Best British Crime Dramas
07 September 2010
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September 6 sees the DVD release of SUS, an emotionally charged and incredibly tense crime drama from Barrie McKeeffe, writer of the legendary The Long Good Friday.
This is just the latest long tradition of powerful British crime films. We look down ten of the best portrayals of the wrong side of the law this country has to offer...
1 Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Guy Richie 1998) - The film that unleashed not only Guy Richie, but also Jason Statham, and Vinnie Jones’ 'acting' career, upon the world.
Liberally and unashamedly borrowing from Scorsese and Tarantino but with a uniquely British flavour, it is often mocked for the rash of lame copycat mockney crime flicks that jumped on its bandwagon, but over a decade after its original release its still feels as breathless and exciting as ever.
2 Get Carter (Mike Hodges 1971) - Michael Caine at his best and coolest. Blunt and savage, the film sees Caine’s titular East End gangster Carter travelling up North to unleash a whirlwind of violence to avenge the death of his brother.
Avoid the awful Sly Stallone re-tread, which Caine inexplicably has a cameo in, but keep an eye out for the little seen but really quite good 1970s blaxploitation remake Hit Man.
3 The Business (Nick Love 2005) - The Football Factory team of Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan and director Nick Love re-unite for this 80s set tale of the hey day of the Costa Del Crime.
Sticking religiously to the ‘rise and fall’ gangster movie formula established as far back as the 1930s, the film wallows in the excess of the Thatcherite era, unashamedly glamorising violence, cocaine, bad tracksuits and Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Don’t worry, it’s all meant to be ironic. We hope.
4 Sexy Beast (Jonathon Glazer 2000) - Pop promo Jonathon Glazer’s film (he did Radiohead’s trippy Street Spirit video) twisted the post-Lock Stock British gangster movie to a nightmarish fever dream.
Ex-con Ray Winstone is enjoying a peaceful existence on the day-glo coast of Spain, apart from the odd falling boulder, when he is visited by Sir Ben Kingsley’s rabid insane recruiter for the London underworld to convince him to pull one last job.
The film loses it’s momentum in the second half, but Kingsley’s performance is utterly terrifying and completely unforgettable.
5 Brighton Rock (John Boulting 1947) - An iconic classic of British cinema, based on the novel by Graham Greene. Richard Attenborough made his breakthrough role as the psychotic you gangster Pinkie, reprising the character he played on the west end stage, running rampant through Second World War era Brighton.
The film was re-titled 'Young Scarface' for American audiences. It also features an appearance from original Doctor Who William Hartnell.
6 The Krays(Peter Medak 1990) - Synthpop new romantics Spandau Ballet may not have been the most obvious place to look for someone to portray the most notorious figures in the history of British organised crime, but real life brothers Martin and Gary Kemp pulled off the roles with real menace.
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