The Long Good Friday

This British gangster film might not enjoy the historical cachet of Little Caesar or Public Enemy, but it's a brilliant update of genre conventions, featuring a star-making performance by Bob Hoskins. Best known as a character actor, Hoskins has demonstrated more than once his ability to carry a film, but this one he picks up and runs with as the highly entrepreneurial mobster Harold Shand. Although a volatile sociopath, Shand enjoys relationships with British politicos and legitimate businessmen, and stands on the verge of cobbling together a deal that will unite the English and American underworld in a massive London waterfront development, when he suddenly finds himself locked in a bloody turf war that threatens to decimate his criminal empire. Hoskins, who looks every bit the ferocious bulldog he plays here, makes Harold a modern-day Macbeth, intoxicated by power, but surrounded by deceit and treachery. Helen Mirren is superb as his ambitious "moll," and there's also a nice bit featuring a young Pierce Brosnan as an IRA terrorist. Barrie Keeffe's script is intricate, but John Mackenzie's assured direction keeps the film barreling along with a frank, raw power that compels viewer attention throughout. A quarter century has passed since its original 1980 theatrical release, but The Long Good Friday remains among the most vital and energetic examples of the genre. Making its second appearance on DVD, this “Explosive Special Edition” features a great-looking transfer, and includes a bevy of extras: an audio commentary by Mackenzie, the 55-minute “making-of” documentary “Bloody Business,” a DVD-ROM-accessible screenplay, a glossary of cockney slang, cast bios, a poster and stills gallery, and trailers. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)[Blu-ray Review—Aug. 31, 2010—Image, 113 min., R, $17.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1979's The Long Good Friday sports a decent transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras include a trailer. Bottom line: a contemporary classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray, although the lack of extras from the earlier DVD release is disappointing.]