The Krays

The Krays
by Peter Medak

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Actor: Billie Whitelaw, Gary Kemp, Martin Kemp, Susan Fleetwood, Tom Bell
Director: Peter Medak
Cinematographer: Alex Thomson
Producer: Dominic Anciano
Producer: Jim Beach
Producer: Michele Kimche
Producer: Paul Cowan
Producer: Ray Burdis
Writer: Philip Ridley
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired); English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: PAL
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 119 minutes
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)

DVD Reviews of The Krays

DVD Review: wow so great
Summary: 5 Stars

so true and what a great movie a must own for anyone
loved the movie

DVD Review: Makes you wonder if justice was really served
Summary: 5 Stars

The real crime is that this film is not available on DVD in the US. Peter Medak's brutally violent gangster film based on the lives of Ronald and Reggie Kray who were played brilliantly by the Kemp brothers who fronted the 80s pop band, Spandau Ballet. Guy Ritchie's films don't cut it when it comes to British gangster films trust me. This is the real deal.

This is an intelligent biopic of Britain's most infamous gangsters, the twins who made life safe for East Enders when they weren't running protection rackets or inflicting gangland punishments on rival mobsters. To be fair, writer Philip Ridley and director Peter Medak largely avoid glamorizing the violent world of Reggie and Ronnie, and are more interested in unraveling the complex personalities of the two brothers. They are helped by surprisingly convincing lead performances from Martin and Gary Kemp, then better known from their kilt-wearing days with rock group Spandau Ballet, although Billie Whitelaw effortlessly rises above everybody else in the star-studded cast as the boys' best friend, their mom.

This is a hell of a feature film/documentary. tru to life account of what happened during the reign of the Kray twins and gang war with the Richardson's, including jack the hat etc.

DVD Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars

A vastly intelligent and utterly compelling biopic of Britain's most famous gangsters. When they weren't running shady protection rackets or inflicting horrific, gangland punishment on rival mobsters, the twin brothers contrarily made life generally safe for East Enders.

Writer Phillips Ridley and director Peter Medak shrewdly focus on the brothers complex personalities, showing their devotion as brothers to one another, their fierce loyalty to their mother and the rest of their family and their manically controlling and possessive hold over their lovers.

The film begins during World War 2 showing how the young Krays adapted to life in the East End during the war and some of the unscrupulous characters they met along the way as children which inevitably had some sort of psychological influence on them when they grew up.

The film chronicles their rise as rulers of the underworld and complimenting the rich, fine dialogue are the films two leading actors - a fantastic turn from ex- Spandau ballet members and real-life brothers, Martin and Gary kemp. Both put in concentrated, naturalistic and convincing performances.

Billie Whitelaw shines as their mother (who went on to win an oscar for her performance as Best Supporting Actress). Never once does she shrink to stereotype which is always so easy the case in roles such as these.

The film evokes a tense atmosphere throughout, building on suspense as the Krays steadily build their empire with a string of nightclubs and their protection rackets.

Some of the violent occurences in the film are stomach churning such as where one of the Krays sticks a sword directly through a rival mobsters palm whilst the bloody climax is played out to perfection.

Supporting performances from the likes of Tom Bell as Jack "the hat" Mcvitie, Susan Fleetwood as Charlotte Cornwell May and Kate Hardie as Frances are all equally superb and effective, each biting into their roles with seemingly a vengenace and making the most of every scene they're in.

A must see film that is gripping from beginning through to the bitter end!

DVD Review: If only on dvd
Summary: 5 Stars

Why isnt this movie on dvd in the USA? Its one of the best movies about gangsters Ive ever seen.

DVD Review: Gary Kemp Rules!
Summary: 5 Stars

Besides all the glorious years of Spandau Ballet Gary Kemp showed us that yes, he has more in him than writing awesome songs and playing a guitar! HE CAN ACT! "The Krays"...starring little brother Martin Kemp...is not to be missed if you're a fan of mob movies! Gary is hypnotising in this movie! If you're simply a fan of Spandau Ballet you'll enjoy seeing Gary and Martin, if you like a great mob movie you'll love "The Krays"! Gary Kemp is wonderful!

Description of The Krays

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: Peter Medak directed this fact-based drama, chronicling the lives of the infamous Kray Brothers, notorious celebrities in 60s London. The Krays were twin gangsters who ruled London's stylish East End club scene, staking out their territory by committing the most violent crimes imaginable, preferring to perform the most torturous acts themselves. The film stars Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp, founding members of the pop group Spandau Ballet, as Ronald and Reginald Kray. The film opens as their mother Violet Kray (Billie Whitelaw) recalls a dream in which she is a swan from which two beautiful babies have hatched. She can't tell if the swans are angels or demons, but the film soon answers that question for her. Brought up in London's East End in the 1930s, Ronald and Reginald Kray are raised in the resentful world of Violet, who is hateful of her lot in life and bitter at the control men have in running the world ('Housework is a lethal business,' she says). The twins react to each other almost telepathically and they take out their anger by clogging the nose of their sleeping father (Alfred Lynch), pushing around fellow schoolboys, and even beating each other to pulp at a boxing match. When her mother chastises them for their fight in a fairground boxing ring ('You fight them up, but you don't fight each other'), the twins veer into the London underworld. In their self-contained world of Us-Against-Them, the Krays rapidly rise to the height of power, first taking over the territory of a petty mobster by violent means and then putting together an underworld empire of posh clubs, cars, and fancy suits. But at the

Director Peter Medak's gritty voyage into the world of organized crime in 1960s London is a disturbing character study of the two most frightening and influential gangsters to ever come out of England, Ronnie and Reggie Kray. The ingenious casting of former pop icons Gary and Martin Kemp (of Spandau Ballet) as the powerful Kray brothers works well, establishing an eerie, unspoken connection between the two that is unsettling and extremely daunting.

One scene in particular epitomizes that bond: Ronnie and Reggie come face to face in a boxing ring, each daring the other through snarls and psychopathic grins to knock the other down. Ringside spectators can't really understand the brothers' confrontation, but in the Krays' eyes we can see their power and unspoken resolve, as well as their sense of themselves as existing in an upper echelon of strength and sheer will that clearly separates them from the onlookers.

It's this intense self-confidence that enables the Krays to rise from working-class obscurity to the highest ranks of organized crime. The Kemp boys also do a splendid job in portraying the inherent instability associated with the Krays. This true story follows the brothers from childhood through their rise and then fall from grace, as their personal lives and violent natures culminate in two murder charges, resulting in 30 years of imprisonment. Beyond its folkloric power, The Krays also captures a post-World War II London still recovering from the war's devastation, dismissing the mythos of the Swinging '60s people so fervently relate to this period. --Jeremy Storey

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