Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
| Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Ritchie |
| Written by | Guy Ritchie |
| Produced by | Matthew Vaughn |
| Starring | Jason Flemyng Dexter Fletcher Nick Moran Jason Statham Steven Mackintosh Vinnie Jones Sting |
| Music by | David A. Hughes John Murphy |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (now Universal Studios) (UK) Gramercy Pictures (US) |
Release dates | August 28, 1998 (UK) |
Running time | 105 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £800,000 |
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 English crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card shark who loses £500,000 to a powerful crimelord in a rigged game of three card brag. In order to pay off his debts, he and his friends decide to rob a small-time gang who happen to be operating out of the flat next door. The film garnered Guy Ritchie international acclaim, and introduced actors Vinnie Jones, a former Welsh international football player, and Jason Statham, to worldwide audiences.
In 2000, Ritchie won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay. In 2004, the magazine Total Film named Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels the 38th greatest British film of all time.
A television series, Lock, Stock...The Series, followed in 2000.
Plot
There are four criminal gangs involved in the plot. The first (in order of appearance) is not really a gang at the outset as it consists of four friends: Bacon, Eddie, Tom (also known as "the fat man" in complete contrast to his appearance), and Soap. The second is that of 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale with Barry 'The Baptist', Harry's personal bodyguard and counsellor, Big Chris, Harry's debt-collector and Little Chris, son of Big Chris who collects along with him on jobs. The third is Rory Breaker's gang, consisting of numerous heavies. Finally, the fourth is Dog's gang, consisting of some five men, one of whom, Plank, is key to the plot. Also involved is the fence, Nick the Greek, Liverpudlian criminals, Gary and Dean, and a group of "Botanicals" lead by Winston, who illegally grow marijuana.
At the start of the film Eddie and friends collect £25,000 each to help Eddie bet against Harry 'The Hatchet' Lonsdale, an infamous gangster and a card sharp. However, the game was fixed by Harry and Eddie ends up owing £500,000 to Harry. Barry threatens to cut off Eddie and his friends' fingers, one by one, for each day the debt goes unpaid. The friends are understandably distressed. Meanwhile, Harry's aim is to get hold of Eddie's father's bar. The story goes that Eddie's father, JD, was in a game of cards with Harry, who intentionally kept on playing to put JD further and further into debt, thus putting him in trouble for "a very long time". It looked hopeless for JD (Harry had a hand of three Aces) when he showed his cards at the end, and he drew three 3s, the best possible hand. The shock of this occurrence caused Harry to have a heart attack. JD contends that he is not responsible for his son's gambling losses and he indicates to Harry's collector Chris that he will not give up the bar if Eddie does not make good on the debt by Sunday. Of note: the film is narrated by Alan Ford, who plays Alan, a bartender at JD's bar.
At the same time, Gary and Dean receive an offer from Barry (on Harry's request) to get him two extremely valuable antique shotguns. They steal the guns in question (and some others) from their current owner. However, during the break in, they are shot at by one of the occupants of the house, with the antique shotguns. This means that the shotguns were out of the gun cabinet and out of secrecy Barry had only specified that he wanted the guns from the cabinet. Gary and Dean give him the modern ones, while the antique ones are considered to be unwanted and sold to Nick the Greek.
Meanwhile, Dog, who lives next door to Eddie and who is the leader of an extremely violent but small crew that specializes in blanking (robbing) drug dealers. Dog's modus operandi is to send his guys as buyers, scope the operation out and then raid the operation, which always results in the killing of the dealers. The crew plans to rob an illegal marijuana hydroponics plant run by the four rather peaceful, stoner-nerd and (supposedly) unarmed 'botanicals' college student-types, lead by Winston, who grow and sell the weed. Plank, a long-time client of the laboratory as well as a member of Dog's gang, provides the necessary information. Accidentally Eddie and his friends overhear Dog's plans through a wall. They decide to ambush Dog and his associates at his flat once they return from the job, and take all the stolen money and drugs. They contact Nick the Greek, offering to sell him the marijuana that they plan to obtain. Nick sells them the guns that they will need for the ambush which turn out to be the two antique shotguns in which Hatchet Harry was interested.
