Snatch (film)
Encyclopedia
Snatch is a 2000 crime film
written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie
, featuring an ensemble cast
. Set in the London
criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham
) who finds himself under the thumb of a ruthless gangster known as Brick Top (Alan Ford
).
The film features an assortment of colourful characters, including gypsy
Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt
), arms-dealer Boris "the Blade" Yurinov (Rade Šerbedžija
), professional thief and gambling addict Frankie "Four-Fingers" (Benicio del Toro
), American gangster-jeweler "Cousin Avi" (Dennis Farina
), and bounty hunter
Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones
). It is also distinguished by a kinetic direction and editing style, a circular plot featuring numerous ironic twists of chance and causality
, and a fast pace.
The film shares themes, ideas and motifs with Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
. It is also filmed in the same visual style and features many of the same actors, including Jones, Statham, and Ford.
) goes to London
to deliver the gemstone to diamond dealer Doug "The Head" (Mike Reid
) on behalf of New York jeweler "Cousin Avi" (Dennis Farina
), who bankrolled the theft. One of the other robbers advises Frankie to first see his arms-dealing brother, ex-KGB
agent Boris "The Blade" (Rade Šerbedžija
), to obtain a gun. Unbeknownst to Frankie, the brothers plan to rob him of the diamond, using a third party to avoid implicating themselves.
Meanwhile, unlicensed boxing promoter and casino
owner Turkish (Jason Statham
) convinces local gangster "Brick Top" (Alan Ford
)—head of an unlicensed boxing and dog fighting
circuit—to add the matches of his boxer "Gorgeous George" (Adam Fogerty
) to the bets at his bookies
. However, when Turkish sends his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham
) and Gorgeous George to purchase a caravan
from a group of pikey
s, George gets into an impromptu boxing match with Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt
), who turns out to be a bare-knuckle boxing
champ and badly injures George with a single punch. With George injured, Turkish recruits Mickey to replace him in his upcoming match by agreeing to purchase a new caravan for Mickey's mother (Sorcha Cusack
). Brick Top agrees to the change on the condition that Mickey throws the fight
in the fourth round.
Boris gives Frankie a gun in exchange for a favour: Frankie is to place a bet on Boris' behalf at Brick Top's bookies, since Boris has an outstanding debt there and cannot go himself. Avi learns of this and, knowing that Frankie has a gambling problem, flies to London with his bodyguard "Rosebud" (Sam Douglas
) in tow to claim the diamond. Boris hires Vinnie (Robbie Gee
) and Sol (Lennie James
), two pawnbroker
s and small-time crooks, to rob Frankie of the diamond while he is at the bookies. The robbery goes comically awry and Sol, Vinnie, and their driver Tyrone (Ade
) are caught on-camera, but manage to kidnap Frankie.
Instead of throwing the boxing match as instructed, Mickey knocks his opponent out with a single punch, causing Brick Top's investors to lose their bets. Infuriated, Brick Top robs Turkish of his savings and demands that Mickey fight again, and lose this time. Meanwhile, Boris retrieves the diamond and executes Frankie, leaving Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone to dispose of the body. As they and their accomplice "Bad Boy" Lincoln (Goldie
) are puzzling over how to do this, Brick Top arrives to execute them for robbing his bookies. He details to them his preferred method of body disposal, which is to feed the corpses to ravenous pigs. Sol bargains for their lives by promising Brick Top the stolen diamond, and he gives them 48 hours to retrieve it.
Avi and Doug hire the mercenary "Bullet-Tooth" Tony (Vinnie Jones
) to help them find Frankie. When the trail leads to Boris, they kidnap him and retrieve the gemstone, closely pursued by Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone. As they are driving, Tommy carelessly throws Turkish's carton of milk out the window of their car; it splashes over Tony's windshield, causing him to crash. Rosebud is killed, and Boris escapes from the wreck only to be hit by Tyrone's car. Tony and Avi regroup at a pub where they are confronted by Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone. Tony quickly realizes that their pistols are replicas loaded with blank
s, and intimidates them into leaving him alone. The wounded Boris arrives with an assault rifle
and is killed by Tony, but Sol and Vinnie escape with the diamond, which Vinnie hides in his pants. When Tony catches up to them, they tell him that the diamond is back at their pawn shop. Once there, they run out of stall tactics and produce the diamond, but it is promptly swallowed by a dog that Vinnie got from the Irish gypsies. Avi fires wildly at the fleeing dog and accidentally kills Tony. He gives up his pursuit and returns to New York.
