Expendables UK Week - The British Gangster Movie in 10 Films

The British gangster movie has always been living in the shadows of American peers and recently you could even make a case for bigger, better movies coming from China and Japan but this hasn't stopped them. They're often more subtle in their approach towards underworld figures in Britain, they're not the type of people to laud Tony Montana or glorify the protection rackets of Triads, this is a Kingdom that appreciates the "honour amongst thieves" mantra, and didn't think that Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs should have had to serve time in prison when his loot ran out and healthy failed whilst exiled in Brazil after all. These guys are violent but their proud of their working class roots, they love their mums and they honour their Queen.

What I've tried to do is create a list of 10 key films (and several notables) from this genre in chronological order to track the development of British cinemas approach towards crime.

Brighton Rock (1947)

The most prominent example of early English crooks depicted in cinema, prior to this the Classification Board were very much against the portrayal of vice on screen. Richard Attenborough in his breakthrough role as teenaged gangster Pinkie, in this adaptation of the famous Graham Greene novel, is supremely menacing as he attempts to take control of criminal operations in Brighton.

Other notable films from this relatively fallow period include the Trevor Howard starring noir They Made Me A Fugitive (1947), the classic Jules Dassin noir Night and the City (1950) and the cautionary tale for young girls Good-Time Girl (1948).

Never Let Go (1960)

One of Peter Sellers finest roles; a part taken in direct opposition to his famed comedy performances of the time here he is a vicious and petty gang boss in what amounts to an extension of the social realism of the late 50s in literature, theatre and cinema - see Look Back in Anger, Life At The Top, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

Other notable films from this period include two Stanley Baker movies Hell is a City (1960) which was based on the Martin Procter novel and the stark and uncompromising The Criminal (1960).

Get Carter (1971)

Based on the Ted Lewis novel and starring Michael Caine this was the first British film to offer a more realistic and gritty view of violence and criminal behaviour. Shot on location and drawing on real events for its visual style this is also notable for Carter showing no remorse for his actions.

Incredibly a Richard Burton film with similar style and themes, Villain (1971) was released at the same time and hasn't received as much fame but is well worth a look even if it's just for Burton's sadistic homosexual gangster.

The Long Good Friday (1979)

The 70s closed with a bang thanks to this classic of the genre. Taking note of the political atmosphere of the time Bob Hoskins stars as a London kingpin trying to legitimise his business but finds himself at war with a previously unknown enemy. It's bleak and uncompromising and violent but it is the performance of Bob Hoskins that makes this stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Did you know Mick Jagger was in movies? I haven't seen any of them but his 1970 film Performance is apparently worth watching and not just from a crime cinema point of view either.

The Hit (1984)

I only saw this film recently but it left a very large impression on me. Working almost as a response to the traditional view of the honest British crook this is the story of a supergrass and the retaliation by those he crossed. Directed by Stephen Frears and featuring a quite wonderful performance from Terence Stamp this is a pleasure to watch from start to finish.

Mona Lisa (1986)

Neil Jordan directs Bob Hoskins, Michael Caine and Robbie Coltrane. You need more? There's a romance between a released criminal and a prostitute that leads to some violent consequences. It's a standard story but told well and with some great performances.

The debut feature from Mike Figgis, Stormy Monday (1988), revisits the locale of Get Carter but with a turf war between local gangster and a pushy American in Tommy Lee Jones.

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Revived and reinvigorated the genre for a couple of years before the entire thing collapsed under its own weight of mockney nonsense, mirroring the career of Guy Ritchie. Nevertheless the original is still the best and without this film Hollywood wouldn't have Jason Statham.

This film could stand in for Snatch (2000), Layer Cake (2004),  Love Honour and Obey (2000), Gangster No. 1 (2000) and many more films you might have thought sounded good but actually were unimaginative rehashes of the same thing.

Sexy Beast (2000)

This is one of the greats of recent times because it takes its cues from the past, enhances them and then deviates in multiple interesting new ways. Featuring brilliant performances all round but notably from Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley this is the story of a retired gangster cajoled in to doing one last job but things are not that straight forward. To tell you more would be to spoil the fun but it's not what you expect.

