The Long Good Friday [DVD]

From a purely personal point of view the actors in this film are perfect, even down to the smaller parts. Top of the heap though are Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirin, two of my favourite actors, though sadly, Bob Hoskins is no longer with us. Helen Mirin is completely convincing as an upper class wife of a vicious gangster and she is central to the success of her husband's business plans with the Mafia. These plans go awry when Jeff, one of Harry Shand's (Bob Hoskins) closest advisors, allows a member of the "Corporation", Colin - a noted gay man, to travel to Belfast to make a pay-off to the IRA on behalf of Councillor Harris who employs mainly Irishmen on his building sites. The IRA pay-off is to guarantee that there will be no strikes. The plot begins with this theme where Colin hires a local taxi driver to take him to Belfast via the ferry. Once in Belfast, Colin takes a dip of £5,000.00 from the pay-off which is then delivered to the IRA in a remote farmhouse. As they are counting it the police arrive and arrest the three IRA men.Meantime, Colin and his taxi driver are having a last drink in one of Belfast's many pubs along with a gay man Colin has picked up. They all decide to leave but Colin makes a call of nature leaving his two companions in the car. The are then abducted by some IRA terrorists who, under oredrs to take and show revenge, shoot the Irish gay man and Colin's taxi driver. Colin, on exiting the Gents is confused by their absence and therefore makes his way back to London independently, not knowing of course that his companions have been murdered.The scene then moves on to the hearse passing Jeff and Councillor Harris as they take a drink outside a pub. The hearse stops, out gets a distraught widow of the taxi driver who then spits in Jeff's face and calls him a bastard. This noticed by Harris and one of the firm's muscle, a man known as Razors.This is the starting point of the murder of Colin in a swimming pool by none other than Pierce Brosnam playing an IRA Hit-man and which then moves on to a bomb that failed to go off in one of Harry Shand's casinos, a bomb in his mother's Rolls and finally a bomb in an East End pub that Harry has restored. All this goes on in the presence of two Mafia men in London to assess the qualities of Harry Shand and his "Corporation". Of course they are and become aware of what has happened and pull out of the deal, which infuriated Harry Shand.Harry Shand then visits Councillor Harris in his office at what looks to me like Wandsworth Borough Council offices, and gains full disclosure from Harris. He then formulates a plan to offer the IRA a pay-off of £60,000.00 which he delivers to them at a banger racing stadium. A sniper in his employ then takes out the Irish and follows up with a shot at Harris, who thankfully died: I didn't like the character at all even though it was brilliantly acted by Bryan Marshall .Then after a little more bla bla he goes back to his car only to find that he is being whisked away to his death by the IRA, his wife is in another car and bound for the same treatment. One thing I forgot to mention is that Jeff, played adequately by Derek Thompson, is gruesomely murdered by Harry who cuts his throat with a broken whiskey bottle.Apart from a few lines of dialogue, which could have been better thought out, This is rightly regarded as one of, if not the best British crime film ever made. I love this film and have been watching it for years, first on VHS, then DVD and now on Blu-ray. I thoroughly recommend it.

One of the best British gangster films ever made originally for TV but deemed too violent at the time ( 1979). Bob Hoskins has never been better as Harold Shand the kingpin of an East end firm who is about to do business with the Americans. However things start to go wrong when one of Harold's men foolishly helps himself to some money and the IRA get involved. Cars and buildings get blown up as Harold's empire begins to crumble and he loses his grip on his manor. Great supporting cast including Helen Mirren and Derek Thompson ( casualty's Charlie Fairhead ), extremely violent in parts and very funny in others with some unbelievable dialogue, especially from Hoskins. This is one top movie , if you haven't already seem it what are you waiting for!!.

I decided to have a look at some Bob Hoskin's films. And I started with what is considered to be his first really big part. He was real London - a totally natural actor who everyone took to their hearts. He later went to Hollywood and conquered the American market too. He was not a tall man but had huge presence as the boss of this huge gang. And there is a lot of violence. But that is the name of this game. But when you reach the top there is only one way to go. Down. And in this film we see the disintegration of his empire in one day. Good friday. Helen Mirren plays his Moll and as always she plays her part totally consistantly. She has been to an upper class private school and sometimes the accent is public school and sometimes it slips down into London to be sympathetic with the Londoners she is with. Very clever. And London. There are lots of exterior scenes on the river also in train stations which really is history now. Two story buildings, the cranes - it is a London I can identify with before they built the oversized strange shaped buildings that dominate now. So visually it is an interesting piece of history. Made in 1979. A London that has gone forever. So all this time later this film has become an interesting documentary of London architecture - the camerawork is excellent and The Long Good Friday is also the spectacular drama it set out to be..

Bob Hoskins (as London gangster Harold Shand) and Helen Mirren (his partner who is every bit his equal) are both superb in this British gangster film that also boasts a great script and action sequences. Storyline is: who is (literally) trying to blow up Harold's life on the day that he is trying to put together his biggest ever crooked business deal? Rival gangsters? Someone else? Made in 1979, this film still stands up very well today. This 25th Anniversary edition also boasts an excellent 50-minute 'Making Of' called Bloody Business.