Product Details

• Actors: Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, Steven Berkoff, Victor Spinetti, John McEnery
• Directors: Peter Medak
• Producers: The Krays ( The Kray Brothers ) ( The Kray Twins ), The Krays, The Kray Brothers, The Kray Twins
• Format: Import, PAL
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Universal
• Run Time: 115 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000PSRB6S
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,335 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: Peter Medak directed this fact-based drama, chronicling the lives of the infamous Kray Brothers, notorious celebrities in 60s London. The Krays were twin gangsters who ruled London's stylish East End club scene, staking out their territory by committing the most violent crimes imaginable, preferring to perform the most torturous acts themselves. The film stars Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp, founding members of the pop group Spandau Ballet, as Ronald and Reginald Kray. The film opens as their mother Violet Kray (Billie Whitelaw) recalls a dream in which she is a swan from which two beautiful babies have hatched. She can't tell if the swans are angels or demons, but the film soon answers that question for her. Brought up in London's East End in the 1930s, Ronald and Reginald Kray are raised in the resentful world of Violet, who is hateful of her lot in life and bitter at the control men have in running the world ('Housework is a lethal business,' she says). The twins react to each other almost telepathically and they take out their anger by clogging the nose of their sleeping father (Alfred Lynch), pushing around fellow schoolboys, and even beating each other to pulp at a boxing match. When her mother chastises them for their fight in a fairground boxing ring ('You fight them up, but you don't fight each other'), the twins veer into the London underworld. In their self-contained world of Us-Against-Them, the Krays rapidly rise to the height of power, first taking over the territory of a petty mobster by violent means and then putting together an underworld empire of posh clubs, cars, and fancy suits. But at the...The Krays ( The Kray Brothers ) ( The Kray Twins )

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only on dvd, August 8, 2005

By 

Charles Wilson "nelson kiwi" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Krays - Bonded by Blood [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Why isnt this movie on dvd in the USA? Its one of the best movies about gangsters Ive ever seen.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, April 25, 2006

By 

Ian Phillips (Bolton, Lancashire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Krays [Region 2] (DVD)

A vastly intelligent and utterly compelling biopic of Britain's most famous gangsters. When they weren't running shady protection rackets or inflicting horrific, gangland punishment on rival mobsters, the twin brothers contrarily made life generally safe for East Enders.

Writer Phillips Ridley and director Peter Medak shrewdly focus on the brothers complex personalities, showing their devotion as brothers to one another, their fierce loyalty to their mother and the rest of their family and their manically controlling and possessive hold over their lovers.

The film begins during World War 2 showing how the young Krays adapted to life in the East End during the war and some of the unscrupulous characters they met along the way as children which inevitably had some sort of psychological influence on them when they grew up.

The film chronicles their rise as rulers of the underworld and complimenting the rich, fine dialogue are the films two leading actors - a fantastic turn from ex- Spandau ballet members and real-life brothers, Martin and Gary kemp. Both put in concentrated, naturalistic and convincing performances.

Billie Whitelaw shines as their mother (who went on to win an oscar for her performance as Best Supporting Actress). Never once does she shrink to stereotype which is always so easy the case in roles such as these.

The film evokes a tense atmosphere throughout, building on suspense as the Krays steadily build their empire with a string of nightclubs and their protection rackets.

Some of the violent occurences in the film are stomach churning such as where one of the Krays sticks a sword directly through a rival mobsters palm whilst the bloody climax is played out to perfection.

Supporting performances from the likes of Tom Bell as Jack "the hat" Mcvitie, Susan Fleetwood as Charlotte Cornwell May and Kate Hardie as Frances are all equally superb and effective, each biting into their roles with seemingly a vengenace and making the most of every scene they're in.

A must see film that is gripping from beginning through to the bitter end!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Criminal Twins: A Volatile Combination, June 14, 2000

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Krays - Bonded by Blood [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Great casting coup by having brothers Gary and Martin Kemp portray real-life English criminals Reggie and Ronald Kray. I agree that the boxing scene between the two could not have been more realistic if the actors had not been siblings. Although a "contest" between the two, it is this warning to others who may cross either of the guys' paths: WATCH OUT! WE ARE TROUBLE!

Both Kemps are excellent and are matched in performing by the always magnificent Billie Whitelaw as their overprotective but well-meaning mother. Due to the family's economic situation and her less-than-perfect marriage, Whitelaw's Violet is a most intriguing character.

Although it contains some acts of disturbing violence, the story itself keeps the viewer engrossed as it reveals a seedier side of the "proper" English. It shows that America doesn't have a monopoly on gangsters.