That was an excellent one.

Pretty Good

Good concept, poorly executed.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Released in 1971, "Villain" came hot on the heels of the British gangster classic, "Get Carter." There was a sudden popularity in producing a more gritty and violent kind of British film and later on, television. I remember my brother recorded this film on a late night showing and after I saw a clip, I decided it was a bit much on the violence front. Richard Burton plays the kind of London gangster who is modelled on real life thug and lowlife Ronnie Kray. As Vic Dakin, Burton is a sadistic, evil, mother-obsessed and gay mobster who runs an area of London via a money- laundering and protection racket. He has friends in high places and no one is brave enough to give a statement to Scotland Yard - who have been gunning for Dakin for years. Dakin gives a demonstration of his sadism in one of the opening scenes of "Villain" and for the times, it is quite shocking and graphic. Dakin makes the mistake of straying from his own comfort zone by planning an armed robbery and it proves to be his downfall....... Richard Burton doesn't always convince me as a hard nut, he is a bit miscast in this film. There is a great supporting cast here. Nigel Davenport, Donald Sinden, T.P McKenna and Joss Ackland all stand out. There isn't loads of action but "Villain" was never meant to be about that, the film is motivated by the writing and the acting. The direction is pretty solid. One action scene, is the robbery part of the film. It is well made. The pace rattles along agreeably enough and the climax is one to remember. "Villain" didn't do very well at the box office and Richard Burton's career wasn't done many favours. However, this is definitely worth a few viewings.

Adaptation of James Barlow's novel "The Burden of Proof" is a violent portrait of a gangland boss on London's East End that was allegedly based upon real-life crime czar Ronnie Kray. Razor-wielding Richard Burton has the lead, plotting a payroll robbery and blackmailing sexually indiscriminate Members of Parliament, but Burton's monotone Cockney accent, his grim, ashen face and stolid body language show the actor was either uncertain how to approach the part or was distinctly uncomfortable in the role. Director Michael Tuchner's flaccid pacing is another liability, as is the picture's general lack of wit, its poor sound recording (was the entire movie looped in post-production?) and its coyness about the Burton character's homosexuality. *1/2 from ****

Richard Burton as a mother-obsessed gay gangster modeled on Ronnie Kray. It wasn't the worst part he ever had and to be fair he does what he can with it but as British gangster pictures go, "Villain" has very little to recommend it. The director was Michael Tuchner who doesn't appear to have much interest in the material, though he does handle the film's heist scene with more brio than it or the film probably deserves.The script was by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais who were better suited to comedy, (there aren't many laughs in this one). On the plus side, Burton was always worth watching, even when he was bad, while Ian McShane is fine as the pretty boy Burton likes to have rough sex with, discreetly off-screen, and Donald Sinden is excellent in much too small a part as a corrupt Member of Parliament. Watchable then, but certainly not memorable.

VILLAIN is a fine British gangland film which stands up there with GET CARTER as one of the meanest and grittiest British gangster movies of the 1970s. Certainly it's a memorable effort, featuring an icy Richard Burton playing a truly repulsive master criminal who is behind a series of violent deaths and robberies. Burton's character was a thinly-disguised version of Ronnie Kray and it's one of his most sinister performances.A pity, then, that this film is really obscure especially in comparison to the likes of GET CARTER. I caught it on late night TV but as I understand it's remained fairly hard to come by over the years. It's a pity as this offers solid thrills from beginning to end, plus edgy content and some surprisingly graphic interludes. It also has a quite wonderful supporting cast of famous faces to see it by.Ian McShane bags a suave part as Burton's young lover in scenes which must have been considered quite racy for the time. The reliable Nigel Davenport is the dogged detective on Burton's tail and T.P. McKenna a oily government minister. Joss Ackland gives a memorable twitchy performance as one of the gang members and there are plenty of others around like James Cossins, Tony Selby, and Colin Welland. Michael Tuchner's direction is very fine and the robbery, hospital, and climactic scenes in particular are all very well realised making fine use of their surroundings. VILLAIN is an under-appreciated movie and a must for fans of the genre.