The real case of the Rettendon Murders, which took place in the UK back in 1995, still provokes interest among their citizens. British filmmakers recognized the cinematic potential of that topic and try to exploit it. Until today, there are four films dealing with the events: Gangsters - The Essex Boys (starring Sean Bean), followed by Rise of the Footsoldier, Bonded by Blood and in early 2013, The Fall of the Essex Boys marks the fourth entry.

The here discussed Rise of the Footsoldier is a knockout. This thriller tells a story across several years and manages to set entertaining highlights along this structure. The characters are exceptionally well developed and you get the feeling to be right in the middle of it all. Even though it's inspired autobiographically, it would have been almost impossible to fill a fully fictional gangster story with more visual appeals than are provided here. The level and amount of violence are enormously high, the BBFC 18 rating is well-earned.

Almost 5 years later, director Julian Gilbey went back into the editing room and assembled a prolonged version that offers more than 16 minutes of additional footage. The title Extreme Extended Edition is also fitting since it does deliver on both story enhancement and violence. Even though the film's theatrical runtime was close to 2 hours, the additional plot scenes are actually making an already good film better. Considering the brutality that was already on a high level, the number of extensions in that department are a little surprising, making the events even more tense.


Comparison between the Original Version (included on the German DVD by Ascot Elite) and the British Extreme Extended Edition (included on the UK DVD/BD combo by StudioCanal).

94 differences, consisting of
41 extended scenes
24 scenes with alternate material
15 additional scenes
10 extended scenes with alternate material
2 additional scenes in the OV
1 extended scene in the OV
1 changed scene sequence

The Extended Edition runs 953.64 sec. or approx. 15 minutes 54 seconds longer than the Original Version.

The EX has an additional logo by StudioCanal with a duration of 26 seconds

Extended scene with alternate material
0:00:42: The first difference is right at the beginning. The Extended Version (called EX from now on) opens with a short moment from the finale and offers more and different exterior shots. This is followed by the car and a camera pan slowly moving away from it. The Original Version (OV from now on) is considerably shorter.
The EX runs 42.96 sec. longer

Original Version	Extended Version

Extended Scene
0:03:14: A powerful punch forces the receiver to spit blood against the wall.
1.48 sec.

Extended Scene
0:03:19: Extended brawl.
1 sec.

Extended Scene
0:03:24: Longer as the man gets kicked.
2.64 sec.

Extended Scene
0:04:54: When the two hooligan firms face each other, this is at first longer in the EX.
15.48 sec.

Alternate Material
0:05:14: Alternate and more violent take when young Carlton punches his opponent. While the man spits blood towards the camera in the EX, he doesn't in the OV.
No time difference

Original Version	Extended Version

Alternate Material
0:06:09: Trivial. The EX zooms on Carlton, the OV on his buddy next to him.
No time difference

Alternate Material
0:06:29: The OV shows the train slightly longer. The EX has to additional shots out of the train window instead.
The EX runs 3.52 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:06:35: The guys sing a song about their football club and enjoy themselves.
13.2 sec.

Extended Scene
0:06:56: When the bus breaks down, the group starts chanting against the driver. Probably not very politely.
12.52 sec.

Extended Scene
0:08:03: More brawl.
2.28 sec.

Extended Scene
0:08:07: Carlton hits an enemy in the face, another hooligan punches his opponent's head with a knuckleduster.
1.44 sec.

Extended Scene
0:08:10: Carlton administers another punch in a different shot. After that, there's more indefinable infighting among the members of this intellectual philosophers' meeting.
1.52 sec.

Additional Scene
0:08:19: A hooligan throws a brick into the masses and hits a man in the head. Let's hope that this was an opponent.
0.84 sec.

Additional Scene
0:08:26: Carlton is boxing an enemy in the stomach twice.
1.36 sec.

Alternate Material
0:08:30: Here, the OV is more harmless, only showing guys rolling on the ground. The EX has Carlton's buddy Rob kicking an enemy.
The EX runs 3.08 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:08:37: Carlton's other companion has to take a beating.
6.04 sec.

