The Long Good Friday
1980 · TMDB 7.2
Directed by John Mackenzie
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, 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. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
Why it matters
Bob Hoskins's Harold Shand is a London gangster whose empire is built on performance, and the film's violence has the same sudden, intimate quality as a bad break. The pub and club scenes give it a working-class texture that the pool halls of the era share.
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Released
- 1980-11-01
- Studio
- Calendar Productions
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- French
- TMDB score
- 7.2
KinoChain appearances
Chains through this film
Where this title sits in a journey — and where cinema takes you next.
The Long Con of the Cue Ball
Position 4 of 8
Bob Hoskins's Harold Shand is a London gangster whose empire is built on performance, and the film's violence has the same sudden, intimate quality as a bad break. The pub and club scenes give it a working-class texture that the pool halls of the era share.
Rewinding the Reel: How VHS Championed British Independents
Position 2 of 9
Bob Hoskins is Harold Shand, a London gangster whose empire is threatened by an unknown enemy over a single Easter weekend. A gritty, explosive thriller that became a cult hit on VHS.
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Where this film leads
Linked through chains, directors and neighbouring cinema.
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