The Emotion-Drenched Colors of ‘Peaky Blinders’

We always knew colors were important to gangs

Peaky Blinders is one of the more idiosyncratic gang shows that grew out of Sons of Anarchy and its ilk, showing the life of a post-WWI group of English ruffians. Led by Cillian Murphy and Sam Neill, among many others, the show offers plenty of indecipherable British dialogue and violence galore – but its cinematography is one of its unsung merits.

Not only does the show have some impeccable framing, its use of color in a washed-out scheme to highlight feeling is some of the most effective in modern TV. When everything is so dirty and neutral, the pop of color subconsciously changes the mood in a heartbeat.

A Vimeo video essayist created a supercut of sequences, coordinated and collected by color, in Peaky Blinders that shows good direction, set design, camera work, and most importantly, post-production color balancing.