Played

A remarkable example of guerrilla-style, punk rock movie making at its most extreme, the gritty gangster thriller Played, released on DVD by Fremantle Media on 18th February 2008, pretty much burns the established Hollywood Rule Book and goes totally against the grain by attracting an impressive Hollywood A-list cast to a 'no budget' indie feature written and directed by a pair of relative unknowns.

Co-written and starring former Slaughter And The Dogs guitarist, Mick Rossi, and directed by former circus performer and bit part actor Sean Stanek (A Crack In The Floor), Played features the kind of acting talent that most big studios would kill for, including Gabriel Byrne (Jindabyne), the late Bruno Kirby (in his final film appearance), Val Kilmer (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), Anthony LaPaglia (Without A Trace), Patrick Bergin (Ella Enchanted), Roy Dotrice (Amadeus) and Joanne Whalley (Scandal), along with Vinnie Jones (X-Men: The Last Stand), Patsy Kensit (Lethal Weapon 2) and Sex Pistols guitarist, Steve Jones (The Big Bounce).

Shot on the run in Los Angeles, London and Brighton, Played is living, breathing proof that passion, commitment, ingenuity, tenacity and determination are more than enough to get a movie made when funds, filming permits and even a production crew are lacking.

A small-time villain looking for a big score, Ray Burns (Mick Rossi) thinks he has hit paydirt when he is hired by fellow criminal Riley (Patrick Bergin) and bent copper Detective Brice (Vinnie Jones) to pick up a consignment of drugs and make the crime scene look like a burglary. But the job goes disastrously wrong, leaving one of Ray's co-conspirators dead and Ray taking the fall when the police investigation into the crime begins to lead back to Brice.

Eight years later, having served his time in prison, Ray is back on the streets and is soon recruited by powerful mobster Jack Rawlings (Roy Dotrice) to put a hit on Riley, now living in Los Angeles and who Rawlings believes was responsible for the death of his son. Eager for his own revenge on those responsible for sending him to jail, Ray takes the job and in LA is supplied with everything he needs to pull off the hit by Eddie (Gabriel Byrne), an acquaintance of Rawlings'. Shortly after arriving in town, Ray is also contacted by another ex-pat gangster, London Charlie (Steve Jones), who needs him to recover a CCTV videotape of him murdering a man. Fortuitously, the tape is in the hands of Riley, who is blackmailing Charlie to the tune of $100,000. For Ray, it's a simple case of two birds with one stone.

Everything appears to be going according to plan until a combination of bad timing and bad luck sees Ray being brought in for questioning by Detectives Allan (Bruno Kirby) and Drummond (Anthony LaPaglia), the LA cops investigating the hit on Riley. Meanwhile, Riley's girlfriend, Samantha (Sile Bermingham), is determined to avenge the death of her lover and Ray is one of the people in her firing line. Enter Dillon (Val Kilmer), Eddie's ?clean up guy', and the only man in town who can get Ray out of the sorry mess and safely back to England. Unfortunately for Ray, nothing is ever as it seems, and he quickly realises that his troubles are only beginning.

A hard-hitting, no-holds barred gangster flick in the tradition of Layer Cake, Get Carter, Sexy Beast and Snatch, Played spins a compelling web of cross and double-cross leading to an explosive and unpredictable revelatory finale.

Please note - Disc special features are subject to change, may differ from format to format and/or may differ from region to region.