Year of Release: 1980Country of Origin: UK
Director: John Mackenzie
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren
Plot outline: Harold Shand is the undisputed ruling kingpin of the London underworld, when his world is suddenly torn apart by a series of murders and exploding bombs from an unseen foe (IMDb).
Directed by John Mackenzie and produced for a paltry £930,000 (unthinkable nowadays), The Long Good Friday might not have the gloss or glamour of today's Brit-based gangster tales, but in all other departments it is the daddy. Delayed for a year due to political ramifications that had Thatcher's team up in arms (Shand is the epitome of Thatcherite values), Mackenzie's classic has a cutting script, loads of realistically brutal violence and some of the most quotable dialogue this side of Michael Caine's Jack Carter. Topping all of this off is an impossibly catchy, soul-wailing saxophone score by Francis Monkman. In his breakthrough role, Bob Hoskins gives a towering performance. Effortlessly switching from charismatic businessman on top of the world to vicious warlord struggling to comprehend how easily his empire is crumbling beneath him, Harold Shand is an interesting anti-hero, who barks out much of the quotable dialogue with the same ease as most people breath air. As for the quality of his final scene, it will leave you as speechless as Hoskins was when he performed it. Elsewhere, while excellent support is provided from the likes of Helen Mirren as the beautiful wife, Eddie Constantine as the American gangster supremo and Dave King as the bent-copper ("Parky!"), the rest of the cast draw attention as a list of familiar faces. Aside from the likes of Pierce Brosnan and Dexter Fletcher, we also see Paul Barber (Denzil from Only Fools and Horses), Gillian Taylforth (Cath from Eastenders), Derek Thompson (Charlie from Casualty), Karl Howman (Jacko from Brush Strokes), TV stalwart Kevin McNally, Alan Ford (Bricktop from Snatch) and PH Moriarty (Hatchet Harry from Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels). From start to finish there’s a lot of "I know his face!" Nearly 30 years later and John Mackenzie’s classic is still the yard-stick for any new entry into the genre. (SC)
My judgement: ***1/2 out of 4 stars
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