Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels-Locked n' Loaded Director's Cut DVD Review
Posted by Chad Webb on 10.19.2006
This disc has flaws, but it's not as bad as being betean to death by a 15 inch black rubber dildo.
Nick Moran: Eddie
Jason Flemyng: Tom
Dexter Fletcher: Soap
Jason Statham: Bacon
Vinnie Jones: Big Chris
Lenny McClean: Barry the Baptist
P.H. Moriarty: “Hatchet” Harry Lonsdale
Steve Mackintosh: Winston
Nicholas Rowe: J
Nick Marcq: Charles
Stephen Marcus: Nick the Greek
Vas Blackwood: Rory Breaker
Sting: JD
Directed By: Guy Ritchie
Theatrical Release Date: March 5, 1999
DVD Release Date: October 3, 2006
Theatrical Running Time: 107 minutes
Director’s Cut Running Time: 120 minutes
Theatrical Rating: Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, sexuality and drug content.
Director’s Cut Rating: Unrated
The Film
Every time a new director emerges with a storyline that holds colorful characters, a complex plot, and aggressive camera work, it is almost inevitable that somebody somewhere will compare them to Quentin Tarantino. That was most certainly the case with Guy Ritchie’s 1999 offering Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, despite its critical success. It is no secret that Tarantino was an innovator, who paved the way for many aspiring filmmakers, but leaving this brilliant piece of cinema with the Tarantino scar is unbefitting of the genius that this film exposed to the world. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is wickedly hysterical adrenaline rush filled with a plentiful amount of guns, money, drugs, and profanity. Regardless of any similarities to Pulp Fiction, this caper flick is worth just as many repeated viewings.
Eddie (Nick Moran) has been an intelligent card player for many years, but when he and his friends decide to combine their money in order to obtain a chair at an illegal high stakes game, they find themselves owing $500,000 to a man named “Hatchet” Harry Lonsdale (P.H. Moriarty). Eddie’s pals are Soap (Dexter Fletcher), Bacon (Jason Statham), and Tom (Jason Flemyng). The four are understandably upset by the news that if they do not pay this debt in a week’s time, each of them will lose one finger per day. The group begins discussion on various plans to get the money quick. Meanwhile next door, a gang of thieves are planning to ambush a clandestine drug operation for money and marijuana. The walls are thin, which causes Eddie and his friends to overhear the whole scenario. Providing Eddie’s clan is able to steal their neighbors score, they could be home free. On the surface, it sounds like a simple plan, but as everything starts to unravel, the twists and confusion disrupt the entire scheme. If Eddie and his friends cannot come up with the money, their fingers, and their family could be in jeopardy.
Though the performances are wonderfully entertaining and sharp, this is not a film in which the acting should be analyzed a great deal. The filmmaking is so superb that every actor brought their A-game to the table. Obviously, it is worth noting that this movie helped catapult the career of hopeful action star Jason Statham. His charisma is evident here, but his acting talent excels in this role much more so than any throw away action flick he has participated in. Having just been released from police custody, Vinnie Jones is the other gentleman worth mentioning. Hic character is beyond mean. Jones has one of those natural glares to his face that cannot be created or learned in cinema. Sadly, he has not received, or chosen any role that is significant since, unless one includes Gone in Sixty Seconds or the ridiculous X-Men III. Ritchie has each of his main performers molded to perfection with panache and adeptness.
Oddly enough, Jones and Statham are the most recognizable faces, besides Sting of course. Writer and director Guy Richie denies being influenced by Tarantino, and to be quite blunt, who really cares if he was or not. Any resemblance to Tarantino is minor in my opinion; because Richie’s whole methodology is divergent from others. This story is packed with better humor, while being light on brutality. It gives shout out to multiple genres and filmmakers. The blood spills behind closed doors, and not in the viewers face. There is room for both types of direction. Other comparisons have been made to Trainspotting. True, some aspects of the camera work and editing are the same, but Trainspotting should not even be mentioned in the same sentence as this. That was a despicable and utterly hollow film. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is a refreshing, erratic, and side-splittingly brilliant roller coaster ride.
