Snatch (film)

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Snatch
Theatrical poster for Snatch
Directed by	Guy Ritchie
Produced by	Matthew Vaughn
Written by	Guy Ritchie
Starring	Jason Statham Stephen Graham Dennis Farina Vinnie Jones Brad Pitt Alan Ford Lennie James Ade Robbie Gee Rade Šerbedžija Benicio del Toro
Music by	Noel Gallagher Massive Attack John Murphy Tim Rowlands
Cinematography	Tim Maurice-Jones
Editing by	Jon Harris
Distributed by	Columbia Tri-Star
Release date(s)	September 1, 2000
Running time	103 min. (approx.)
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	US$10 million (approx.)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Snatch is a 2000 film by British writer-director Guy Ritchie. It features an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the movie contains two intertwined plots — one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham) who finds himself under the thumb of a psychotic gangster named Brick Top (Alan Ford).

The film is characterised by an assortment of colourful characters, including the "pikey" Irish Traveller Mickey O'Neil (Pitt), Russian-Uzbek ex-KGB agent and arms-dealer Boris 'the Blade' Yurinov (or Boris the Bullet-Dodger) (Rade Šerbedžija), professional thief-gambling addict Frankie "Four-Fingers" (Benicio del Toro) and bounty hunter Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones). It is also distinguished by a kinetic direction and editing style, a circular plot featuring numerous ironic twists of chance and causality, and a fast pace.

The movie shares similar themes, ideas and motifs as Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It is also filmed in the same visual style and features many of the same actors, including Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham and Jason Flemyng, who appears in a minor role as one of the 'pikeys'. It has been noted by some critics that Snatch bears a resemblance to the 1994 film Pulp Fiction; both deal with underworld criminals, very valuable items (the glowing case in Pulp Fiction and the diamond in Snatch), and boxers (Butch, Bruce Willis, in Pulp Fiction; and Mickey, Brad Pitt).^[1]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Reaction 3 Eventual fate of each character 4 Soundtrack 4.1 Track listing 5 References to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 6 DVD releases 6.1 Deluxe Edition error 7 Trivia 8 Notes 9 External links

[edit] Plot

The movie contains two main plots that intertwine. The first centres on a very valuable 84 carat (17.2 g) diamond (about the size of a "fist", as described by one of the robbers). It is stolen by Frankie 'Four-Fingers' (del Toro) in Antwerp and brought to London, (originally to be brought to a group of Jewish money launderers, led by Abraham "Cousin Avi" Denovitz) where he and the diamond fall afoul of local thieves and underworld figures, all of whom scramble to claim the diamond for themselves. The other plotline revolves around an unlicensed boxing promoter named Turkish who finds himself in debt to a psychotic local crime boss, Brick Top (infamously known for feeding those who fall out of his favour to his prized pigs), after his boxer Gorgeous George is incapacitated in a dispute with Mickey over a caravan. Forced to improvise, Turkish and his partner Tommy decide to acquire the services of Mickey, the same pikey who knocked out Gorgeous George. As events twist and turn, the two situations blend into one with a chain reaction of events carrying on for each and every character.

[edit] Reaction

Snatch was largely successful, both in critical acclaim and at the box office, and has gone on to develop a devoted cult following. From an estimated budget of $10,000,000 (according to the Internet Movie Database), the movie grossed a total of $30,093,107 in the United States and £12,137,698 in the United Kingdom.^[2] Rotten Tomatoes lists Snatch as having 73% of the reviews (120 reviews listed in total) as being "fresh" (positive),^[3] and as of May 2008 the Internet Movie Database ranks it at #166 of their 250 most popular films as voted by regular users.^[4]

While the film received mostly positive reviews, several reviewers commented negatively on perceived similarities in plot, character, setting, theme and style between Snatch and Ritchie's previous work, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. In his review, Roger Ebert, who gave the film two stars, raised the question of "What am I to say of "Snatch," Ritchie's new film, which follows the "Lock, Stock" formula so slavishly it could be like a new arrangement of the same song?",^[5] and writing in the New York Times Elvis Mitchell commented that "Mr. Ritchie seems to be stepping backward when he should be moving ahead".^[6] Critics also argued that the movie was lacking in depth and substance; many reviewers appeared to agree with Ebert's comment that "the movie is not boring, but it doesn't build and it doesn't arrive anywhere".^[5] The lack of prominent female characters was also commented upon by many reviewers.

