Peaky Blinders

[Pickman's model]

But the Belfast OB is trying to recruit the peaky blinders as informants against the Fenians and the Communists. She'll have to shag them too.

it's good for the navy

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

the series is set in 1919.
there was a riot in bilston in 1919 when a copper struck an ex serviceman, leading to the police barricading themselves in the station, which luckily for them was the only one in the country with a dry moat.

interesting how the writer has hinted at that sort of sentiment with tommy shelby's comment about the copper being in a reserved occupation.

i really think this has a lot of depth to it.

There was a reference at the start by Shelby bro snr to rival bookie 'Billy Kindle'. Sounds a little like 'Billy Hill' latterly William Hill, Britains biggest bookie. Hill was born in Brum in 1903 and worked in the BSA factory as an apprentice...so the timing is almost right. He left for Ireland in 1919 though to join the black and tans.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

A pop quiz for people here regarding the brummy accent. Just to try and gauge what peoples perceptions are. How would you say that a person from Birmingham would pronounce the following lines:

1. In half an hour it will be half past three.
2. I can tell you've been drinking because I can smell it on your breath.
3. My teeth fell out because I didn't brush them with a toothbrush.

1 - "It's three o clock"
2 - "You smell like you've been on the piss"
3 - "Ow"

 

[DotCommunist]

enjoyed, sam niel doesn't appear to be putting his full weight into it but its a good start none the less. The bloke playing churchill was quite good also. Does the scion of the Peaky clan also appear in Wind That Shakes The Barley? cos they look similar

 

[discokermit]

cillian murphy? yep.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Watched the first half hour. Boring and cliched dialogue. Killian can't act. And why were all their clothes immaculate? Very disappointing after the rave reviews.

 

[blossie33]

I watched the first half hour too, partly because I only have my phone to watch iPlayer on and it buffers as I don't have wifi.
I was interested to see it because of the Birmingham connection but it wasn't really my sort of thing. Wasn't bad though but not sure I'd bother to try and watch more.

 

[gnoriac]

Good but like a few people have commented the accents wandered a bit. Definitely needed more squalor, my mother's family were brought up in a poor area in the midlands in the 20s and their description of working class life then sounds far grimmer. I should think things were even worse in 1919 being just after the war.

 

[May Kasahara]

Watched the first half hour. Boring and cliched dialogue. Killian can't act. And why were all their clothes immaculate? Very disappointing after the rave reviews.

Yes, I thought it was complete gash. Didn't get past the guy having an immaculately-timed SHIT WE'RE IN THE TRENCHES flashback to hammer home the point that Cillian Murphy and Mr Commie had been in the trenches.

 

[Kaka Tim]

Enjoyed it. Makes a change from the usual costume drama shite about toffs. A time now much ignored. Lots of Interesting historical stuff. Cast too pretty and the accents were pretty sus - Ms Kak was spitting nails over Sam Neill's piss poor belfast accent in particular (she being from norn iron).

 

[DotCommunist]

yeah Niel does appear to be phoning it in

 

[discokermit]

Good but like a few people have commented the accents wandered a bit. Definitely needed more squalor, my mother's family were brought up in a poor area in the midlands in the 20s and their description of working class life then sounds far grimmer. I should think things were even worse in 1919 being just after the war.

it's a deliberately romanticised view.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

why were all their clothes immaculate?

Because the original gang wore stylish suits etc as part of their image.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Because the original gang wore stylish suits etc as part of their image.

I'm sure they did. But they were living in a furnace, showered in soot and ash and dirt continually. They would have been filthy after a few minute outdoors.

 

[la ressistance]

I thought Sam Neil was great.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I'm sure they did. But they were living in a furnace, showered in soot and ash and dirt continually. They would have been filthy after a few minute outdoors.

That's where "it's TV" comes in.

 

[goldenecitrone]

That's where "it's TV" comes in.

Shit TV. Suspend disbelief. At least try.

 

[discokermit]

it's mean't to be glamorous. it's not a documentary.

 

[Casually Red]

it's mean't to be glamorous. it's not a documentary.

exactly, Im just waiting for someone to moan none of the actors had real rickets . Fucks sakes like . They want people to actually watch this . Its entertainment with a nod to what the conditions were, with bit of social commentary thrown in . And its not as if theyve shot it on location in California and cast Stephen Segal as the gang leader or something .

 

[Casually Red]

Yes, I thought it was complete gash. Didn't get past the guy having an immaculately-timed SHIT WE'RE IN THE TRENCHES flashback to hammer home the point that Cillian Murphy and Mr Commie had been in the trenches.

yeah but from what Ive read thats sort of an important issue . That after all the horrible shit he participated in there for absolutely no good reason, he reckons hes entitled to do a tiny little bit of horrible shit to make his way in the world.

 

[discokermit]

the writer has said it's a western. he also said it's a romanticised view of the past, the clothes are better, the horses bigger, the way things get exaggerated in stories that are passed on.

as for the 'we're in the trenches' stuff, these people had taken part in the biggest, most brutal, world changing event ever seen. it's a central part of the story.

 

[Kuso]

as for the 'we're in the trenches' stuff, these people had taken part in the biggest, most brutal, world changing event ever seen. it's a central part of the story.

I certainly get that, but that whole flashback scene in the bar just seemed really contrived. I enjoyed it though, even with (maybe slightly because of) the terrible 'Belfast' accent, and I'll certainly be watching the rest. Though they could do with starting to up the bodycount.

Yer man from Special Branch ranting about IRA-fenians had me and mates in stitches and has unfortunately become something of a catchphrase

 

[Casually Red]

Yer man from Special Branch ranting about IRA-fenians had me and mates in stitches and has unfortunately become something of a catchphrase

Im just waiting for Loyalists Against Democracy to start recruiting him into their Youtube skits .

 

[Kuso]

Im just waiting for Loyalists Against Democracy to start recruiting him into their Youtube skits .

"We don't hold no truck with fenians"

Have to try and get a link to the show up on some flegger facebook pages, selling the whole SB chasing IRA-fenians angle. I reckon the responses would be great! "Noing wat da BBC-IRA r lyk dem drty fenians wil probs win. Wel, nut in ulster! Ulster is brtish! NS!"

(Just realising anyone not familiar with LAD will wonder what the fuck I'm on about! )

 

[DotCommunist]

for some reason it reminds a bit of Underbelly Razor

 

[Red Cat]

I certainly get that, but that whole flashback scene in the bar just seemed really contrived.

I thought that was interesting - it showed the dramatic nature of such an invasive psychological experience. Flashback is a modern concept isn't it? What sense do you think people made of such experiences in working-class Birmingham in 1919?

 

[Kuso]

I thought that was interesting - it showed the dramatic nature of such an invasive psychological experience. Flashback is a modern concept isn't it? What sense do you think people made of such experiences in working-class Birmingham in 1919?

PTSD might be a modern idea, but I'm sure people talked at least of shell-shock, if not 'flashbacks'. I'm sure considering the amount of people who fought in that war and the conditions it wasn't exactly a rare sight

 

[DotCommunist]

they called it shell shock and it was barely diagnosed or recognised as intense level ptsd

 

[DotCommunist]

right into the late 30s people still had teachers who would twitch and flinch violently at a slammed door. Recall reading in Roal Dahls bio that one of his tutors had such an issue.

 

[Part 2]

I thought it was alright. Bits stolen from all over, but good on the whole.