My summary above does not even begin to cover all the notable characters, and intriguing sub-plots, but that is the violent beauty of the story. I would not say it relies on twists and turns. The surprises occur gracefully with spirit. This version of Ritchie’s classic is definitely different from the theatrical release. Almost a dozen sequences have been inserted, and some add appropriate splashes of background story. For instance, the history of JD and Harry is presented, as well as the rules of 3 Card Brag, and more scenes with Big Chris. I enjoyed this updated cut better than the original for two reasons: the supplementary humor and further developed sub-plots. This film is not a masterpiece however. Although the slang is funny, and the complexity of the plot is absorbing, the two mixed together can be frustratingly indecipherable at times. This fault can be mended with a simple press of the menu button to expose the subtitles. All is explained and clear after that.
There is only one reason this film was given a DVD double dip, or can be spotted on the IMDB.com top 250. It is the excellent contribution by the crew. Most especially, the gritty cinematography of Tim Maurice-Jones, the slick editing of Niven Howie, and the energetic music provided by David A. Hughes and John Murphy. Each of these members is lead by the half deliberate, half spontaneous filmmaking by Guy Ritchie. He keeps the exhilaration infinite, the wit unexpected, and the resourcefulness abundant. It is not impossible that Ritchie discovered certain techniques on his own. This same approach is apparent in the equally as exceptional follow up, Snatch. On a side note, one personal favorite segment of mine is the ending, which is marvelously clever. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels can be most suitably described as a caper comedy of errors which would take the Three Stooges (or the Marx Brothers as Ebert put it), move them to a violent area in London, and introducing them to weapons. All that being said, it is still fantastic.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track brings a quality sound experience to the table, but it is surely nothing to go bonkers about. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included. They add a problem to the whole DVD in that sometimes the subtitles ran too far up on the screen, making it hard to read them at certain points. It is obvious the manufacturers of this disc did not go that extra mile by remastering the sound, but for the most part everything sounded balanced.
The Video
One flaw that accompanies this film everywhere is the picture. It is no secret that Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is pretty tough to view at times, but strangely enough, it does add a bit of distinctiveness to the movie itself. It was filmed using a 16mm and expanded onto a 35mm. The result for this disc is an anamorphic widescreen transfer with a 1.85:1 ratio that has numerous soft spots, plenty of noticeable grain, and requires more detail. However, if one finds themselves thinking that somebody should have taken five minutes to clean the camera lens, remember that the dirty picture could all be part of the atmosphere Ritchie wanted. The coloring is not very substantial either as this is packed with grays and browns. I have not seen the other versions of the film on DVD, so I cannot compare this with those pictures, but this does have room for improvement.
The Extras
It is important to have a little history lesson before we discuss the special features. The flick was released on DVD late in 2002 on Polygram. That was the theatrical cut that most are familiar with. That version only had a couple of extras also, but as far as I know they were different from the ones seen here. That disc featured a production featurette, a cockney dictionary, and both the U.K. and U.S.A trailers. The cockney dictionary is a guide to all the films slang. It also had cast and crew filmographies. Unfortunately, neither disc has a commentary track.
One Smoking Camera (11:08) - This is the longer of the two extras, and it basically has interviews with Cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones, Editor Niven Howie, and Special Effects man Simon Gosling as they chat about some of the more intricate sequences like the exploding briefcase of money, and the girl on the couch going berserk with the gun. This was actually very interesting for how short it was. It could have easily been longer. The film is good enough that more special features are needed. They state that the low budgetness made the movie interesting.
Lock, Stock, and Two Fu**ing Barrels (1:54) – This is a somewhat pointless, and short little compilation of all the expletives that can be heard. It is amusing for a second, but all together a worthless extra.
The Film: 9.0/10.0
The Audio: 7.5/10.0
The Video: 6.5/10.0
The Extras: 5.5/10.0
The 411: This is one movie that seems to remain outstanding as each year passes by. It has enough of a fan base that future moviegoers will watch and enjoy it for years to come. Writer/Director Guy Ritchie might have disappointed many with Swept Away, but the world remembers that he created two classics in Lock, Stock and Snatch. The humor infused with the violence generates fabulous chemistry between the cast members. The DVD itself seems a bit indolent however. It appears that this is another clumsy double dip. What the film needs is a deluxe 2 disc edition to please everyone. Still, the price on this will be cheap enough that if you do not already own it, this is worth picking up just because the film is friggin awesome.
