Gangster No. 1
Directors: Paul McGuigan
Producers: Jonathan Cavendish, Norma Heyman
Writers: Johnny Ferguson
Features: 1.85:1 Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio | Enhanced for Widescreen Televisions | Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | Audio Commentary | Behind the Scenes Featurettes | Deleted Scenes | Theatrical Trailer
Characters:
Gangster 55 - Malcolm McDowell
Freddie Mays - David Thewlis
Gangster - Paul Bettany
Karen - Saffron Burrows
Genre: Action/Adventure
Review:
In the tradition of Goodfellas, The Godfather and Reservoir Dogs comes Gangster No. 1.
A British film about the journey of a street thug as he becomes head of a notorious gang, Gangster No. 1 tells an interesting, but not really entertaining, story.
The film is incredibly violent, and though the violence is certainly justified (and in a lot of cases implied more than seen) by the characters, that doesn't make it any less difficult to watch.
I have a pretty high tolerance for violence in film, and I still found myself shocked at what I was seeing in this film.
The violence aside (and it is a big part of what the film is), Gangster No. 1 tells a pretty standard story of rising to the top. The difference is that this Gangster's rise is out of envy, rather than personal desire.
Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange) does an admirable job of playing the older Gangster, with Paul Bettany (A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind) playing the young Gangster.
Both performances are amazing, but Bettany's is especially striking since most of the work we've seen him in on this side of the pond has had him playing likeable characters.
Gangster is NOT a likeable character.
Bettany seems to have channeled the young Malcolm McDowell from A Clockwork Orange when playing this part, and does a stunning job of portraying an absolute sociopath.
The DVD has a decent picture, but not earth-shattering. Sound quality is good, though the film doesn't really take advantage of the expansive nature of a Dolby Digital mix.
The bonus features are decent, with deleted scenes, a behind the scenes featurette and an audio commentary.
The deleted scenes were primarily deleted because they were uninteresting. One was deleted because it took the violence a step too far (and I agree with the director on that one). They're interesting to watch, and give you an idea of how much more violent this film could have been than it even is.
The featurette is interesting because the actors talk about what drew them to the film. It's interesting to hear Malcolm McDowell admit that the scripts he receives lately are less than stellar.
I'd recommend renting Gangster No. 1 before purchasing it. It's definitely not a film for the squeamish.
See Gangster No. 1 for the performances, and tolerate the violent nature of the film. You won't regret it.
--Ken Pierce
Contributing Editor: www.dvdfuture.com