The Long Good Friday

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The Long Good Friday

R

1982

1h 54m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

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. 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.

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Critics Consensus

Bob Hoskins commands a deviously sinister performance in The Long Good Friday -- a gangster flick with ferocious intelligence, tight plotting and razor-edged thrills.

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

05/28/2024

John Mackenzie’s gangster film offers a panorama of Britain’s shifting place in the world during the Seventies.

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

06/23/2015

4/5

The simple, almost Shakespearean moral is that nefarious deeds breed a climate of contempt, and that any success will always be tainted.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

06/21/2015

5/5

Sheer brilliance.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 7

Darkly comic, complexly ironic, and magnificently acted and directed.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 23

9/10

The authenticity all around – from sets to personas to underhanded deals to murders – is approached with a welcome sincerity and realism (save for some over-the-top drama during final showdowns), which would inspire and influence gangster films to come.

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

11/22/2024

3.5/4

Hoskins and Mirren make a formidable pair; their emotional tension matches the physical violence around them, which makes The Long Good Friday into a true powder keg of a gangster melodrama.

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Luca D

@JoeCamel7 Jan 30

I don't understand where everyone got the idea that Bob Haskins is some kind of world class actor. I just don't get it. Most of the acting in the movie was pretty hard to watch. The soundtrack is very outdated but you can't really blame them for that. The plot was good but I felt like the characters didn't have enough dialogue or backstory to really give them depth. If you're into British crime movies maybe you'll like this one. I probably won't be watching it again. Seems like Mona Lisa in the sense that it's highly overrated.

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don c

@Donald290 Dec 26

Not sure how this garnered great reviews. I found nothing to recommend it, and the soundtrack was painfully bad.

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Kevin L

@Lakeman Dec 7

May have been a banger in 1980, but it was pretty middling in 2025. Hoskins was good, but he was the same Hoskins I've always seen. Pudgy little bloke w/ a big mouth & a lot of swaggering attitude. Non-descript acting in general. Mirren was good enough. Earliest sighting of Piecer Brosnin. Didn't trust him enough to give him any lines, though. 3 stars

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bob c

Dec 1

Great movie. Opening scenes a bit confusing but important for the plot. Rest of it truly great. Hoskins rules

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Chris H

Nov 6

If you like your gangster films tightly scripted, well acted and extremely British, this is for you. Hoskins is very good indeed as a crimelord who is betrayed and then bites off more than he can chew. It's all set within a single day, as the title suggests - way ahead of its time.

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Alain E

@AlainE Jul 2

Not a masterpiece, say a British Godfather, but viewable. They cruelly destroy a Rolls but the Jaguar escapes. Hoskins is of course very good. Helen Mirren looked more attractive when young (most of us do, unfortunately) but I think she is acting better now.

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Synopsis

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. 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.

Director: John Mackenzie
Producer: Barry Hanson
Screenwriter: Barrie Keeffe
Distributor: Criterion Collection, Paragon Video, Embassy Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 2, 1982, Wide
Release Date (DVD): Nov 24, 1998
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Mono

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