While Peaky Blinders has never hidden its creative debt to the gangster genre, it is still surprising that one of the Netflix hit’s longest-running stories is borrowed almost verbatim from the most famous entry into the genre. Throughout its six seasons, Peaky Blinders blended period drama trappings with fast-paced action for a gangster story like no other. While its setting might mean the series is often categorized as a historical drama, Peaky Blinders is a gangster series through and through. The upcoming Peaky Blinders movie can reiterate this, but the show itself never hid its links to the genre.
Peaky Blinders borrowed from Martin Scorsese classics like Gangs of New York and Goodfellas throughout its run. Peaky Blinders’ cast of characters were based on the real-life gang of the same name that operated in Birmingham during the early 1900s, but the show borrowed liberally from the likes of Once Upon A Time In America and Scarface while telling their story. However, none of these influences informed the show as much as one iconic trilogy. Often listed as the greatest movie series of all time, this famous franchise even provided Peaky Blinders with one of the show’s longest-running storylines.
Arthur & Tommy’s Peaky Blinders Story Mirrors The Godfather’s Sonny & Michael
Peaky Blinders Borrowed From The Godfather’s Main Plot
With the story of Arthur and Tommy, Peaky Blinders borrowed from The Godfather’s Sonny and Micheal plotline. In both Peaky Blinders and 1972’s original The Godfather, the older brother of a family involved in organized crime take over the gang at the beginning of the story. However, both James Caan’s Sonny and Paul Anderson’s Tommy eventually prove too hot-headed for this role, and as a result, both characters end up being replaced by their younger brothers. Al Pacino’s mercurial Michael and Cillian Murphy’s soft-spoken Tommy prove more cerebral and clever, with both antiheroes eventually making their operations more successful.
The same story applies to both Tommy and Arthur in Peaky Blinders and Sonny and Michael in The Godfather, although Sonny died before he could see Michael succeed him as the family’s leader. Ultimately, Arthur and Sonny were never cut out to be leaders thanks to their hot tempers, short-sightedness, and lack of critical insight. Although Michael is a colder, more outwardly villainous figure than Tommy, The Godfather’s ending proves that he is a fitting leader for the Corleone crime family. Similarly, Tommy takes the eponymous gang to new heights when he replaces Arthur as its de facto leader.
Peaky Blinders Shows What Might’ve Happened If Sonny Survived In The Godfather
Sonny’s Death Ironically Made Life Easier For Michael Corleone
Michael only assumed command because Sonny was murdered, but later in The Godfather’s timeline it becomes clear that he was a betterf fit for the job. Micheal may have eventually replaced Sonny even if he wasn’t killed, based on Sonny’s hot-headed disposition. Even their father acknowledged this. As such, Peaky Blinders offers viewers an idea of how Sonny’s life might have panned out if it were not for his assassination. Arthur’s Peaky Blinders story includes struggles with addictions and unhappy relationships, meaning things would not necessarily have been easy for Sonny Corleone if he had somehow survived the shooting.