Gary and Dean return to Barry with the guns they had raided from the house. Barry realizes that the antique shotguns are missing and demands that the two buy the guns back from Nick the Greek. Gary and Dean attempt to buy them back from Nick but are told they've already been sold. They then call Barry and realize that the job they were doing was actually for "Hatchet" Harry. Harry threatens them to get the guns or else their family is "bang in trouble". Terrified, they call back Nick and demand the address of the owners of the guns.
Dog and his gang, as planned, carry out the raid at the laboratory. During the raid one of the botanicals is almost murdered, another gets his foot shot off, and one of the members of Dog's gang is killed with his own weapon (a WWII era Bren machinegun) by the girlfriend of the marijuana growers, but everyone else involved survives. While transferring the many bags of weed to a getaway van, one of Dog's gangmembers knocks out a traffic warden who was about to give him a ticket and throws him in along with the gear and money. The raid is otherwise successful and the crew returns home with the money and many trashbags full of marijuana plants, only to find Eddie and his friends (all wearing masks) waiting for them. Eddie's guys take all the loot, tie up Dog's gang and leave. After dropping the goods off at Eddie's flat next door, the friends go out to celebrate.
Meanwhile, Dog is beside himself with fury. In anger he throws Plank against the wall; unexpectedly the wall breaks down, to reveal Eddie's apartment and numerous microphones that were used to overhear Dog's plans. Having recovered the money and most of the marijuana, Dog sets an ambush in Eddie's flat.
At the same time, Nick the Greek tries to sell the stolen marijuana to Rory Breaker. Unfortunately, the laboratory was actually Rory's, and when he realises that Nick is trying to sell him his own goods, he is less than pleased. Terrified, Nick gives away Eddie and his friends as the source of the drugs. Rory immediately gathers his gang and leaves for Eddie's place along with Winston, the leader of the Botanicals, to punish the supposed robbers (remarking that he "wants the grey skies of London illuminated" and "the house painted red"). They burst in only to encounter Dog's ambush. In the subsequent gunfight everyone, except for Winston,Rory and Dog, is killed. Dog flees through a window, grabbing the two guns, only to run right into Big Chris, whom Harry has sent to remind Eddie about the debt. Chris, who mistakes him for either Eddie or one of the debtor friends, surprises him and takes the guns and the money to Harry. Chris assumes that the large sum of money that Dog is carrying is probably the money owed to Harry and also he senses that the antique rifles are something that his boss, the gun collector, might also be interested in. The fighting inside ends with all seemingly dead, other than Rory and Winston (who had been waiting outside). After being instructed to take the rest of the weed away, Winston notices Plank, face-down amongst the bodies & points him out to Rory, who kicks him face-up to shoot him again, only to find Plank only injured and aiming his gun at him. The scene then cuts outside to Winston loading the van, who hears two different, gun shots in close succesion, followed by something slumping to the floor from inside. He presumes the worst, finishes loading the van and drives off alone.
Eddie and his friends arrive home to find a dozen dead bodies instead of the money. In a state of shock, Eddie calls Harry in a desperate attempt to buy more time; inexplicably to the four friends, Harry has the money - but he demands that Eddie immediately pay him a visit concerning the pair of shotguns. Eddie and his friends, realising that they are no longer in danger, obey. Meanwhile Gary and Dean have followed Chris with the guns. Not knowing that Chris actually works for the same boss as Barry, they decide to burst in and take the guns. Dean recognises Harry prior to being shot by him; Gary, seeing his friend's death, shoots Harry; Barry, sitting behind him, throws a hatchet into his back; turning around, Gary shoots Barry; having recognised each other they both utter the phrase 'What the fuck are you doing here?!' as their last words. Eddie and friends arrive at Harry's place only to find yet more dead bodies. They take the money and leave; Tom delays, as he wants to recover the shotguns.
Meanwhile, Dog, having recovered, follows Chris and, threatening to kill his son (Little Chris), demands that Chris returns the money. Chris agrees and drives to Harry's, but there he runs his car into Eddie's car that is parked at the entrance. The crash stuns Eddie, Soap and Bacon sitting in their car. Chris kills Dog in perhaps the most infamous and violent scene in the film. Chris repeatedly and brutally slams Dog's head in the car door, shouting and swearing numerous times. The music and POV cinematography of the scene make it one of the more memorable deaths in the film.
