Review of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: The Director`s Cut

Introduction

Guy Ritchie made his debut directing music videos, and obviously wanting something a bit more demanding and enjoyable, he decided to write a script. That script became Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, a crime caper set in the East End of London, focusing on four mates who are deep over their heads.

Eventually, Ritchie landed the gig as director as well, and began transferring the script to screen. The plot is simple: Soap, Bacon, Tom and Eddie are four mates who owe local gangster Hatchet Harry £500,000 after Eddie lost to him in a game of Three Card Brag. They have just seven days to come up with the goods, otherwise Harry`s personal goon (played by the late Lenny McLean) will rough `em up big time. So, they hatch a plan to steal dope off some local drug runners, and then sell it back to the crazed, afro-wielding gangster Rory. On a trivia note, this is the movie that launched Vinnie Jones` acting career after a successful (and controversial), professional football career, most notably with Wimbledon. Vinnie plays Big Chris, a debt collector who works for Harry.

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is not your average crime thriller. It is instead a twisted blend of black comedy, thrills (and indeed spills) and a tad bit of action to make its running time fly by. Ritchie has not only created an enjoyable crime caper, but also an ever-quotable, ever-amusing movie that can be re-watched over and over again. Some of the humour is so subtle it will take you numerous re-watchings to catch it, but it will be worth it. In essence, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is the British answer to Pulp Fiction - and it`s not everyday I compare a movie to the stature of Tarantino`s flick.

Video

It is presented in 1.85:1 Widescreen Letterbox, which is OK, but not the best print on Earth. The visuals are nice and deep for most of the movie, and there are no compression signs...just the odd bit of dust here and there.

As mentioned above, Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels has a hell of a lot of visual humour, kind of Airplane! style if you get my meaning.

Audio

A DD 5.1 track is on offer, reproducing the dialogue crisply and clearly, and the surrounds and subwoofer get a good workout. The main audio stream is always good, and the ambience level is just right.

The script is excellent - it is the heart and soul of the movie, and Ritchie really can write, and it`s good to see some fresh British talent. Ritchie followed this up with Snatch, which, although it possessed another sharp script (and the acting talents of Jason Statham, who plays Bacon in this movie), it just didn`t match Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels in terms of enjoyment.

Features

This being the Director`s Cut of the movie, it has some features the original disc didn`t, most notably 15 minutes of extra footage, which adds a bit more depth to the proceedings.

Then, we have some behind-the-scenes interviews (the usual stuff), an out-takes montage (a few funny bits here), the trailer and a booklet containing some production notes and the chapter listings. The menus are animated with the theme tune and depict Vinnie in a not so amicable mood.

Overall, rather sparse unfortunately.

Conclusion

The movie is great, to put it bluntly. It possesses a massive replay value, so this is a perfect movie to own.

Disc wise, everything is OK, but the one rant I have is the extras: this is supposed to be a Director`s Cut after all. They only offer a tiny insight into what could be an interesting production story, so you can`t help feeling short-changed.

However, rant aside, this is a must-have DVD.