Mickey refuses to fight again unless Turkish buys an even more lavish caravan for his mother, but Turkish has no money left. Furious, Brick Top has his men vandalize Turkish's gambling arcade
and burn down Mickey's mother's caravan while she is asleep inside it. Mickey agrees to fight in order to avoid more carnage, but gets so drunk after his mother's wake
the night before that Turkish fears he won't even make it to the fourth round. If he fails to go down as agreed, Brick Top's men will execute Turkish, Tommy, Mickey, and the entire campsite of Irish gypsies. Mickey takes a heavy beating but makes it to the fourth round, when he makes a sudden recovery and knocks out his opponent with a powerful blow. As they flee the building, Brick Top is killed by the gypsies, who have turned the tables on him: Mickey had bet on himself to win, and waited until the fourth round to allow the other gypsies time to subdue Brick Top's men.
The next morning, Turkish and Tommy find the pikey campsite deserted. They are confronted by the police and don't know what to say, until Vinnie's dog suddenly arrives and they claim to be walking it. They are released, while Sol and Vinnie are arrested when the police find the corpses of Frankie and Tony in their car. Turkish and Tommy take the dog to a veterinarian
to extract a squeaky toy that it had swallowed earlier, and discover the diamond in its stomach as well. They consult Doug about selling the diamond, and he calls Avi who returns to London.
, and has gone on to develop a devoted cult following
. From an estimated budget of $3,000,000 (according to the Director's Commentary), the movie grossed a total of £12,137,698 in the United Kingdom and $30,093,107 in the United States. Rotten Tomatoes
lists Snatch as having 73% of the reviews (133 reviews listed in total) as being "fresh" (positive).
Snatch also appears in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time at number 466.
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
, who gave the film two out of four stars, 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?", and writing in the New York Times Elvis Mitchell
commented that "Mr. Ritchie seems to be stepping backward when he should be moving ahead". Critics also argued that the movie 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".
.
On July 3, 2001, a two-disc "Special Edition
" was released, containing both a full screen and widescreen
presentation of the feature. Also 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.
On 17 September 2002, Sony
released a "Deluxe Collection" set in the company's superbit
format. 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 did still contain subtitles in eight different languages including a "pikey" track, which only showed subtitles for the character Mickey.)
Nine months later, on June 3, 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, not including the second disc.
in the same theme. Also included was a supplemental booklet revealing extended filmography information about the cast as well as theatrical press kit production notes.
Soon after the set was released, it was discovered the feature disc that was supposed to contain the film in its original special edition incarnation (with audio commentary, etc.) was not included. Instead, the Superbit
release, containing the higher quality version of the film, was in its place.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
, featuring an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
. Set in the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish (Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
) who finds himself under the thumb of a ruthless gangster known as Brick Top (Alan Ford
Alan Ford (actor)
Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
).
The film features an assortment of colourful characters, including gypsy
Gypsy
-Ethnic groups:* Romani people, a group widely dispersed throughout Europe* Dom people, an Indo-Aryan group** Lyuli, a Dom subgroup from Central Asia* Lom people, a group from East Anatolia and Armenia* Banjara, a group from India* Irish Travellers...
Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
), arms-dealer Boris "the Blade" Yurinov (Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
), professional thief and gambling addict Frankie "Four-Fingers" (Benicio del Toro
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
), American gangster-jeweler "Cousin Avi" (Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
), and bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
Bullet-Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
). It is also distinguished by a kinetic direction and editing style, a circular plot featuring numerous ironic twists of chance and causality
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
, and a fast pace.
The film shares themes, ideas and motifs with Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
. It is also filmed in the same visual style and features many of the same actors, including Jones, Statham, and Ford.
Plot
After stealing an 86 carats (17.2 g) diamond in a heist in Antwerp, Frankie "Four-Fingers" (Benicio del ToroBenicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
) goes to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to deliver the gemstone to diamond dealer Doug "The Head" (Mike Reid
Mike Reid (entertainer)
Michael Reid was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from Hackney in east London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround...