Chris then notices that one of the friends is holding a bag with money which, as he knows, belongs to Harry; he takes it to Harry's apartment, where he encounters Tom who is holding the shotguns. Tom knows that the guns aren't loaded, so they both leave the apartment peacefully through different doors, Chris keeping the money and Tom keeping the guns.
The friends are arrested, but are cleared of all charges when the traffic warden who had earlier been knocked out by Dog's gang identifies the deceased gang members as those responsible for the spate of robberies and murders. The only evidence that could connect them to what has happened is the two antique shotguns. The friends, sitting in the bar and celebrating, are sure that the guns have been disposed of by Tom; however, Tom confesses that he kept them. The friends send Tom to throw them away in the river. Meanwhile, Chris comes to the bar and returns the bag; he mentions that he has taken some money for himself and his son, as with Harry's death he has lost his employer. Opening the bag, the friends see that it is empty, save for a parcel. Opening the parcel, they find an antique guns auction catalogue and learn that their shotguns are worth between a quarter of a million pounds and three hundred thousand pounds a piece. They rush to call Tom.
Tom, meanwhile, has made it to the bridge but has managed to drop the guns onto a ledge just below the walkway rather than into the river. So as not to lose his phone, he puts it into his mouth and climbs off the bridge, holding on with one hand. With the other hand he reaches down and grabs the guns. The final scene of the film ends up as a cliffhanger of Tom on the bridge, one hand on the antique guns which are now hanging over the river, his other hand preventing him from falling off, as the phone in his mouth starts ringing...
Cast
- Jason Flemyng as Tom
- Dexter Fletcher as Soap
- Nick Moran as Eddie
- Jason Statham as Bacon
- Steven Mackintosh as Winston
- Sting as JD
- Nick Marcq as Charles
- Charles Forbes as Willie
- Vinnie Jones as Big Chris
- Lenny McLean as Barry the Baptist
- Peter McNicholl as Little Chris
- P.H. Moriarty as 'Hatchet' Harry Lonsdale
- Stephen Marcus as Nick the Greek
- Vas Blackwood as Rory Breaker
- Frank Harper as Diamond Dog
- Alan Ford as Alan
Cast notes
- The film originally starred Laura Bailey as Eddie's love interest. This major plotline was only removed after filming had been completed.
- The role of JD, Eddie's father, is played by the English musician Sting. Sting's wife Trudie Styler was an executive producer on the film, and the two later introduced director Ritchie to Madonna, whom he later married.
- The role of Barry The Baptist was played by legendary hardman Lenny McLean also known as "The Guv'nor" after becoming the country's top bare-knuckle fighter. McLean became ill during filming, but believed he was only suffering from a lingering case of the flu. McLean died of brain and lung cancer on July 28, 1998, just before the movie was released. Producers quickly changed billboards and posters to feature Lenny McLean as a tribute, even though Barry was only a supporting character.
- Ross Boatman turned down a starring role in the film, as he did not wish to be typecast following his appearance in Hard Men.
- The film uses Dexter Fletcher, P.H. Moriarty and Alan Ford in a tribute to the classic London gangster film The Long Good Friday.
- This is the second movie P.H. Moriarty and Sting both appeared in- the other being the movie version of Quadrophenia.
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The soundtrack to the film was released in 1998 in the United Kingdom by Island Records. A release in the United States in 1999 omitted nine tracks from the UK release.
Track listing
- Hundred Mile High City - Ocean Colour Scene
- "It's a Deal, It's a Steal" - Tom, Nick & Ed*
- The Boss - James Brown
- "Truly, Madly, Deeply" - Skanga*
- "Hortif***inculturalist" - Winston
- "Police and Thieves" - Junior Murvin
- "18 With a Bullet" - Lewis Taylor & Carleen Anderson*
- "Spooky" - Dusty Springfield
- "The Game" - John Murphy & David Hughes*
- "Muppets" - Harry, Barry & Gary
- "Man Machine" - Robbie Williams*
- "Walk this Land" - E-Z Rollers
- "Blaspheming Barry" - Barry
- "I Wanna Be Your Dog" - The Stooges
- "It's Kosher" - Tom & Nick
- "Liar Liar" - The Castaways*
- "I've been shot" - Plank & Dog
- "Why Did You Do It" - Stretch
- "Oh Girl" - Evil Superstars
- "If the Milk Turns Sour" - John Murphy & David Hughes (with Rory)*
- "Zorba the Greek" - John Murphy & David Hughes
- "I'll Kill Ya" - John Murphy & David Hughes (with Rory)*
- "The Payback" - James Brown
- "Fool's Gold" - The Stone Roses*
- "It's Been Emotional" - Big Chris
- "18 With a Bullet" - Pete Wingfield
- * Track omitted from 1999 U.S. release.
