Rent The Long Good Friday (1980)

3.9 of 5 from 262 ratings
1h 49min
Rent The Long Good Friday Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • 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:
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Directors:
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:
10/06/2002
Run Time:
109 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Commentary track with director John MacKenzie
  • Interview with director John MacKenzie and Bob Hoskins
  • Trailer
  • Biographies
  • Film notes
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:
110 minutes

More like The Long Good Friday

Reviews (4) of The Long Good Friday

The bees knees - The Long Good Friday review by PT

Spoiler Alert
04/08/2015

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

Spoiler Alert
07/08/2018

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

Spoiler Alert
01/03/2023

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.

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