Extended Scene
0:08:54: Carlton kicks his opponent twice while he already lies on the ground.
3.48 sec.

Extended Scene
0:09:01: Rob has to endure beatings.
4.6 sec.

Alternate Material
0:09:32: The OV shows the screaming Carlton, the EX has a tracking shot of the arriving mob.
No time difference

Alternate Material
0:09:39: OV: the opponents. EX: the approaching mob.
No time difference

Alternate Material
0:09:54: The EX shows the screaming hooligan with the bloody face in a closer shot while the OV has more of the distanced perspective.
The EX runs 0.56 sec. longer

Changed scene sequence: The OV shows the club owner talking to Carlton about vanishing money and taking more responsibility. After that, the scene where he sits at the bar and gives in to the barmaid's advances. In the EX, the order is the opposite.

Extended Scene
0:12:06: The barmaid asks Carlton if he wants a coffee and he agrees. Then his boss comes and is happy about Carlton's performance since there are no complaints and no dead people. He pays him and offers him more work.
26.88 sec.

Alternate Material
0:12:33: When the barmaid offers Carlton a blowjob later in the car, both versions used different takes that are not different in terms of content. The EX just runs longer.
The EX runs 8.28 sec. longer

Extended Scene
0:12:54: Substantially longer sex in the car between Carlton and the barmaid.
17.56 sec.

Extended Scene
0:13:15: Carlton tells the other barmaid that he'd drive her home and that she should hurry up.
5.92 sec.

Additional Scene
0:13:55: Carlton pleases (?) the other barmaid in a dark alley and tells her to stand still while he finishes. After he's done, he tells her to get a bus. How unromantic.
22.72 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:22: Carlton screams at the hostile hooligans.
1.44 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:35: Carlton gets thrown onto the bench.
1.28 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:39: More fighting with the hooded opponent.
1.96 sec.

Extended Scene
0:17:42: The guy with the hood gets punched in the face, the enemies leave the train.
6.08 sec.

Extended Scene
0:18:02: Someone is thrown to the ground, another one falls outside of the train and gets kicked by others.
5.56 sec.

Extended Scene
0:18:36: Longer as Carlton stumbles through the train.
2 sec.

Extended Scene
0:18:41: A little more fighting in the yellow railway waggon.
2.24 sec.

Extended Scene
0:19:29: Another hooligan drags Carlton through the tunnel.
8.48 sec.

Alternate Material
0:20:00: Different shots as Bill Gardner is put into the police car. No substantial changes, therefore no pictures.
No time difference

Additional Scene
0:20:55: Carlton wants to recruit two guys at the gym and starts a conversation about workout. One of them talks about his usage of drugs that allows him to go harder and that Tony supplies him. Tony is shown after that.
23.76 sec.

Extended Scene
0:21:21: As Carlton talks to them, the beginning and end of that scene is longer in the EX. Tony is shown again.
9.92 sec.

Extended Scene
0:23:47: The neighbor's wife tells her husband that Carlton and the guys destroy the neighbor's car. Her husband asks if he is in there, too. After she denies that, he replies sarcastically: "Fucking shame.".
8.6 sec.

Alternate Material
0:24:48: When Eddie explains the new disco hype to Carlton, the OV shows Eddie, the EX shows dancing guests.
No time difference

Extended scene with alternate material
0:28:09: Both versions use different impressions of the disco, the sex scene between Carlton and Denny and also include how they both get a shared home and a baby. The EX shows a little more nudity but in the end, both cuts manage to run identically long.
No time difference

Additional Scene
0:37:49: Carlton is infuriated and tailgates the car in front of him. As the driver reacts with a provocation, Carlton's wrath increases. He overtakes him, forces him to stop, gets out of his car and beats him up. After that, the crying Denny is shown mumbling something about their anniversary. The scene ends with another shot of Carlton punching the driver.
74.96 sec.

Additional Scene in the OV
OV: 0:34:25: A short introduction of the Turkish brothers was deleted in the EX because the following scene shows enough of them.
+ 1.92 sec.

