Bermondsey Tales, Fall of the Roman Empire

Based on true events, get ready for an explosive thriller set amongst the criminal underworld of South London, as members of a powerful but unconventional family prepare for a fight to take the throne…Crime boss Mick Roman is deathly ill, and time is running out to find a successor. His only options are an aging consigliere and impulsive enforcer, both who are unsuitable to take over the family firm. Meanwhile, chaos reigns over Mick’s family who are dealing with a paranoid ex-soldier, the return of a rebellious niece, and a drug-fuelled business meeting in Amsterdam. With deceit, ambition, and infighting on the rise, this Roman empire may be about to fall.

Made me laugh out loud while watching this with headphones on.. this is a great film with plenty of hilarious scenes. A great cast too! Some may not like it, but I loved it! (Jim. Londoncrime founder)

Keep an eye out for this in stores and online!

The Drugs Game

A dark and sinister modern day film of Britain’s notorious underworld, based on true events. Charlie returns home from a 10 year prison sentence to find out that things aren’t quite like they used to be. He soon finds himself on one hell of a mission to take back the empire that was once his. Taking things from one extreme to another , Charlie gets mixed up in all kinds of shady activities.

Ill Manors
In a city controlled by guns, gangs and the illegal drug trade an unseen war is raging. It is a turf war fought between rival dealers and the city’s armed police units as they battle to clean up the blood-filled streets.
As the pavements become a battleground, one man tries to break the cycle of violence but ends up going head to head with some of the most vicious criminals that inhabit the brutal London underworld.

Snatch

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewellers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond in this crime comedy. Starring Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones, Stephen Graham, Alan Ford, William Beck, and many more stars! Absolutely Brilliant, one of the best London films !

Fred: The Godfather of British Crime

This is a sombre examination into the psyche of former London gangster Freddie Foreman: 85 years old, allegedly responsible for multiple murders, and nearing the end of his life. Fred is the only gangster who lived through the turbulent history of the British underworld and survived to tell the tale. This crime documentary is a great addition to our British gangster films collection.

Hackney’s Finest

A bent cop hires a group of Russian gangsters to take out a small-time heroin dealer and his associates.

The Hatton Garden Job

This has to be here in our London films collection. A remarkable true story of the largest heist in English legal history. Four ageing East End criminals – led by 76 year-old Brian Reader (Larry Lamb) drill into a steel-and-concrete secured safety deposit vault in London’s Hatton Garden jewellery quarter. With everyone from the Hungarian mob to Scotland Yard on their tail, will they commit the crime of the century or pay with their lives?

Based on his real-life autobiography, 2007’s Rise of the Footsoldier follows Carlton Leach (Ricci Harnett) as he evolves from feared football terrace general to a member of one of the most notorious British gangs that operated throughout the late eighties and early nineties. Also starring Craig Fairbrass, Roland Manookian and Terry Stone.

The Long Good Friday

The Long good Friday is universally regarded as one of the greatest British gangster films ever made, The Long Good Friday rocketed Bob Hoskins to international stardom playing the part of Harold Shand. Bob Hoskins plays the part brilliantly in The Long Good Friday, this is a gangster movie with a great plot, fantastic views, and is a pure slice of movie history. Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) is a businessman with great ambitions, a London gangster, who aspires to become a legitimate businessman that is trying to form a partnership with a boss of the American Mafia, with plans to redevelop London’s Docklands. Spotting the development potential of London’s derelict Docklands area years before the Thatcher government, he tries to broker a deal with his American counterpart that will make them both millions. But who is killing Harold’s other associates and blowing up his businesses – and why?
An all time classic British gangster film, The long good Friday has some real decent footage of London in the late 70’s. (The film was actually completed in 1979, but delays in the release tends to see this a 1980 release. You cannot miss this, as it is one of the best British gangster films ever and a real classic of the London films!

Get Carter (DVD)

Another great Classic in our list of British Gangster Films, acclaimed 1970s British thriller starring Michael Caine as a hardened gangster returning to his hometown in search of the truth behind his brother’s death. Though originally from Newcastle, Jack Carter (Caine) has made his name in London as a tough enforcer for the crime boss, Gerald Fletcher (Terence Rigby). On hearing of his brother’s death, Carter returns to Newcastle for his funeral and to investigate his suspicion that his sibling may have been murdered. After visiting local gangster Cyril Kinnear (John Osborne), Carter is threatened and advised to head back to London. Jack refuses and descends further and further into the city’s underworld as his investigations begin to pay off. His search is merciless, unrelenting and fraught with danger and it becomes clear that he will stop at nothing to exact his own brand of justice. This is an absolute classic of the British Gangster films genre..

Buster

This is a semi-comic look at the real-life experiences of gangster Buster Edwards (Phil Collins), who fled England with his wife (Julie Walters) after helping perpetrate the Great Train Robbery of 1963. Arriving in Mexico, they hoped to find paradise, but life was not quite as they expected. With a soundtrack partially written and performed by Phil Collins. Although there are many films about the great train robbery, this is (I think) on of the most authentic London films about Buster Edwards. A classic and another of the best British gangster films.

