So, what's the deal with all the films featuring the Kray brothers?

The Krays, The Krays Mad Axemen, Krays: Code of Silence, The Krays: Deadman Walking, The Fall of the Krays, The Rise of the Krays, The Krays: New Blood, Legend. God help us if they ever meet that Ip Man feller; the sequels will never end -"The Krays: Rise to Fall to the Son of Ip Man."



What's the deal? Are these the only interesting British gangsters? Why celebrate these clowns?

In the immortal words of Kanye West…

That shit Kray.

Why not?

I honestly could not think of a reply to the OP.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

Mine is more of a non-reply, to be fair. 😆

Yeah, but some of the non-replies here can run for pages.

That's it. You're both excluded from optioning my film script for the next Kray film biopic, "Krays Summer Camp II: The Kraysening."

To answer the OP, my immediate thoughts are because they were celebrities, not just gangsters. There'd be pics of them in the papers with film stars, politicians and pretty girls, at casino's and nightclubs (especially once we get into the 'swinging London' era) and were interviewed on TV. Everyone knew what they did and who they were, but it couldn't be proven, so they had the Robin Hood quality to them too, which the working class everywhere have always loved. It's the attitude of 'yes they're a bit naughty, but they only hurt their own and they've never done me any harm, so if they can get away with it, good luck to them' It's completely untrue, of course, but that's why myths are myths and why they last and, because they're myths, they have value and money can be made from them - hence the films.

As for the young and those not from the UK, the films are violent and their lives give grounds to show that violence. It allows filmmakers to use exploitation levels of gratuitousness while having some justifcation to back up their use.

I don't know if that's why, but it's what immediately came to mind.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

Thank God for this.

Good reply. Similar to those who thought The Great Train Robbery was actually a good thing seeing as how nobody was hurt. Even though one person was.

Just thought I'd drop in to add a few suggestions for film titles for the Krays:

The Kraysies
The Kray We Were
The Kraytrix
Citizen Kray

Okay, I quit now.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

It is true that films about the Kray brothers have been in production for a couple of years now, but the reason for this has not been released by the industry. Some newspaper reports state that the brothers' family members were approached by producers but declined their offer. However, the films would not have been produced without the brothers' family members' consent. The media attention surrounding the Kray legacy and the films may have triggered new interest from the public.