Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels Initial release: August 28, 1998 Director: Guy Ritchie Producer:

Matthew Vaughn Screenplay: Guy Ritchie Distributor: Polygram Filmed Entertainment Budget: $1,350,000 Box office: $25,297,569 Cast: Jason Flemyng as Tom Dexter Fletcher as Soap Nick Moran as Eddy Jason Statham as Bacon Long-time friends Bacon, Eddy, Tom and Soap put together 100,000 so that Eddy, a genius at cards, can buy in to one of Harry "The Hatchet" Lonsdale's (P. H. Moriarty) card game. Harry learns that Eddy is a genius at the game through his bodyguard Barry "the Baptist" (Lenny McLean). Knowing that he cannot win he decides to fix the game. He does so by having Barry watch a feed from a camera hidden behind Eddy, and reveal Eddy's card values to Harry by a system involving a device hidden on Harry's leg. Eddy loses not only his 100,000 buy-in, but an additional 400,000 that Harry bullied him into borrowing to play out the biggest pot of the night. Harry demands repayment within a week. Genre This film is a British crime film with elements of social realism in some parts of the film. The iconography in this film makes it clear for the audience because of the narrative with the four main characters dealing in various crimes from the beginning. The personalities of the characters and their general presence also makes it clear for the audience to see what genre the film is and the way they deal with the various events in the film also clearly links back to the theme. As the budget was quite low, it also meant that the setting would have to be realistic in order for costs to stay down and this takes it back to the social realism element of the film in which it is set in urban London but this works well because it makes the crime element of the film seem more realistic. An example of iconography within the film is at the beginning because you see Bacon selling on a street corner and he then gets chased by the police in which he ends up getting away but for people who havent seen the film and dont kno w what is going on, this allows for the audience to make the link to the genre of the film and in turn, makes it easier overall to understand. Another example of iconography where a scene links to the genre is where you meet Big Chris who is played by Vinnie Jones. His first scene is in a sun bed shop where he has to look for one of many debtors to Harry. You see that he begins to hit the lid of the sun bed off this unaware character and his son, Little Chris is also helping out his dad but he is only a young kid which shows that his father has put him into this world that he shouldnt be in and this again allows us to make the link to the genre of the film because of the way that they act and how they go about doing things. Audience Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is aimed at quite a niche audience. With it being a British crime film, it is aimed more at a mature male audience however even though it is aimed at a niche audience, it still managed to make a huge profit at the box office and that is down to the production values and overall plot. It therefore makes it quite a risk to make a film of this genre on such a low budget because if the film is aimed at a very select audience and it doesnt turn into a hit, it results in a big loss an d becomes a flop.

Media Language Throughout the film, you see many examples of media language and this is so that the audience can get a better understanding of the trailer and this builds a narrative which then sums up the storyline. In the first scene of the film, you see Bacon selling illegally on the street and he is then subsequently chased down by the police. This first scene builds a narrative because it means that the audience can already get a feel for what the film is going to be like and they can instantly link the genre to the film. Another example within the film is when you see Eddy playing the initial cards game that gets him into such debt. The location is inside an old boxing ring in a bit of a rundown gym and this intimate setting shows that what they are doing is quite dodgy and when it comes to gambling and Harry puts down a large bet, this is when the audience know that this is what is going to set the film up. Also, you see where Harrys office is and it is based above a dingy back street sex shop which again links back to the genre of crime making it seem a lot dodgier. When it comes to this scene, the character of Barry The Baptist is introduced and he is sat in the corner where he tells Harry about Eddy. His strong cockney accent and large stature shows that he is a body guard of some sort and the narrator describes where his name came from showing snippets of him holding debtors heads under water which is why he gets his name. This again helps to build a narrative and allows for the audience to understand the film. Another use of media language is through non diegetic sound with the narrator who is present throughout the film. His strong cockney accent allows us to make the link to the sub urban London location and builds a clear narrative throughout allowing the audience to understand the film and get a feel for each character as the film goes on and he almost represents each character in the film with the cockney terms and accent. Another use of non diegetic sound is right at the end of the film where you see that the four main characters all come out on top and the song that plays in the background is Stone Roses Fools Gold which is relevant to the situation as it is the four characters at the start who get themselves into huge debt but still manage to come out on top. Another use of media language within the film is when you see the posh drug dealers who are growing large amounts of marijuana in their homes. They defeat the stereotype of drug dealers because of their posh exterior and their polite manners however, when it comes to defending their drug money, they dont real ly know what they are doing which shows that they are really fish out of water and shouldnt be dealing wi th what they are. Narrative The story is about a group of men that find themselves in a large sum of debt with one of the most notorious gangsters in London. It follows the events leading to the group finding the money to save themselves and the trouble they get in with the other criminals in London along the way. In relation to the theory of Vladimir Propp, you could say that the heroes are the 4 main characters owing the debt and Harry is the dispatcher and villain in the film because he is the one who sends them off to return his money within the week. You could say that Eddys friends are the helpers because they arent directly involved and dont actually owe the debt however they still help Eddy in order to pay back Harry. In relation to the theory of Todorov, there is a state of equilibrium at the beginning before they get involved with Harry and everything is relatively calm. The state of disequilibrium is when Eddy loses the card game and him and his mates recognise the situation they are in and realise that they have to act quickly. The repair of this situation is throughout the film where they commit various crimes in order to get some sort of money so they have something to give Harry. The new equilibrium is at the end where Harry and Barry are murdered in their office and Tom is able to take the money without any consequences. Representation Within the film, there are many stereotypes that are conformed and challenged. The theme of age is challenged with Little Chris. He is probably only 12 but he is still involved in the crime world with his father and this challenges our general outlook on how young children should be. People think of young kids to still be at school and having some sort of childhood however with Little Chris, he is living in a world of crime and almost living the life of an adult. Another example of representation in the film is the theme of regional identity. You see the two Liverpudlian characters, Gary and Dean who conform to the general stereotype we have of people from Liverpool. They wear shell suits throughout the film and have curly hair which we as an audience would relate to this part of the country. The characters from London also conform to the stereotype of cockneys that have a strong London accent and are often involved with crime. These representations allow us as an audience to understand the film a bit more and allow some to relate in some way.