Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels




 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

In a nutshell: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was the little heist film out of England, telling the story of a card player who loses £500,000 to a local crime boss. He recruits his four pals to rob a gang, but this goes extremely pear shaped. Setting off a series of events and incidents involving a large group of colourful, comedic and crazy characters who all have something to gain or lose from the theft of the money.

What was different/original about it? "Lock Stock", as it is more often referred to, galvanised the seedy, smoky and shifty side of London’s underworld. Portraying characters who were essentially thugs and criminals, the film made them likeable; injecting each character with off-beat names, larger than life persona’s and a well-developed language that was partially gangster, colourfully different, but still totally London.  


How did it change movies?  Lock, Stock exploded onto the international cinema stage and garnered massive word-of-mouth in no time at all. It was responsible for Guy Ritchie’s big splash onto the movie scene, and took viewers inside the world of organized crime deeper than previously explored; showing what happens behind closed doors in dank offices, stuffy pubs and smelly alleyways. Each character was well-written, original and played by actors who seemed very comfortable in their shoes. With this success, Guy Ritchie invented his own brand of film – The English Gangsta Comedy Film – and would go onto to add more spokes to his own wheel, with “Snatch” and “Rock ‘n’ Rolla”. It also kick-started the careers of Jason Statham and Vinnie Jones.

Next up,..."Being John Malkovich"

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