The Long Good Friday (1982)

I was drawn to watching this again, partly because it was shot just before the whole Thames and Docklands redevelopment began, I'd recently rewatched Helen Mirren in Greenaway's, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and her Lover and I had a Blu ray disc. The big surprise was how much I enjoyed the film. I don't remember holding it in much affection but was very impressed, not only with the shots of now disappeared dockland areas, but the way the film unfolds with much tension and constant surprises. The inclusion of references to the IRA ensure that this is not to be some ordinary London gangland film from the start and subsequent explosions keep this from being some petty tale of in fighting. Helen Mirren is exceptional here and very much helps to hold things together. There are some actors here who need steadying and she certainly seems to have great influence, even with Bob Hoskins, who can seem rather flat or alternatively over the top. Here he seems to take his cue from Mirren and gives one of his very best performances - till the very end, don't miss it! As in the Greenaway film, she again plays the gangster's moll although a good deal less trodden down in this one. Well worth watching, this keeps moving with great dialogue and visuals.

This is the film Guy Ritchie has been trying to remake his whole career, and he's never come close.Big fish in small pond London gangster manages to upset precisely the wrong band of fanatics, and underestimates the enemy to his great cost. In amongst all the violence, there's true drama and pathos (Helen Mirren, for goodness' sake - is she capable of giving a bad performance?), while the humour never seems forced or tacked on. This isn't a glossy, GQ Magazine, drama schoolboys playing poker with over-the-top wide-boy accents, token one-dimensional crumpet British gangster flick. Oh no. Superb performances from the entire cast, including Pierce Brosnan's finest movie role to date (he doesn't say anything), and Oh! what an ending! Verdict: Mockney Gangster Porn? I've sh*t it! NOTE: disappointing note on the DVD release - the director's commentary is one of the most dull and un-insightful commentaries since I sat through half of Tim Burton's commentary on Edward Scissorhands. Most disappointing!yetanotherfilmreviewblog.tumblr.com

This movie is an amazing blend of story and action, and pulls off the amazing feat of having a gangster movie with some real heart and some classic charm that was missing from many similar movies of this period and most movies since. The characters are unforgettable and at the very least relatable, you see them and know their plight as they go through this dark period of time.So what's the bacon? Bob Hoskins plays Harold Shand, a London Gangster who's brought about peace in the Capital's gangster scene. However, on the day he plans to sign a giant East End development project with American investors, his organisation is rocked by the murder of his childhood friend and a bomb blowing up his Rolls Royce. Shand now has the ordeal of tracking down the people attempting to destroy his organisation whilst at the same time keeping it a secret from the Americans.So, the good stuff? All of it if I'm honest. It's got heart, with all the characters being at the very least human, not invincible husks with no personality and no real human traits. Shand isn't invincible, he's simply a man who's built himself up from the gutters of the London slums to become the kingpin of the city, and you can really feel for his emotions and really want him to find a way out all the way through the movie.The story is an absolute cracker, strong, coherent, chocked full of twists and really good fun to sit through. At the same time the film, unlike many of the same period, is surprisingly subtle. There aren't an onslaught of nauseating gun battles, nor is it just continual fist fights with no connection to the plot other than to cram in a load of action. It is a fantastic blend of story and style, which I love to bits!To top it all off as well, the soundtrack, although very simple, is fantastic and absolutely catchy. Bet your bottom dollar that you'll be humming the theme tune to this movie for a week after viewing!What else can I say? The story's great, the characters are great, the music's great, it's grounded, down-to-earth and overall a fantastic movie. One of my all time faves and definitely my favourite gangster flick!

This wasn't quite the classic noir gangster film I was hoping it was going to be, but it's certainly worth a view if you're into that sort of thing (I am).For the positives you have a solid cast, led by Hoskins and Mirren. I didn't quite buy Hoskins in a couple of the early scenes (notably the Hands Across the Pond speech and his first big scene with his assembled cronies) but the totality of the performance is very compelling, especially his ill-fated outro. Mirren is great as the only deft and clever (and sexy) member of his entourage.The dialogue--the bits of it I could understand of it anyway--was well-written, and that's always appreciated.The movie also sported some great, lived-in locations that gives the movie a bit of scummy charm that would have been overly glossed if made today.For the negatives you are pretty much stuck with a rather clueless and boorish main character whose redeeming qualities are few and far between. Good person? No. Good gangster? No. Good protagonist? Debatable. I found it really hard to care about Shand and his tribulations or his inevitable downfall. The last scene would have been killer if I gave a crap (I did not) and how that scene works for you is probably the litmus test for the whole movie.Though, to be fair, Harold Shand is a cuddly teddy bear next to twitchy psycho Tony Montana, mad-dog psycho sexy beast Don Logan, and the not-psycho but still a serial murderer from Get Carter (I forget his name).The pacing is also a little slow. The first 2/3 has too many befuddled gangster scenes and not enough tension. The last 1/3 is all "wake me when Hoskins buys it". My attention wandered in a couple of scenes and it really could have been trimmed by 10 minutes or so.Still there's enough compelling content for a look, especially if you're a fan of Hoskins, Mirren, gangsters, or shady urban-renewal projects.