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The Long Good Friday

The Long Good Friday is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe.[4] Starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, the film, set in London, weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including mid-level political and police corruption and IRA fund-raising. The supporting cast features Eddie Constantine, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson, P. H. Moriarty, Paul Freeman and Pierce Brosnan in his film debut.

The Long Good Friday
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Mackenzie
Screenplay byBarrie Keeffe
Produced byBarry Hanson
Starring
CinematographyPhil Méheux
Edited byMike Taylor
Music byFrancis Monkman
Production
companies
Distributed byHandMade Films
Release dates
  • 3 November 1980 (1980-11-03) (LFF)
  • 29 March 1981 (1981-03-29) (United Kingdom)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£930,000[1] or £800,000[2]
Box office£426,308 (UK)[3]

The film was completed in 1979, but because of delays, it did not have a general release until early 1981.[5] It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and gave Hoskins his breakthrough - he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and won an Evening Standard Film Award for his performance as gangster Harold Shand.[6]

The Long Good Friday is recognised as an all-time cinema classic. It placed number 21 on the British Film Institute's Top 100 British films list, and Empire ranked it 19th on their list of the 100 best British films.[7]

Plot

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A man, Colin, delivers a large sum of cash to an unknown recipient in Belfast, by suitcase, in the process helping himself to some of the cash. He then goes to a bar, with his driver Phil, where he (Colin) picks up a young man. As the recipients of the cash count the money in a country farmhouse, searching for the missing amount Colin took, uniformed gunmen attack them. Back at the bar, the young man Colin has picked up and Phil go out to the car, where they are immediately ambushed and abducted. Colin emerges from the bar moments later to find them both gone. Phil and the young man Colin had picked up are both killed and dumped out of the car.

Back in London, Phil's body is delivered by train. As his widow travels through London by car she sees a man, Jeff, sitting in the outdoor seating area of a restaurant having lunch with a corrupt councillor, Councillor Harris, she gets out and spits on him. Jeff is Harold Shand's right-hand man. The spitting incident is witnessed with concern by Razors, Harold Shand's driver and enforcer. Harold Shand is a London firm gangster who aspires to become a legitimate businessman. Shand returns from a trip to the USA on Concorde, and is met by Jeff at Heathrow airport. Razors then takes Shand's mum in Harold's Rolls Royce car to church to mark Good Friday, while Harold and his girlfriend Victoria hold a party on their boat by Tower Bridge for various London politicians, officials, and policeman, designed to both curry favour for a casino project Harold wants to develop. and impress the arriving American businessmen Harold is trying to persuade to invest in his concept for the redevelopment of the London Docklands. Colin meanwhile is at a swimming pool where a young man flirts with him, however the man is an assassin who kills Colin by stabbing him in the showers along with an accomplice.

As Harold's driver starts the Rolls Royce outside the church, waiting to collect Harold's mum, a car bomb goes off and the car explodes, killing the driver, Eric. Unaware that a campaign against him has started, Harold continues holding his party on the boat. Coming on too brash and pushy, Harold has already got off on the wrong foot with the Charlie, one of the two American businessman with whom he hopes to do business, with his girlfriend Victoria, cultured and erudite, having to smooth relations. Charlie notes that leaving his hat on the bed in his cabin on the boat is a bad omen. When Harold's boat has arrived and moored in the Docklands, and the guests departed, he is informed of the car explosion, and is apoplectic. Harold immediately demands answers as to who could be behind the explosion, asking for Colin, his long-term friend and close accomplice. Harold is soon informed that Colin has been killed, and goes directly to the swimming pool, shocked to see Colin's bloodied, lifeless body. Harold arranges for the crime scene to be covered up, and Colin's body to be discreetly transported from the pool.

