The Long Good Friday

1980

Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller

19
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 97% · 30 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 89% · 10K ratings
IMDb Rating 7.6/10 10 25285 25.3K

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Plot summary

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.


Uploaded by: OTTO
October 06, 2014 at 01:58 AM

Director

Top cast

Pierce Brosnan as 1st Irishman
Helen Mirren as Victoria
Kevin McNally as Irish Youth
1080p.BLU
1.84 GB
1920*1080
English 2.0
NR
23.976 fps
1 hr 54 min
Seeds 37

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by FlashCallahan 9 / 10

Going out like a raspberry ripple....

Harold Shand, is a study in contradictions - violent, feared but also self-conscious and insecure.

As Harold is about to close a major deal, a spate of bombing attacks bring negotiations to an abrupt halt.

He must find out who would dare attack criminal London 's most powerful man. Or has somebody already taken his place?

It's the study of someone who is facing ruin in a short time, from being one of the most fearsome, powerful 'mob' bosses in London, to being one of the most powerless, fearful person at once.

But it's also a big finger to the government at the time of the films release, and the greed here could be a reflection of the greed of politicians, and other powerful influences at the time......anybody will do anything to line their pockets......

Hoskins makes a star turn here as Shand, powerful, happy, and confident when we are first introduced, but as the film and the narrative progresses, we learn it's not him who has the power or the influence, it's his wife, the one who is the foundation and the brains of the outfit.

But Harold has the final say, or so he thinks, as his wife does influence him on occasion, and keeps everything smooth. And it's to the film makers and Mirrens credit for not making Mrs Shand a one dimensional moll, she is the most fleshed out character in the film.

As Harold realises that he is losing the battle,the film becomes more quickly paced, as if the editing is becoming more frequent, the more Harold becomes vulnerable.

It's a tent pole in British cinema, showing a grittier, seedier side to us Brits, and we love it.

Reviewed by preppy-3 10 / 10

Excellent gangster film

A British ganglord (Bob Hoskins) finds his empire crumbling after 10 years of peace...and just as he's about to make a very lucarative deal with the U.S. Mafia. Bombs go off in his businesses, friends and members of the gang are brutally killed...who is doing it, and why?

Great British film...completely ignored here when it was released in 1980. The British accents ARE hard to follow at times but I was able to keep up with the plot. Also this film is not for everybody--there are some pretty frequent bursts of graphic violence--VERY graphic! I pride myself on being able to sit through a lot but these scenes even had me cringing! Still, it well worth catching--it has a very intricate script with good dialogue. And all the acting is great. Hoskins is just perfect in the lead--you see the confusion, pain, fear and anger in him as his world starts to crumble apart. Also Helen Mirren is excellent as his mistress. Calm, sexy, controlled and VERY intelligent--she's just great. And the final shot of the eyes is chilling. Great electronic music score too. And it's fun to see Pierce Brosnan so young (28) and sexy in an early role.

A really great gangster film which deserves to be rediscovered. My one complaint (and this is minor) is that it goes on a bit too long--it could have been tightened a little. Still, a great film. A must see for crime film fans.

Reviewed by Witchfinder-General-666 9 / 10

Breathtaking British Gangland Thriller

The Gangster film is certainly a genre that has brought forth more than a few great films, and John MacKenzie's breathtaking British Gangland Thriller "The Long Good Friday" (1980) must be one of the grittiest, exciting, most outstandingly acted and greatest specimen of all-time. In one of the most charismatic criminal performances ever, the great Bob Hoskins plays Harold Shand, a rich and powerful London crime boss, who is about to make a lucrative deal with the American mafia, when he and his associates are suddenly victims to brutal attacks by phantom enemies starting on Good Friday. Harold is desperate to find out who is behind the mysterious and bloody attacks and take action, without scaring away his new business partners.

"The Long Good Friday" has everything one might wish for in a Gangland thriller, and more. Bob Hoskins delivers one of the most charismatic performances I have ever seen in the role of gangster Harold Shand. Harold isn't the typical, laid back mob boss à la Don Corleone, but a former poor Cockney kid, who fought his way to the top; an irascible bulldog always ready to explode into uncontrolled violent outbursts. And while he is certainly a very dark protagonist, one can't help but have some sympathy for the tough guy with the mean Cockney accent. Equally great is Helen Mirren, in the role of Harold's smart and efficient wife Victoria. Mirren's Victoria is more than your usual gun moll; ravishing and sexy, cunning and utterly supportive of her husband's businesses, Victoria is both Harold's lover and dearest associate. There is no doubt that Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are two of Britain's finest actors, and their performances here are utterly brilliant. In spite of the fact that Hoskins' Harold Shand must be one of the most charismatic Gangster characters in motion picture history, the film (unlike many mafia/gangster films) does never glorify gangsterism. On the contrary, it shows gangland life at its ugliest.

The film is extremely violent, at times, and the violent outbursts are always unrestrained and ugly, uncompromising and sometimes painful to look at. The entire film is uncompromising from start to finish, an incredibly gritty and (probably) very realistic experience, which simply cannot be missed by a lover of cult cinema. Hoskins and Mirren alone are pure brilliance, and the cast includes many other notable appearances. P.H. Moriarty shines as Harold's scary-looking right-hand man 'Razors', Eddie Constantine plays an American mob boss, and the young Pierce Brosnan appears as a silent Irish hit-man. The film is greatly photographed in London locations, and Francis Monkman's brilliant score is incredibly imposing and unforgettable.

The film has been advertised as 'the toughest gangster movie ever made' (quote on the German DVD cover), which I cannot say it is (this title would doubtlessly go to either one of the many Italian 70s gangster flicks, or to one of the countless brutal Japanese Yakuza films). However, "The Long Good Friday" is a truly gritty and tough-minded one, and one of the best there is. "The Long Good Friday" is a Gangster film as they should be: gritty, violent and uncompromising, incredibly stylish without being glorifying, brutal and sometimes disturbing; a masterpiece. At the moment, they are making an American re-make, which of course is going to be total crap. This original British classic is nothing short of brilliance and has to be seen by everyone interested in gritty cinema.

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