The Long Good Friday

Dir: John Mackenzie

1980

*****

The Long Good Friday is a modern British classic and is often voted one of the country’s best films of all time. The film had problems from the start. Originally written as a TV film, writer Barrie Keeffe (Sus) sold the film to producer Barry Hanson when he was working for Euston Films. When Hanson left Euston, the rights were lost and Keeffe bought back the script and sold it on again to Lew Grade. When Lew Grade saw the finished film he disliked it and ordered many cuts before it could be televised. Hanson objected and fought to buy the rights back, while Bob Hoskins sued Grade to stop him from dubbing the actor with someone else's voice for the US release. In the end, ex-Beatle George Harrison saved the day by buying the rights and releasing it under his film company Handmade Films. After a year, the film finally made it into cinemas and was well received, with absolutely no cuts. Barrie Keeffe's script is fantastic and Bob Hoskin's did it justice in what was only his sixth performance in a feature film, after doing some theatre and a bit of television work. His portrayal as Harold Shand is now a cinematic classic, from the speech at the very beginning of the movie to the devastating silent final scene he encompasses the entire film effortlessly. Helen Mirren plays Harold's wife and business partner Victoria and the chemistry between the two actors is beautiful, you could tell they were friends and it was there every time they appeared together on camera thereon. Derek Thompson was impressive as Shand's right hand man, He's great in TV's Casualty but I've always thought it a shame he never went back to film. The great Eddie Constantine is great as the American Mafia boss, P.H. Moriarty is fantastic as lead-henchman Razors and the supporting cast is a rich mix of people who would go on to great things, including; Dexter Fletcher, Paul Barber, Paul Freeman, Alan Ford, Kevin McNally and Pierce Brosnan. It's a great mix of gangster film, crime thriller and 'whodunit?'. It is very much of its time and a little ahead of its time too where it explores power through events of the day including the police corruption of the time, political corruption and the displacement of traditional British industry by property development, IRA and Mafia fundraising, the UK's EEC membership and the free-market economy. Sand's yacht is moored in the East-end of London next to the disused docks, gas works etc. He talks about multi-billion redevelopment in the film and pretty much all of it has come true, exactly by the same means his character plans it. His yacht would now be moored in one of the most expensive areas in the whole world. Sharp and intelligent and a hugely underrated gangster film. It's a beautiful example of late 70s early 80s film, meant for TV but so much better than it. A bonafide classic and a great London film.