Peaky Blinders Series 1-4 [DVD]

Life depicted in this drama is a relentless series of battles in a war without end. Periods of peace and harmony occur, but they are rare and fleeting. Fear, loathing and dread dominate most of the time. Enemies are everywhere and one’s turf must be defended; honour, too, or a perverted form of it. This is primitive tribalism in a modern setting, a social Darwinian world of dog eat dog. As such, the people in it are pathetic despite the glitz and glamour their money — most of it illegitimately obtained — can buy. Of course some may question my use of the morally subjective term ‘illegitimate’ in a world where the political ruling class is just as corrupt as the underclass of gangsters and bent coppers. Is there anyone here who is not on the take? If they exist, they hardly appear. The children are quaintly protected from bad language and anti-social behaviour, yet they grow up in a world where role-model adults hypocritically betray themselves at every turn. In short, the world of the peaky blinders is a sordid one not many would want to inhabit.Why then the allure, the acclaim and accolades for the series? Because, I do confess, it’s brilliant — the writing, acting, cinematography, costumes, sets, atmosphere, music. The worst things to look at — apart from gangland executions —are the comically bad haircuts the men sport. They almost look like medieval friars. The series beautifully (and paradoxically) depicts an ugly, appalling world.Happily, some of the worst specimens of humanity do not last throughout the four seasons contained in this collection.One is Chester Campbell (Seasons One and Two), a secret police chief from Ulster brought to Birmingham to break up the peaky blinders. Pious, self-righteous, rigid and sanctimonious, he holds others to lofty moral standards he himself can’t reach. He’s also, among many other repellent things, a sadist and misogynist, an unloved man without the faintest idea of what love is or how it might be experienced.Father Hughes (Season Three) is another dreadful scrap of humanity. Like Police Chief Campbell, he’s a moral hypocrite, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a psychotic man of the cloth who is now burning in hell for his sins, or would be if such a place existed, suggesting tangentially too (perhaps) that Roman Catholicism has a lot to answer for as an institution of repression and persecution.Of course I get what the series wants to say: it’s a brutal, inequitable, competitive, violent world out there. Man’s better side, his cooperative, reasonable and compassionate nature, has lost out to his brutal, aggressive, domineering side. It’s kill or be killed. If not that, intimidate and bribe.Thomas Shelby, a local gangster, runs the underground show in Birmingham. He’s the mafioso don of his family, his father now in exile, his mother dead. His Aunt Polly (presumably his mother’s sister) is the matriarch of the clan. Between them they keep the hotheads under them as cool as possible. But there are moments when the razor blades must be extracted from the peaky caps to blind the opposition. Enemies abound: in the clubs, at the racetracks, in the warehouses and wharves at the docks. Enemies in the local police force too, as well as with government agents from London. Hardly a moment’s respite, then. And when there is: whiskey, sex, carousing. The Shelbys may use razor blades as a weapon (along with guns, knives and clubs), but they also live on a razor’s edge.Tommy Shelby returned from the dreadful war in a state of shell shock. He was a sapper on the Somme and elsewhere on the Western Front. He was nearly buried alive more than once. And underground, in tunnels, he thrust his bayonet into the guts of the Bosch. He was only 19 or 20 but already the world was teaching him that survival depended on violence.So he comes back damaged, disaffected, cynical. He fought for King and Country, helped keep Britain English instead of German. And what was his reward? Two medals given for gallantry, medals he tossed away.His older brother Arthur is no better. He has recurring fits and nightmares. His fuse is short. Tommy controls himself better (just barely), and the will to do it is awesome. His eyes are cold, blank, empty. Also, deep blue. If he were Russian, he would be Vladimir Putin.But he’s the hero of the piece, the man who must survive to make the series continue. You’ll lose track of the number of times a cocked gun is put to his head or he’s beaten to a bloody pulp. He survives like the Terminator does, broken parts hanging off, mending himself or having others do it for him. He’s remarkable, not quite life-like, but always interesting. He has what’s called charisma and great intelligence, both of which he relies on to survive.And love? Can an automaton love? Yes, in Tommy’s case, because there are still sparks of humanity left in him. His great love is an Irish singer named Grace. However, she’s as complicated and compromised as Tommy is. Somehow, despite everything, they manage to connect, forgive, genuinely love. Their relationship is the highlight of the series.Don’t be put off by my comments. As a whole, the entire production is brilliant, rich in detail and nuance. I can see the influence HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” has had on the series. Both feature bootleggers and black market gangsters engaged in turf wars. But best not to compare too much, as Atlantic City in New Jersey is not Birmingham.Can you believe a young Winston Churchill appears in the series? An actor playing him, I mean. Churchill, complicated too, was never liberal. He fought an imperial war against the Boers in South Africa, organised the Black and Tans in Ireland, hated Mahatma Gandhi. And yet he’s thought to be the greatest Briton who ever was, according to modern polls, which of course don’t mean anything. In this drama he’s scheming and conniving. He wants the riff-raff of Birmingham scraped off the streets and the psychotic Chester Campbell, previously mentioned, is the Ulster police inspector ordered to do the job.Curiously, Chester knows Grace as well and has his eye on her, smitten by her youth and beauty. She’s possibly 25 or 26; he’s probably pushing 50. She looks right through him of course. Not so, later on, with Tommy Shelby. So Tommy is not only the nemesis of Chester professionally; he thwarts him emotionally too.There’s no way a review can do justice to the richness of the series. It has to be watched, if that’s the proper word. Captivated under a seductive spell is more like it. Yet by Season Four I gradually felt myself losing interest in the fates of many of the characters. Why? Because they’re awful people, as previously stated. Their complicated lives may be fascinating, but their moral make-up as characters is not. They’re dead-enders. Naturally, this can’t be helped, given the hypocrisies, inequalities and double standards in society. The toffs and politicians are just as corrupt, but they get away with their criminality because the game is rigged in their favour.I don’t think the series can go on much longer. Casualties are mounting, so I won’t be surprised if Thomas Shelby is knocked off in the end. He already has more lives than a cat. But even cats eventually die. Good as it is, I don’t think I’ll carry on with it into Season Five. But that’s just me, having seen too many razor blades taken to the eyes and faces of undesirables. I think I’ll re-watch Season Four of “The Durrells” instead, as the breezes on Corfu can be very soothing.

