Details
Movie Description
John Mackenzie's rabidly engaging, complex gangster film concerns the demise of a dominant English racketeer, Harold (Bob Hoskins), who is about to change his image and go straight. While negotiating a deal with an American organized crime organization to develop the barren Docklands section of London, his associates begin to turn up dead, and the tough Cockney businessman realizes that getting out will be more difficult than he had anticipated. This extremely tight British thriller made Hoskins a star.
Synopsis
London underworld gangster Harold Shand controls a criminal empire built on every vice except narcotics. Even his gun moll, Victoria, is a vision of class. For his next racket, Shand plans to buy up moribund London dock yards and redevelop them for the 1988 olympics. Yet on Good Friday when Shand meets with an American Mafia chief to seal their financial partnership, somebody kills two of his right-hand men, attempts to murder his mother, and blows his favorite pub to high heaven. Directed by John Mackenzie and written by Barrie Keefe, this engaging complicated melodrama shows a man trying to control his animal urges and to act like a civic minded business man. He detests anarchy and tries to use violence only as a tool. Eventually he is doomed because his brand of capitalism can't defend itself against the terrorism of the IRA.
Film Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1 encoding
Keep Case
Special Features: Original British and American Theatrical Trailers.
DVD Special Features
Region 1 Encoding
Original British and American Theatrical Trailers.
Keep Case
Theatrical Release: April 8, 1982.
Industry Reviews
"...[An] absorbing, fast-paced narrative....Some nicely observed performances..."
Variety - Simo. (05/28/1980)
"...THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY is a swift, sharp-edged gangster story in a classic mold....Surprising, suspenseful drama..."
New York Times - p.C12 - Janet Maslin (04/02/1982)
"...The movie's IRA subplot makes it a juicy companion piece to John Boorman's great new Irish mob pic THE GENERAL..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (12/11/1998)
"...This still holds up as one of the few British gangster films with the same intensity and drive as the best Hollywood has to offer..."
Sight and Sound - Geoffrey Macnab (08/01/2002)
"Hoskins is pure fire. It's the signature performance in a criminally underappreciated career." -- Grade: A
Entertainment Weekly - Chris Nashawaty (04/14/2006)
5 stars out of 5 -- "John MacKenzie's masterful thriller features a career-best performance from Bob Hoskins..."
Total Film - Mark Salisbury (10/01/2006)
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