Customer Reviews

The Long Good Friday

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Talented English director John MacKenzie knew that the English gangster genre needed a good shot in the arm...and he delivered the goods with this tightly scripted and brilliantly acted crime drama.

Bob Hoskins is outstanding as London mob boss, Harold Shand...masterminding a major construction development along the river Thames that will nett him, and his American backers, millions of pounds. Shand has everyone on his payroll...politicians, police and enforcers...but then suddenly everything starts to unravel, and Harolds world turns upside down in the space of a day. MacKenzie's film moves with intent and purpose and Barrie O'Keeffe's screenplay keeps the suspense at a finely tuned pitch. A terrific support cast headed by the sulrty Helen Mirren as Harold's wife, Victoria....Derek Thompson as the cowardly, opportunist Jeff....P.H. Moriarty as the aptly named bodyguard "Razors"....and Bryan Marshall as the drunken councillor, Harris, further contribute to the success of this challenging film.

Clever use of authentic London locations and creative cinematography lend a further hand to enhance the claustraphobic atmoshpere closing in upon Harold Shand and his crew...the viewer really feels through Hoskins emotional range, the unnerving pressure that is causing him to come apart at the seams. Excellent transfer to DVD...sound and color both superb...it's a pity that Criterion didn't add a few extra goodies that they usually package with their fine presentations.

A solidly crafted, gripping film with A grade performances by a splendid English cast...and keep your eyes open for a very youthful Pierce Brosnan in a minor role.

FOOTNOTE : MacKenzie also made another powerful movie three years prior in 1979 called "A Sense of Freedom"...based on the true story of Glasgow gangster, Jimmy Boyle, and his life in jail and out. It's a harrowing, gritty prison film that doesn't pull it's punches...unfortunately it's not on video or DVD at present...but hopefully it will return. Another A class crime film !!

I don't know this for sure, but the Criterion edition of The Long Good Friday is probably the only halfway decent edition of the film available. The story itself is really good, but the DVD leaves a LOT to be desired. First, it is poor quality mono. Second, there are NO subtitles in ANY language. I had much difficulty understanding the mostly "cockney" English, doubly difficult due to significant audio distortion at most all audio levels! If it weren't for the fact that the story is so absorbing, and I am a big fan of Bob Hoskins, I probably would not have been able to sustain an interest to watch the DVD through to the end. But I did! However, I have to watch it at least one more time to catch all the dialogue I missed the first time!!! Also, although the picture quality was mostly decent, the DVD contained many white splotches (original film deterioration?) that most likely could and should have been cleaned up with more attention by Criterion, especially since Criterion provided NO extras (except for a couple of trailers) with this edition. Why are Criterion's prices so high for bare minimum and, in this case, average technical quality DVDs? Objections aside, this is an intriguing ganster flick!

The second best ever Brit gangster movie is a brilliant energy-filled piece. Ritchie's "Lock, Stock..." is fine if you want a jokey gangster film bailed out by lucky coincidences, but this is the real thing, believable and intelligent.

What really raises this movie into the stratosphere is the bravura performance by Bob 'Oskins. The much-praised ending is riveting. Surely it's the most dazzling display of an actor's craft to hold in close facial shot for a prolonged time showing a variety of emotions cross the features? Hoskins does this to perfection, showing (at least) disbelief, anger, realization, fear, grim amusement and acceptance over a 90 second period, all the while set to pounding soundtrack and flickering lighting from passing streetlamps.

If you haven't seen this, do yourself a favor and buy the excellent DVD which also has some neat features.

I have compared this with the UK release and there are several significant differences: This is 1.85:1 whereas the UK release is cropped to 1.66:1. The cover claims that is the original aspect ratio but I can find no evidence to support this. The American release also has subtitles - God knows who did them, but not a London Cockney for sure - and despite many errors they will be a great help to the hearing impaired. My UK copy had a prominent hum on the DTS-HD Master audio, (but not on the stereo track), but the US release seems fine. So far it is the US by a knock-out, but the UK has a decent range of extras including commentary and a really interesting "making of" doco. Why on earth they could not have done a decent job and got them all on the same disc baffles me but in the end I will watch this US release for the wider picture, the better audio and the subtitles. It has also recently been on sale for $5.99, a real Christmas gift!

