DB7

Why I'm mad about ...The long good Friday

Ian Nathan on a brutish British gangster masterpiece



It may seem perverse to start an appreciation of a movie by citing its ultimate scene — and a bit of a giveaway, so jump to the second paragraph if you wish — but the final note of this brutal gangster story is so moving, original and desolate that it encompasses everything that makes the film so mighty. Bob Hoskins’s Harold Shand has finally been cornered by his elusive foe and slung into the back of his car while the camera stays stock still on his face as he journeys to a fateful, unseen demise. Over two minutes, as Francis Monkman’s sexy jazzy score slides in, Hoskins runs a sublime, silent gamut of emotions across his broad bulldog face: fury, fear, confusion and a kind of serenity, as he realises that the game is up.
It would be heartbreaking for a generation of film lovers to judge the British gangster tradition by the tawdry froth of Guy Ritchie’s graceless output. Just this one scene from The Long Good Friday is enough to reveal its mythic power, infused with something harder, earthier and more brittle than even The Godfather induced. This is not simply a Shakespearean tragedy set amid the seedy gangs of London in the early 1980s, but a depiction of a Britain losing a sense of itself as Thatcher rose to sweep away the old guard and the European Community began its merry dance.

Shand, a wily thug who has risen to the rule the roost, has entrepreneurial designs and so encourages the American Mafia to take a slice of his desolate Docklands real estate. Over an Easter weekend, someone has taken to bombing his pubs and murdering his lieutenants — his world is falling apart.

The director, John Mackenzie, and the writer, Barry Keef, transcend simple gangster clichés. Away from the taut Thatcherism, which Shand epitomises, they align the violent means of his brood of gangland heavies with the avaricious businesses on the up.

That the film remains so credible is down to the performances. From Casualty’s Derek Thompson and a baby-faced Pierce Brosnan to Helen Mirren, their lines feel knuckle-hard and vital. Then there is Hoskins’s Shand: part Napoleonic fireball, part forlorn Macbeth, he is a battering-ram of seething emotion and, for all the bodies draped across meathooks, humanity. He cuts a strangely vulnerable figure, a feral man who aspires to something for ever beyond his reach. His flaw is his search for respectability and legitimacy. It presents the film with an ironically moral centre, while the mesmerising Hoskins grips our sympathies to the bitter end, rendered speechless but saying everything through those final aching moments.

theuofc

Great review of Long Good Friday. Thanks for posting it. That movie wears very well.

Barbara

dylan

I'm not sure how Harold epitomised Thatcherism.

At the end of the film he saw his future in Europe and not with an American alliance. This is closer to Edward Heath's vision rather than Thatcher's rather cautious approach.

GUMSHOE

Classic film!!
Just got hold of the DVD with a superb interview of Bob Hoskins and John McKenzie by Richard Jobson.
Talk of a sequel was on the agenda, i really hope not.
Epitomise Thatcherism? Not Harold Shand.

Wolfgang

The Sun are giving it away free on DVD in conjunction with Play.com. All you need to do is fill out form on their website and they will send it to you:

http://www.play.com/play247.asp?page=sunmon&source=919

Password: SUNFRIDAY

Jim

Barbara, you are no doubta Dirk fan, but did you read the article on him in 'The Mail' and it's supplement, 'Weekend'? He makes Peter Sellers seem like an uncomplicated bloke!

Fascinating character! :)

Good morning boys.

42ndStreetFreak

Bloody great British move making! A film that i never tire of. A superb cast, some great dialogue, well used brutal violence and a fine score.

Hoskins is stunning for sure, but the entire cast is a joy! Finely crafted Gangsterism.

Shame the 'Anchor Bay' DVD is not as goos as it should have been.
The film is badly cropped thanks to the anamorphic process. Most damaging is the loss of the bottom of the picture when Brosnan pulls the knife from Colin, resulting in a lesseoning of the scene's violent impact.

This version also has some strange overdubs. The biggest being when Harold tells Razors and Jeff about his and Colins stint in the Army.
This is the only versi0on i have ever seen that changes the dialogue. fans will notice instantly.
An example is the original "...Used to have to hump a bleedin great radio" line now changes "radio" to "Bazooka"!!

[ 07. October 2004, 02:31: Message edited by: 42ndStreetFreak ]

djdave

What an ending.

When I first saw this film - way back in the mid 1980s - the final few minutes just blew me away.

I've seen it several times since, and - unfortunately - it's lost a lot of its impact. This is only to be expected, I suppose. But for such an amazing "Oh, my GOD!!" ending, it stands head and shoulders above more recent Brit gangster films.

theuofc

Absolutely, Dave "The Long Good Friday" is one of my favorite gangster films. And how about the gorgeous Helen Mirren? Sizzle ... and also a fine actress. I love the scene where she hauls off and slaps him one to snap him out of it and then holds and comforts him. Memorable. What's not to applaud about that well-done film.

Best,

Barbara

Wolfgang

They are going to make sequel to it starring Luke Goss.

theuofc

Hi, Wolfgang,

Do you know who will play the character that Helen Mirren did?

Thanks,

Barbara

Steve Crook

I think Wolfgang's comment comes under the category of "a joke" - although it's quite a frightening thought.

Steve

Wolfgang

http://www.britmovie.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=1659

Steve Crook

You can't believe anything that DB7 says
Note that there's no link under that title. You shouldn't believe all (or anything) you read in the newspapers.

If it was considered at any time (perish the thought) it's long gone the way of all such projects.
There's a news item on the IMDb about Goss having to decline an appearance in The Matrix 2 because of his commitment to Blade 2. That was in December 2000. Since then there's been no noteworthy news about him although he's done a few more "straight to the remainder bin" films.

Steve

theuofc

Thank heavens. I'd hate to see a remake change The Long Good Friday into a dreary Monday.

Best,

Barbara