Additional Scene
0:41:55: A long, new scene showing how Carlton visits the Turkish brothers in their HQ. They blame his men for stealing the heroin package and advise him to forget about knowing them because their revenge will end deadly. Carlton thinks that this is a bad option for him because he believes in their innocence. The brothers suggest that they interrogate them on their terms. Carlton finally agrees. Before everyone else arrives at the warehouse, he enters it and looks around.
187.72 sec.

Extended Scene in the OV
OV: 0:37:17: The OV features more off-commentary by Carlton explaining what his men have to expect and that he hid the gun just in case something goes wrong. When the syringe is shown, the OV freezes that shot and additional explanation can be heard by Carlton, basically pointing towards the agreement between him and the Turks.
+ 3.4 sec.

Extended Scene
0:54:54: The phone call between Carlton and the barkeeper is longer in the EX. The barkeeper is very concerned that Carlton wants to kill the brothers right in his pub because he'd have to close down forever if that happens. Carlton is angry, but offers him a little way out by telling him that he'll be there soon and that the barkeeper should send everyone out once he has arrived.
26.84 sec.

Extended scene with alternate material
1:01:00: Two different takes when Carlton gets ready for a meeting with Pat Tate. Denny asks if she should come along and hints that she's worried about him getting it on with other women. The EX shows her going to him and they both kiss erotically before he leaves.
The EX runs 34.44 sec. longer

Extended scene with alternate material
1:04:43: The OV's shot of the blowjob sets in a little earlier while the EX shows the cops going to the car.
2.16 sec.

Original Version	Extended Version

Extended scene with alternate material
1:04:56: The joke about this alteration is that the EX shows Pat trying to extend the blowjob until he comes even though the policemen are already waiting outside. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't deliver. Well, public sex isn't for everyone.
2.92 sec.

Additional Scene
1:05:27: Carlton and Pat talk more about Pat's short visit to Spain. He said that he came back because he got homesick and that certain conveniences aren't available in prison. He then asks Tony for dope and after Tony acts reluctant, he then throws Pat a portion and they all laugh.
24.2 sec.

Additional Scene
1:06:10: While Tony is busy with two women, Carlton comes back from his unpleasant episode with Craig in the restroom. Carlton says that he plans on confronting Craig about that joke he made about Carlton.
15.2 sec.

Alternate Material
1:08:05: Different "introduction" of Craig after the shot of his mother in the flashback.
No time difference

Additional Scene
1:10:05: Craig's girlfriend threatens Tony to call the police on him. He in turn threatens deadly consequences and leaves the house.
14.72 sec.

Extended Scene
1:13:20: Another exterior shot during the dealer's deadly delirium in the EX.
2.72 sec.

Extended Scene
1:13:56: The dealer envisions how he runs through the woods naked.
6.28 sec.

Extended Scene
1:14:05: A short scene showing a damaged face.
1.64 sec.

Extended Scene
1:15:12: Craig spits at the dealer's dead body, enters his car and tells his girlfriend that he's hungry. After that, he starts the car and drives away.
26.6 sec.

Additional Scene in the OV
OV: 1:04:25: Two shots of Craig disposing of the dealer's dead body. Exclusively in the OV.
8.72 sec.

Additional Scene
1:19:14: Firstly, the scene in which Tony and Pat threaten Jimmy's father ends differently. Tony imitates a sheep in the OV and cusses at the father in the EX. This is followed by a new scene involving Carlton and Tony. While Carlton plays the answering machine, Tony consumes cocaine. The call was made by Jimmy threatening Tony to kill him if he doesn't stay away from him and his family. Carlton and Tony are amused but Carlton doesn't like Tony's aggressive attitude. In the end, there are some skyline shots.
61.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:22:28: A little more laughter in bed with the hooker and dope.
4.28 sec.

Extended scene with alternate material
1:22:38: Pumped up by the dope, Pat talks some more rubbish and Tony laughs. This is basically the same in both versions but uses different takes with more fooling around in the EX.
The EX runs 3.6 sec. longer

Alternate Material
1:23:01: Darren consumes coke from the prostitute's breast and both versions show that slightly different. A nice opportunity for pictures.
The EX runs 2.16 sec. longer

Alternate Material
1:23:15: Different shots of the hooker. In the OV, she touches Darren's face while she sits on the bed in the EX.
No time difference

Original Version	Extended Version

Extended Scene
1:23:25: Darren "gets the other breast".
9.16 sec.