) on behalf of New York jeweler "Cousin Avi" (Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina
Dennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
), who bankrolled the theft. One of the other robbers advises Frankie to first see his arms-dealing brother, ex-KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
agent Boris "The Blade" (Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija
Rade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
), to obtain a gun. Unbeknownst to Frankie, the brothers plan to rob him of the diamond, using a third party to avoid implicating themselves.
Meanwhile, unlicensed boxing promoter and casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
owner Turkish (Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
) convinces local gangster "Brick Top" (Alan Ford
Alan Ford (actor)
Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
)—head of an unlicensed boxing and dog fighting
Dog fighting
Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling....
circuit—to add the matches of his boxer "Gorgeous George" (Adam Fogerty
Adam Fogerty
Adam Heywood Fogerty is an English boxer, rugby league player, and actor.-Career:Fogerty was born in Oldham, Lancashire. Fogerty's boxing career saw him facing a number of relatively underskilled opponents. He twice faced Paul Lister, with their first meeting in 1989 handing Fogerty his first and...
) to the bets at his bookies
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
. However, when Turkish sends his partner Tommy (Stephen Graham
Stephen Graham (actor)
Stephen Graham is an English actor from Kirkby, Liverpool. He is best known for his roles as Tommy in the movie Snatch, Combo in This Is England and its four-part television sequel This Is England '86, Danny Ferguson in Occupation, Billy Bremner in The Damned United, notorious bank robber Baby...
) and Gorgeous George to purchase a caravan
Travel trailer
A travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
from a group of pikey
Pikey
Pikey is a pejorative slang term used mainly in the United Kingdom to refer to Irish Travellers, gypsies or people of low social class. Pikey is also sometimes called a piker in the United States, but a piker in Australia and New Zealand means someone who refuses to do something within a...
s, George gets into an impromptu boxing match with Mickey O'Neil (Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
), who turns out to be a bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing
Bare-knuckle boxing is the original form of boxing, closely related to ancient combat sports...
champ and badly injures George with a single punch. With George injured, Turkish recruits Mickey to replace him in his upcoming match by agreeing to purchase a new caravan for Mickey's mother (Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack
Sorcha Cusack Born in Dublin on 9 April 1949, She has made many film and television appearances including The Bill, Casualty , the 1973 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and the worldwide hit movie Snatch as the traveller mother of Mickey played by Brad Pitt...
). Brick Top agrees to the change on the condition that Mickey throws the fight
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
in the fourth round.
Boris gives Frankie a gun in exchange for a favour: Frankie is to place a bet on Boris' behalf at Brick Top's bookies, since Boris has an outstanding debt there and cannot go himself. Avi learns of this and, knowing that Frankie has a gambling problem, flies to London with his bodyguard "Rosebud" (Sam Douglas
Sam Douglas
Sam Douglas is an American actor best known for his role as private detective Scott Shelby in PlayStation 3 game Heavy Rain. He has had several other roles in films and on stages...
) in tow to claim the diamond. Boris hires Vinnie (Robbie Gee
Robbie Gee
Robbie Gee is a British actor, best known for his Desmond's character "Lee Stanley", and for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper Snatch. He also appeared in the movie Mean Machine playing "Trojan".-Hosting:...
) and Sol (Lennie James
Lennie James
Lennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
), two pawnbroker
Pawnbroker
A pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral...
s and small-time crooks, to rob Frankie of the diamond while he is at the bookies. The robbery goes comically awry and Sol, Vinnie, and their driver Tyrone (Ade
Ade (actor)
Ade is a British actor of Nigerian descent. He is best known for his role as Tyrone the getaway driver in Snatch. Ade also works within the music and publishing industries....
) are caught on-camera, but manage to kidnap Frankie.
Instead of throwing the boxing match as instructed, Mickey knocks his opponent out with a single punch, causing Brick Top's investors to lose their bets. Infuriated, Brick Top robs Turkish of his savings and demands that Mickey fight again, and lose this time. Meanwhile, Boris retrieves the diamond and executes Frankie, leaving Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone to dispose of the body. As they and their accomplice "Bad Boy" Lincoln (Goldie
Goldie
Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
) are puzzling over how to do this, Brick Top arrives to execute them for robbing his bookies. He details to them his preferred method of body disposal, which is to feed the corpses to ravenous pigs. Sol bargains for their lives by promising Brick Top the stolen diamond, and he gives them 48 hours to retrieve it.
