Lindsey Lowson / 09 March 2025 / Categories: Movie and TV Shows, Movie

The Long Good Friday

1980 gangster classic

Bob Hoskins took the BAFTA in 1982 for his role as London’s scariest mob boss and owner of the Mayfair casino Harold Shand.

It does feel like a trip down memory lane watching this film, the Ford Cortina’s, the lighting up at every opportunity, the corruption and back handers and the tongue in cheek almost cheesy charm, they call it dark comedy director John MacKenzie and writer Barrie Keefe manage to layer into this film. It’s a fine line between classic and dated and this picture dances it very well helped significantly by a blonde and very young dame Helen Mirren as Victoria, Harold’s side kick and second in command.

She add the charm and glamour to this film which otherwise is a very large and male dominated cast.

It’s a motley cast of characters and with a run time of almost 2 hours it reminded me a little of the Movie The Usual Suspects, you have to keep your wits about you to keep track of who’s who.

The film opens with a robbery, and two murders but we don’t discover how these events are related until well into the film.

After 10 years running a racket in London with bent coppers and thugs who fancy themselves as wide boys making up “The Corporation’ Harold attempts to put together a plan to develop London Docklands into an Olympic stadium with the help of American mob boss Charlie and his lawyer Tony, staying at the Savoy and being wined and dined by Victoria, (Helen Mirren) and councillor Harris, another bent official.

It’s a whodunnit over 24 hours which commences with Harold’s chauffeur being blown up in a Rolls Royce outside a church as his mother prays and his best gay friend Colin gets it in the neck at the local swimming baths for flirting with a very young Pierce Brosnan.

Like I said you have to keep up.

I’d say it’s classic British London Gangster movie that is so London it was suggested Bob Hoskins be dubbed over in case the Americans couldn’t understand his cockney accent. After threats of suing Jack Gill and British Lion, Bobs original voice stayed in the film.

This film is up there definitely. It’s the Brit answer to Scarface and The Godfather except done in that British Filmaking Way that’s quintessentially unique.

It is very violent and there are a few scenes, one with a machete where I had to look away. It’s classic British gangster, hard and tough with a grave lesson in the end.

When Harold discovers who in his inner circle is the weak link things come to a very dramatic conclusion.

The film is a reflection and reminder how at the time and in that political landscape around the feud in Northern Ireland how ruthless and dangerous things actually were.

A gripping twist at the end you just don’t expect.

The Long Good Friday was a film I knew about but had never seen start to finish. Would I watch it again. Definitely but not for a while.