Am i the only person to notice the shameless dubbing of a great film. I originally purchased the Region 2 version.Special Edition! I naturally expected the full uncut, un-edited, and certainly ud-dubbed version to be there.When the Criterion version came out i expected more but unfortunately it was the same. The worst part is that in the extras in an interview with Bob Hoskins and Barrie O'Keefe,Hoskins tells of how horrified he was on first seeing the original version released by the American studio and how they had dubbed his own voice to make him sound like 'a Geordie'(thats someone from Newcastle for any Americans who may be reading ).He was so outraged he threatened to sue the company.Eventually he managed to persuade Hand Made Films to buy the rights from the original owners.The only way to see the film as it was supposed to be seen is on VHS

It's a helluva call to make but I would consider this my all time favourite gangster movie - if The Godfather trilogy is the Shakespeare of gangster films, and Scarface is the Opera of gangster films then THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY is the Dickens of Gangster films with some Jacobean tragedy overtones. It says as much as any film about the Irish determination to wage terror in their quest for justice; it is rich in the class issues that bedevil English society; it touches on immigration issues; it understands thed power and potential for corruption in local government; it highlights the cultural cringe the UK has for Hollywod -the use of Eddie Constantine as a visiting gangster from the USA is a master stroke - he can't get out of England fast enough, so pervasive is the violence, so dangerous is the place- he likens it to a war zone; but this also highlights another theme: as in so many things Harold (played brilliantly by Bob Hoskins) is constantly looking to the past in terms of the greatness of the "British Empire" and the trappings of the past - a Rolls Royce (which is blown up), the Church (to which only his ageing mother goes), and the gentry (his partner who is taken from him, played by the great Ms Helen Mirrem.
There are many highlights - Harold's temper is one such and he loses it from time to time using a broken bottle to give the face of one his lieutenants a Jacobean makeover, but the final minutes when the camera rests on his face as he is unexpectedly driven off into the night by the Irish and we read in his silent face the surprise, anger, rage, dawning realisation of his fate, acceptance, and defiance all flashing across his features, we see cinema acting at its very finest. Not a moment that should be cut in this film. And how many films can we say that about?
A small but rich masterpiece and one of the the finest gangster films ever made.

Anchor Bay has outdone itself with this superlative transfer of the British gangster classic, "The Long Good Friday". It is seldom that a video company can release a film that surpasses a Criterion edition but Anchor Bay has done it. Its version totally eclipses the earlier Criterion release. And at half the price to boot.

Some commentators have placed The Long Good Friday at the same level as The Godfather and Scarface. Personally I wouldn't go that far, but it is a superb movie. Made in 1979, it stars Rob Hoskins in probably the role of his life, as London Mob Kingpin Harold Shand and a young Helen Mirren as his wife. It also stars the even younger Pierce Brosnan in his first film role, as an IRA hitman out to get them. The story is straightforward enough. After subduing all his rivals and establishing himself as king of the London underworld, Shand is set on expanding his empire by tying up with the American mob. On the day he is to seal the deal with his American investors, his lieutenants are killed one by one, his properties across London are bombed. Unknown to him, his underlings have been quietly dealing with the IRA for their own ends. Unfortunately, a mistake leads to the deaths of several IRA operatives and the organisation is out for revenge. It is a violent movie but the violence is implied rather than explicit. Some unforgettable scenes include the one with the rival bosses being strung up on meathooks at the abbatoir as Shand questions them, another where one of Shand's men is left crucified on a garage floor, and of course, the final extended closeup on Shand's face as he contemplates his fate at the hands of a smiling Pierce Brosnan.

