<*dv_1*>This film is the daddy. The daddy that is of all the recent Cockney gangster flicks (Gangster #1, Sexy Beast, Face, Snatch etc etc etc).
Made on a shoestring budget in 1979, the film sees East End gangland King Harry Shand (deftly portrayed by Bob Hoskins) about to seal the biggest deal of his career, with the New York Mafia. Everything is going to plan until Mafia man 'Charlie' arrives in London on Good Friday, to close the deal, just as Harry's men begin to mysteriously be picked off one by one, and several bombs are left in his properties. We then follow Harry, wracked in turmoil, trying to find out exactly who is trying to get to him and why.
On its release the film was seen as too brutal and efforts were made to censor the violence to Walt Disney-style levels. However after a backlash by cast and crew the film went out in its full explicit glory. Now, twenty-five years later it doesn't seem much more violent than your average BBC post-watershed drama.
<*dv_0*> Although a classic of its genre there are downsides - quite a few. Because of the tight budget it feels a little like an extended episode of The Sweeny, and the bodged ending totally ruins what has been a pretty tasty hour and a half! Although the abbetoir scene - one of the all-time classic British film scenes - more than makes up for the downsides.
Look out for appearances by 'Casualty''s Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson); Eastenders and Footballer's Wives' Gillian Taylforth; and a young, pre-dental surgery, pre-Bond Pierce Brosnan in a non-speaking role. You'll also notice Lock Stock's 'Hatchet' Harry (PJ Moriarty), this time playing 'Razors', and, fleetingly, Snatch's 'Bricktop' - Alan Ford. |