Other interesting examples that didn't make the main ten include Face (1997) which was lost in the hype surrounding Lock, Stock and the wonderful yet painful London to Brighton (2006).

Bronson (2008)

Chosen as a great example of how how the Brits turn their criminals in to celebrities, this Nicholas Winding Refn directed biopic features a superb performance from Tom Hardy as the most famous British criminal since Ronnie Kray.

Down Terrace (2009)

Ben Wheatley just might be the future of the genre and even British cinema. This was his debut feature and it's quite simply superb. A cinema verite style gangster film that is both insanely funny and incredibly violent, it moves at a very fast pace and surprises you throughout. Very intelligent movie making about the internal politics of a crime family. Reviewed here in 2011.

So that's your lot, how many have you seen? Have I missed anything important? Enjoying Expendables UK Week so far? Comment comment comment!

World In Film Blog-a-Thon

Alan the crazy guy behind The Great Movie Project (a movie review a day for 365 days?! That means no time off for good behaviour) came up with the World in Film Blog-A-Thon without realising that we're all surely going to have to choose the same movie for Antarctica.

The Challenge: Pretend you’re taking a geography class and your instructor wants you to pick a movie that is set (or filmed) in one of each of the seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America. The movies do not have to be “authentic” but they should be reasonable facsimiles of the continents. They can be in any language, any country, any genre, and feel free to sub-theme these movies in any way that grabs your fancy.

Choosing a theme that works with Whiteout was difficult. I'm not sure I've succeeded but I'm definitely intrigued by what everyone else comes up with. My theme? People living on the outskirts of society.

Antarctica - Whiteout (2009)


It was an interesting idea for a movie but the end product really wasn't very interesting at all. I'm told the graphic novel it was based on was quite good though. A jewel heist in the most remote place on the planet?

Australia - Animal Kingdom (2010)


Australia. My home. Not really a continent. More of a bloody big rock with some desert wrapped around it. I didn't love this film as much as most other viewers but it certainly is one of the best Australian films I've seen. A slow moving look at an underworld family, worth watching if it's only for Jacki Weaver.

Europe - Down Terrace (2009)


Initially my pick was going to be non-English, specifically A Prophet, but I couldn't resist another opportunity to share how much I love Down Terrace. It took me completely by surprise and introduced me to a very talented director. Another slow moving look at the inner workings of an underworld family. Full review here.

North America - Sin Nombre (2009)


The violent documentary like film from the director of the new Jane Eyre. Take a journey through the North American underworld with a young girl as she dreams of moving from Honduras to USA. Powerful and compelling viewing.

South America - City of God (2002)


Often called the Brazilian Goodfellas this is one of the greats of modern world cinema. A look at the everyday reality of Brazilian poverty, crime, drugs and violence through the connected stories of two young friends who take different paths in life. If you haven't seen this yet then stop reading and go watch it.

Africa - Tsotsi (2005)


A week in the life of a young thug in the Johannesburg slums. It's not quite City of God but it's another eye opener and well worth seeing. Turns out that it won the Oscar in 2006, probably because this film is more about hope than despair.

Asia - Bad Guy (2001)


Kim Ki-Duk takes another look at the underside of love and obsession in this wonderfully dark film set in the underworld of Seoul. This isn't machine guns or organised crime, it's not chocolate boxes and roses, it's dirtier than that, it's grimy and bleak and mesmerising.

Comparatively they make Whiteout look tame. A fun exploration of great world cinema though. I can't recommend the other six films highly enough.

Down Terrace (2009)

Recently Custard over at Frontroomcinema listed the 5 best films set in Brighton and in the discussion this movie came up. Then a few days later Bonjour Tristesse actually reviewed the film. Now I had never heard of it, as i'm sure most people haven't, but i'm partial to a bit of British gangster movie now and then - Gangster No. 1, Sexy Beast, Anything with Ray Winstone calling people slags that kind of thing - and thought it would be crazy not to watch it.

