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CONSENSUS
Gangster No. 1 is brutally violent, yet also compelling.
CAST & CREW
Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany
Directed by Paul McGuigan
more...
SYNOPSIS
When a young gangster (Paul Bettany) starts working for gang leader Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), known as the Butcher of Mayfair, he dreams of being everything that Freddie is: smooth, sophisticated, impeccably dressed, always with the right women, and driving the fanciest cars. more...
MPAA RATING
R, for strong brutal violence, pervasive language, and brief drug use and nudity
RUNTIME
1 hour, 45 minutes
RELEASE DATES
Theatrical: Jun 14, 2002
Video: Oct 8, 2002
RELEASE COMPANY
IFC Films
GENRE
Dramas, British, Sixties, London, England, Gangsters, Violence, 1960s, Storytelling, Criminals, Jazz
OFFICIAL SITE
• The Official Gangster No. 1 Site
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SOUNDTRACK REVIEWS
POSTERS
TRAILER & MEDIA
PHOTOS
TIDBITS
PRODUCTION NOTES
SUBMIT/EDIT ARTICLE
SUBMIT USER REVIEW
FORUM
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 "It's fascinating to see how Bettany and McDowell play off each other."
-- Jeffrey M. Anderson, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
"...two brilliantly vile performances by two sublimely in-sync actors."
-- Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWIRE
"The performances are remarkable."
-- Liz Braun, JAM! MOVIES
"As a movie, Gangster No. 1 is bunglesome, but as a feature-length musing on a theme, it's bold and resonant."
-- Bill Chambers, FILM FREAK CENTRAL
"Malcolm McDowell is cool. Paul Bettany is cool. Paul Bettany playing Malcolm McDowell? Cool."
-- David Cornelius, AMAZING COLOSSAL WEBSITE
"A splendid all-British cast, headed by Malcolm McDowell, carries this well-crafted character-driven portrait of London's Sixties gangland."
-- Colin Donati, IOFILM.CO.UK
 "A prolonged extrusion of psychopathic pulp."
-- David Elliott, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
"Here's yet another cool crime movie that actually manages to bring something new into the mix."
-- JoBlo, JOBLO'S MOVIE EMPORIUM
"The movie's captivating details are all in the performances, from Foreman's barking-mad Taylor to Thewlis's smoothly sinister Freddie and Bettany/McDowell's hard-eyed gangster."
-- Maitland McDonagh, TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE
"a compelling portrait of moral emptiness"
-- Harvey O'Brien, HARVEY'S MOVIE REVIEW
"In an Oscar caliber performance, Bettany plays an explosive character who spends most of the time repressing an evil grin."
-- Steve Rhodes, STEVE RHODES' INTERNET REVIEWS
"Glizty but formulaic and silly...Cagney's 'top of the world' has been replaced by the bottom of the barrel."
-- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY'S OPINION
"Dazzles with its fully-written characters, its determined stylishness (which always relates to characters and story) and Johnny Dankworth's best soundtrack in years."
-- Michael Thomson, BBCI FILMS
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"The film rehashes several old themes and is capped with pointless extremes -- it's insanely violent and very graphic."
-- Tim Cogshell, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"Paul Bettany is good at being the ultra-violent gangster wannabe, but the movie is certainly not number 1."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
"Yet another genre exercise, Gangster No. 1 is as generic as its title."
-- Daniel Eagan, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"The period -- swinging London in the time of the mods and the rockers -- gets the once-over once again in Gangster No. 1, but falls apart long before the end."
-- Marshall Fine, JOURNAL NEWS
"Not as well-written as Sexy Beast, not as gloriously flippant as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but stylish and moody and exceptionally well-acted."
-- Shawn Levy, OREGONIAN
"Feels like pieces a bunch of other, better movies slapped together."
-- Max Messier, FILMCRITIC.COM
"...works within its own pensive and penetrating element. Caustic and jaunty, Gangster No. 1 is a cynical sideshow that dismisses the notion that crime does not always pay."
-- Frank Ochieng, MOVIE EYE
"If you can stomach the rough content, it's worth checking out for the performances alone."
-- Paul Salfen, SUPERCALA.COM
"Clever, brutal and strangely soulful movie."
-- Ella Taylor, L.A. WEEKLY
"The most brilliant and brutal UK crime film since Jack Carter went back to Newcastle, the first half of Gangster No. 1 drips with style and, at times, blood."
-- Tor Thorsen, REEL.COM
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FRESH 67%
Avg. Rating: 6.6/10 |
"As happily glib and vicious as its characters."
-- Michael Atkinson, VILLAGE VOICE
"The film has a kind of hard, cold effect."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"A canny, derivative, wildly gruesome portrait of a London sociopath who's the scariest of sadists."
-- Owen Gleiberman, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"A movie that hovers somewhere between an acute character study and a trite power struggle."
-- Rick Groen, GLOBE AND MAIL
"Doesn't offer much besides glib soullessness, raunchy language and a series of brutal set pieces ... that raise the bar on stylized screen violence."
-- Edward Guthmann, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Certainly the performances are worthwhile."
-- Elvis Mitchell, NEW YORK TIMES
"Seeks to transcend its genre with a curiously stylized, quasi-Shakespearean portrait of pure misogynist evil."
-- Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER
"They crush each other under cars, throw each other out windows, electrocute and dismember their victims in full consciousness. And we don't avert our eyes for a moment."
-- Jan Stuart, NEWSDAY
"Gangster No. 1 is solid, satisfying fare for adults."
-- Kevin Thomas, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Just watch Bettany strut his stuff. You'll know a star when you see one."
-- Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
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"Great performances, stylish cinematography and a gritty feel help make Gangster No. 1 a worthwhile moviegoing experience."
-- Steve Tilley, JAM! MOVIES
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "Gangster No. 1" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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mikecandance
| In my bedroom, you'll find: "Plates and cups from midnight snacking, taped episodes of the Golden Girls and a body pillow shaped like a catfish." |
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