Legend [Blu-ray] [Region B]

It was a very good adaptation of the Krays and Francis and all involved still prefer the Krays featuring the Kemp brothers.

At the start of this film, the voiceover says "In London in the 1960s, everybody had a story about the Krays", and that is true. The Krays are part of London folklore, as much as Jack the Ripper, or the London Blitz. They are part of our dark gothic past, and I have known people who knew them. As a Londoner I have read, seen and heard just about everything on The Kray twins, and this movie just about covers all the important parts of their story. But first, let me tell you, the how, and the why The Kray twins took over London, and yes, they were that big. The reasons why the Kray Firm became so big is, ONE: In 1964, Harold Wilson's Labour Government, changed the gambling laws, thus opening betting shops and new casinos, (have you seen Peaky Blinders?) . The Kray firm took over many clubs and casinos, more than in shown in this movie, and the Mafia did move into London with The Colony Room, who had George Raft as the front man for it. The Kray Firm were also involved in every aspect of crime in London, from Purple Heart Pills, to "The Long Firm" swindles ... Then on the 30th July 1966, their biggest Gangster rivals, The Richardsons firm from South London, were arrested, thus giving the Kray firm free rein over all of London. This would only last for less than two years, as they were arrested themselves in May 1968. Soon after, the Labour government saw the error of their ways, and changed the casino laws, and kicked out all the American Mafia too... But for 4 years, the Kray Twins did run London.... back to the movie... OK, em, ... Tom Hardy and Tom Hardy, are a great pair of actors. Tom Hardy plays both Twins, that have distinctively different personalities, and you can't see the lines in between the two. Tom Hardy is brilliant at playing the Brothers. The script is very good too, with many little touches from their story. For example, Reggie and Frances visit Ronnie in his Caravan, and we hear a Winston Churchill speech. This is never explained or spoken about, but in real life, whenever Ronnie Kray went into a bout of depression, he would listen to Churchill's speeches on vinyl records, for hours and hours at a time. This is a great film, I could argue about what they left out, and bits that weren't in it, for example, the death of Jack the Hat was much, more brutal in real life, also that when Ronnie shot Cornell in the Blind Beggar, the record "The Sun isn't gonna Shine Anymore, was playing on a record player at that moment... Ironic and dramatic at the same time, but true. To tell the whole story of the Krays on film, would be too long and too unbelievable, but it did happen, and this movie is the best story so far, about them. If you enjoyed this movie, I would suggest Charlie, starring Luke Goss. Charlie tells the story of Charlie Richardson and the Richardson gang, and it makes a good campaign piece to this film. Don't be put off by Luke Goss, he is very good as Charlie Richardson, and this is a good movie. And... I would say, have another look at the Kemp bros in the 1990 movie The Krays. This movie dealt with The Twins relationship with their mother, and is has it's interesting moments. As for Tom Hardy... he is a LEGEND

Great movie and quality

This is a very good albeit very unsettling film. The main characters are very dark and troubled, and this is portrayed very well by the acting and directing. Definitely worth seeing.

Great film, highly recommend a watch.

Enjoyed this production.

An astonishingly good film and one which I almost passed over. It's impossible to spend forty years, in England, without picking up bits and pieces about the seedy, greedy underbelly of London that was the Kray operation. Also there was the film, "The Krays", of the nineties - which might have imprinted itself on, and taken up residence in, a collective imagination. So it was hard for me to come to this without any prejudice. Then there was the hype that accompanied 'Legend's cinema release (hype is usually hiding flaws) and my constant anxiety about finding the mythologizing of a subject so grim in any way enjoyable. Watched as if it is a work of complete fiction, and taken at face value, this film is a tour de force. I absolutely can't pick fault with it. Some viewers, though, might not be able to exclude the thought that this is based on a horrific reality and find the humour (if it can be called that) distressingly misplaced. The cast... Well, for a start, I had succeeded in ignoring the hype so well that I wasn't sure if the Kray twins were played by one person or not! I actually started to think they didn't look that much like twins. The end titles came as a bit of a surprise. I suppose that's the magic of perfect acting - that the two personas were so clearly defined, in every way, that (from starting out thinking that the split screen work was excellent) ten minutes in I thought it was really clever that the production had managed to find two brothers who were both such good actors. (Because, obviously, I have never heard of Tom Hardy before.) The cast.... there wasn't a weak link among them and it was great to see so many veterans with meaty parts.

What an Awesome Release from Studiocanal! A Chunky box, well packaged and Presented, No steelbook, but still very good! 4K picture was phenomenal, the Restoration was handled very well!