Sir Michael Caine and an all-star cast of British wrinklies bicker and creak their way through the audacious Hatton Garden heist that shuffles into an lacklustre crime caper.
The Hatton Garden heist is the biggest robbery in British history since Bruce Reynolds slipped into a train conductor’s uniform and ransacked £2.6 million pounds (that’s £50 million quid in today’s money) from a Royal Mail train back in 1963. Surely, in 2015 a new breed of lithe, cunning and internet ready thieves, tunnelled their way into Hatton Garden’s safety deposit box vault and pinched jewellery, cash and gold to the tune of an estimated £300 million pounds…?
No. Maybe, ten or so years younger than The Great British Train Robbers, Brian Reader at 76 with his four man crew of old lags and a so-called security alarm expert, pulled off an audacious Easter Bank Holiday robbery that gripped the nation, and the wider world.
The Hatton Garden heist is the biggest robbery in British history since Bruce Reynolds slipped into a train conductor’s uniform and ransacked £2.6 million pounds (that’s £50 million quid in today’s money) from a Royal Mail train back in 1963. Surely, in 2015 a new breed of lithe, cunning and internet ready thieves, tunnelled their way into Hatton Garden’s safety deposit box vault and pinched jewellery, cash and gold to the tune of an estimated £300 million pounds…?
No. Maybe, ten or so years younger than The Great British Train Robbers, Brian Reader at 76 with his four man crew of old lags and a so-called security alarm expert, pulled off an audacious Easter Bank Holiday robbery that gripped the nation, and the wider world.
- 9/5/2018
- by Thomas Salmon
- The Cultural Post
In the United Kingdom, just like any other country, we have our tales of gangsters and crooks that become legendary, not only for the crime but for the characters who took part in them. One of the biggest legends was The Great Train Robbery, which personally I first found out about through Buster starring Phil Collins, and now of course we have the BBC mini-series that was shown at the end of 2013, and is now released on DVD.
The Great Train Robbery comes in two parts, first looking at the robbery from the view-point of the criminals themselves, then the hunt which focuses on the police and their struggles to capture each member of the gang. With more of a focus on Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans), the so-called mastermind and planner of the robbery the drama looks to take the glamour out of the tale, not focusing on the characters...
The Great Train Robbery comes in two parts, first looking at the robbery from the view-point of the criminals themselves, then the hunt which focuses on the police and their struggles to capture each member of the gang. With more of a focus on Bruce Reynolds (Luke Evans), the so-called mastermind and planner of the robbery the drama looks to take the glamour out of the tale, not focusing on the characters...
- 1/6/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Pickpockets to highwaymen, bank heists to drug smuggling, the readers' collective Robin Hood act has made a treasure chest
Under the cover of darkness they came. Precious time was snatched to deliver. One reader endured terrible pain and went to hospital, another is set to move house, but this did not stop them. And another, more delightfully, saw the delivery of a beautiful baby (I dedicate this blog to you, prolific Rr regular BeltwayBandit - congratulations!), and despite all of this, during this crazy pre-Christmas period, you still brought riches. Thank you, me hearties, for your bountiful song booty! From rampant robbery to surreptitious smuggling your treasures cascaded through the cellar door of the Readers Recommend and I spent many hours admiring, examining, analysing and enjoying. I am a man poor in time, but rich in song.
And now my turn again to stand and deliver. And indeed, among all the thieves,...
Under the cover of darkness they came. Precious time was snatched to deliver. One reader endured terrible pain and went to hospital, another is set to move house, but this did not stop them. And another, more delightfully, saw the delivery of a beautiful baby (I dedicate this blog to you, prolific Rr regular BeltwayBandit - congratulations!), and despite all of this, during this crazy pre-Christmas period, you still brought riches. Thank you, me hearties, for your bountiful song booty! From rampant robbery to surreptitious smuggling your treasures cascaded through the cellar door of the Readers Recommend and I spent many hours admiring, examining, analysing and enjoying. I am a man poor in time, but rich in song.
And now my turn again to stand and deliver. And indeed, among all the thieves,...
- 12/19/2013
- by Peter Kimpton
- The Guardian - Film News
Review Louisa Mellor 18 Dec 2013 - 21:30
The first of two BBC films on the Great Train Robbery is slick stuff, but does it provide enough light and shade?
This review contains spoilers.
1.1 A Robber’s Tale
The Great Train Robbery. With a name like that, it’s no wonder we enjoy retelling this story. Had the 1963 Cheddington Mail Van Raid not been rechristened with such a swashbuckling title, you can bet we wouldn’t be here now, watching the credits roll on another dramatized version of events.
