From humble beginnings, john mackenzies the long good friday has soared in reputation and is now regarded as one of the best british films ever made. Fandango fanalert sign up for a fanalert and be the first to know when tickets and other exclusives are available in your area. That the film juxtaposes glamour with shocking scenes of primal violence is no surprise. The storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including midlevel political and police corruption, ira fundraising, displacement of. It follows craig jones ice cube and smokey chris tucker, unemployed best friends who must pay a local drug dealer on the night of friday.
There are also interviews from bob hoskins and helen mirren. Gary gray in his directorial debut and written by ice cube and dj pooh. Jun 17, 2007 the long good friday trailer bob hoskins. Character actor admired for his role in the london gangster film the long good friday the actor bryan marshall, who has died aged 81, was a solid character actor who brought integrity and realism to the parts he played on screen in britain throughout the 1960s and 70s. It really is to no surprise that over the years many filmlovers have had the nerve to call john mackenzies the long good friday the british godfather.
Released in 1980, the long good friday, directed competently by john mackenzie, conveys all the turmoil, fears and aspirations of seventies london. As much as such similes often miss the point, mislead future viewers and stand as an offense to the uniqueness of movies, with mackenzies 1979 thriller it seems obvious that were dealing with an amazing gangster film fully capable. Criterion presents the long good friday in an exclusive widescreen transfer. If you cant make sense of the first scenes, you wont be alone.
The long good friday 1979 the criterion collection. It was completed in 1979, but because of release delays, it is generally credited as a 1980 film. And i have rarely seen a movie character so completely alive. The long good friday is a textbook example of what a commercial british picture. We suppose that he has killed a lot of rivals to become what he is now but thats not the movies point and mackenzie hardly gives us any explanation about bob hoskins past.
Camus and slarek team up to pay tribute to a favourite film and arrows superb new bluray release. Oct 25, 2016 the long good friday original soundtrack recording licensed to youtube by. The long good friday is a british gangster movie starring bob hoskins and helen mirren in what became breakthrough film roles for them both. Hearkening back to the era of the kray twins british organized crime era of the 1960s, the long good friday is a brutally violent look inside the world of british gangsters. The leisure suits, the wide lapels, the feathered hair, the sideburns, the pornstache. John mackenzies stylish thriller is a marriage of gangster flicks from both sides of the atlantic. The long good friday original soundtrack recording licensed to youtube by. The film has dated a bit, but its surprising how very cleverly it intuits the property boom of london in 2015, and its.
The long good friday 1980 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. He inhabits the role of harold shand with such passion that. The long good friday 1979, directed by john mackenzie. Although the long good friday is firmly rooted in a very different era early 1980s britain is another country entirely the film still feels fresh and uncompromisingly tough.
Both mackenzie and bob hoskins have been enthusiastically supporting the films imminent rerelease. The london of bob hoskins and the long good friday onlondon. The film was actually finished a year before it was released, as rights issues held it up. The long good friday official trailer hd bob hoskins. For a simple gangster film, i find that there are almost too many angles by which one could discuss john mackenzies the long good friday.
Many will remember him best for his pivotal role as the duplicitous councillor harris in the classic film. A good heart and a good nature are two different issues, a good heart can win many relationships, but a good nature can win an sustain life long relationship. This decline parallels the decline of his empire throughout the film. John mackenzie chose with the long good friday to present the last 36 hours of a london mobster. Original theatrical trailer for the movie the long good friday from 1980 starring bob hoskins, helen mirren and paul freeman. Dont be flustered by the beginning of the long good friday, the roughedged british gangster film that opens today at the baronet. Guy ritchie, 1998, but for many the long good friday represents the highwater mark of the british gangster film, its reputation resting not just on a startling central performance from bob hoskins, but on its nearprophetic illustration of emerging 1980s values.
The 25 best crime films of all time the long good friday. Watch movie long good friday, the free download online. The long good friday 1980 by le0pard, march 10, 2014 greetings all and sundry. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Mrs benson collects her husbands body from the railway station. The uncanny predictions of the long good friday bfi. While not the most expansive of holidays, easter still has several terrific films to its name.
It was completed in 1979, but because of release delays, it is generally. Album the long good friday original soundtrack recording licensed to youtube by mgm distribution, the orchard. The following weapons were used in the film the long good friday. The long good friday movie tv listings and schedule tv guide. But the point of the film isnt to analyze harold shands problems. Win tickets to the long good friday screening and interview. With a bravura performance by a thenunknown bob hoskins as harold, an ambitious small time gangster trying to ruthlessly. A smooth and efficient film about some pretty rough characters, the long good friday deserves its status a modernday crime classic. Francis monkman the long good friday original motion. The long good friday is heralded as one of the best british gangster films of all time, starring academy award. I was on patrol with a colleague and we drove past the cottages, my colleague commented that the cottages were used to film the opening scenes from the long good fridayand actally remembered the filming. He inhabits the role of harold shand with such passion that we are completely swept along with him.
On good friday while shands mother attends church, her waiting driver is killed when her car explodes. Infobox film the long good friday is a british gangster film starring bob hoskins and helen mirren. Favorite films either fall in your lap due to the serendipity of being in the right place at the right time. With his othellolike disintegration, bob hoskins debuts in style. Cast in credits order verified as complete paul freeman. The long good friday the current the criterion collection. Keeffe said he wanted to see an american gangster film set in the east end of london. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing the long good friday near you. Whats also good about the film as well as fascinating is that it takes a certain detective route. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
Jun 15, 2015 the long good friday has stood the test of time precisely because it fully understood its own time, and was eerily prescient about the coming thatcher dispensation, only a few months old when the. Winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Mar 10, 2014 guest post classic british gangster film. The long good friday is certainly one of the few british thrillers that can stand up against the best from the us, as gangland boss harold shand bob hoskins is unwittingly caught up in shady deals with the ira. Hes the boss since ten years and everything seems allright. Here are the top 10 movies for christians to watch this week.
