John Mackenzie

The Long Good Friday

The Long Good Friday

A combustible performance from Bob Hoskins is the fuse that lights this underworld saga, a landmark of British crime cinema. Hoskins plays Harold Shand, an ambitious London mobster who, just as he attempts to close a major real-estate deal with the American Mafia, finds his crime empire rocked by a string of attacks, sending him on a ruthless quest to find out who’s responsible. Abetted by an ice-cool performance from Helen Mirren as Shand’s in-command moll, The Long Good Friday is not only a gripping gangster thriller but also a vivid portrait of late-1970s Britain—a powder keg of cultural and political tensions on the verge of explosion.

Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1980
  • 114 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.85:1
  • English
  • Spine #26

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Phil Méheux, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack 
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
  • Audio commentary with director John Mackenzie
  • An Accidental Studio (2019), a documentary about the early years of Handmade Films
  • Introduction by Criterion Collection curatorial director Ashley Clark
  • Documentary about the making of the film featuring interviews with Mackenzie and actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren
  • Interviews with Méheux and screenwriter Barrie Keeffe
  • Program comparing the soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey

    New cover by Eric Skillman

Purchase Options

4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

  • New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Phil Méheux, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack 
  • One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features
  • Audio commentary with director John Mackenzie
  • An Accidental Studio (2019), a documentary about the early years of Handmade Films
  • Introduction by Criterion Collection curatorial director Ashley Clark
  • Documentary about the making of the film featuring interviews with Mackenzie and actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren
  • Interviews with Méheux and screenwriter Barrie Keeffe
  • Program comparing the soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases
  • Trailers
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey

    New cover by Eric Skillman
The Long Good Friday
Cast
Bob Hoskins
Harold Shand
Helen Mirren
Victoria
Dave King
Parky
Bryan Marshall
Harris
Derek Thompson
Jeff
Paul Freeman
Colin
P. H. Moriarty
Razors
Leo Dolan
Phil
Pierce Brosnan
First Irishman
Daragh O’Malley
Second Irishman
Stephen Davies
Tony
Eddie Constantine
Charlie
Paul Barber
Erroll
Credits
Director
John Mackenzie
Original screenplay by
Barrie Keeffe
Produced by
Barry Hanson
Associate producer
Chris Griffin
Director of photography
Phil Méheux
Editor
Mike Taylor
Art director
Vic Symonds
Costume design by
Tudor George
Music composed by
Francis Monkman

Current

The Long Good Friday: Corporate Governance
The Long Good Friday: Corporate Governance

A vision of late-1970s London that foreshadows the political volatility of the Margaret Thatcher era, this gangster saga stars an unforgettably tempestuous Bob Hoskins as a little Englander with big dreams.

By Ryan Gilbey

The Long Good Friday
The Long Good Friday
Harold Shand, the London crime boss at the center of The Long Good Friday, is more than an antihero. He’s the Antichrist, uniting bourgeoisie and barbarians in a simultaneous Pax and Pox Brittanica. With the “legitimate” help of cops and city c…

By Michael Sragow

Beak>’s Top 10
Beak>’s Top 10

The acclaimed band’s three members each choose a selection of favorites, with an emphasis on movies that have haunted them since childhood.