Avi and Doug hire the mercenary "Bullet-Tooth" Tony (Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
) to help them find Frankie. When the trail leads to Boris, they kidnap him and retrieve the gemstone, closely pursued by Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone. As they are driving, Tommy carelessly throws Turkish's carton of milk out the window of their car; it splashes over Tony's windshield, causing him to crash. Rosebud is killed, and Boris escapes from the wreck only to be hit by Tyrone's car. Tony and Avi regroup at a pub where they are confronted by Sol, Vinnie, and Tyrone. Tony quickly realizes that their pistols are replicas loaded with blank
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
s, and intimidates them into leaving him alone. The wounded Boris arrives with an assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
and is killed by Tony, but Sol and Vinnie escape with the diamond, which Vinnie hides in his pants. When Tony catches up to them, they tell him that the diamond is back at their pawn shop. Once there, they run out of stall tactics and produce the diamond, but it is promptly swallowed by a dog that Vinnie got from the Irish gypsies. Avi fires wildly at the fleeing dog and accidentally kills Tony. He gives up his pursuit and returns to New York.
Mickey refuses to fight again unless Turkish buys an even more lavish caravan for his mother, but Turkish has no money left. Furious, Brick Top has his men vandalize Turkish's gambling arcade
Amusement arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
and burn down Mickey's mother's caravan while she is asleep inside it. Mickey agrees to fight in order to avoid more carnage, but gets so drunk after his mother's wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
the night before that Turkish fears he won't even make it to the fourth round. If he fails to go down as agreed, Brick Top's men will execute Turkish, Tommy, Mickey, and the entire campsite of Irish gypsies. Mickey takes a heavy beating but makes it to the fourth round, when he makes a sudden recovery and knocks out his opponent with a powerful blow. As they flee the building, Brick Top is killed by the gypsies, who have turned the tables on him: Mickey had bet on himself to win, and waited until the fourth round to allow the other gypsies time to subdue Brick Top's men.
The next morning, Turkish and Tommy find the pikey campsite deserted. They are confronted by the police and don't know what to say, until Vinnie's dog suddenly arrives and they claim to be walking it. They are released, while Sol and Vinnie are arrested when the police find the corpses of Frankie and Tony in their car. Turkish and Tommy take the dog to a veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
to extract a squeaky toy that it had swallowed earlier, and discover the diamond in its stomach as well. They consult Doug about selling the diamond, and he calls Avi who returns to London.
Cast
- Jason StathamJason StathamJason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
as Turkish - Stephen GrahamStephen Graham (actor)Stephen Graham is an English actor from Kirkby, Liverpool. He is best known for his roles as Tommy in the movie Snatch, Combo in This Is England and its four-part television sequel This Is England '86, Danny Ferguson in Occupation, Billy Bremner in The Damned United, notorious bank robber Baby...
as Tommy - Alan FordAlan Ford (actor)Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
as Brick Top - Dennis FarinaDennis FarinaDennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
as Abraham "Cousin Avi" Denovitz - Brad PittBrad PittWilliam Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
as Mickey O'Neil - Vinnie JonesVinnie JonesVincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
as Bullet Tooth Tony - Robbie GeeRobbie GeeRobbie Gee is a British actor, best known for his Desmond's character "Lee Stanley", and for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper Snatch. He also appeared in the movie Mean Machine playing "Trojan".-Hosting:...
as Vinnie - Lennie JamesLennie JamesLennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
as Sol - AdeAde (actor)Ade is a British actor of Nigerian descent. He is best known for his role as Tyrone the getaway driver in Snatch. Ade also works within the music and publishing industries....
as Tyrone - Rade ŠerbedžijaRade ŠerbedžijaRade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
as Boris The Blade - Benicio del ToroBenicio del ToroBenicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
as Frankie "Four-Fingers" - Adam FogertyAdam FogertyAdam Heywood Fogerty is an English boxer, rugby league player, and actor.-Career:Fogerty was born in Oldham, Lancashire. Fogerty's boxing career saw him facing a number of relatively underskilled opponents. He twice faced Paul Lister, with their first meeting in 1989 handing Fogerty his first and...
