Gangster No 1
Synopsis
"Because it's a simple, character-driven story we could put a lot of thought into the whole style of the film," explains McGuigan. The stylish surface is appropriate for the story of a man obsessed by the glamour of gangland life.
Production designer Richard Bridgland, who had the task of recreating 1960s London for the substantial portion of the film that takes place in flashback, says he responded to what he describes as the "mythic quality" of the script. "The gold, mirrors and glitter play a part because it's all empty, like the hollow victory Gangster scores," Bridgland explains. He and McGuigan searched for "1960s modern" locations in hotels, clubs and flats around London, while costume designer Jany Temime dressed the men in sharp suits from tailors such as Mark Powell and Ozwald Boateng. Paul Bettany, who plays young Gangster in the flashback scenes (Malcolm McDowell is the older, present-day Gangster) saw the image as essential to his character: "When you're standing there in a pure silk suit by Mark Powell... well, half your job's done for you."
McGuigan was drawn to the "powerful and unusual" script with its "poetic" voice-over, as were the actors; Thewlis describes the language as "stylised and eloquent, straight out of left field".
McGuigan's first full-length feature after his award-winning trilogy of shorts The Acid House, Gangster No 1 was released in the UK in June, to critical acclaim.
Details
- Year
- 2000
- Type of film
- Features
- Director
-
Paul McGuigan
- Composer
- John Dankworth.
- Dir
- Paul McGuigan.
- Exec prod
- Peter Bowles.
- Prods
- Norma Heyman, Jonathan Cavendish.
- Co-prods
- Nicky Kentish Barnes, Ulrich Felsberg.
- Scr
- Johnny Ferguson, based on the play by Louis Mellis and David Scinto.
- DoP
- Peter Sova.
- Prod des
- Richard Bridgland.
- Ed
- Andrew Hulme.
- Main cast
- Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, Saffron Burrows, Kenneth Cranham.
- Funding
- British Screen, BSkyB, Filmboard Berlin Brandenburg.
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
PAGODA FILM
Twentieth Century House31/32 Soho Square
London W1V 6AD
Tel: (44) 20 7534 3500
Fax: (44) 20 7534 3501
E-mail: pag@pagodafilm.co.uk
Sales Company
FilmFour International
(44) 20 7868 7700.Page updates
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