Written and directed by newcomer Ben Wheatley, Down Terrace is a different kind of British Gangster Movie. Featuring a cast of unknowns and Spaced favourites Julia Deakin and Michael Smiley.



I love all of these images for different reasons. Whoever designed the art for this movie deserves to get paid more than a tiny indie flick can afford. They all play to different genres and all feel like good representations of the film. Top left will probably only make sense after you've seen the film but when I found it during my research I couldn't help but laugh. Top right, this half imitation of Warhol in yellow, possibly the worst of the 4 but I like the feeling it gives about the characters, everyone looks a bit confused and fed up. Bottom right, a slick almost 60's era poster, similar in part to the fad they had in the late 90's of breaking up the images (see The Limey) and then bottom left, I feel like it has to be for an international audience, using the Union Jack in that way and then the tagline "it's all about to kick off" reminiscent of the football thug movies that have had a resurgance of late, guaranteed to hook a certain audience to the point that they may as well have advertised it using Danny Dyer.



It's a great trailer that really doesn't emphasise the humour enough I think. It's arty, concentrating on the verite and kitchen sink drama aspect of the production as opposed to the gangster storyline. This is interesting to me as based on the international poster I thought there would've been a different trailer, one filled with violence. Still you can't complain when a distribution company doesn't lie about the content of a film.

Synopsis? I thought you'd never ask. Bill and Karl are father and son, gangsters who narrowly escape jail after a court appearance and the film centres on the paranoia of their investigation in to who the grass is amongst their associates.

Pretty standard stuff for a criminal underworld plot but this film is different in many ways. Down Terrace focuses on the internal workings of the central characters as they go about their daily lives with this burden hanging over them. It's filled with great comedy moments from the very start and it's scarily believable.

The comedy may not be to everyone's liking. I'm a recent emmigrant from England so these characters are the kind of people I know, people I saw everyday and a lot of the humour is related to the realism for me and could easily go over people's heads. For those of you not from England who watch this, I assure you people really do behave this way.

The hitman who takes his toddler to a hit because he couldn't find a babysitter at short notice however is a slice of comedy gold that may never have come up in everyday life in the UK. Said hitman, Pringle, is extremely funny to watch and his facial expressions alone are priceless.

Not to say that this movie makes light of it's dark material, killing for these characters carries a huge amount of baggage, both before and after. The verite style of direction adds some real gravity to proceedings, the ensemble cast performance is reminiscent of the great work of Mike Leigh and whilst Poor Cow by Ken Loach springs to mind i'm unsure whether that is because of the gangster singalong in the breakfast room complete with double bass and violin or simply because he pioneered the kitchen sink realism that this movie uses to excellent effect.

The performances are all round pitch perfect, you instinctively warm to Julia Deakin's matriarch, Maggie, in a role that might draw comparisons to Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom, but it is the performance of film debutant Robert Hill that characterises everything this movie is about; thoughtful, melancholy, rejecting of modern society (or in the films case modern attitudes towards cinema) with a tension and violence bubbling under the surface at all times. This is no Ray Winstone style performance but it works just as powerfully and not once does anyone utter the word slag. I have just finished reading Patricia Highsmith's Talented Mr Ripley and she expertly created a simmering tension and expectation of violence yet when the violence actually happens it is dealt with quickly and matter of factly and Down Terrace is very similar in this respect.

It's funny, it's violent, it moves at a rate of knots unknown for a kitchen sink verite piece and it's very very well made. I instantly wanted to tell everyone just how good this movie was and then watch it with them. Watch it.

I can't let this review finish without a mention for David Schaal, recently seen as the extremely funny father of Jay in The Inbetweeners and putting in another great performance here.

If you like the sound of the movie from my review and actually watch it, let me know. If you don't agree with me, let me know. Film is an art form and art is open to interpretation in any number of ways. The discussion of art and individual interpretation is encouraged around here. And if you enjoy the movie head down to your local independent movie store and buy it, it's only through us actually paying for films that these film makers will get to work again. At least in an ideal world that will be the case. I'm looking at you Uwe Boll.

Down Terrace (2009) DivX - icefilms.info