Alternate Material
1:23:44: When the lover for money says that they all have so much fun, the EX shows her continuously while the main part of her sentence is heard off-screen in the OV.
No time difference

Alternate Material
1:23:58: The hooker leaves the room completely naked. The EX shows this. We do, too.
No time difference

Extended Scene
1:28:44: Trivial. The view of Carlton and Tony leaving the house is longer in the EX.
4.28 sec.

Extended Scene
1:28:51: Additional shot of the man guarded by dogs.
2.04 sec.

Extended Scene
1:29:11: More breasts.
1.44 sec.

Extended Scene
1:29:13: More dope.
0.76 sec.

Extended Scene
1:29:14: These guys will probably not turn into feminists anytime soon.
9.72 sec.

Extended scene with alternate material
1:29:25: The fun with the hookers is much longer in the EX and almost seems like soft porn. The OV offers a quicker collage.
The EX runs 19.72 sec. longer

Alternate Material
1:32:45: Different shots when Kate moves in with Mickey.
No time difference

Alternate Material
1:33:48: No real improvement with this change. As Carlton talks about Pat's problems, the OV shows the city, the EX shows a car.
No time difference

Extended scene with alternate material
1:34:04: The EX shows Mickey taking a seat next to Kate handing her a glass from which she takes a sip. The OV has an alternate perspective of Kate drinking.
The EX runs 7.56 sec. longer

Extended Scene
1:35:55: The prostitute orders pizza and wants extra cheese and meat. What a pun.
3.84 sec.

Alternate Material
1:36:06: As Pat takes the phone, the EX shows the naked woman while the OV doesn't take its eyes off Pat.
No time difference

Alternate Material
1:36:22: EX: shot of the laughing hooker, OV: shot of the talking Roger.
No time difference

Alternate Material
1:36:38: EX: friendly woman, OV: mad Pat.
No time difference

Extended Scene
1:36:50: The EX shows the hooker once more. It dawns on her that Pat's rage means business.
2.36 sec.

Extended scene with alternate material
1:37:33: Pat threatens the customers to kill them if they tell anybody about his actions. This is followed by bloody impressions of his bloody wrath against Roger. The OV is shorter.
The EX runs 8.6 sec. longer

Additional Scene
1:42:05: Tony, Pat and Craig drive in the car and recognize the police car behind them. 30.08 sec.

Additional Scene
1:43:28: More driving through the wood at night. Tony and Pat look tense.
19.04 sec.

Additional Scene
1:45:32: And again.
6 sec.

Extended Scene
1:46:32: The EX adds that Pat is also shot in the head. Because that is not enough, another shot into the dead body follows. Just to make sure.
8.72 sec.

Extended scene with alternate material
1:46:48: The gangsters leave and we see the dead guys on the ground.
5 sec.

Alternate Material
1:49:20: OV: view of Kate hugged by Mickey, EX: view of the crying Kate, she holds the baby.
No time difference

Alternate Material
1:49:32: OV: Side view of Tony. EX: Flashback with Pat and Kate.
No time difference

Additional Scene
1:54:25: Shot of the driving car.
2.52 sec.

Extended Scene
1:54:42: Craig announces that he's going on vacation with his girlfriend after this. Tony acts offended but then revealing that he's just joking and thinks that it's a nice idea. Mickey thinks so, too.
20 sec.

Additional Scene
1:57:53: Just when you thought that it doesn't get more brutal than this, it does in the EX. Some more shots of the heavily injured bodies of Pat and Tony. Then Mickey shoots Pat in the head once more. Luckily, that's just off-screen.
18.68 sec.

Alternate Material
2:00:17: Different shots of the bodies.
No time difference

Original Version	Extended Version

Alternate Material
2:00:40: Carlton rolls on the floor some more in the OV while the EX shows his daughter going crazy in her mother's arms.
No time difference

The end credits feature different soundtrack in both versions