View source for The Long Good Friday

{{short description|1980 British film directed by John Mackenzie}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = The Long Good Friday
| image          = LongGoodFridayPoster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[John Mackenzie (film director)|John Mackenzie]]
| screenplay     = [[Barrie Keeffe]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Bob Hoskins]]
* [[Helen Mirren]]
}}
| producer       = Barry Hanson
| music          = [[Francis Monkman]]
| cinematography = [[Phil Méheux]]
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[ITC Entertainment|Black Lion Films]]
* Calendar Productions
}}
| distributor    = [[HandMade Films]]
| released       = {{film date|df=yes|1980|11|3|[[BFI London Film Festival|LFF]]|1981|3|29|United Kingdom}}
| runtime        = 114 minutes
| language       = English
| country        = United Kingdom
| budget         = £930,000
| gross          = £426,308 (UK)<ref name="money">Chapman, J. (2022). ''The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945–1985''. Edinburgh University Press, p. 314. Refers to distributors share of gross.</ref>
}}

'''''The Long Good Friday''''' is a 1980 British [[gangster film]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The Long Good Friday review – classic Brit gangster melodrama |date=2015-06-18 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408001944/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/18/the-long-good-friday-review-classic-brit-gangster-melodrama |archive-date=2023-04-08 |url-status=live |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/18/the-long-good-friday-review-classic-brit-gangster-melodrama}}</ref> directed by [[John Mackenzie (film director)|John Mackenzie]] from a screenplay by [[Barrie Keeffe]]. Starring [[Bob Hoskins]] and [[Helen Mirren]], the film, set in [[London]], weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including mid-level [[political corruption|political]] and [[police corruption]] and [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] fund-raising. The supporting cast features [[Eddie Constantine]], [[Dave King (actor)|Dave King]], [[Bryan Marshall]], [[Derek Thompson (actor)|Derek Thompson]], [[P. H. Moriarty]], [[Paul Freeman (actor)|Paul Freeman]] and [[Pierce Brosnan]] in his film debut.

The film was completed in 1979,<ref name="BFI">Mark Duguid [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/480130/index.html "''Long Good Friday, The'' (1979)"], BFI Screenonline</ref> but because of delays, it did not have a general release until early 1981. It received positive reviews from critics, and Hoskins was nominated for the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]] and won an [[Evening Standard British Film Awards|Evening Standard Film Award]] for his performance as gangster Harold Shand. It was number 21 on the [[British Film Institute]]'s [[BFI Top 100 British films|Top 100 British films]] list and provided Hoskins with his breakthrough film role. In 2016, British film magazine ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' ranked ''The Long Good Friday'' 19th on its list of the 100 best British films.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine|title=The 100 best British films |first=James|last=Dyer|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/|magazine=Empire|date=29 November 2017}}</ref>

==Plot==
A man delivers a large sum of cash to an unknown recipient in [[Belfast]] and in the process takes some of it for himself. As the recipients count the money in a country farmhouse, uniformed gunmen attack them. Soon afterwards Phil, the driver for the delivery, is kidnapped and killed. Later, the delivery man, Colin, is murdered at a [[London]] swimming pool.

Harold Shand, a [[British firms (organised crime)|London gangster]], aspires to become a legitimate businessman and is trying to form a partnership with Charlie, an [[American Mafia|American mafioso]], with a plan to redevelop [[London Docklands]] in association with local construction boss [[Councillor]] Harris. Shand's world is suddenly destabilised by a series of bomb attacks on his property and murders of his associates, including his old friend Colin. Shand and his henchmen try to uncover the attackers' identities by threatening corrupt police officers, informers and other criminals, whilst simultaneously trying not to worry their American visitors, who they fear will abandon Shand if they think he is not in full control. Shand's girlfriend, Victoria, tells the Americans Shand is under attack by an unknown enemy but assures them he will quickly resolve the matter. She starts to suspect that Shand's right-hand man, Jeff, knows who is behind the attacks.

After some investigation, Shand confronts Jeff, who confesses that under pressure from Harris, he sent Colin and Phil to Belfast to deliver money to the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) on Harris's behalf. He explains that three of the IRA's top men were killed on the same night the money was delivered. Shand realises the IRA have concluded that he sold them out to the security forces and pocketed the missing cash, and are targeting his organisation in revenge. Vowing to destroy the IRA in London, he accidentally kills Jeff in a rage.

