The Long Good Friday
by John Mackenzie
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bob Hoskins, Bryan Marshall, Dave King, Derek Thompson, Helen MirrenDirector: John Mackenzie
Brand: STARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Cinematographer: Phil Meheux
Editor: Mike Taylor
Producer: Barry Hanson
Producer: Chris Griffin
Producer: Denis O'Brien
Producer: George Harrison
Writer: Barrie Keeffe
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Movie Reviews of The Long Good Friday
Movie Review: British gangster classic returns... Anchor Bay's edition trounces earlier Criterion release
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Summary of The Long Good Friday
Academy AwardŽ nominee Bob Hoskins delivers a ferocious performance as mobster Harold Shand, the all-powerful boss of the London underworld. But on the day he is about to close the ultimate deal with an American crime family, Shand?s empire suddenly ? and literally ? begins to explode around him. Who would dare attack Britain?s most ruthless gangster? How far will he go to find the truth? And what is the deadly secret behind the havoc of THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY? OscarŽ nominee Helen Mirren (GOSFORD PARK, CALIGULA), tough guy icon Eddie Constantine (ALPHAVILLE), and Pierce Brosnan (in one of his first film roles) co-star in this now-classic crime drama that critics compare to THE GODFATHER and SCARFACE as one of the greatest gangster films of all time.Similar DVD Movies
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