I love Peaky Blinders and for me to be able to watch the series when I please is good. A good buy and good quality.

Last year, after watching a top 10 uk shows video out of curiosity, I thought I'd give the seires a go. Ended up watching 3 episodes, on average, each evening and completed all 4 seasons in just over a week. I just couldn't help it, I had to watch the next one it was so good!!Now I've got the box set and I can get everyone else hooked! Bring on season 5!(Little side note, the series 2 DVD cover brings out my inner OCD as it doesn't match the other 3. It's stupid and doesn't really effect anything but it bugs me aha)

I bought the dvd set box after watching the first four seasons online on holiday. I am now watching the whole lot again, savouring it more slowly. It is the story of a gang of racketeers in Birmingham, starting in the early '20s. It has very good acting, with great work on accents, a solid plot that explores the British class system from an unusual perspective together with the consequences of WWI on the minds of veterans; good shooting and visual quality and a fantastic score of modern music (from the '70's to today). I never thought I could watch something like this and love it, but while it is certaily violent, it is never stupidly so. Now that season 5 is over I'll have to wait for the next season the dvd will help me wait.

The box set I recently purchased, the complete box set series of the Peaky Blinders, was absolutely fantastic, compelling viewing. I have now watched the entire series four times!!!!!!!. Definitely the BEST series on tv. I hope we have many more never ending series to watch. Cillian Murphy is just drop dead gorgeous. Every actor in their own right are outstanding professionals. I would highly recommend this box set and more to all those out there!!!!!!! So come on everybody get ordering on Amazon today. Jayne Bhardwaj London. It’s just addictive viewing!!!!! And I for one want much more!!!!!!!

I got the box set 1-4, so the narrative flowed uninterrupted. I found this portrayal of Birmingham life in the post WWI era authentic as to to dress, speech and social relationships, at once heart-warming and quite spell-binding. It follows the steady shift from old to new, as the modern era advances from horseback and lanterns to electric lighting, the first cars and telephones. Cillian Murphy is charismatic and compelling as Tommy Shelby, crime boss of the Peaky Blinders, the more so for the Irish, American and Sicilian mafia connections. Criminal gangs are family based and family values strong and fundamental, all woven into the social fabric, yet carrying out brazen robberies, assassinations and run-ins with law, while ruthlessly at war with each other. The battles are graphically shown and the final annihilation, at once brilliant and shocking, left me quite drained. A very impressive BBC production.

Bought this for Alan , he loved it , very well acted characters good kept you enthralled very good buy . Enjoyed it very much , sad bits and tense bits brilliant .

I am loving this series and look forward to more, i cannot find any faults with this dvd and the picture and sound quality is excellent and all the cases and inlays are in perfect condition, an easy 5 stars