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Snatch (film)

2000 film by Guy Ritchie From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Snatch (film)
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Not to be confused with Snitch (film) or Snatched (2017 film).

Snatch is a 2000 British crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast and set in the London criminal underworld. The film contains two intertwined plots: one following the search for a stolen diamond, and the other focusing on a small-time boxing promoter (Jason Statham) who becomes embroiled with a ruthless gangster (Alan Ford) willing to carry out severe and sadistic acts of violence.

Quick facts Directed by, Written by ...

The film shares themes and stylistic elements with Ritchie's first feature, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and includes many of the same actors. It is noted for its fast-paced editing, ensemble storytelling, and dark comedic tone.

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Plot

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A gang of robbers, disguised as Orthodox Jews, steal an 86-carat (17.2 g) diamond during a heist in Antwerp. Franky Four-Fingers, the gang's leader, travels to London to see diamond dealer Doug the Head on behalf of Jewish-American organised crime figure Cousin Avi to fence the stolen diamonds. One of the robbers suggests Franky to visit his brother in London should he need a firearm, arms dealer and ex-KGB agent Boris the Blade; however, he also separately contacts his brother Boris to suggest Boris instead steal the diamond Franky is carrying.

Unlicensed boxing promoter and slot machine shop owner Turkish is forced to enter his boxer Gorgeous George in a match against one of crime boss Brick Top's fighters. When his junior partner Tommy, sent to purchase a caravan from Irish Travellers (Pikeys), is swindled, George is knocked out by bare-knuckle boxing champion Mickey O'Neil. Turkish enlists Mickey to replace George in the fight in exchange for a new caravan for his mother, while Brick Top demands that Mickey throw the fight. Turkish and Tommy must navigate both Mickey's unpredictable nature and Brick Top's ruthless enforcement.

Sol and Vinny, working with Boris and driver Tyrone, hatch a plan to both kidnap Franky for the diamond and rob a bookmaker he was visiting. During the botched robbery, Franky is kidnapped but killed by Boris, who seizes the diamond. Tony, a bounty hunter hired by Avi, pursues Boris, leading to a series of crashes and accidentally killing his ally Rosebud. Brick Top sends men to enforce Mickey's compliance in throwing the fight after his open refusal, who end up killing Mickey’s mum. Boris is killed and Tyrone is injured while holding Avi hostage, and Sol and Vinny are forced to give the location of the diamond when Vinny’s dog is threatened with death. Vinny’s dog subsequently eats the diamond, enraging Avi to the point that he accidentally shoots Tony; following this, he gives up on the diamond and leaves back to America.

Mickey participates in the fixed fight, recovers after being knocked down, and knocks out his opponent, secretly profiting from bets placed on himself. Brick Top attempts to punish the Travellers for interference, but the Travellers ambush and massacre him and his crew. Turkish and Tommy encounter the Travellers’ deserted camp and are briefly confronted by police looking for the Travellers. Sol and Vinny are arrested with Franky's body, while Vinny’s dog, which swallowed the diamond, leads Turkish and Tommy to recover it. They consult Doug, who informs Avi, prompting him to return to London to purchase the diamond.

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Cast

Besides Vinnie Jones and Adam Fogerty, a number of other professional athletes appeared in the film in minor roles, including

  • Sol Campbell as Bouncer at boxing match (uncredited)
  • Peter Szakacs as "Sausage" Charlie[4]
  • Andy Till as John "The Gun", a boxer who shot himself in a flashback
  • Scott Welch as Horace "Good Night" Anderson, a boxer who fought Mickey in the final bout
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Production

Principal photography for Snatch was filmed between 18 October and 12 December 1999, in London and Buckinghamshire.[5] A half-hour documentary of the production of the film was released featuring much of the cast along with Ritchie.[6] Tom Delmar worked as the stunts choreographer for Snatch, and he has also choreographed stunt sequences in films such as Aliens, 102 Dalmatians and Velayudham.[7]

Reception

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Box office

Snatch was largely successful, both in critical response and financial gross, and has gone on to develop a devoted cult following. It opened in the UK on 1 September 2000 in 389 cinemas and grossed £2,637,364 in its opening weekend to become the number one film at the box office. Including preview grosses of £542,638, its opening weekend gross of £3.1 million set the record for an 18-certificate film, beating the record set earlier in the year by American Beauty.[8][9] From a budget of $10 million,[2] the film grossed £12,137,698 in the United Kingdom,[10] $30.3 million in the United States and Canada, and a total of $83.6 million worldwide.[3]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 74%. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though perhaps a case of style over substance, Guy Ritchie's second crime caper is full of snappy dialogue, dark comedy, and interesting characters."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score 55 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[13]

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 gave the film two out of four stars, writing that while ostensibly rooted in the London underworld, Pitt's Irish Traveller community were the most interesting element of the plot and the film's clearest predecessors were all American: Dick Tracy comics, Damon Runyon stories, and zany Marx Brothers comedies. He 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?"[14]

Writing in the New York Times Elvis Mitchell commented that "Mr. Ritchie seems to be stepping backward when he should be moving ahead".[15] Some critics also argued that the film 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".[14]

The film has gone on to develop a cult movie following,[16] and has ranked in IMDb's top 250 rated films.[17] In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times' list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 209.[18]

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Soundtrack

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Quick facts Soundtrack album by various artists, Released ...
More information Review scores, Source ...

Two versions of the soundtrack album were released, one on the Universal International label with 23 tracks.[20]

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. "Hava Nagila" – John Murphy and Daniel L. Griffiths
  9. "Avi Arrives" – Dennis Farina
  10. "Cross the Track (We Better Go Back)" – Maceo & the Macks
  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. "RRRR...Rumble" – Charles Cork
  21. "Fuckin' in the Bushes" – Oasis
  22. "Avi's Declaration" – Dennis Farina
  23. "Don't You Just Know It" – Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns
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Home media

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The film has been released in multiple incarnations on DVD and other formats.

In July 2001, a two-disc special edition was released, containing both a full-screen and widescreen presentation of the feature. 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.[citation needed]

In September 2002, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment released a "deluxe collection" DVD as part of the company's Superbit series. 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 contained subtitles in eight different languages, including a "pikey" track, which only showed subtitles for the character Mickey.[citation needed]

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, omitting the second disc.[citation needed]

In July 2021, Sony Pictures released Snatch on the 4k Ultra HD format, which features an HDR transfer of the film along with the special features of the previously released Blu-Ray.[21]

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Television

Main article: Snatch (TV series)

In April 2016, it was announced that a television series based on Snatch was in development, with the associated studios comparing the series to how the Fargo show expanded upon the original film.[22] Created by writer, executive producer, and showrunner Alex De Rakoff, the series is based on a true story heist for gold bullion in London and was originally a Crackle exclusive release.[23] In August 2016, Rupert Grint was named among the cast of the series, while serving as an executive producer. Dougray Scott, Ed Westwick, Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor, and Juliet Aubrey feature in recurring roles.[23]

The series had 20 episodes, running one hour-long each, and was named the most-viewed series for the streamer.[23] The project was announced as a joint-venture production between Sony Pictures Television, Little Island Productions, and Sony Crackle Originals.[24] The series debuted on 16 March 2017 and ran for two seasons.[25][23]

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Remakes

The 2015 Indian Malayalam film Aadu is a loose adaptation of Snatch. Directed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the film transposes the original's plot into a rural Indian setting, replacing the diamond and dog with a goat named Pinky and a rare herb known as "Neela Koduveli", respectively.

See also

Notes

External links

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