as Gorgeous George - Mike ReidMike Reid (entertainer)Michael Reid was an English comedian, actor, author and occasional television presenter from Hackney in east London, who is best remembered for playing the role of Frank Butcher in EastEnders and hosting the popular children's TV show Runaround...
as Doug "The Head" Denovitz - GoldieGoldieClifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie is an English electronic music artist, disc jockey, visual artist and actor. He is well known for his innovations in the jungle and drum and bass music genres, having previously gained exposure for his work as a graffiti artist...
as "Bad Boy" Lincoln - William BeckWilliam BeckWilliam “Skipper” Beck was an American businessman and the co-owner of the NBA basketball team, the Charlotte Bobcats....
as Neil - Sam DouglasSam DouglasSam Douglas is an American actor best known for his role as private detective Scott Shelby in PlayStation 3 game Heavy Rain. He has had several other roles in films and on stages...
as Rosebud - Jason FlemyngJason FlemyngJason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
as Darren - Andy Beckwith as Errol
- Dave LegenoDave LegenoDavid "Dave" Legeno is an English actor, boxer and mixed martial artist.-Life and career:Legeno was born in Marylebone, London, England. He has been quoted as saying that he wanted to act since he read Shakespeare's Richard III...
as John - Ewen BremnerEwen Bremner-Early life:Bremner was born in Edinburgh, the son of two art teachers. He attended Davidson's Mains Primary School and Portobello High School. He originally wanted to be a circus clown, but was offered a chance in show business by television director Richard D. Brooks. One of his first notable...
as Mullet - Nicola Collins as Alex
- Teena Collins as Susi
- Jason Buckham as Gary
- Mickey Cantwell as Liam
- Sorcha CusackSorcha CusackSorcha Cusack Born in Dublin on 9 April 1949, She has made many film and television appearances including The Bill, Casualty , the 1973 BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and the worldwide hit movie Snatch as the traveller mother of Mickey played by Brad Pitt...
as Mickey O'Neil's mum
Soundtrack
Two versions of the soundtrack album were released, one on the Universal International label with 23 tracks and a TVT Records release with 20.Track listing
- "Diamond" - Klint
- "Vere Iz da Storn?" - Benicio del ToroBenicio del ToroBenicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez is a Puerto Rican and Spanish actor and film producer. He won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award for his role as Javier Rodríguez in Traffic . He is also known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual...
- "Supermoves" - Overseer
- "Hernando's Hideaway" - The Johnston BrothersThe Johnston BrothersThe Johnston Brothers were a vocal group who had a #1 hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1955 with their cover version of "Hernando's Hideaway".The group was formed by Johnny Johnston...
- "Zee Germans" - Jason StathamJason StathamJason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
- "Golden BrownGolden Brown"Golden Brown" is a song by the English rock band The Stranglers. It was released as a 7" single in December 1981 in the US and in January 1982 in the UK, on Liberty...
" - The StranglersThe StranglersThe Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s... - "Dreadlock HolidayDreadlock Holiday-In popular culture:* The song is featured on the first episode, "Killeroo", of the first series of the British cult comedy The Mighty Boosh. Bob Fossil, head of the Zooniverse, dances to the first verse of the song while a confused Howard Moon looks on, before switching it off and explaining "And...
" - 10cc10cc10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name... - "Hava Nagila" - John MurphyJohn Murphy (composer)John Murphy is an English film composer. He is a self taught multi-instrumental musician who began his career in the 1980s working notably with The Lotus Eaters, Thomas Lang and Claudia Brücken....
and Daniel L. Griffiths - "Avi Arrives" - Dennis FarinaDennis FarinaDennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
- "Cross the Tracks (We Better Go Back)" - Maceo & the MacksMaceo ParkerMaceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
- "Disco Science" - Mirwais
- "Nemesis" - Alan FordAlan Ford (actor)Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
- "Hot Pants (I'm Coming, Coming, I'm Coming)" - Bobby ByrdBobby ByrdBobby Byrd born Robert Howard Byrd was an American funk/soul/R&B/gospel musician, songwriter and record producer. He was born in Toccoa, Georgia, and is a 1998 winner of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's prestigious Pioneer Award...
- "Lucky Star" - MadonnaMadonna (entertainer)Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
- "Come Again!" - Alan FordAlan Ford (actor)Alan Ford is an English actor. Ford was trained at East 15 Acting School. He is perhaps best known today for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime capers Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, and guest starring in The Bill...