A description of tropes appearing in long good friday. The long good friday theatrical trailer 1980 youtube. H arold shand, the london crime boss at the center of the long good friday, is more than an antihero. British gangster film starring bob hoskins as harold shand, an oldschool london gangster planning to.
The long good friday final scene plus end credits youtube. Completed in 1979, the year of margaret thatchers first general. Harold, a prosperous english gangster, is about to close a. Watching keeffe and mackenzie around a table together, there is still the crackle of creative tension, as writer. The film begins with shand, a pugnacious, strutting little bantam of a man. Even with lesser performances, the script and john mackenzies solid direction would make the long good friday a keeper, but hoskinss explosive portrait of shand and his descent toward brutal revenge elevates the film into the very front rank, earning admiring comparisons to the godfather, scarface, goodfellas, and other classics of that genre. Regarding the differing number of windows, perhaps over 40 years some building work has been carried out and an extra window fitted. A mysterious syndicate is trying to muscle in on his action, and harold wants to know who they are. With a bravura performance by a thenunknown bob hoskins as harold. A vibrant portrait of londons underbelly as a decade of thatcherism dawns, the long good friday has established itself as a benchmark for the london gangster movie. But one must start somewhere, and i shall start here. The godfather and the long good friday both are superb but the lgf shows exactly what we can do on much smaller budgets. Viewed today, 35 years after its release the film remains like all classic films completely timeless. Released 20 years ago this year, the movie features bob hoskins, who excels himself as east end villain harry shand.
So many crime and gangster films often use a revenge plot or a. There was nothing like it on at the cinema, so hanson told keeffe to write it. He has mafia money from america and the tacit cooperation of the london criminal organization. Long good friday, the internet movie firearms database. A few days ago, however, a cryptic press release announced that, due. The long good friday, which is a masterful and very tough piece of filmmaking, eventually does answer these questions. I wont spoil the story by telling any more only that shand and victoria become more like themselves as the plot hurtles towards its conclusion. The long good friday brings together john mackenzie, barrie keeffe, barry hanson, actor derek thompson, casting director simone reynolds to discuss the film, its making and its legacy. Kim morgan on the long good friday new beverly cinema. Both mackenzie and bob hoskins have been enthusiastically supporting the film s imminent rerelease. Bob hoskins, in his breakthrough film role, stars as a london racketeer fast losing control of his gangland empire. The long good friday is hoskins break out performance and its no surprise as to why.
With the legitimate help of cops and city councilors, shand controls a criminal. Mrs benson collects the body of her murdered husband from paddington station. Film historian kim morgan writes about the long good friday. If, like me, you actually remember that era, the films visuals and context will likely give you a pang. The result was the long good friday, a movie regularly voted the greatest british gangster film, and one of the best british films, of all time. Maybe thats what critical parlance has characterised as inner conflict, and theres a great example to be found of this in john mackenzies 1980 brit gangster saga, the long good friday, especially in the form of the late, very great character actor, bob hoskins. In the late 1970s, cockney crime boss harold shand bob hoskins, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the american mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of london into the possible venue for a future olympic games. The long good friday is back in cinemas june 19th, released as a steelbook on may 4th and as a limited edition boxset may 18th.
The storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including midlevel political and police corruption. Hes the antichrist, uniting bourgeoisie and barbarians in a simultaneous pax and pox brittanica. The storyline bowls you along as does the wonderful music, the acting is superb hoskins deserved an oscar and the use of faces from the east end is a brilliant touch. Originally funded by lew grades black lion films, the long good friday fell into the lap of handmade films when grade, who had taken exception to the ira plotline, ordered his own recut for television, which added up to what producer barry hanson called about 75 minutes of film that was literal nonsense. Born today most popular celebs most popular celebs celebrity news. The storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including midlevel political and police corruption, ira fundraising, displacement of traditional british industry by unscrupulous.
Francis monkman the long good friday 2000, cd discogs. John mackenzies the long good friday 197980 810 neil. It was completed in 1979 but, because of release delays, it is generally. The news of this is an outrage to shand who is shocked at the declining code of conduct among the underworld. Harold, a prosperous english gangster, is about to close a lucrative new deal when bombs start showing up in very inconvenient places. The long good friday, british gang story the new york.
He runs the london docks and he wants to put together the biggest real estate deal in europe. Its not the greatest thriller or crime movie ever made, but 1980s the long good friday has a shaky, peculiarly british charm that still makes it irresistible 35 years on. The film has dated a bit, but its surprising how very cleverly it intuits the. Friday is a 1995 american comedy film directed by f. Generally, the first third of the movie exposed the heros childhood and his fights to become the boss, the second third exposed his struggle to stay the boss and the last third his irresistible fall. This movie was completed in 1979, but wasnt released until november 1980. Besides, the film was produced in 1979 so thatcher couldnt have been in power for more than a few months during filming and was most definately not in office during the creation of the screenplay and the preproduction work. A superb script and great turns from bob hoskins and helen mirren are the making of john mackenzie. Paddington station, praed street, paddington, london. One of the truly great british gangster thrillers, the long good friday rated as the 21st best british film of the 20th century in a bfi 1999 survey. It was completed in 1979, but because of release delays, it is general. Movie the long good friday full episode video dailymotion. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl. The long good friday is a british gangster film starring bob hoskins and helen mirren.
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