Anchor Bay has restored the picture beautifully with hardly a speck of dirt to be seen, the image looking sharp with just the slightest amount of film grain, colors vibrant and black levels deep and rich. It is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.77:1 with anamorphic enhancement. The audio too has been restored, though it is still essentially monophonic. The dialogue is much clearer now, clear enough to decipher the Cockney dialect. Unfortunately Anchor Bay has followed tradition by not including subtitles on this DVD. Video companies should know by now that for many Americans, Cockney is about as intelligible as a foreign language. Anchor Bay obviously knows this because it includes a long A-Z Cockney dictionary on its DVD but it would have done better with optional subtitles. Apart from the new feature length commentary by director John Mackenzie, there is a 54 minute long featurette "Bloody Business: The Making of The Long Good Friday," the US and UK trailers, Talent Bios, a Posters and Stills Gallery, the Cockney Glossary, the complete screenplay in Adobe Acrobat format, and an illustred 8-page booklet featuring an article on the movie. Definitely worth the upgrade.

Here is a link to a review of the Image Entertainment Blu-Ray, with screen shots and comparisons to previous editions on DVD:

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If the above doesn't appear as a live link, then simply copy and past into the address bar of your browser. The news, however, is simple: the disc is single-layered, and the feature doesn't even occupy all the space it could (18gigs, where 25 was available). Screen shots demonstrate that the disc gives a marginally brighter image than the existing SD-DVDs, but is otherwise unremarkable, and has no supplements, not even the supplements on the old Anchor Bay "Special Edition" from a few years ago. Detail is mushy, with nothing particularly standing out, though the colours appear to be somewhat improved. It looks to me as if an existing master, of reasonable quality, has simply been turned into a quick blu-ray. What needs to be done is to remaster the film specifically with blu-ray in mind. Yes, it's cheap, but in this case, and based on the screen shots, I would say that you are truly getting what you pay for.

"What I'm looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an 'ot dog, know what I mean?" Harold

Harold played by Bob Hoskins starts his Good Friday anticipating the day ahead of him. His plans include a large party on his yacht for a group of monied business men and a couple of men from New York. His plan is to tie up a massive real estate deal. The 1988 Olympics are coming to town and he plans to convert all the old docks into land for the Olympics.

Then the entire scheme comes apart when the 'bombings' start. First his chauffeur is bombed in his car, next his casino is blown apart and then one of his best men is killed at a gym. Harold has no enemies that he knows of. The London world of crime has been quiet for a couple of years. Who is his enemy?

Bob Hoskins keeps this film alive with his performance. Instead of retribution, Harold spends this day wondering and looking for clues. His men are spectacular. An interesting point is that real criminals worked on this set. Who knew that criminals would make good actors:-)?

Helen Mirren as Harold's class act wife is low key but she has an important role. Sexy and intelligent, she is the hostess with the mostest and charms those around her. She and Harold share a true love and they depend upon each other. I am viewing all of Helen Mirren's films and this is the start of her career as a leading lady.

When the adversaries become clear, the film shows a let-down. A true to form revenge mission is planned and the ending is not that surprising.
All in all this is a film about character and Bob Hoskins is the kind of boss one would want in the underworld.

"As long as it keeps up the mystery, the film sustains interest. This is due in no little part to Hoskins, just entering his film career after a decade of TV work but already in possession of an authoritative presence that was impossible to ignore." Chris Barsanti

A day and a night in the life of London underworld. A shrewd, intelligent film with some memorable performance by Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren.

Recommended. prisrob 06-21-08

Helen Mirren at the BBC

World War II - When Lions Roared

To be VERY clear, I understand and completely agree with the previous two reviewers about the shoddyness of the transer, BUT if you havent seen this film, you should, it's a classic of the British Gangster Genre (yup, there is one, all the way back to '49 and "Brighton Rock"). If this BlueRay doesnt do justice to the movie, try and find an alternative. My old VHS is still very watchable, and the whole movie can be found on You Tube. Its Bob Hoskins at his finest and Cockney dictionaries can be found on line if you need them. I speak it fluently myself, being a Londoner originally, but dont let the language barrier put you off either. There's so much rich, quiet visual detail in the film that that in itself is a joy, and when it explodes into violence there's a chilling reality to it. Whatever you do, try and catch this classic movie