Deaths on screen
- The body count of the movie is 17. In chronological order:
1. Smithy Robinson - bludgeoned to death with "a 15-inch black rubber cock" by Harry
2. Gordon's unnamed associate - beaten to death with a golf club
3. Gordon - killed with a Chef's knife sharpening steel by Dog
4. Mickey - shot by Gloria
5. Paul - killed in the shootout at Eddie and Bacon's place
6. John - killed in the shootout at Eddie and Bacon's place
7-10. Rory Breaker's 4 henchmen - killed in the shootout at Eddie and Bacon's place
11. Plank - shot several times, until finally killed by Rory Breaker
12. Rory Breaker - shot by Plank
13. Dean - shot in the chest by Harry
14. Harry Londsdale - shot several times by Gary
15. Gary - killed with a hatchet to the back by Barry
16. Barry - shot in the stomach by Gary
17. Dog - crushed by a car-door by Big Chris
Trivia
- Due to the fact that Danny John-Jules had a brief role in the movie as Jack, some fans associated the role of Dean with Craig Charles, John-Jules's costar on Red Dwarf. The role was actually portrayed by Jake Abraham, who resembles and sounds like Charles in many ways and appeared briefly as an alternative version of his character in Red Dwarf.
- The scene where Chris repeatedly slammed Dog's head in the car door was repeated in the movie Snatch when the character 'Bullet-Tooth' Tony, also played by Vinnie Jones, is smashing an unknown person's head in a car door as his car phone is ringing. When he picks up the phone after smashing the victim's head, he politely answers, "Bonjour". This method of dispatching an enemy may have been mimicked from a scene in the 1980 film Raging Bull. Also possibly referring to a scene from the French movie Dobermann where the same kind of violence was shown.
- The line "I don't believe this, will everyone stop gettin' shot" was sampled in the 2000 garage UK #1 hit "Bound 4 Da Reload" by Oxide & Neutrino along with the theme tune to Casualty.
- The auction catalogue in which the value of the guns is revealed is by an auctioneer called Botherby's - a name play of Sotheby's.
- The characters of Dean and Gary are associated by many with "The Scousers" in the TV programme "Harry Enfield and Chums" among other portrayals of the classic Liverpudlian comedy duo.
- The Bollywood movie Phir Hera Pheri borrows heavily from Lock, Stock... including most of the plotline, several plot devices and even directly translated dialogue from English to Hindi.
- Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive wrote a song titled "Guns For Show, Knives For a Pro", a quote from the film.
- In the few seconds before Dean and Harry raise their guns at one another, the music played is a reference to Sergio Leone’s 1965 spaghetti western For a Few Dollars More.
- The plot has many similarities to the real-life Wonderland Murders in Los Angeles in 1981, as the main plot involves an inside job to rob a major drug dealer of his drugs and cash, and the retribution that follows. A dispute over antique guns was also a factor in the murders.
- A number of classic British cars appear in the film. A Mini, driven by J.D, a Ford Granada estate car driven by the gang on their return to Hatchett Harry's place. Vinnie Jones drives a Rover P6 3.5 litre, and later an AC Cobra. Also featured are the ubiquitous Ford Transit van and Ford Escort RS2000 driven by Dean and Gary. Tom is seen driving a Rover P5B at the end of the film.
- It is parodied in the Mitchell and Webb sketch Hons, Dons and two smoking M.A. Oxons.
- A board game based on the movie was invented in 2001, but didn't see the light of day due to Guy Richie and Matthew Vaughn being too busy, despite both liking the game.
- The traffic warden beaten up and bundled into the back of the van (along with the marijuana and money) is played by Welsh character comedian and impressionist Rob Brydon.
See also
- Snatch
- Borough market
- Ali Catterall and Simon Wells, Your Face Here: British Cult Movies Since The Sixties (Fourth Estate, 2001) ISBN 0-00-714554-3
External links