Mona Lisa

Five years after The Long Good Friday which had to be one of the greatest British gangster films, Bob Hoskins returned to the gangster film genre as George, a chauffeur hired by a slimy gangland kingpin (Michael Caine) to transport a high-class prostitute (Cathy Tyson) from client to client. When she enlists his help in tracking down an old friend, George finds himself exploring a hellish underworld that he never imagined existed. Director Neil Jordan (The Company of Wolves, The Crying Game) and co-writer David Leland (Made in Britain) achieve a perfect blend of hard-edged realism and unexpected fantasy whilst Hoskins’ immensely complex, subtle and moving performance received awards around the globe.

Cass. DVD.

London films like this cannot be missed. based on the true story of a Jamaican baby who loses his parents and is subsequently adopted and raised by an elderly white couple in London. During his childhood Cass (Nonso Anozie) is forced to endure racist bullying, until one day he takes matters into his own hands and responds to the constant taunts with a violent outburst. Cass becomes addicted to the buzz of fighting and soon becomes one of the most feared and respected men in the city. Unfortunately, his new way of life eventually leads to an assassination attempt against him. Cass survives but is left with an important choice – to fully embrace the violence that has shaped his life or to make a completely new start.

Vendetta [DVD]

VENDETTA is a hard hitting urban vigilante film set against the backdrop of broken Britain. A British film from the producer of White Collar Hooligan and Fall of the Essex Boys starring Vincent Regan, Nick Nevern, Danny Dyer, Bruce Payne, Josef Altin and Tony Denham. Produced by Jonathan Sothcott (White Collar Hooligan, Devil’s Playground). Written and directed by Stephen Reynolds (Fall of the Essex Boys). A former Special Forces Interrogator on the run from the military returns home to avenge the murders of his parents. With the police closing in & his old unit on his trail, he has to evade capture long enough to complete his gruesome crusade.

Villain (1971)

One of the best classic British Gangster films, based on James Barlow’s novel, ‘Burden of Proof’, Cathleen Burnett plays the long suffering mother who attempts to keep her wayward and vicious son in line. Richard Burton plays the confused, angry young man who cannot get to grips with his homosexuality. Of the great London films out there, this has some great old footage in and around London.

We Still Steal The Old Way

The Archer Gang are back in this explosive pair of British gangster films. When the 70s underworld legends are tasked with robbing Britain’s richest Banker, they are caught mid-heist and sentenced to do time in Britain’s toughest prison. Encountering their old nemesis Slick Vic, who is intent on murdering the gang, the old-school criminals need to use all their wits to stage a daring escape.

St George’s Day [DVD]

St George’s Day is a thriller that follows the story of infamous gangster cousins Micky Mannock and Ray Collishaw. Having long since graduated from the terraces they now run the top firm in London. But when they lose a drug shipment belonging to the Russian Mafia, a turf war threatens to tear their empire apart. Their only hope is a potential heist in Berlin that’ll clear their debts and set them up for life. Pursued by the Russians and the police they travel undercover with a huge English super firm who are heading across to watch the 3 Lions play Germany on St George’s Day. We could watch British gangster films like this all day!

The Smoke

This was not greatly publicised, but in our London films collection, its a must. City lawyer Brad (Matt Di Angelo, Eastenders) is having the worst day of his life. His high-maintenance girlfriend has left him and to add insult to injury, he’s been fired too…. Things are not going his way, until he overhears a deal about to go down between East End gangsters Jack (Alan Ford, Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and Ben (Stephen Marcus, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) that will change his life forever. Before long, Brad manages to make off with a sports car, a call girl and £400,000 of stolen hard cash. It’s a one of the best British Gangster films and it will come as a surprise, you’ll wish you’d seen this long ago!

It’s amazing how quickly you can turn your luck around in two days in The Smoke.

The Italian Job (DVD)

London films like this one are a must for your collection. The quintessential British caper film of the 1960s, The Italian Job is a flashy, fast romp that chases a team of career criminals throughout one of the biggest international gold heists in history. Michael Caine is Charlie Croker, a stylish robber and skirt-chaser just out of British prison. A true classic British gangster film and certainly one of the best British gangster films.

Gangster No.1 (2000) [DVD]

Another in our list of the best British gangster films. Set in London, 1968. Gangster (Paul Bettany) is rising fast through the ranks of Freddie Mays’ (David Thewlis) crime organization, his ruthless efficiency soon making him Freddie’s right-hand man. But when Freddie falls for nightclub hostess Karen (Saffron Burrows), Gangster becomes jealous and begins to hatch a plot which will get rid of Freddie for good. Not for the squeemish! London films like this are few and far between!

Nemesis

When underworld kingpin John Morgan (Billy Murray) returns to London with his wife Sadie (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott) from their perfect life abroad, a feud is reignited with vengeful cop Frank Conway (Nick Moran) who is obsessed with bringing him down.
Meanwhile, pressure from big boss Damien Osbourne (Bruce Payne) only adds unnecessary heat to the rising tension within the family business, with Morgan’s brother Richard (Frank Harper) and nephew Eddie (Danny Bear) constantly at each other’s throats.

Villain

We know of two British gangster films of this title, so don’t confuse this with the classic Richard Burton film! Craig Fairbrass stars in VILLAIN which follows Eddie Franks (Craig Fairbrass). After being released from prison after 10 years, Eddie attempts to help his family by reconnecting with his daughter and clearing his brother’s debt. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself drawn back into a life of crime, with devastating consequences. Craig Fairbrass gives a stunning performance throughout, leading to a shock ending!