Top 5 Movies for Peaky Blinders Fans to Watch While Waiting for the Movie
You can't get enough of men in suits.
Gripping storylines, complex characters, questionable decisions, and so many enemies you can't stop thinking about. All this is just a small part of what makes watching Peaky Blinders an unforgettable experience.
From the show's premiere in 2011 to the end of Season 6 in 2022, fans have been obsessed with the series, and we understand why. The amazingly crafted characters of the mob crime drama are unlike any other, and the performances of the cast are out of this world.
Cillian Murphy alone deserves all the praise he can get after playing the most enigmatic protagonist on television, Thomas Shelby. But while we wait for the Peaky Blinders movie to finally be released sometime next year, it's time to give some other movies that have similar vibes a chance.
1. The Godfather (1972)
Was there a chance we would start with something less significant than this legendary Francis Ford Coppola movie? Often named the best gangster movie of all time, The Godfather is based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name.
The movie follows the powerful Italian-American crime family of Don Vito Corleone and focuses on a particular time when his youngest son, Michael (brilliantly portrayed by Al Pacino), becomes a reluctant member of the Mafia. So we think Peaky Blinders fans have to know the gangster classic!
2. Le Samouraï (1967)
Not an Alain Delon fan yet? Well, this French crime thriller staple will definitely change that. He plays the main character, Jef Costello, while he is trapped in a powerful mind game of his own, but only because the man is a hitman who has now been caught by witnesses. So when he tries to create an alibi – he just pushes himself further and further into a corner.
The movie is a neo-noir thriller, brilliantly written with complex plot lines and crucial twists. And while it's not a gangster movie per se, this Jean-Pierre Melville film is similar in its portrayal of the troubled main character's inner struggles that make him go to different lengths to protect himself.
3. The Irishman (2019)
One of the latest works by Martin Scorsese definitely needs to be on the list as well, hailed by pretty much everyone as a brilliant gangster movie. The Irishman features Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci as titular characters, and we think that this information is enough to make you run to the TV and watch the movie.
Scorsese takes viewers into the life of Frank Sheeran, from World War II veteran to hit man for the Bufalino crime family and the alleged murder of his close friend Jimmy Hoffa. The Irishman is more than three hours long, and while the first two hours deliver the expected suspenseful gangster flick, the last hour is what makes it special.
“The most powerful part of this movie isn't where Scorcese does what he's always done. The most powerful part of this movie is where Scorcese acknowledges he's doing what he's always done, and finishes the film with a depressing, sobering farewell and eulogy to the entirety of the Gangster genre,” said one Redditor.
4. The Gentlemen ( 2019)
Guy Ritchie ’s The Gentlemen became a hit after its release and we totally get why. The perfect casting choices, the strong yet a little bizarre story at the center of it and the action-packed scenes is what turns the movie into a must-watch.
The movie follows an expatriate trying to sell his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, and all the nasty things he does to succeed in the business. While Peaky Blinders doesn't have as many laugh-out-loud moments as The Gentlemen, the overall atmosphere of an engaging and challenging life is central to both projects.
5. Legend (2015)
For all the fans of Alfie Solomons from Peaky Blinders, we have good news: if you want to see Tom Hardy playing an even tougher gangster, you have to check out Brian Helgeland's movie called Legend. There, he portrays Ronald and Reginald Kray, two identical twin brothers who are terrible gangsters, who terrorized London in the 1960s. Seeing the actor giving his all to these two so different characters is a compelling watch.