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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Shut it sunshine you�re nicked!
If you've never heard of, or seen, "The Sweeney" before, these two films were spun off from an original TV series made in the UK from 1975 - 1978. "The Sweeney" was a hard-hitting - for its time - police series set in the world of the Flying Squad - in Cockney Rhyming Slang "Sweeney Todd" = Flying Squad - a team of plain clothes detectives, based in London's New Scotland Yard, dealing with serious crime. The show mainly concerned itself with the exploits of "Detective Inspector Jack Regan," played by John Thaw, and his sidekick, "Detective Sergeant George Carter," played by Dennis Waterman.
What set this show apart from every cop show that had come before, at least in the UK, were the characters of Regan and Carter themselves. There was no master sleuth solving crimes with the help of a 7% solution, no coldly logical Poirot solving cases with a generous helping of mustache wax, no comical Columbo hiding his intellect behind a shabby raincoat and interminable "last" questions, and no Harry Callahan style uber-cop toting "The most powerful handgun in the World!" Nope, Regan and Carter were just a couple of ordinary blokes, smokin', swearin', gettin' blind drunk - whether on or off duty! - shaggin' birds, and endlessly chasin' skirts... they just happened to be cops!
Of the pair, Regan was by far the most ruthless, he wasn't too concerned if he had to beat a confession out of some slag, or lean on a grass to get what he wanted, which was basically to put the bad guys behind bars. George was just as down to earth and pragmatic in his approach to the "Law," but tried to do things ever so slightly more by the book than his boss, and would often cover for him when things got sticky with the Brass. The show was strong meat for its time, and generated quite a lot of complaints from those who liked their policemen to be seen politely helping little old ladies across the road... I guess you could say it was the "NYPD Blue," or "The Shield," of its day.
"Sweeney!" and "Sweeney 2" are really two extended episodes of the show, but they do reign in the rhyming slang that was such a part of the TV series as the films were obviously intended for a wider audience. "Sweeney!" opened out the usual TV format and involved Regan and Carter in dirty goings on in high places, corrupt politicians, murdered prostitutes, and blackmail, while "Sweeney 2" took them back to their roots, in having to deal with a ruthless team of blaggers - bank robbers. And strangely enough, after watching both films back to back, for only the first time since I saw them in the cinema on their original release, it's "Sweeney!" that, for my money, comes off best.
The film has a great ensemble cast, including the wonderful Ian Bannen as the corrupt politician in question, and Barry Foster - sporting what has to be the Worlds most god-awful American accent! - as his nefarious press agent. The story twists and turns and ends up with Regan on the run, through the streets of London, from a team of well armed hit men, with a high-class prostitute in tow, trying to figure out what on Earth's going on! This story allows Thaw to explore Jack Regan's character in some depth, and the climax of the film shows you just how ruthless he can be.
"Sweeney 2" should've been a blinder; Regan and Carter are chasing `round London after a gang of blaggers who wave gold-plated sawn-off Purdy shotguns in peoples faces to get what they want, and they're not shy about using them either! But for some reason I can't put my finger on, the film just doesn't gel, it should, but for me it didn't. However, it's saved by some blackly comic scenes, especially the one where a young lady returns Regan's keys to him - in a very "personal" place - while he's sleeping off the booze, and a spectacularly violent ending.
I guess that with the arrival of the lovable "Mockney's," as seen in Guy Ritchies "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and "Snatch," plus his burgeoning coterie of imitators, Brit crime dramas have become ever so slightly fashionable. The best of the bunch, in my humble opinion, are the superb "Get Carter," starring Michael Caine, "The Long Good Friday," which was Bob Hoskins' powerhouse debut, and "Sexy Beast" which features a terrifying, blistering performance, by Ben Kingsley.
I'm not so sure how "Sweeney!" and "Sweeney 2" will play to an American audience unfamiliar with the series and the characters, but I gave these films a 5 Star review because, for me, they're a wonderful nostalgia rush, and take me back to my teens in the 70's. Ah yes, the 70's... the "Decade that taste forgot!" An innocent time, when people could wear platform shoes, voluminous flares, migraine inducing tie-dyes, even mullets, and feel no shame. It's said that if you remember the 60's you weren't really there. Well, if you remember the 70's you probably cringe at the tasteless, tacky horror of it all. Punk had yet to really put the boot in, Elton John still had hair, Michael Jackson was recognizably human, and the world was mercifully free of Britney Spears!
But I digress, "The Sweeney," whether it's the TV series or the films, stands or falls on the relationship between Regan and Carter, this is what binds the stories together, as well as tight plotting, and excellent characterization across the board, not only from Thaw and Waterman, but the minor characters as well. In fact, watching these films is like perusing a who's who of British TV actors from the 70's, including the ever dependable Denholm Elliot, in "Sweeney 2," who US viewers will recognize as "Marcus Brody" from the "Indiana Jones" movies.
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You'll Love The Sweeney!
If you've never seen this 70s British cop show you are in for a treat. I've been a John Thaw fan from the Inspector Morse series and I agree with the previous reviewer that he is much more interesting in this series and these two movies, though not quite as good as the television series, are definitely worth purchasing. If you are a fan of 70s television or cop shows, you won't be disappointed (and you'll see some of the ugliest clothes ever made!). By the way, you can get some of the series episodes on dvd with each dvd containing 2 or 3 episodes but only in PAL, Region 2 format ("Diamond Geezers", "Car Chases" and "Bank Jobs"). Supposedly they are going to eventually release all episodes this way. You can also get the pilot movie "Regan" on dvd (highly recommended!!) in Pal format. You can play them on a PAL compatible dvd player or in the dvd player of your computer. Find them on Ebay or through online British dvd stores. What a shame this series was never made widely available to American viewers.
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holy cow! SWEENEY on dvd! cool!
i was very surprised when i went to the video store and saw THE SWEENEY out on dvd. i have been a big fan of john thaw's body of work for a long time. i have always enjoyed the inspector morse series. i was very saddened by his death early last year. he did another tv series in the 1970s named THE SWEENEY which could be called the NYPD BLUE of its time with its brutal violence, language and some nudity. the smash tv series lead to 2 big screen movies in 1976 and '78 which i believe never came out in the USA, only in europe. i took the risk in buying the 2 dvd set of those films and it paid off. these are pretty good tough crime flicks. and thaw is great playing the leading of UK's 'flying squad' fighting crime and drinking a helluva lotta booze in between. SWEENEY 2 is better than S1 where thaw and dennis waterman face a violent gang of bank robbers and there is the most violent climax i've ever seen in a john thaw film. S1 is ok, a bit more talky as the 2 cops investigate the death of a cabinet minister's mistress and it gets ugly from there. cool to see thaw do a jackie chan-like stunt somersaulting down steps eluding hitmen in S1. all in all, a fine double feature and i wish anchor bay video can release tv episodes of THE SWEENEY soon.