Harold is then informed that a bomb was planted at his casino, but failed to detonate, he then realises that there is a concerted campaign against him. He summons his senior police officer on the payroll, Parky, making him reveal his informer, and then, with his henchmen, sets out to investigate. Harold leaves Victoria to entertain the American visitors, and ensure they do not suspect the chaos engulfing him. Victoria covers for Harold's absence by saying his mum has been taken ill, which the Americans believe. However as Harold, Victoria, Councillor Harris, Jeff and the Americans arrive at one of Harold's pubs, a lovingly-restored landmark pub where an elaborate banquet has been prepared for them, there is a large explosion which they narrowly avoid. Harold ascertains that a couple of days before the explosion a couple of suspicious Irish men had visited, but at this stage does not suspect the IRA. Harold tells Jeff that he suspects Colin may have been jealous of him (Jeff) and may be involved in what's happening

Still trying to keep up the appearance that things are under control with the Americans, Victoria takes them to dinner at an expensive London restaurant, with Jeff, and Councillor Harris. When the Americans tell Victoria to be honest with them about what is happening, or they will leave immediately, Victoria tells them that they are under attack by an unknown enemy but assures them Harold will quickly resolve the matter. They agree to give Harold one more chance. Councillor Harris is drunk and boorish at the dinner, and in front of Victoria, in response to her put downs of him, accuses Jeff of being the 'real bastard'. Returning to her apartment after dinner with the Americans, Jeff makes a sexual advance on Victoria, which she rejects.

Harold and his men round up gangsters from across London, putting them upside down on meat hooks in an abattoir while they are interrogated. Jeff behaves strangely during this, starting to punch one of the men as he is speaking, having to be restrained by Harold. Parky then appears and tells Harold the London gangsters are not involved, and from analysis of the bomb it looks like the work of the IRA. Harold cannot comprehend why the IRA would be involved. Parky tells Harold that explosives used to attack him were stolen from Councillor Harris' demolition firm, but that the security guard was too scared to give evidence. Jeff making an advance on her, and Councillor Harris' statement about him being the 'real bastard' have caused Victoria to lose trust in Jeff, and suspect that he may be involved in the attacks on Harold. Despite Harold becoming angry and aggressive due to stress, Victoria's loyalty remains with him, and she shares both her fear, and suspicions about Jeff with him.

Harold sends his men to investigate the explosives storage facility, however the security guard has been brutally murdered before they get to him. Harold starts to suspect both that it is the work of the IRA and that he has been betrayed by those in his inner circle. He goes to see the widow who spat in Jeff's face, Carol, and she confirms that Jeff has been involved in money-trafficking operations with the IRA, all without Harold's knowledge, and recruited her husband Phil as a driver. Knowing that Jeff has been conducting operations behind his back him, Harold confronts Jeff, on his boat, and Jeff confesses that under pressure from Harris, he sent Colin and Phil to Belfast to deliver money to the IRA on Harris's behalf, all without Harold's knowledge. Jeff explains that three of the IRA's top men were killed on the same night the money was delivered. Shand then realises the IRA have concluded that because Colin was his man, he (Shand) sold them out to the security forces and pocketed the missing cash, and are targeting his organisation in revenge. Harold further confirms that Jeff was likely involved in the killing of the security guard who could have told Harold that it was the IRA who were tormenting him. Jeff tells Harold it is futile to fight the IRA, as they are too strong, and it would better to work with them. Harold vows to destroy the IRA in London, however when Jeff provokes him by telling him he is 'nothing' to the IRA, Harold realises that Jeff has betrayed him and is working in IRA interests, and glasses him to death in a rage.

After killing Jeff, Harold, in a fury, wants to immediatly kill Councillor Harris for his betrayal, however he is talked out of this by Victoria, who instead tells him to exploit his advantage over Councillor Harris to gain control over the situation. Harold calms down, and confronts Harris, who reluctantly sets up a meeting with the IRA's London leadership at a stock car racetrack. In the IRA's office, Shand ostensibly offers them IRA £60,000 in return for a ceasefire. The IRA chief appears to accept this offer, however as he is counting the money Shand has them and Harris shot and killed 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's been commandeered by IRA assassins, with Victoria held captive by IRA henchmen in another car and no sign of Razors. As the car drives through London with Shand captive, the assassin who killed Colin keeping his gun trained on him, Harold reflects on his predicament, ultimately even smiling ruefully.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Barrie Keeffe later said he wrote the film "on a whim" after looking at the movie section on a long weekend and not seeing any films he wanted to watch; he thought about what movie he would watch, and came up with an English gangster picture.[8] Keeffe went out to dinner with Barry Hanson, who had produced a play of Keeffe's for television, and Hanson was enthusiastic about the idea of a British gangster movie.[9]