- "Ghost TownGhost Town"Ghost Town" is the title of a 1981 song by the British ska band, The Specials. The song spent three weeks at number one and ten weeks in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart. Addressing themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for...
" - The SpecialsThe SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups... - "Shrinking Balls" - Vinnie JonesVinnie JonesVincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
- "Sensual Woman" - The HerbaliserThe HerbaliserThe Herbaliser is a jazz rap band formed by Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba London, England during the early 1990s. Although currently signed to !K7 Records, they were one of the best-known acts from the Ninja Tune independent record label...
- "Angel" - Massive AttackMassive AttackMassive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
- "RRRR...Rumble" - Charles Cork
- "Fuckin' in the Bushes" - OasisOasis (band)Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
- "Avi's Declaration" - Dennis FarinaDennis FarinaDennis Farina is an American actor of film and television and former Chicago police officer. He is a character actor, often typecast as a mobster or police officer. His most known film roles are those of mobster Jimmy Serrano in the comedy Midnight Run and Ray "Bones" Barboni in Get Shorty...
- "Don't You Just Know It" - Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns
Reception
Snatch was largely successful, both in critical acclaim and at the box officeBox office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
, and has gone on to develop a devoted cult following
Cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
. From an estimated budget of $3,000,000 (according to the Director's Commentary), the movie grossed a total of £12,137,698 in the United Kingdom and $30,093,107 in the United States. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
lists Snatch as having 73% of the reviews (133 reviews listed in total) as being "fresh" (positive).
Snatch also appears in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time at number 466.
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
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie. The story is a heist film involving a self-confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag...
. In his review, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, who gave the film two out of four stars, 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?", and writing in the New York Times Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell is an American film critic, host of the public radio show The Treatment, and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the LA Weekly, The Detroit Free Press, and The New York Times...
commented that "Mr. Ritchie seems to be stepping backward when he should be moving ahead". Critics also argued that the movie 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".
DVD releases
The film has been released in multiple incarnations on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
On July 3, 2001, a two-disc "Special Edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
" was released, containing both a full screen and widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
presentation of the feature. Also included was an audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
track with director Guy Ritchie and producer Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn
Matthew Vaughn is an English film producer and director known for producing such films as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch and directing the films Layer Cake , Stardust and Kick-Ass...
. The special features on the second disc included a "making of" featurette
Featurette
Featurette is a term used in the American film industry to designate a film whose length is approximately three quarters of a reel, or about 20–44 minutes in running time - thus midway between a short subject and a feature film; thus it is a "small feature"...
, deleted scenes, original theatrical trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
and TV spots
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
, text/photo galleries, storyboard comparisons, and filmographies.
On 17 September 2002, Sony
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
released a "Deluxe Collection" set in the company's superbit
Superbit
Superbit was a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Superbit DVDs aimed to improve picture quality over a standard DVD edition of a feature by increasing the bit rate of the encoded video...
format. 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 did still contain subtitles in eight different languages including a "pikey" track, which only showed subtitles for the character Mickey.)
Nine months later, on June 3, 2003, a single disc setup was released, with new cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
, containing the feature disc of the special edition set. This version was simply a repackaging, not including the second disc.
Deluxe edition error
On January 3, 2006, yet another two-disc set was released. This version was set to be a repackaging of the original two-disc special edition release, containing the same features and content, but with different menu setups and decor. The box set featured a new theme represented in the cover art and included were a custom deck of playing cards and dealer buttonButton (poker)
In poker, the buck or dealer button is a marker used to indicate the player who is dealing or, in casino games with a house dealer, the player who acts last on that deal...
in the same theme. Also included was a supplemental booklet revealing extended filmography information about the cast as well as theatrical press kit production notes.
Soon after the set was released, it was discovered the feature disc that was supposed to contain the film in its original special edition incarnation (with audio commentary, etc.) was not included. Instead, the Superbit
Superbit
Superbit was a brand of premium DVD-Video versions of motion pictures from Columbia TriStar Home Video, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Superbit DVDs aimed to improve picture quality over a standard DVD edition of a feature by increasing the bit rate of the encoded video...
release, containing the higher quality version of the film, was in its place.