Eddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.Eddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.Eddy persuades his three pals to pool money for a vital poker game against a powerful local mobster, Hatchet Harry. Eddy loses, after which Harry gives him a week to pay back 500,000 pounds.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 13 wins & 9 nominations total
- Willie
- (as Charlie Forbes)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was dedicated to Lenny McLean, who played Barry the Baptist. He died of lung cancer exactly one month before the film's premiere. The dedication reads as follows: "In memory of LENNY McLEAN (The Guv'nor)"
- GoofsEddy says that the two guns are the only thing that connects them to the events, but the shoot-out over the money and marijuana happened at their apartment, leaving a number of bodies. It is also unclear how the police never showed up after all of the shooting when the boys arrived later.
- Quotes
Bacon: What's that?
Samoan Joe's Barman: It's a cocktail. You asked for a cocktail.
Bacon: No. I asked you to give me a refreshing drink. I wasn't expecting a fucking rainforest! You could fall in love with an orangutan in that!
Samoan Joe's Barman: You want a pint, you go to the pub.
Bacon: I thought this was a pub!
Samoan Joes Barman: It's a Samoan pub.
- Crazy creditsIn the closing credits, the character names in the cast list are shown entirely in lower-case letters with no initial capital letters.
- Alternate versionsNew footage included in director's cut:
- at the very start of film, Ed is shown explaining the rules of 3 Card Brag to two people;
- the scene where Big Chris goes to see the man on the sunbed is longer
- Tom, Soap and Bacon are shown walking through the pub to the bar while Ed is playing cards
- the earlier stages of the card game are shown
- Alan explains to Ed the "history" between JD and Harry
- when Barry is talking to the two scousers the dialogue is different
- when Big Chris is walking into Harry's office near the end, he meets the man who was on the sunbed near the start of the film.
- when Ed is being interviewed by the police you see him finishing explaining the rules of 3 Card Brag to them (as seen at very start)
- just before the credits, you see Soap telling a whole joke in the car when they are coming back from the job
- three outtakes are shown during the credits: one with Soap telling a joke, the next where Barry asks one of the scouser's for an ice cream and one where a guy runs onto the set.
- SoundtracksHundred Mile City
Performed by Ocean Colour Scene (as Ocean Color Scene)
Courtesy of Universal Music (UK) Ltd.
Written by Damon Minchella, Simon Fowler, Oscar Harrison and Steve Cradock (as Steve Craddock)
© 1997 Island Music Ltd.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen LS&2SB and still cannot put my finger on why I find this movie so good to watch. I suppose the most obvious feature of this movie is that it is beautifully balanced between being serious and humorous at the same time. The characters are two-dimensional. The villains are menacing, and yet they are made to look like idiots, and the good guys think they are so smart yet keep getting the rug pulled from under them. They are all projected as 'cool' yet the situation is always out of their control. Maybe it could be called a satire on true life.
The style of this movie is unique, full stop. I cannot think of any movie that can be compared to LS&2SB. Quite a few people say that the style is a mix of 'Pulp Fiction', 'Goodfellas', 'Trainspotting' and 'Reservoir Dogs', but I think that you would make that kind of description only if you are really desperate to match LS&2SB to something.
The best description I can think of is 'MTV does a crime comedy', and I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with that. Like music videos, it is all non-stop movement and sound. Something is always happening but unlike music videos, not without reason.
The humor is incredibly sharp yet 'as a matter of fact'. No one is really trying to be extraordinarily funny, but again it is the balance between being menacingly serious and funny that the humor really flies at you. I think that it is for this reason that a few people are really disappointed with LS&2SB. If you are expecting a 'belly laugh Leslie Nielson, Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, typecasted' type all out comedy, or a serious 'Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, DeNiro typecasted crime thriller, you will find this movie a big let down.
My favorite characters are Rory Breaker (Vas Blackwood) and Big Chris (Vinnie Jones) mainly because their two dimensional over-the-top characters are the most obvious. Big Chris takes his son with him debt collecting, and while he beats up someone who owes chastises him for swearing in front of his son and Rory Breaker is the most idiotic drug-lord you could come up with.
I haven't even mentioned the excellent and unique camerawork, speaker blowing soundtrack, beautifully threaded plot, perfect ending and the grittiest visuals I've seen. You wont see any reflective glass laden sky scrapers here, or 'over head city shots', or incredible special effects. This movie has actors I have never heard of, dialogues that you have to rewind and replay to understand, buildings that look as though they have been condemned for demolition, cars that wouldn't even be seen in our scrap yards, has probably been made with a budget that most movies in Hollywood use for make-up alone, has no love scenes, or romance or complex relationships, no Oscar-worthy performances, and yet is perfect entertainment.
Where our movies normally rely on budgets, this movie works on human talent alone.
If any movie deserves a 10 out of 10, then this is it.
'And there's one more thing...............it's been emotional'
- CriticNick
- Dec 18, 1999
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Băng Đảng Người Anh
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £960,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,753,929
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $143,321
- Mar 7, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $3,753,929
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1