Bill the Butcher — ruthless, charming, and already an underworld legend.
But revenge doesn’t come easy when you’re standing in the middle of chaos. Amsterdam comes near Bill, complicating things. Hate is entangled with respect. The power dynamics alter. And it is no longer about revenge — it is about deciding who you want to be once the streets are doing it for you.
Streets of Fire
IMDb: 6.7/10
1984, Action, Crime, Drama, Music, Romance, Thriller
USA, PG
Director: Walter Hill
Top Cast: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis
Streets of Fire is a genre-bending movie. It drops you into a world that’s half greaser fantasy '50s, half rock opera '80s: a world of leather jackets, neon lights, flying fists to the rhythm of driving music. The scenario? A rock legend is kidnapped by an organization out of your worst nightmare. And the one man who can save her? Her old boyfriend — a brooding, tough-talking type with a jaw of steel and an off-screen softness he’s keeping to himself.
What follows is part rescue mission, part showdown, part love story tangled in flames and guitar riffs. There are gunfights and heartbreak, hard stares, and power ballads.
Ultras
IMDb: 6.0/10
2020, Drama
Italy, TV-MA
Director: Francesco Lettieri
Top Cast: Aniello Arena, Ciro Nacca, Antonia Truppo
Ultras takes us to Naples, where football is not only a game — but a lifestyle. To the Ultras, it is about deep loyalty — deeper than songs, deeper than fists. And at the heart is Sandro — an old school warrior who has seen it all. Years of living on the edge of violence, but regret is gaining quickly. Age is catching up quickly too. He is drained. Tired of the violence. Tired of watching the people he loves fall victim to it. Something more is required — or out.
Then there’s Angelo. Young, wide-eyed, and ready to throw himself into the same world Sandro’s trying to leave behind. When they cross paths, it’s not just a friendship — it’s a lifeline. For both of them. Angelo sees a mentor. Sandro sees a second chance. Together, they try to carve out a different kind of future. One that doesn’t end in a fight or a jail cell.
This isn’t the loudest film on the list, but it might be the most honest. Ultras don’t glamorize anything. It just shows — the adrenaline, the pain, the broken brotherhood.