[edit] Eventual fate of each character

Character	Actor	Status	Explanation
Turkish	Jason Statham	Alive	Accidentally finds the diamond and takes it to Doug The Head. Doug calls up Avi who promptly flies over, but it is not clear if Turkish sells the diamond or not. The film ends without a full resolution.
Tommy	Stephen Graham	Alive	Gains a dog, and alongside Turkish, finds the diamond in the dog.
Gorgeous George	Adam Fogerty	Alive	Broken neck and jaw (gained early on in film by Mickey).
Mickey O'Neill	Brad Pitt	Alive	His Pikey friends have just killed Brick Top, Errol, and his hit squad.
Boris The Blade	Rade Šerbedžija	Deceased	Killed in the Drowning Trout by Bullet Tooth Tony.
Sol/Solomon	Lennie James	Arrested	The body of Frankie Four Fingers is found in their car by the police.
Vinnie/Vincent	Robbie Gee	Arrested	See Sol/Solomon
Tyrone	Ade	Unknown	Last seen at the Drowning Trout.
Bad Boy Lincoln	Goldie	Unknown	Last seen in Brick Top's meat locker, but he is allowed to leave.
Douglas "Doug The Head" Denovitz	Mike Reid	Alive	Turkish & Tommy bring the diamond to him, and he calls Avi to tell him.
Abrham "Cousin Avi" Denovitz	Dennis Farina	Alive	Flies over to London after Doug calls him.
Frankie "Four-Fingers"	Benicio del Toro	Deceased	Killed, and soon after has his arm severed, by Boris the Blade, for the briefcase containing the stolen diamond.
Bullet Tooth Tony	Vinnie Jones	Deceased	Shot accidentally by Avi, who is aiming wildly at Vinnie's dog
Brick Top Polford	Alan Ford	Deceased	Killed by Mickey's Gypsy friends in retaliation for killing Mickey's Mother, after the bare-knuckle boxing match.
Errol	Andy Beckwith	Deceased	Killed alongside Brick Top.
Rosebud	Sam Douglas	Deceased	Impaled in car crash.
John	David Legeno	Unknown, Presumably Alive	Last seen kidnapping Tyrone alongside Errol, not in Brick Top's limo or with hit squad at bareknuckle boxing match.

[edit] Soundtrack

Snatch: Stealin' Stones and Breakin' Bones
Soundtrack by various artists
Released	January 9, 2001
Genre	Rock Pop Brit pop Reggae
Label	Univeral International TVT Records
Professional reviews
All Music Guide Link
Guy Ritchie film soundtracks chronology
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) Snatch (2000) Swept Away (2002)

Two versions of the soundtrack album were released, one on the Universal International label with 23 tracks and a TVT Records release with 20.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Diamond" - Klint
2. "Vere Iz da Storn?" - Benicio del Toro
3. "Supermoves" - Overseer
4. "Hernando's Hideaway" - The Johnston Brothers
5. "Zee Germans" - Jason Statham
6. "Golden Brown" - The Stranglers
7. "Dreadlock Holiday" - 10cc
8. "Kosha Nostra Theme" - John Murphy (composer)
9. "Avi Arrives" - Dennis Farina
10. "Cross the Tracks (We Better Go Back)" - Maceo & the Macks - this is the bookie scene
11. "Disco Science" - Mirwais
12. "Nemesis" - Alan Ford
13. "Hot Pants (I'm Coming Coming I'm Coming)" - Bobby Byrd
14. "Lucky Star" - Madonna
15. "Come Again" - Alan Ford
16. "Ghost Town" - The Specials
17. "Shrinking Balls" - Vinnie Jones
18. "Sensual Woman" - The Herbaliser
19. "Angel" - Massive Attack
20. "RRRRR... Rumble"
21. "Fuckin' in the Bushes" - Oasis - the final fight, where Mickey wins
22. "Avi's Declaration" - Dennis Farina
23. "Don't You Just Know It" - Huey "Piano" Smith

[edit] References to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

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Several similarities, aside from almost similar themes and motifs can be spotted to Guy Ritchie's earlier film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

• When Bullet Tooth Tony is introduced in the film, he is seen slamming a car door against a gangster's head. Vinnie Jones's character in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels did the same thing at the end of that movie.

• Alex and Susi repeat the lines "Yeah dad, you told us" while in conversation in with Doug the Head, first separately and then in unison. This scene resembles the conversation with Hatchet Harry, Barry the Baptist and Chris in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels with the line: "No Harry, you can't."

• The use of leitmotifs for the characters. In Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, there are sharp transitions of background scores when different characters make their appearances, such as the scene where Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap enter into their apartment, followed by a different theme for their neighbours. Also, Hatchet Harry's is a slow jazzy theme.