Or more properly, half a dramatized version. The second film in this diptych, A Copper’s Tale, airs tomorrow night and tells the same story from the other side of the thin blue line. Writer Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch, Torchwood) has cleaved the narrative into two neat halves: cops and robbers. In many ways, it’s a swell trick, the novelty of which tilts...
The first of two BBC films on the Great Train Robbery is slick stuff, but does it provide enough light and shade?
This review contains spoilers.
1.1 A Robber’s Tale
The Great Train Robbery. With a name like that, it’s no wonder we enjoy retelling this story. Had the 1963 Cheddington Mail Van Raid not been rechristened with such a swashbuckling title, you can bet we wouldn’t be here now, watching the credits roll on another dramatized version of events.
Or more properly, half a dramatized version. The second film in this diptych, A Copper’s Tale, airs tomorrow night and tells the same story from the other side of the thin blue line. Writer Chris Chibnall (Broadchurch, Torchwood) has cleaved the narrative into two neat halves: cops and robbers. In many ways, it’s a swell trick, the novelty of which tilts...
- 12/18/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Want to make sure you don't miss anything great on the telly in the next seven days? Never fear, because Tube Talk has done all the hard work for you and smushed all of this week's must-see TV into one snappy rundown. Check out what you should be checking out below...
Honorable mentions: Red John is unmasked in The Mentalist (Tuesday, December 17 at 9pm on Channel 5), ITV's festive fundraiser Text Santa returns (Friday, December 20 at 8pm on ITV) and Homeland's third season comes to a close (Sunday, December 22 at 9pm on Channel 4).
The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special: Tuesday (December 17) at 8pm on BBC Two
They got to sit back and cast a critical eye over a bunch of quivering amateurs earlier this year, but now it's the turn of Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to step up in The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special - and...
Honorable mentions: Red John is unmasked in The Mentalist (Tuesday, December 17 at 9pm on Channel 5), ITV's festive fundraiser Text Santa returns (Friday, December 20 at 8pm on ITV) and Homeland's third season comes to a close (Sunday, December 22 at 9pm on Channel 4).
The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special: Tuesday (December 17) at 8pm on BBC Two
They got to sit back and cast a critical eye over a bunch of quivering amateurs earlier this year, but now it's the turn of Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry to step up in The Great British Bake Off Christmas Special - and...
- 12/15/2013
- Digital Spy
Oscar winner Jim Broadbent will play Tommy Butler, the detective who relentlessly sought to bring the gang behind the infamous August 8, 1963 robbery of a Royal Mail train to justice. The BBC‘s two-part drama The Great Train Robbery kicks off with The Robbers’ Tale, the story of how the heist was planned and executed. Luke Evans will play Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the heist. The second part, A Coppers’ Tale, will feature Broadbent leading the Scotland Yard team Butler assembled to bring the thieves to justice in a race against time. Also joining A Coppers’ Tale are Tim Pigott-Smith (Downton Abbey, Alice In Wonderland), Robert Glenister (Law & Order: UK, Hustle), Tom Chambers (Waterloo Road), Tom Beard (Salmon Fishing In The Yemen), James Wilby (Titanic) and James Fox (W.E., Utopia). Created by Broadchurch and Camelot exec producer Chris Chibnall, the films are produced by World Productions for BBC One. Part...
- 5/2/2013
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
Martin Compston, Jack Roth, Neil Maskell, Paul Anderson, Del Synnott and Jack Gordon are all set to join the already cast Luke Evans in the BBC One's two-part drama "The Great Train Robbery".
Evans plays Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the infamous 1963 mail train heist, at the time Britain’s biggest ever robbery with a haul worth £41 million in today's money.
Filmed as two 90-minute telemovies, "The Robbers’ Tale" follows the thieves and ends in the immediate aftermath of the robbery. Julian Jarrold ("Brideshead Revisited," "Red Riding: 1974") helms this film which begins production later this month.
The second, "A Coppers’ Tale", focuses on detective Tommy Butler and Scotland Yard’s bafflement and frustration in the face of the crime, and their efforts to catch the robbers. James Strong ("Broadchurch," "Doctor Who") is helming the second telemovie which has yet to be cast.
The producers behind the acclaimed BBC2 drama "United" will also produce this.
Evans plays Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the infamous 1963 mail train heist, at the time Britain’s biggest ever robbery with a haul worth £41 million in today's money.
Filmed as two 90-minute telemovies, "The Robbers’ Tale" follows the thieves and ends in the immediate aftermath of the robbery. Julian Jarrold ("Brideshead Revisited," "Red Riding: 1974") helms this film which begins production later this month.
