gareth_pegg From Treadaway's accent and mannerisms, to the clever interposition of excerpts of TV commentary from those early 1980s matches.. this film is (like the Steve Davis era it portrays) universally professional.The characters are spot on, the emotional story played with respect, but without deference and above all (in capturing the effectiveness of this piece) the snooker sequences are brilliant! If you go onto Youtube and watch Higgins' 1982 Semi-Final "break of the tournament", then straight after you watch Treadaway jerking and swaying to the same beat you will see what I mean. How on this planet they recreated that blue to the top corner??? - The best thing I've seen for at least a year!

Prismark10 Just before the start of the 1982 snooker world championship, Alex Higgins gave an interview to a newspaper. He criticised Steve Davis as staid and downplayed his own chances for the tournament. Davis as defending champion was knocked out in the first round and Higgins went on to win the tournament.Ten years earlier Higgins was the youngest world snooker champion, a bolt of lightning in a sport known to be slow and played by old men. My older brother used to rave about Higgins in the 1970s.Then again if you watch this film the only person that raved about Higgins were people who never met him or got to know him. Higgins was a drinker, drug taker, womaniser and a bona fide hell raiser. I think this film just showed us the edited highlights and a toned down version at that. There was a disgusting true incident where he threatened to send the paramilitary terrorists to sort out Dennis Taylor that was wisely excised from this film.Nerd Alert Warning: I saw Steve Davis when he made his snooker television début in Pot Black in 1978 where he played Fred Davis. I saw him do the first televised 147 break which was on ITV and hence not commentated by Ted Lowe as shown here. I even remember his chat show 'A frame with Davis.' Actually I am a fan of Steve Davis even though he is a Tory supporter.This drama made Davis out to be a lot more nerdy than he was at the time but I think it was just to add contrast to the characters. Barry Hearn as portrayed here was a lot more jovial than the hard headed businessman he is and you have to be ruthless if you enter the world of boxing promotion which Hearn did in the mid 1980s. I did think the actor playing Higgins was just too much of the caricature of the Higgins we know from the press and television although I was amazed by the potting skills of the actors or it might had been clever use of CGI.Of course there was a lot more shades of greys in real life back in the days when snooker took off in the 1980s. We just see Higgins and Jimmy White as the bad boys of snooker and the press were more interested in the rivalry between White and Davis who were the emerging new generation.Yet during the era many snooker players lived life to the hilt with booze, drugs and women. Even Cliff Thorburn shown here as dull and with a dodgy Canadian accent was exposed as a cocaine user.Still a celebration of a time when snooker was more than a load of old balls.

mk-34089 After watching the final on Sunday 17.1.16 and then the scenes for this film I was well eager to download it on the iplayer. What a treat. I'm 62 and in those days I lived in a snooker hall. Pot Black in black & white and colour eventually. This film really did bring back the nostalgia. I found the actors portraying the snooker players to be very realistic and all did excellent jobs. Brilliant directing and story line. Self destructing Higgins and clean cut Davis where brill in my opinion. Steve was great as he comes out of his shell, gains his conference and gets cheeky with the help and guidance of of Barry Hearn. Same goes for self destructing Alex 'no malice he was a great guy' I will deff watch this again I enjoyed it that much. A must see for snooker fan and all. I hope they do one about Rocket Ronnie, I'd love that. Well done all those involved with the making of this top notch film. I

tr91 Having just watched Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Barry Hawkins 10-1 to win his 6th Masters title, I tuned in to The Rack Pack on BBC iPlayer for a great throwback to the 70s & 80s of Snooker. I myself have been a massive snooker fan for the past 10 years, I know a lot about players from the past from reading various books about them and of course seeing a lot of them still involved in snooker today, playing and commentating/analysing.Unfortunately I wasn't around when these players were at their peak so this film provided me with some great insight. The main actors playing Steve Davis & Alex Higgins were terrific. It was also great to see plenty of other players portrayed in the film such as Jimmy White, Dennis Taylor, Cliff Thorburn, Willie Thorne & even a mention of Stephen Hendry towards the end of the film.The whole atmosphere of the film was excellent and seemed very realistic. The Crucible looked as good as ever, the commentary was authentic and the crowds looked real. Although many snooker fans will know the outcome of the film and each match that is shown, that doesn't make it any less dramatic. It's just great to see how these characters dealt with the fame that snooker bought them. The film had a lot of heart and the story was told with a lot of realism as well as a lot of good humour. The film also boasts a brilliant soundtrack which sets the scene perfectly.Overall I am very impressed with this film on iPlayer and I hope to see more of this kind, whether it's about snooker stars or a different sport altogether. Highly recommended to snooker fans especially but I also think people who like good drama programs can enjoy it too.