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Genres:
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Crime /
Drama /
Thriller
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Release:
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Director:
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Paul McGuigan
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Actors:
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Johnny Harris,
Andrew Lincoln,
Doug Allen,
Cavan Clerkin,
Alex McSweeney,
Anton Saunders,
Malcolm McDowell,
David Thewlis,
Paul Bettany,
Saffron Burrows,
Kenneth Cranham,
Jamie Foreman,
Eddie Marsan,
Razaaq Adoti,
David Kennedy
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Duration:
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96 min.
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Rating:
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(6.7/10)91.5
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Plot Summary:
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A middle-age-old violation boss smugly reflects abet from 1999, narrating the brutality which made him triumphant - and feared. As an unnamed boyish hood in In the groove swing at 60's London, he aped his mod boss Freddie Mays, and seemed to do anything into him. But his narration exposes all-consuming resent: of Freddie's supremacy, and specifically his tall bird. The baby shark develops his viciousness and backstabbing, scheming to be Ruffian No. 1.
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Tags:
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Worth seeing for Bettany
'Gangster No 1' was one of the dozen's of British gangster movies that came out following 'Lock, Stock ...'. Some were decent, and others were awful. There are a couple of things that save this one from the latter category -- one being a good script, and the other being Paul Bettany's performance in the lead role.
This is a harsh, brutal story about a young man growing up into the criminal underworld of London and becoming involved in various seedy operations. Basically he's a complete anti-hero, and this eventually leads him on a downward slope (ala 'Scarface'). Malcolm McDowell plays the older version of the same character, and fails to give a performance that's consistent to Bettany's.
Overall it's worth seeing if your a fan ...
Number One? More like a pile of number twos
You'd think with a cast of top-rate Brit thespians and the reliable premise of 1960s gangster action you'd be in for a treat with this, but you'd be so far wrong you'd probably need to sit down in a darkened room for ten minutes to fully comprehend how mistaken you actually were.
The dire-log doesn't just border on cockney pastiche, it positively revels in it. It's like listening to Derek & Clive doing a gangster parody. It's terrible. It's cringe worthy. The cast do a marvellous job just keeping a straight face when delivering their lines.
In the opening 5 minutes McDowell does a completely random take to camera, delivers a shockingly appalling line to the audience - something which doesn't occur for the rest of the film. (Random takes...
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