The Long Good Friday on DVD (1981)

Average rating: 73%

from 2,631 members

5 Critics reviews
40 Members reviews

Starring:	Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Eddie Constantine, Paul Freeman, Derek Thompson, derek thompson (pres/narr), Pierce Brosnan
Director:	John Mackenzie
Studio:	STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time:	109 mins
Certificate:
User collections:	The world's most prolific stuntman, Vic Armstrong, The finest films ever made, Jessy's all time greats, CRIME DOES PAY!, My all time favourite's (In no particular order), Made in Britain, Judas' British, American and Asian Thug Most Wanted, Best Of British., Some good movies, The films I like are better than the films you like
Genres:	Drama
Languages:	English
Released:	10/06/2002

Brief synopsis of The Long Good Friday

John Mackenzie's rabidly engaging, complex gangster film concerns a dominant English racketeer, Harold (Bob Hoskins), who is about to change his image and go straight. While negotiating a deal with an American organised crime organisation to develop the barren Docklands section of London, his associates begin to turn up dead, and the tough businessman realizes that getting out will be more difficult than he had anticipated. This extremely tight thriller made Hoskins a star.

All DVDs in this series

Long Good Friday, The - Feature John Mackenzie's rabidly engaging, complex gangster film concerns a dominant English racketeer, Harold (Bob Ho...
Long Good Friday, The - Bonus Features Bonus Features Include:'Bloody Business: Making The Long Good Friday' featurette Cockney slang glossary In...

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Critics Reviews

Radio Times

Bob Hoskins got his big break playing the East End criminal who realises his gang is being ruthlessly picked off by the IRA in this hard-edged crime drama. Owing something to American gangster movies of the 1940s, and rather more to Get Carter and TV crime shows, John Mackenzie's film remains both an explosively violent thriller and a sharp evocation of the enterprise culture of the time (Hoskins's dream is to build a new city in London's docklands with Mafia money). Helen Mirren offers seductive support, while Pierce Brosnan appears as an anonymous IRA hitman.

Rating of 2
stars out of 4 Halliwell's Film Guide

Heavily melodramatic stylish updating of Scarface in a London East End setting. A critical success despite vicious detail and IRA plot involvement.

New York Times

"...THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY is a swift, sharp-edged gangster story in a classic mold....Surprising, suspenseful drama..."

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Members Reviews

Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Frightening, and that's just the music

dustyhendrix from Cumbria , 09/06/2004

Bob Hoskins makes Don Corleone look amateurish as he wages his war on gangland London over one long brutal day.

With echoes of the Don, Hoskins looks to make his business legit only to have his aspirations blown up, so to speak, by an invisible force that leaves no clues. As his men turn up dead across the city, Hoskins portrays brilliantly a man gradually realising his empire is coming down. The ferocity of his revenge on just about anyone with a bit of previous is unbelievably powerful yet ultimately he is dealing with forces out of his league, providing the theme of the little man trying to beat all the odds to keep what he has.

Made at a time when Thatcherism appeared on the political scene, Hoskins business aspirations and his entrepreneurship run parallel with his bloodletting. Accompanied by a wild electro synth soundtrack, The Long Good Friday is a great British gangster movie.

13 out of 13 people found this review helpful

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