A drive around the London Docklands inspired Keeffe to use that as a setting for his gangster hero, Harold Shand. The plot about American financiers was based on attempts by the Kray brothers to get the Mafia to invest in Britain. A visit to an Irish pub led to Keeffe coming up with the idea of the IRA clashing with a gangster.[10]

The original title was The Paddy Factor.[11] Hanson worked for Euston Films,[1] a subsidiary of Thames Television. Euston did not make the film, but Hanson bought the rights for his own company, Calendar Films.[1]

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 ATV on the ITV network.[12] The film was commissioned by Charles Denton, at the time both programme controller of ATV and managing director of Black Lion.[1]

Cast

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Although he wasn't a big star at that time, the role of Harold Shand was written with Bob Hoskins in mind. The role was Hoskins' breakout role and made him a star.[6]

The film established Helen Mirren as a British film star.[13]

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

Filming locations

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Reception

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Release and Box office

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The film screened at the Cannes, Edinburgh and London Film Festivals in 1980.[12] After Grade saw the finished film, he allegedly objected to what he saw as its glorification of the IRA.[5] He was also concerned about the IRA attacking any cinemas where the film played.[14]

The film was scheduled to be televised with heavy cuts on 24 March 1981.[12] 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"[1][12] and yielded "about 75 minutes of film that was literal nonsense".[5] 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.[5] It gave the film a cinema release.[15] (The company would later do this for another Mackenzie film, A Song of Freedom.[16])

According to Colin Dunn of Handmade Films, the film came close to breaking even on the British market, "but not close enough: you’ve really got to go some with this territory for a film to be viable."[17]

Critical

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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."[18] Roger Ebert gave a glowing review, calling it an 'amazing piece of work'.[19]

Awards and nominations

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Legacy

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The Long Good Friday is regarded as a classic, and one of the best British films ever made. It was number 21 on the British Film Institute's list of the "BFI Top 100 British films" list. In 2010, The Guardian ranked it the 20th best crime film of all time.[20] In 2016, Empire ranked The Long Good Friday 19th on its list of "The 100 Best British films".[7]

Unproduced sequel

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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 Yardies from taking over the East End.[21] 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, no one wants Casablanca II."[22]

Bibliography

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  • Keeffe, Barrie (1998). "Author's note". The Long Good Friday: a screenplay. Methuen.

Notes

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  1. ↑ The building was used in the scene when Harold and Victoria return to their flat. It was the offices of Orion Bank.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Association of Independent Producers' magazine, September 1980.
  2. ↑ Keefe p viii
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ "The Long Good Friday review – classic Brit gangster melodrama". The Guardian. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mark Duguid "Long Good Friday, The (1979)", BFI Screenonline
  6. 1 2 "Bafta defends Bob Hoskins in memoriam omission". 10 February 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 Dyer, James (29 November 2017). "The 100 best British films". Empire. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Keeffe p v
  9. ↑ Keeffe p vi
  10. ↑ Keeffe p vii-viii
  11. ↑ Bloody Business: The Making of The Long Good Friday, documentary film, 2006
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Producer seeks a £ 1m buyer...": news report in movie trade magazine Screen International, 22 November 1980.
  13. ↑ "Dame Helen Mirren to receive Bafta fellowship". BBC News. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Keeffe p xi
  15. ↑ Robert Sellers, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: The Inside Story of HandMade Films, Metro, 2003, pp. 56–70.
  16. ↑ Vagg, Stephen (2 January 2026). "Forgotten British Moguls: Denis O'Brien". Filmink. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Breathing harder than usual". Sight and Sound. Summer 1982. p. 160.
  18. ↑ "The Long Good Friday". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media.
  19. ↑ Ebert, Roger (1 January 1981). "The Long Good Friday". Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "The Long Good Friday". 17 October 2010. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
  21. ↑ Johnston, Sheila (21 April 2010). "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". The Arts Desk.
  22. ↑ "Barrie Keefe on 'The Long Good Friday'". We Are Cult. 5 September 2021.
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