Peaky Blinders (2013)

After the show, you cannot stop thinking about Thomas Shelby. I've never seen any movie characters that stay in your head like that.

In Peaky Blinders we follow a family after the First World War that is always looking for power and money. But a policeman arriving at the city is looking to stop this family, but it's not easy. It will also be noticeable the segregated fight of ghettos like Italians, gypsies, local gangsters and Jews. Peaky Blinders is an excellent gangster drama full of rich, interesting and diverse characters. The fact that Peaky Blinders is a crime series can give the impression that characters are macho men. But this is not true. The series also incorporates many powerful female characters. It has an excellent cast and script. Thomas is a character who uses his strategic intelligence and applies violence to his own ends without hesitation. The film music is the highlight of the series along with Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy. The director does resort to a modern soundtrack that reflects the fiction.

It is estimated that one episode of the series is worth 1 million and 1.5 million euros. This means a rich, detailed and beautiful work of art. Constantly supporting the narrative structure visually, Peaky Blinders often touches upon the working conditions of the working class in Birmingham. Peaky Blinders, with a color scale that chooses to contrast between pale blues and greens, and contrasts with the shades of red, makes the strongest manifestation of emotions in the midst of this unknown, while attributing a distinct obscurity to Birmingham's misty air. Also, the visual effects used from time to time are quite clever. The visual effects used are also quite compatible with the historical theme of the series.

Peaky Blinders makes each episode a separate action and drama. It's a breathtaking series where you can see the rise of Peaky Blinders. 9/10

If you like Victorian crime shows like Ripper Street, Whitechapel, Sherlock Holmes etc. then you will love this. There are two differences which make Peaky Blinders stand out. The first is it isn't set in London. Why is this a good thing? It's a nice change of scene, change of accent and culture. Peaky Blinders give you a great sense of what Birmingham was like at the time. The second reason it stands out is it is told from the criminals point of view. You get a feeling of belonging to the Peaky Blinders and despite all the terrible acts they carry out there is a fundamental decency somewhere deep down in Thomas Shelby.

The cinematography is great, the storyline is great the only thing I would challenge is the accents. They sway in and out of the Birmingham accent but its a decent attempt and probably unnoticeable to anyone not from Birmingham. I've heard that they didn't want the accents too strong because it will be airing in the US. Anyhow...I'm loving it!

Peaky Blinders is one of the most unique British dramas ever made. I would even go as far as to say TV history in the making. Negative critics of the show seem to have overlooked the fact that this is the first time ever that this side of British gangster-lore has been documented. Off hand, the only thing that comes close to this style of gangland depiction is the first half of Once Upon A Time in America, were we see the heroes struggling to escape the deprivation of ghetto life. This is where Peaky Blinders stands out from the typical run-of- the-mill crime show. There is nothing glamorous about being a gangster in this world. As far from LA Confidential glitz as you can get, the viewer is forced to get down and dirty in the horseshite-ridden streets of post WW1, working-class Birmingham.

The attention to detail, the costumes, the sets, particularly the Lee family dwellings, have all been created to the highest standard. As is the quality of acting, which is undeniably as good as you'll find in any prime-time British drama.

Even though people on this particular forum have not had much positive feedback about the series, believe me, the connoisseurs of this genre have been very impressed thus far. Furthermore, the show seems to be building up to climatic ending rather than simply documenting a day in the life of a Peaky Blinder. The more observant viewers will see subtle 'tie-ins' between each situation and be able to follow the flow of events without obvious prediction. This is what the drama audience thrives on to stimulate analytical debate after each episode.

If it doesn't get rave reviews, I will be disappointed but not surprised, as Peaky Blinders has all the makings of an artistic and timeless cult series, possibly appealing more to purists and true fans of the cult/gangster genre. Well done BBC.

I for one am a huge fan of this compelling series. A wonderful dark industrial landscape, great soundtrack, rich characters that have real depth played by quality actors, all to the tune of a great script and an interesting time line. You an clearly see the similarities with the high quality US series and they have gone for this market and there is clearly lots here that could make it a fantastic long running series.

Sadly, I am concerned that the BBC won't be able to retain the quality levels and we won't see it evolve in the way that the sopranos (yes I compare this show to the sopranos and boardwalk empire) evolved. Please push this internationally, let's keep it on our screens and see it develop. This period in UK history is rich with trauma, upheaval and change, the backdrop of industrial Birmingham is new and trumps the well trodden New York, Chicago, and London gangster scenes. For writers and producers this represents very fertile ground and allows innovative story lines to emerge.

Keep peaky blinders on our screens..... The campaign starts here!

Cillian Murphy's portrayal of Tommy Shelby is worth watching for alone. Simply phenomenal, a masterpiece!

I find every episode, far away from others, I think every episode is a masterpiece. Music and angles of camera, my God!!

Love this show. You should watch it by the order of Peaky blinders.

I was not expecting it to be this good,I really enjoyed all 4 episodes. The story is interesting,the acting is brilliant and the cinematography is just beautiful!I am eagerly waiting for the next episodes.When I compare Peaky Blinders to other popular TV shows that use sex,brutality and violence to shock the audiences and get high ratings(which they actually do)this sincere work is like needlework;fine,classy and detailed.The makers of this drama have not chosen the easy way,they have set off to make a first class period drama,that dares to be different.Cillian Murphy is at his best,I will even go as far as to say that this is one of the best performances I have seen of him.Sam Neil and Helen McCrory must be praised,all casting is perfect.Peaky Blinders sets high standards for other television dramas to follow.

Amazing to see some calling this a masterpiece?! A blend of the comments are correct; the acting is great but it's essentially a higher than average budget soap. Certainly watchable but could have been brilliant. Would have loved to have seen some back stories and their rise to power over a longer succession of episodes, building the characters like all the modern greats have. I'll always remember it as a series that boasted talent most feature films would envy and were let down by the BBC writers.

Early on I loved this show. Prior to watching season five I decided to watch season four again. The slow motion shots should go out the window at this point - it's just getting plain ridiculous. Add to that shots of characters parading into a room, with an air that they are the coolest people alive, like a teen given better clothes and a better hair cut on the first day of school - that is also really trying my patience. If I were asked what character recently portrayed on film annoyed me most I'd have a hard time thinking of anyone else but Arthur; if I was a Peaky Blinder I'd shoot him myself. But this is perhaps due to a good character, played by a good actor, that is irritating. Above all though, the vast majority of the music irritates me; could they not blend music of the time while retaining Nick Cave's intro and randomly chosen outros? Or how about the cliche parts where Tom never meets a woman that isn't ready to drop their panties for him - is this something that was borrowed from that awful show Entourage? And so, my struggle to get through season five goes forward. I've gone from a 9/10 at the end of season three, to a 7/10, and now to a 6/10. Wish me luck.

Listen guys, I appreciate the contrast between the old setting and the modern styling, but come ooooon!

Season 5 just seems to have a complete lack of direction and content. It's like I'm constantly watching one movie trailer after another. All the characters seem to have lost their substance. Everyone is so overdramatic. They're all doing stupid things that make no sense and sometimes look so unbecoming of their character. Almost every scene is so dragged on to a point that they become boring. By the end of an episode I sometimes found if difficult to remember what it was about.

Again, I have nothing against using modern styling and music to contrast the series' grey, gritty, and dirty time period, but it's so overused in season 5 that it's difficult to stay emersed and follow the story. It all feels so diluted now, so cheesy. Too bad.