The Krays is a 1990 British biographical crime drama film directed by Peter Medak. The film is based on the lives and crimes of the British gangster twins Ronald and Reginald Kray, often referred to as the Krays. The film stars Billie Whitelaw, Tom Bell, and real-life brothers (although not twins) Gary and Martin Kemp, both of whom were members of the band Spandau Ballet. The plot focuses on the relationship between the twins and their doting mother (Whitelaw). Acting on speculation and without informing the producers, Ridley spent three weeks during a Christmas holiday developing a script that was immediately accepted by the producers which Ridley attributed to avoiding getting bogged down in historical details. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
In November 2024, Burdis said that he regretted "glamourising" Ronnie and Reggie Kray, and was developing a new film to portray them as the thugs they were. "They weren't folk heroes," he told The Guardian. "They were just a pair of cowardly psychopathic bullies, who terrorised the East End of London in the 1960s."
Box office
The film opened at the top of the UK box office with a gross of £1,036,117 for the week. It remained at number one for a second week and ultimately grossed £3,707,649 ($7 million) at the UK box office. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $2,060,847.
Awards
- Nominee Best Supporting Actress – BAFTA (Billie Whitelaw)
- Winner Best Film – Evening Standard British Film Awards (Peter Medak)
- Winner Most Promising Newcomer – Evening Standard British Film Awards (Philip Ridley)
- Winner Best Actress – International Fantasy Film Awards (Fantasporto) (Billie Whitelaw)
- Nominee Best Film – International Fantasy Film Awards (Fantasporto) (Peter Medak)
- Winner George Delerue Prize for Music – Film Fest Gent (Michael Kamen)
See also
- Legend, a 2015 film about the Krays with Tom Hardy playing both brothers