• Near the end of the film, Bullet-Tooth Tony runs out of bullets for his Desert Eagle after shooting Boris The Bullet-Dodger multiple times in the pub, and he could not shoot Tyrone. This results in the phrase: "You lucky bastard!". This is a reference to Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, where near the end of the film Big Chris (also played by Jones), finds the bag of stolen money in Bacon's car after crashing into him. This results in the phrase: "You cheeky bastard!"

• Use of cliffhanger endings in both movies, both of which involve large amounts of money for the protagonists. At the end of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Tom is seen to almost throw the antique musket rifles (worth about two-hundred thousand pounds) over a bridge. At the end of Snatch, Turkish and Tommy take the diamond to Doug, who promptly calls up Cousin Avi. They might receive a generous sum of money for the diamond, they might have the diamond taken from them, or they might get shot.

[edit] DVD releases

The film has been released in multiple incarnations on DVD.

In 2001, a two-disc "Special Edition" was released, containing both a full screen and widescreen presentation of the feature. Also included was an audio commentary track with director Guy Ritchie and producer Matthew Vaughn. The special features on the second disc included a "making of" featurette, deleted scenes, original theatrical trailer and TV spots, text/photo galleries, storyboard comparisons, and filmographies.

On 17 September 2002, Sony released a "Deluxe Collection" set in the company's superbit format. This release contained two discs, one being the special features disc of the original DVD release, and the other a superbit version of the feature. As is the case with superbit presentations, the disc was absent of the additional features included in the original standard DVD, such as the audio commentary. (The disc did still contain subtitles in eight different languages including a "pikey" track, which only showed subtitles for the character Mickey.)

Nine months later, in June 2003, a single disc setup was released, with new cover art, containing the feature disc of the special edition set. This version was simply a repackaging, not including the second disc.

[edit] Deluxe Edition error

In January 2006, yet another two-disc set was released. This version was set to be a repackaging of the original two-disc special edition release, containing the same features and content, but with different menu setups and decor. The box set featured a new theme represented in the cover art and included were a custom deck of playing cards and dealer button in the same theme. Also included was a supplemental booklet revealing extended filmography information about the cast as well as theatrical press kit production notes.

Soon after the set was released, it was discovered the feature disc that was supposed to contain the film in its original special edition incarnation (with audio commentary, et cetera) was not included. Instead the superbit release, containing the higher quality version of the film, was in its place.^[7] Customers posted in multiple online forums detailing the mistake.^[8][9][10] Some customers were happy with the switch while others were disappointed, as the disc contained a higher quality display of the film, but lacked the audio commentary track and the "Stealing Stones" feature option that were stated as included on the packaging.^[8]

According to some customers, after e-mailing Sony and explaining the situation the company replaced the customer's disc with the correct version.^[9][10]

It has also been stated that the error has since been corrected and later releases of the Deluxe Edition set included the proper disc.^[9]

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• DJ Goldie has a few lines in the film, as Bad Boy Lincoln, a yardie trying to pawn items to Vinnie and Sol and then trying to help them get rid of Frankie's body.
• In two scenes with Bullet Tooth Tony, the song Lucky Star by Madonna can be heard. Madonna is director Guy Ritchie's wife.
• Writer-director Guy Ritchie originally had planned to work another plot twist into the film, involving a false diamond that resembles the 86 carat diamond. However, he eventually decided that the subplot was unnecessary, and all the scenes involving this were cut from the final cut of the movie. Most of the cut scenes can be seen as extras of the DVD of the film; among them is a scene in which Tony, Avi and Brick Top attempt to negotiate for the diamond.
• In the beginning of the film, the diamond is referred to as weighing 86 carats (17.2 g), while later on, it is mentioned that the stone is 82 or 84 carats.
• An accent teacher was employed purely to help Brad Pitt (Mickey) speak "Pikey".^{[citation needed]}
• The film comes in at No. 57 on the list of films that most frequently use the word "fuck" with a total of 159 uses of the word.
• A Hindi movie named Fool N Final (released in 2007) is based on the movie Snatch, with many people and a dog after a diamond, and an intertwined, fixed boxing match. Incidentally, controversial ex World Champion boxer Mike Tyson also stars in the movie.
• Quarashi's video for Stick 'Em Up is a parody of Snatch.
• Horace 'Good Night' Anderson was Scott Welch, former British heavyweight boxing champion.
• The Israelli Grindcore band They Swarm used the "Nemesis" quote on their EP, The Mundane Corruption.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Snatch at the Internet Movie Database
• Snatchweb.com Sound files from the film
• DVD versions and details

v • d • e Films directed by Guy Ritchie The Hard Case (1995, short) • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) • Snatch (2000) • Swept Away (2002) • Revolver (2005) • RocknRolla (2008)