This Is England isn't just another tale of hard life on a British council estate, but a coming-of-age portrait "fizzing with energy and humour". Nottingham-born director Shane Meadows earned rave reviews for a story inspired by his own formative years, and newcomer Thomas Turgoose was also praised for his turn as an inductee into the skinhead lifestyle. Unfortunately the film was trampled at the box office by no-brainer comedies like Wild Hogs and Mr Bean's Holiday.

Made In England

A bonus disc is packed with footage from location and affords rare access to intimate conversations between the director and his cast. In the 'Behind The Scenes' section cameras spy on an acting workshop where Stephen Graham expresses his ideas for how Combo should introduce himself. Meadows actively encourages the actors' input and is especially keen to hear views on a scene that depicts a raid on an Indian-owned newsagents; he explains that it's the "mental scarring" that should come across more powerfully than the physical horror.

Leaving aside the swinging machetes, another half-hour of video footage shows what a relaxed environment Meadows creates for the actors on set. Between takes Graham develops his bond with Turgoose, who is obviously having the time of his life. It's funny then to see him in typical teenage "Am I bovvered?" guise during early screen tests. In separate interviews, Meadows and producer Mark Herbert explain that they didn't want a stage-trained actor, instead finding Turgoose in a trawl of schools and youth clubs in Grimsby.

Skin Deep

In an interview at the NFT, Meadows reveals that watching Turgoose in action was like, "Looking at myself 20 years ago." He admits that much of the film is autobiographical ("I was a skinhead... a crazy b*****d!) yet insists that he was never afraid to lay himself bare on screen. He talks more about the skinhead movement in a second interview, as well as sharing some more personal memories in a commentary for the main feature. The drama teacher who caught young Meadows glue sniffing and helped turned his life around gets a shout, although the one scene he has in the film was eventually cut! (That's thanks for you!) Turgoose and Herbert also chip in with anecdotes from the set.

Among seven deleted scenes, Shaun (Turgoose) gets a pat on the back from his newfound gang after taking a beating "like a man" and charming punkette Smell (Rosamund Hanson) freaks out Shaun's mother with her big hair, black eyeliner and a Siouxsie And The Banshees album. It's mullets and Mohawks galore in a backstage nosey at the Hair And Makeup department and, in the last of the featurettes, production designer Mark Leese talks about creating that Day-Glo 80s look for the interior sets. Of course the 80s had their dark days too; a text-based essay on The Falklands War is thrown in along with a treatise on the evolution of the skinhead subculture. It all helps to put the film into context. But if you're a child of the 80s and you think this DVD sounds a bit too educational, then switch off that Pink Floyd record and simply revel in the nostalgia.

EXTRA FEATURES

This Is England DVD is released on Monday 3rd September August 2007.