Rent The Long Good Friday (1980)
3.9 of 5 from 281 ratings
1h 49min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- In the savage and deadly world of the gangland king, the man at the top is ruler, only for as long as he controls everything in his territory. For that man, the rewards can be infinite, but so are the dangers. Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) is enjoying the height of his powers, and he is on the verge of something that would make his current 'arrangements' small fry. But stronger forces than even he can control have moved in and taken over. Climaxing in one long and bloody day of terror, an Easter Good Friday, he is to see his empire begin to crack and crumble.
- Actors:
- Paul Freeman, Leo Dolan, Kevin McNally, Patti Love, P.H. Moriarty, Derek Thompson, Bryan Marshall, Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Ruby Head, Charles Cork, Olivier Pierre, Pierce Brosnan, Daragh O'Malley, Dave King, Karl Howman, Brian Hall, Alan Ford, Dave Ould, Paul Kember
- Directors:
- John MacKenzie
- Producers:
- Barry Hanson
- Writers:
- Barrie Keeffe
- Studio:
- Anchor Bay
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- Award Winners, Films & TV by topic, Films by Year, Films From: 1980, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Helen Mirren, The Beatles in Film, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2, The Film Highlights of 1980, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 100 BFI Films, Top Films
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 05/10/2009
- Run Time:
- 110 minutes
- Languages:
- English DTS 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
- Subtitles:
- None
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary with Director John Mackenzie
- Bloody Business: Making 'The Long Good Friday'
- U.K. and U.S. Theatrical Trailers
- Cockney Slang Glossary
- Poster amd Still Gallery
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 27/05/2024
- Run Time:
- 114 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Atmos, English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 2
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by director John Mackenzie
- Bloody Business, a documentary about the making of 'The Long Good Friday', including interviews with John Mackenzie, stars Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, producer Barry Hanson and cinematographer Phil Meheux
- Hands Across the Ocean, a comparison of the differences between the UK and US soundtracks
- Q&A with Bob Hoskins and John Mackenzie, moderated by Richard Jobson
- Interviews with Barry Hanson, Phil Meheux, writer Barrie Keeffe, first assistant director Simon Hinkly and assistant art director Carlotta Barrow
- Original Trailers
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Reviews (4) of The Long Good Friday
The bees knees - The Long Good Friday review by PT
A classic Brit gangster. Harold Shand is on the verge of sealing a partnership with the Mafia. But trouble starting with the murder of one of his crew escalates into more and more trouble. Shand is oblivious to why this trouble has started against his firm, and he's determined that he must stamp it out quick so as not to put his new Mafia connections off .
"Somebody must know something". Shand is in a race against time to quell this mayhem. Will he get to the bottom of it, will he keep the Mafia deal?
Superb performance from Hoskins, supported brilliantly by his loyal wife Helen Mirren. The dialogue is top notch, with loads of quoteable gems.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
A well-paced British thriller - The Long Good Friday review by Philip in Paradiso
This is a good film, which has become a 'classic' of British cinema. Although it is firmly rooted in the late 1970s/ 1980s, in terms of themes, atmosphere, music, etc., the acting and the story are good. Bob Hoskins' performance is excellent: don't miss the tirade in the Savoy towards the end of the movie -- if only for that scene, the film would be worth watching!
The film mixes tension, ambiguity, violence and humour in a very British way. Highly recommended.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Brilliant British Gangland Thriller Set in London's Docklands in 1979, just before redevelopment - The Long Good Friday review by PV
I have watched this film several times and never get bored. It is so well-written and memorable.
The screenwriter Barrie Keefe seems not to have written much more for film, which is a shame - the script sizzles. It is also deeply authentic, for the Cockney gangsters at the time late 70s, the gay scene, the slippery politics of northern Ireland (still going...), the slick USA mafia as hard drugs took over from simple villain ways for organised crime to make an income.
Bob Hoskins inhabits his role totally as a middle-aged Cockney gangster yearning for the old days and trying to build new life into his beloved East End and Docklands. Great to see that place as it was too - the empty wharfs, quays, docks and huge still cranes in a dead people-less landscape. Now all under Canary Wharf which is sort of what the main character wants to build.
See Pierce Brosnan in an early role (he's also a bit part in The Professionals) and Derek Thompson AKA Charlie from Casualty made his screen debut here too. Helen Mirren plays the gangster's mill, in effect, and is thus cast as ''hot totty' here.
Social class, generation difference, nationality, race, gender, sexuality - it is ALL here but not stuffed down the viewers' throat like the woke lectures and self-righteous sermonising of so many movies and TV dramas now.
Authentic language for the time, which 'some may find offensive'. Good, It is authentic and would be how corrupt London coppers spoke. Watch The Chinese Detective 1980 TV series to hear more. NOTHING is gratuitous - not the violence, and there is plenty, the sex, the gay sex, the language. THIS is how to make an AUTHENTIC film. Chuck away the diversity department booklet and just watch this on a loop.
One of the best thrillers EVER. 5 stars every day of the week.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.