Peaky Blinders

[hc4361]

Absolutely loved it, even though the accents were dodgy. I was gripped from the start.

Anyone recognise the theme tune?

[LazyGun]

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand.

[hc4361]

Thanks for the quick answer. Never heard of them so will be checking them out.

[Prudie]

Yes also hooked, very gritty and atmospheric. Cillian Murphy has a mesmerising screen presence. My only gripe was the blasts of contemporary music were haphazard and out of place IMO.

[LazyGun]

@HC - Nick Cave is hugely overlooked. Worthwhile checking out his music ;)

I agree with the accents. Quite like the premise though, and confluence of IRA, Communism, social unrest, industrial unrest and all the rest of it.

What jarred for me was the casting of Sam Neill :)

And - SPOILER OF SORTS - if the gunshot to the head at the end of the episode was faked, how was all that blood spatter generated?

[hc4361]

lazygun - some sort of capsule of red gunk that burst when the gun was fired? He was hit in the head with a pellet. I'm no gun expert but I guess that is how it was done.

[LazyGun]

@hc sorry, should have been clearer. I do not mean how technically the blood spatter was acheived - I just meant within the context of the plot - I can understand that they might wish to stage a "fake" execution, but how was this achieved, especially the blood spatter etc, since the guy being "executed" seemed unaware that this had all been set up - or have I missed something?

[Prudie]

I can't remember exactly but Tommy did refer afterwards to a pig's bladder filled with chicken blood or something of that ilk.

[hc4361]

Now I'm the one who's confused. The shot man thought it was for real - he had to in order to convince the onlooking Chinese men who wanted him dead as retribution for him stabbing the Chinese man with the knife.
The Chinese men think he is going to be dumped in the canal (highly unlikely scenario as the canal is shallow) but in reality he is being squirrelled off to London to carry out an attack on somebody as the price for having his life saved.

[LazyGun]

@hc - sorry for introducing the confusion :) This is kind of what I meant though. The guy who was the recipient of the "execution" appeared unaware that it was to happen at all, or, once explained, unaware it was going to be a fake execution. In that context, how could a mechanism to simulate blood spatter have been introduced, and why, given that the only close eye witnesses - close enough to appreciate the blood spatter - were not members of the other gang they were trying to convince?

I am being really pedantic, I know - but things like this bug me ;)

[hc4361]

Surely the imitation blood spatter was a device within the gun, so the 'executed' chap didn't need to know that is was a hoax.
The Chinese men on the other bank would certainly have seen the 'pink mist' and the blood on the shooter's face.

[LazyGun]

@HC Were there chinese gangsters on the other side of the canal? Thanks for that info - I had missed that entirely, and that would obviously require the greatest degree of fakery possible - but it still bugs me :)

[hc4361]

Yes, there were two Chinese men on the other bank and canals really are narrow. So now we know where your confusion comes from. :D

[Traci66]

They were Italian, not Chinese.

[Traci66]

And I really enjoyed it, Cillian Murphy is a joy to watch, (preferred in that four part series set in Ireland a couple of months ago though).

[Prudie]

You're right Traci, they were two Italians from the mafia.

[TheOtherHalf]

I found it quite boring. I only started watching it because it was supposed to be set in Small Heath, Birmingham and thats where I was born, obviously a lot later LOL. Rest of the family seemed to enjoy it though. Perhaps I`ll try again next week

[Tilly2]

It sounds really complicated. I think I'll give it a miss.

[hc4361]

It's not complicated at all, Tilly