HILLSBOROUGH (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television drama film explores the true story of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed 96 lives, and its complicated aftermath. The story begins as members of several Sheffield families, including the Spearritts, the Hicks and the Glovers, excitedly prepare to attend the F.A. Cup semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on April 15, while elsewhere newly-instated Chief Superintendent David Duckenfield sternly addresses his policemen about controlling the event, stating that no one is to be allowed in if drunk or ticketless. On the day of the game, Trevor Hicks drops off his two teenage daughters, Vicki and Sarah, promising to meet them after the match, and Ian Glover enters with his brother Joe. Many fans are directed to the Leppings Lane entrance, though the crowd soon grows chaotic and the commentators within the stadium observe that the areas behind the goal are overcrowding, though the side areas, possibly intended for the "neutrals," are partially empty. When a policeman frantically radios the control booth and state that "someone will be killed" if the internal gate is not opened, Duckenfield hurriedly gives the order to do so. Many fans swarm in through an unsupervised tunnel, and one survivor notes that had it been closed as it normally was, the spectators would have moved into separate pens and avoided disaster.
The crowd in the pen tightens dangerously, forcing some fans to vault onto the field itself, and Duckenfield declares a "pitch invasion" and dispatches many more policemen to the scene. Ian and many others lose consciousness as a result of the crush, and the game is halted mere minutes into the game at 3:06 PM and panic ensues as many people desperately try to revive their friends and relatives. Duckenfield tells the secretary of the F.A. that ticketless Liverpool fans forced their way in and forced the fans at the front against the gate, and television news programs begin reporting on the incident. Many ambulances outside the stadium are turned away, though Vicki is rushed off to the hospital and Trevor is forced to leave Sarah behind. Many others are taken to a nearby gymnasium, and Joe is devastated when Ian is declared dead. Trevor learns that Vicki has also perished, though his wife Jenni, arriving on the scene, assumes that the fans have been merely injured. A young cop, Tony Edwards, stares in disbelief at the dozens of bodies in the gym, wondering if anyone "even tried" to save them, knowing that very few ambulances were allowed inside the stadium. Jenni finds Trevor and learns that Vicki is gone, and they search frantically for Sarah as a senior policemen quietly instructs the officers not to write anything incriminating in their official notebooks. Jenni and many other frightened family members are shown graphic Polaroids of the dead, and Jenni and Trevor soon find their second daughter's body.
The stunned and grieving relatives give their official statements, and they are offended by the cops' belligerent attitudes and repeated questions about alcohol consumption, with Trevor feeling that they were "treated like scum." Reporters hound the Hicks parents at home, and Trevor states that the aftermath of the tragedy was even more incomprehensible than the incident itself. The media, particularly the infamous Sun newspaper, begins to blame the victims and other fans, printing sensationalist stories about how they robbed the corpses and urinated on the cops as they attempted to help, furthering distressing the families. Adam Spearritt's father Eddie struggles with his fury towards the police in general as he and the other parents prepare to bury their children, but they are encouraged when Lord Justice Taylor launches an official inquiry and determines that the Liverpool fans were not to blame and that drunkenness was not a factor. The number of available turnstiles is called into question, as is the decision not to close the tunnel, and the families are relieved when the police, particularly Duckenfield, are criticized for their lack of action.
Eddie and several others declare that the report is not enough, however, feeling that someone should be held criminally liable for the deaths. The coroner, Stefan Popper, declares in court that the victims experienced a rapid, painless form of asphyxia, and when PC Bruder says that he witnessed far more protracted deaths, he is forced by the pathologist to falsely alter his statement. Jenni explains that she wished to believe that her girls did not suffer, though later learned the harsh truth, and the families are again devastated to learn that there is apparently not enough evidence for a criminal trial. Trevor and Jenni's marriage begins to fall apart as she sinks under the weight of her grief, feeling that he has gone back to "normal" too quickly, and he accuses her of blaming him for their daughters' deaths. Some of the families come under scrutiny for accepting money from the disaster fund, though they all firmly state that no amount could possibly "replace" their lost loved ones. Another inquest soon begins, though barrister Tim King warns the families that Popper does not intend to consider any deaths that occurred after 3:15 PM, even though many of those who died after that point could have been saved, given that only fourteen people were taken to the hospital. Several cops testify to the drunken and "quite evil" nature of the fans and the families again react with anger, feeling that the officials are rewriting history and "feeding the myth."