The second, "A Coppers’ Tale", focuses on detective Tommy Butler and Scotland Yard’s bafflement and frustration in the face of the crime, and their efforts to catch the robbers. James Strong ("Broadchurch," "Doctor Who") is helming the second telemovie which has yet to be cast.
The producers behind the acclaimed BBC2 drama "United" will also produce this.
- 3/6/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Broadchurch writer Chris Chibnall has penned new two-part TV film The Great Train Robbery for BBC One.
The first film will star Fast & Furious 6 actor Luke Evans as Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the famous heist.
Reynolds passed away last week at the age of 81, just months before the 50th anniversary of his audacious crime.
Chibnall's new drama will tell the story of how the robbery was inspired, planned, rehearsed and executed, with Reynolds and his team targeting the August Bank Holiday 1963 mail train from Glasgow.
Jack Roth (Bedlam) will play Reynolds's childhood friend Charlie Wilson, with Utopia's Neil Maskell cast as ambitious Ronald 'Buster' Edwards and The Sweeney's Paul Anderson set to play professional Gordon Goody.
Martin Compston (Line of Duty), Del Synnott (The Silence) and Jack Gordon (Panic Button) will also star in the film, directed by Julian Jarrold (The Girl, Appropriate Adult).
Writer/exec producer...
The first film will star Fast & Furious 6 actor Luke Evans as Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the famous heist.
Reynolds passed away last week at the age of 81, just months before the 50th anniversary of his audacious crime.
Chibnall's new drama will tell the story of how the robbery was inspired, planned, rehearsed and executed, with Reynolds and his team targeting the August Bank Holiday 1963 mail train from Glasgow.
Jack Roth (Bedlam) will play Reynolds's childhood friend Charlie Wilson, with Utopia's Neil Maskell cast as ambitious Ronald 'Buster' Edwards and The Sweeney's Paul Anderson set to play professional Gordon Goody.
Martin Compston (Line of Duty), Del Synnott (The Silence) and Jack Gordon (Panic Button) will also star in the film, directed by Julian Jarrold (The Girl, Appropriate Adult).
Writer/exec producer...
- 3/6/2013
- Digital Spy
(Paul Bettany in Gangster No. 1, above.)
[I did this interview with Paul Bettany in 2002 and it originally appeared in Venice Magazine, This was one of the earlier long-form interviews he did in the States. Other than as the "Naked Guy" in A Knight's Tale and the imaginary roommate in A Beautiful Mind, he was unknown to the American public at the time. But Gangster No. 1, while not a perfect film (largely due to the difficulty in believing that Bettany grew into Malcolm McDowell as an older man), showcased an actor in Bettany who had screen presence and intensity that was impossible to look away from.
Bettany is currently starring in the film Legion, set to open this month. Here's a look back at the period in his life when he was just about to become famous.]
The Contender
With Gangster No. 1, Paul Bettany reveals himself, all hype aside, as one of the most promising actors of his generation.
by Terry Keefe
The Silent Scream. As delivered by Paul Bettany in his new film Gangster No. 1, it's one of the most bone-chilling moments you'll see on screen this year, or any other year, for that matter. And there isn't a CGI effect in sight. Bettany simply closes his eyes, kicks back his head, and unleashes a blood-curdling scream as the sound drops out completely. This amazingly effective moment is designed to symbolize the unrelenting evil which lurks within Bettany's character, known only as Young Gangster, as he...
[I did this interview with Paul Bettany in 2002 and it originally appeared in Venice Magazine, This was one of the earlier long-form interviews he did in the States. Other than as the "Naked Guy" in A Knight's Tale and the imaginary roommate in A Beautiful Mind, he was unknown to the American public at the time. But Gangster No. 1, while not a perfect film (largely due to the difficulty in believing that Bettany grew into Malcolm McDowell as an older man), showcased an actor in Bettany who had screen presence and intensity that was impossible to look away from.
Bettany is currently starring in the film Legion, set to open this month. Here's a look back at the period in his life when he was just about to become famous.]
The Contender
With Gangster No. 1, Paul Bettany reveals himself, all hype aside, as one of the most promising actors of his generation.
by Terry Keefe
The Silent Scream. As delivered by Paul Bettany in his new film Gangster No. 1, it's one of the most bone-chilling moments you'll see on screen this year, or any other year, for that matter. And there isn't a CGI effect in sight. Bettany simply closes his eyes, kicks back his head, and unleashes a blood-curdling scream as the sound drops out completely. This amazingly effective moment is designed to symbolize the unrelenting evil which lurks within Bettany's character, known only as Young Gangster, as he...
- 1/13/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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