FAQ

Lock, stock, and barrel is a merism used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning 'all', 'total', 'everything'. The effective portions of a gun are the lock, the stock, and the barrel. In early, high quality custom-made guns the lock, the stock, and the barrels would each be separately made by specialist gunsmiths for each part. The seller of the gun would state he was selling the complete item - 'lock, stock and barrel'. And given that a significant plot point of the film is about getting a pair of antique double-barrelled shotguns, they would be the "two smoking barrels" referred to in the title.

Devious gambler Eddie participates in a card game. However, Eddie loses the card game and his $100,000 betting money which his friends Tom, Bacon and Soap supplied him with to crime boss Hatchet Harry. However, the card game was rigged and Hatchet Harry cheated and he demands Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap pay him back $500,000 in 7 days or he will torture them. In his flat, Eddie overhears the brutal robber Dog and his associates next door planning to steal money and drugs from cannabis growers and Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap decide to raid them so they can use the money to pay off Hatchet Harry. After successfully stealing the money from Dog, things soon go bad. The cannabis grower's employer the drug dealer Rory Breaker is displeased because the drugs belong to him and thinking Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap are the robbers decides to go to Eddie's flat to play them a unfriendly visit. However, Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap are not at Eddie's flat and Dog and his associates who have broken into Eddie's flat to get the money and drugs back engages Rory Breaker and his enforcers in a shootout. But, Dog survives and escapes with the money and the drugs and 2 antique shotguns Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap used when they took the money and drugs from Dog. But, Hatchet Harry's enforcer Big Chris overpowers Dog and delivers the money, the drugs and the antique shotguns to Hatchet Harry and two dumb Scouse thugs Gary and Dean who work for Hatchet Harry's lieutenant Barry the Baptist (Who stole the antique shotguns which Eddie, Tom, Bacon and Soap bought from black market salesman Nick the Greek) follow Big Chris to Hatchet Harry's office and they set out to get the antique shotguns back.

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels is based on a screenplay by English director and screenwriter Guy Ritchie.

The Director's Cut of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels has been around England on VHS and DVD for several years now. This version very much goes deeper into characters and in many cases focuses a bit more on their past. The plot, too, becomes a bit smoother because of the new scenes. There is a total of 25 cuts equaling 11 minutes and 46 seconds of runtime difference.