Richard Burtonâs London: revisiting the locations of gangland classic Villain, 50 years later Along with Get Carter, Villain was a landmark in a new wave of violent British gangster films of the early 1970s. Half a century later, the London it captured has changed irrevocably. 25 May 2021 Villain (1971) © StudioCanal The early 1970s saw an explosion of British crime cinema. Many films looked to the underworld for inspiration and drama â in particular, its role in the urban environment of post-swinging Britain. Typical of this trend was Michael Tuchnerâs Villain (1971), an e...