Institute History
Description
It is no wonder that Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is already a box-office hit in Great Britain. Stylish, funny, and fast paced, it is loaded with comic-book violence that rivets you in your seat and keeps you there.
The original caper begins with a high-stakes card game. Tom, Bacon, and Soap have culled their life savings and bet their money and their faith on Eddy, their best mate. Eddy never loses. When their “sure thing” goes terribly wrong, the gang ends up not on top of the heap, but in debt way over their heads to local porn king Hatchet Harry. Now they must make a lot of money fast, or someone will start losing fingers, one at a time. This is just the jumping-off point for a wildly enjoyable escapade, propelled by greed, human folly, and lots of luck…or lack of it.
Director/writer Guy Ritchie distinguishes himself as a promising force in new British cinema. With his debut feature, he never misses a beat while infusing the story with quirky insights and pulp-fiction antics that lift this genre film to a new level. The big cast is gigantically talented. It is as if he raided the entire stable of fine British actors. Together they embody a gangster caste system that is intricately set into motion. In Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels , there are bad guys, really bad guys, and really really bad guys, but that’s the very thing that makes it so much fun to watch.
Guy Ritchie, Director
Thirty-year-old Guy Ritchie grew up in London. He has always been passionate about making films, having been inspired to become a director after watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid . He started his film career in 1993, and by 1995 was directing music promos for bands as well as commercials. With profits from his commercials, he wrote and directed a twenty-minute short film, The Hard Case. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is his first feature film.