Fever Pitch (1997 film)

Fever Pitch
UK theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Evans
Screenplay byNick Hornby
Based onFever Pitch: A Fan's Life
by Nick Hornby
Produced byAmanda Posey
Starring
CinematographyChris Seager
Edited byScott Thomas
Music byBoo Hewerdine
Neil MacColl
Production
company
Distributed byFilmFour Distributors[1]
Release date
  • 4 April 1997 (1997-04-04)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Fever Pitch is a 1997 film starring Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell, based loosely on Nick Hornby's best-selling memoir, Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life (1992).[2]

Hornby adapted the book for the screen and fictionalised the story, concentrating on Arsenal's First Division championship-winning season in 1988–89[2] and its effect on the protagonist's romantic relationship. Firth plays Paul Ashworth, the character based on Hornby, a teacher at a school in Muswell Hill, north London, and his romance with Sarah Hughes (Ruth Gemmell), a new teacher who joins Ashworth's school. The film culminates with the real life events of Arsenal's match against title rivals Liverpool in the final game of the season on 26 May 1989, with a last-minute goal by Michael Thomas giving Arsenal the 2–0 win they needed to secure the title.

  1. ^ "Fever Pitch (1996)". BBFC. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Derek Elley (5 April 1997). "Fever Pitch". Variety.com. Retrieved 26 December 2019.