After confronting Harris, Shand sets up a meeting with the IRA's London leadership at a [[Stock car racing|stock car]] racetrack. He ostensibly offers the IRA £60,000 in return for a ceasefire but [[Betrayal|double crosses]] them and has them and Harris shot as they are counting the cash. Believing his enemies are dead and the problem solved, Shand travels to the [[Savoy Hotel]] to triumphantly inform Charlie and his assistant Tony, only to find the Americans preparing to leave, having been spooked by the carnage. In response to their derisory comments about the UK, Shand berates them for their arrogance and dismisses them as cowards.

Leaving the hotel, Shand steps into his chauffeur-driven car only to find it has been commandeered by IRA assassins. He sees Victoria also kidnapped in another car. As his car speeds to an unknown destination, Shand comes to terms with his fate.

==Cast==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Bob Hoskins]] as Harold Shand
* [[Helen Mirren]] as Victoria
* [[Dave King (actor)|Dave King]] as Parky
* [[Bryan Marshall]] as Councillor George Harris
* [[Derek Thompson (actor)|Derek Thompson]] as Jeff
* [[Eddie Constantine]] as Charlie
* [[Paul Freeman (actor)|Paul Freeman]] as Colin
* [[P. H. Moriarty]] as Razors
* Stephen Davies as Tony
* [[Brian Hall (actor)|Brian Hall]] as Alan
* [[Alan Ford (actor)|Alan Ford]] as Jack
* [[Paul Barber (actor)|Paul Barber]] as Erroll
* [[Pauline Melville]] as Dora
* [[Patti Love]] as Carol
* [[Nigel Humphreys]] as Dave
* [[Karl Howman]] as David
* [[Gillian Taylforth]] as Sherry
* [[George Coulouris]] as Gus
* [[Trevor Laird]] as Jim
* [[Roy Alon]] as Captain Death
* [[Tony Rohr]] as O'Flaherty
* [[Pierce Brosnan]] and [[Daragh O'Malley]] as [[Irish Republican Army|IRA]] men
* Leo Dolan as Phil
* [[Dexter Fletcher]] as Kid
* [[Kevin McNally]] as Irish youth
* [[Susie Silvey]] as Erroll's girlfriend (uncredited){{Div col end}}

==Production==
The film was directed by [[John Mackenzie (film director)|John Mackenzie]] and produced for £930,000<ref name="AIP">"''Association of Independent Producers' magazine'', September 1980.</ref> by Barry Hanson from a script by [[Barrie Keeffe]], with a soundtrack by [[Francis Monkman]]; it screened at the Cannes, Edinburgh and London Film Festivals in 1980.<ref name="ScreenInt">"Producer seeks a £ 1m buyer...": news report in movie trade magazine ''Screen International'', 22 November 1980.</ref>

Under the title ''The Paddy Factor'',<ref>''Bloody Business: The Making of The Long Good Friday'', documentary film, 2006</ref> Keeffe wrote the original story for Hanson when the latter worked for [[Euston Films]],<ref name="AIP"/> a subsidiary of [[Thames Television]]. Euston did not make the film, but Hanson bought the rights for his own company, Calendar Films.<ref name="AIP"/> Hanson designed the film for the cinema and all contracts were negotiated under a film, not a TV, agreement, but the production was eventually financed by Black Lion, a subsidiary of [[Lew Grade]]'s [[ITC Entertainment]] for transmission via Grade's [[Associated Television|ATV]] on the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network.<ref name="ScreenInt"/> The film was commissioned by [[Charles Denton (television and film producer)|Charles Denton]], at the time both programme controller of ATV and managing director of Black Lion.<ref name="AIP"/> After Grade saw the finished film, he allegedly objected to what he saw as its glorification of the IRA.<ref name="BFI"/>

The film was scheduled to be televised with heavy cuts on 24 March 1981.<ref name="ScreenInt"/> Because of the planned cuts, in late 1980, Hanson attempted to buy the film back from ITC to prevent ITV from screening the film. The cuts, he said, were "execrable"<ref name="AIP"/><ref name="ScreenInt"/> and yielded "about 75 minutes of film that was literal nonsense".<ref name="BFI"/>

Before the planned ITV transmission, [[George Harrison]]'s company, [[HandMade Films]], bought the rights to the film from ITC for around £200,000 less than the production costs.<ref name="BFI"/> It gave the film a cinema release.<ref name="robert">Robert Sellers, ''Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: The Inside Story of HandMade Films'', Metro, 2003, pp. 56–70.</ref>

=== Casting ===
The role of Harold Shand was written with Hoskins in mind. In 1981, it was reported that Hoskins was suing both Black Lion and Calendar Films to prevent their planned release of a US TV version in which his voice would be dubbed by [[Midlands|English Midlands]] actor [[David Daker]].<ref name="ScreenInt" /> Ultimately, Hoskins' voice was not dubbed.

