The Long Good Friday
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Movie Reviews of The Long Good Friday
Movie Review: "The Mafia? Ha! I'll s**t 'em!"
Summary: 5 Stars
The prophetic words of Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins) a small man with big ideas to revolutionise London's docklands, with a little help and investment from the Mafia. Shand, one of London's leading gangsters, is trying to build up a legitimate business empire, and needs the clout of the cosa nostra to get his project of the ground. But when his investors arrive on Good Friday, what Harold thought would be a day of uninterrupted business dealings turns into a nightmare of carnage where Harold comes up against an enemy threatening to destroy the empire he has built.The Long Good Friday is a bombastic British gangster movie, full of memorable scenes and dialogue, and a barnstorming central performance from Hoskins. It is a classic tale of betrayal, of the old order of Shand's close knit organisation challenged by a new, ruthlessly efficient adversary, and a perfect comment on Thatcherite imperialism. And it has a pay-off to die for. In the final scene, Hoskins gives one of the best non-speaking performances of all time. Gritty, pessimistic and brutally stunning!
Movie Review: Classic British gangster Noir
Summary: 5 Stars
Classic, is the performance of Bob Hoskins both powerful and charming, a London gangster at the top of his tree and looking to move up runs inadvertently into a darker realm of power, so notorious that even the mafia run for cover. With a fantastic score and supporting performances from the likes of Helen Mirren the Long Good Friday ranks amongst the finest of British film.Movie Review: The Great Bob Hoskins
Summary: 5 Stars
Not much to add to all the justifiably excellent reviews above--except to reiterate the explosive power and vitality of Bob Hoskins. What a terrific actor! Ever since seeing him in THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY, I've thought of him as The Great Bob Hoskins. He was born to play the role of Harold Shand. The mute close-ups of his face which close the film are among the greatest pieces of cinema I've ever seen. (I'd LOVE to hear the story of how that scene was filmed, how many takes were necessary, how he psyched himself into it, etc.)It's a pity that most of his subsequent films have given him too little to do.
Movie Review: A gangster film of raging, headlong power.
Summary: 5 Stars
Until I saw Bob Hoskins in "The Long Good Friday," I thought the British were incapable of producing an actor who had the style and power of James Cagney. This movie was my introduction to the wonderful craft of Hoskins, and also--except for a couple of Masterpiece Theatre productions--to the wonderful work of Helen Mirren, here playing the upper-class moll to Hoskins's lower-class but extremely wealthy mob boss. Hoskins, anxious to go legit with a multi-billion-pound Thameside development deal, is suddenly bedeviled by acts of terrorism against his organization; in a jigsaw-puzzle style that leaves the audience as much in the dark as Hoskins, but which finally becomes plain with ferocious clarity, the identity and motives of Hoskins' attackers are revealed. "The Long Good Friday" is a marvel of good acting, witty dialogue and kinetic energy, helped by a propulsive music score and photography that manages to be both gritty and lyrical. The violence and language are appropriate to the theme, so those looking for a wholesome family film should look elsewhere. Watch for the very young Pierce Brosnan in a tiny but crucial role.Movie Review: A Great Gangster Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I second those who found this a clever, brilliantly performed film; one of the best gangster films ever made. With an intricate plot that shifts from social commentary to ironic and deadpan humor to sudden violence with ease and a clear focus. The cast is first rate in all departments, but this was the first big exposure for Bob Hoskins and the short man fills the screen as the tough, ambitious cockney hood trying to raise himself in his world and his complete bewilderment and fury as that world begins to crumble around him. So many things to enjoy in the movie, but absolutely unforgettable is the final haunting scene in closeup as an array of emotions play across Hoskin's face. A great, gritty, tough film.