In the dock, Joe emotionally describes witnessing Ian's and many others' deaths, and Eddie states that he begged the officers to open the gates onto the pitch, as the pens were separated laterally by spiked fences that were too high to climb. Jenni and Trevor finally separate, dividing the girls' belongings between them, and King is outraged when the policemen claim that they cannot find the CCTV footage of the pen in question, which would have clearly shown the fans being led by police into the dangerous space. Duckenfield claims that he did not see "anything untoward" from the control booth, though hints that he had only limited knowledge of the stadium and its entrances, and Trevor confides in Jenni about his wild idea for revenge as they anxiously await the verdict with the others. After several postponements, the jury admits that they cannot come to consensus, but have agreed by majority that the deaths were "accidental." Trevor desperately attempts to keep the peace as John, Eddie, Joe and many others erupt with rage at the unfair decision, feeling that it adds further insult to injury after the offensive accusations of drunken misconduct, and Eddie seems to contemplate ending his own life as he drives haphazardly away from the court. The film concludes by explaining that Duckenfield retired early and was never charged with criminal wrongdoing, leaving the families to continue their fight for justice. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ITV (United Kingdom)
- DATE:
- RUNNING TIME: 1:43:31
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:51280
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; England
- SERIES RUN: ITV (United Kingdom) - TV, 1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ian McBride … Executive Producer
- Gub Neal … Executive Producer
- Nicola Shindler … Producer
- David Price … Assistant Producer
- Katy Jones … Factual Producer
- Charles McDougall … Director
- Jimmy McGovern … Writer
- Rob Lane … Music by
- Tracey Wilkinson … Cast, Jan Spearritt
- Kevin Knapman … Cast, Adam Spearritt
- Mark Womack … Cast, Eddie Spearritt
- Sarah Graham … Cast, Sarah Hicks
- Anna Martland … Cast, Vicki Hicks
- Annabelle Apsion … Cast, Jenni Hicks
- Christopher Eccleston … Cast, Trevor Hicks
- Stephen Walters … Cast, Ian Glover
- Scot Williams … Cast, Joe Glover
- Rachel Davies … Cast, Teresa Glover
- Ricky Tomlinson … Cast, John Glover
- Maurice Roëves … Cast, Chief Superintendent Duckenfield
- Joe Duttine … Cast, PC One
- Stephen Hackett … Cast, PC Two
- Bruce Jones … Cast, Video Technician
- James Masters … Cast, ACC Jackson
- Tony Pitts … Cast, PC in Control Box
- Richard Heap … Cast, Superintendent Murray
- John Graham-Davies … Cast, Superintendent Marshall
- David Crellin … Cast, Tony Edwards
- Paul Warriner … Cast, Special Constable with Adam
- Jack Dearn … Cast, PC with Trevor
- Mark Chatterton … Cast, Social Worker
- Andrew Lancel … Cast, Journalist
- Ian McDiarmid … Cast, Doctor Stefan Popper, Coroner
- Edward Peel … Cast, Doctor Slater, Pathologist
- Dennis Blanch … Cast, Foreman
- Andrew Readman … Cast, Tim King
- Owen Araonovitch … Cast
- Antony Audenshaw … Cast
- Michael Begley … Cast
- Stephen Boyes … Cast
- Ray Burnside … Cast
- Claude Close … Cast
- James Coleman … Cast
- Dennis Conlon … Cast
- James Culshaw … Cast
- Bill Dean … Cast
- Andy Devine … Cast
- Bernadette Foley … Cast
- Fine Time Fontayne … Cast
- Dave Hill … Cast
- Cliff Howells … Cast
- Jack Hudson … Cast
- Steve Jackson … Cast
- David Kangas … Cast
- Ian Kershaw … Cast
- Al T. Kossey … Cast
- Gordon Langford-Rowe … Cast
- Shaun McGowan … Cast
- Bruce McGregor … Cast
- Vincent Maguire … Cast
- Lisa Millett … Cast
- Simon Molloy … Cast
- Steve Money … Cast
- Nicholas Moss … Cast
- Sherril Parsons … Cast
- Martin Reeve … Cast
- Eamonn Riley … Cast
- Marcus Romer … Cast
- Willie Ross … Cast
- Kate Rutter … Cast
- Brian Southwood … Cast
- Richard Stevens … Cast
- Thomas Williamson … Cast
- Genevieve Walsh … Cast