''The Long Good Friday'' was the film debut of [[Pierce Brosnan]], then 25. It was also the final role of [[George Coulouris]].

=== Filming locations ===
[[File:St George-in-the-East (35944948224).jpg|thumb|upright|Exterior of [[St George in the East]], featured prominently in the film.]]
* [[St Katharine Docks]]
* [[Civic Centre, Dagenham]]
* [[Isle of Dogs]]
* [[Heathrow Airport]]
* [[Paddington tube station (Circle and Hammersmith & City lines)|Paddington tube station]]
* [[Savoy Hotel]]
* [[The Salisbury|The Salisbury pub]], [[Harringay]]
* [[Harringay Stadium]]
* [[St George in the East]]
* [[Ladywell Leisure Centre]], [[Lewisham]]
* St Patrick's Catholic Church, [[Wapping]]
* [[Wandsworth Town Hall]], [[Wandsworth]]
* [[No.1 London Wall]]<ref group=note>The building was used in the scene when Harold and Victoria return to their flat. It was the offices of Orion Bank.</ref>

==Reception==
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 97% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 8.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads "Bob Hoskins commands a deviously sinister performance in ''The Long Good Friday—''a gangster flick with ferocious intelligence, tight plotting, and razor-edged thrills."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_long_good_friday |title= The Long Good Friday|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref>

=== Awards and nominations ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Year
! Category
!Nominee
! Result
|-
|[[British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Award]]
|[[35th British Academy Film Awards|1982]]
|[[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
|[[Bob Hoskins]]
|{{nom}}
|-
|[[Edgar Awards|Edgar Award]]
|1983
|[[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture Screenplay]]
|[[Barrie Keeffe]]
|{{won}}
|-
|[[Evening Standard British Film Awards|Evening Standard British Film Award]]
|1982
|Best Actor
|Bob Hoskins
|{{won}}
|-
|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award]]
|[[1982 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|1982]]
|[[Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Film]]
|[[John Mackenzie (film director)|John Mackenzie]]
|{{nom}}
|}

''The Long Good Friday'' was number 21 on the [[British Film Institute]]'s list of the "[[BFI Top 100 British films]]" list. In 2016, ''Empire'' ranked ''The Long Good Friday'' 19th on its list of "The 100 Best British films".<ref name=":0" />

==Unproduced sequel==
Keeffe wrote a sequel, ''Black Easter Monday'', set 20 years after the events of the first film. It opens with Shand escaping from the IRA after police pull his car over. Shand retires to Jamaica, then returns to stop the [[Yardie]]s from taking over the East End.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theartsdesk.com/film/interview-barrie-keeffe-sus-long-good-friday-and-londons-changing-east-end|newspaper=The Arts Desk|title=Interview: Barrie Keeffe on Sus, The Long Good Friday and London's Changing East End: Artful dodgers, diamond geezers and the real East End, by one of its leading scribes|first=Sheila |last=Johnston|date=21 April 2010}}</ref> The film was never made. In one of his last interviews, Keeffe seemed unconcerned by that: "In some ways, I’m glad we didn't, because sequels are usually diminishing returns. To put it up there with [[Casablanca (film)|''Casablanca'']], no one wants ''Casablanca II''."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://wearecult.rocks/barrie-keefe-on-the-long-good-friday|newspaper=We Are Cult|title=Barrie Keefe on 'The Long Good Friday'|date=5 September 2021}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0081070}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|the_long_good_friday}}
* {{Screenonline title|480130}}
*[https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/34-the-long-good-friday ''The Long Good Friday''] an essay by [[Michael Sragow]] at [[The Criterion Collection]]

{{John Mackenzie}}
{{HandMade Films}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Good Friday, The}}
[[Category:1980 films]]
[[Category:1980 crime drama films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s gang films]]
[[Category:1980s mystery films]]
[[Category:British crime drama films]]
[[Category:British gangster films]]
[[Category:British mystery films]]
[[Category:Edgar Award–winning works]]
[[Category:English-language crime drama films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery films]]
[[Category:Films about corruption in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Films about the American Mafia]]
[[Category:Films about the Irish Republican Army]]
[[Category:Films directed by John Mackenzie (film director)]]
[[Category:Films set in Belfast]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:HandMade Films films]]