A fat man's north opens and he wanders over and turns the Liza over...
January 4, 2016 11:17 AM   Subscribe

Looking for all East End London crime film recommendations beyond the usual suspects. Even if they're absolute crap films.

Obviously, I know Guy Ritchie films. And "Football Factory," "Rise of the Foot Soldier," any of the Kray attempts. That's not much of a list, now that I'm looking at it. Hooligan films I'm fairly familiar with.

I guess I'm looking for films that haven't made it to the other side of the Atlantic. I am fully prepared to have to obtain these legally or otherwise.

Oh, and the quote is from some rhyming Cockney in "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," for those who were only curious as to what I was on about.
posted by kuanes to Media & Arts (8 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Sexy Beast. Great movie, stellar cast. London, can't say if it's East End though. Though upon a second read of the post you're probably familiar with this one.
posted by bassomatic at 12:42 PM on January 4, 2016


Best answer: A lot of the action takes place in Newcastle IIRC, but the 1971 original of Get Carter is a cult classic for a reason. You'll recognize where Guy Ritchie gets some of his visual flourishes (if not the anachronistic music).

Also, S4 of Luther was done essentially as a single movie-length feature, and features an old-school East End mobster.
posted by joyceanmachine at 1:10 PM on January 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Best answer: The Long Good Friday is fantastic -- set around Docklands and Tower Bridge.

Does it have to be East London specifically, or are you looking for Cockney-accented movies?
posted by vickyverky at 2:24 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


For a laugh, give "Cockneys vs Zombies" a try! A group of retired London bank robbers battle their way through zombie-infested hordes. Includes some recognizable faces.
posted by scolbath at 5:13 PM on January 4, 2016 [3 favorites]


Best answer: How about From Hell

A Johnny Depp movie about a serial killer in 1880s Whitechapel.
posted by Coffeetyme at 6:40 PM on January 4, 2016


Best answer: Not sure if "Let Him Have It," the 1991 movie about the Derek Bentley case, qualifies. I haven't watched it, just saw the pay-per-view trailer over and over. In the 1950s, Bentley (19) and his 16-year-old accomplice were caught in the act of a burglary and the younger teen shot and killed a police officer, but only the older teen, a mentally deficient man, could be given the death penalty for the crime. So, this is more of a justice and politics movie, I gather, but it starts, at least, with a crime.

Maybe 4.3.2.1, a movie about 4 girlfriends who find themselves mixed up in the aftermath of a jewel heist. Noel Clarke wrote and directed this. The 4 women split up through the center of the movie, so it tells each of their stories until their paths cross again.

Oh man, Sexy Beast, great movie, though it's mostly set in sunbaked Spain. If you had any ambivalence about Ben Kingsley's acting talent, it will absolutely vanish when you get ahold of his Don Logan. Seconded.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:36 PM on January 4, 2016 [1 favorite]


Some of these are not strictly East End, but they're all the right mood, I think. And you have my guarantee that none are actual crap.

Performance is essential for originality and authenticity (real gangsters), and is the only movie here that's also a trippy psychodrama starring Mick Jagger.
2nding The Long Good Friday, which is fantastic; also, Mona Lisa is a genre-bender, but deserves to be on lists like this
Brighton Rock (it's Brighton, obviously, but arguably the origin of the whole genre)
Payroll (Newcastle this time; the proto-Get Carter)
Villain (not sure if you saw this already; it's an early Kray one)
McVicar
Scum (borstal movie, not gangster, but Ray Winstone!)
Nil By Mouth (about as far as it gets from Ritchie)
Face
Love Honour & Obey
Gangster No. 1
Layer Cake
The End (documentary)
posted by thetortoise at 12:17 AM on January 5, 2016


The Firm
Fish Tank
London to Brighton
44 Inch Chest
Jack Said (Danny Dyer-bolical)

If you're interested in the East End gangsters you might enjoy the book
Judas Pig , which is by an ex-gangster, and gives a fictionalised account of his crimes. Riveting (but not for the faint hearted)
posted by Dwardles at 3:40 PM on January 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


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