''The Krays'' is a 1990 British

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Peter Medak Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions. Early life Born in Budapest, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Med ...

. The film is based on the lives and crimes of the British gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as The Krays. The film stars

Billie Whitelaw Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was a ...

, Tom Bell, and real life brothers Gary and

Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also ...

, both of whom were members of the band

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

Plot

The film charts the lives of the

Kray twins Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Engl ...

from childhood to adult life. The plot focuses on the relationship between the twins and their doting mother (Whitelaw). Ronald (Gary Kemp) is the dominant one, influencing his brother Reginald (Martin Kemp) to perform several acts of violence as they rise to power as the leaders of a powerful organised gang in 1960s London. The movie focuses more on the personal life of the brothers, including Reg's marriage and then alienation from his wife, culminating in her suicide. The movie omits the police investigation going against the Krays and ends with a jump-cut to them attending their mother's funeral in 1982, already serving time in prison by then.

Cast

Reception

''The Krays'' holds a rating of 82% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 17 reviews.

Box office

The film opened at the top of the UK box office with a gross of £1,036,117 for the week. It remained at number one for a second week and went on to gross £3,707,649 ($7 million) at the UK box office. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $2,060,847.

Awards

*Nominee Best Supporting Actress – BAFTA (

) *Winner Best Film –

Evening Standard British Film Awards The Evening Standard British Film Awards were established in 1973 by London's ''Evening Standard'' newspaper. The Standard Awards is the only ceremony "dedicated to British and Irish talent," judged by a panel of "top UK critics." Each ceremony ...

(

) *Winner Most Promising Newcomer –

( Philip Ridley) *Winner Best Actress – International Fantasy Film Awards ( Fantasporto) (

) *Nominee Best Film – International Fantasy Film Awards ( Fantasporto) (

) *Winner George Delerue Prize for Music –

Ghent International Film Festival Film Fest Ghent, spelt Film Fest Gent in Flemish and also known as International Film Fest Gent, is an annual international film festival in Ghent, Belgium. The festival held its first edition in 1974, under the name Internationaal Filmgebeure ...

(

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was bor ...

)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krays, The 1990 films 1990s biographical drama films 1990 crime drama films 1990s gang films British biographical drama films British crime drama films British gangster films Crime films based on actual events Drama films based on actual events 1980s English-language films Hood films Films scored by Michael Kamen Films about dysfunctional families Films about murderers Films about twin brothers Films directed by Peter Medak Films set in the 1930s Films set in the 1940s Films set in 1951 Films set in the 1960s Films set in 1982 Films set in London Georges Delerue Award winners Works about the Kray twins Films about organised crime in the United Kingdom 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films