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Posted on 05/17/2025 2:21:57 PM PDT by Twotone
A really influential film, seen decades after its influence has percolated into dozens (if not hundreds) of films and redefined a whole genre, can elicit a feeling of déjà vu. Who knew that an ultra low budget horror b-movie would spawn a subgenre that persists to this day (Night of the Living Dead) or a gang picture originally imagined as a western, marketed to dopey teens (The Warriors) would be copied over and over with immensely larger budgets for decades.
Then there were the films that looked like game changers from their opening weekend. Anybody leaving The Godfather in the spring of 1972 knew that gangster films would never be the same again, and the years after the release of Dr. No were filled with copies or spoofs of what everyone now knew a spy movie should look like. Finally there was the watershed moment that was 2001: A Space Odyssey, which upped the game for special effects and made sci fi pictures break for intellectual ponderousness and away from corny camp.
British gangster films never seemed as grand as their American counterparts, perhaps because the stakes never seemed comparable – what was running the rackets in a seaside holiday town (Brighton Rock) compared to doing the same thing in Chicago? If you lived in working class areas of London, Birmingham, Liverpool or Glasgow you knew exactly how established and pervasive organized crime could be, but to Americans films like The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers were all you needed to know about British gangsters.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
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“Get Carter” is a great movie. One of my favorites.
Stallone one not so good
The Long Good Friday was another fine British gangster film.
“The Long Good Friday was another fine British gangster film.”
the closing scenes featured the screen debut of Pierce Brosnan. He effectively portrayed a baby-faced hitman.
later
Peaky Blinders. Great British gangster series. Ran for 6 seasons. It stared the same actor who played Oppenheimer .
For some reason a bunch of Michael Caine “shorts” show up and he is really interesting and funny.
That actor from Peaky Blinders (Cillian Murphy) had an interesting interview (Craig Ferguson maybe???). He is asked something about the opening scene, where he rides up on a horse. “That was such a great scene - how long have you been riding for?”
“Well, when they asked me if I can ride I said I did. And when they asked me about driving I said I did. I’m an ACTOR! Even if I’m not a horse rider or car driver I can sure ACT like one.” (He lived in London, no need for a car. Or a horse for that matter).
Link below (I got the gist of the response correctly. Sort of.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkPxn6UaLd8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oImMssHuaZk
Above is an interview of Caine about his role in that movie, and the gangsters that he knew in real life and the one in particular that he modeled that role after.
Craig Ferguson was a favorite of mine. I never did much lately night staff but his show was something I truly liked. Thanks for that clip, those two had some real chemistry, some genuine shared experiences.
I enjoyed his book, “American On Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot.” And I loved him him in “Saving Grace” as well.
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