The Long Good Friday will go down, or should, as one of the all time great gangster movies. Bob Hoskins' portrayal of Harold Shands, boss of London, ranks with Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Edward G. Robinson, Jimmy Cagney, Rober De Niro or Joe Pesci. He epitomizes the screen gangster, with colorful language, an explosive temper, street smarts, but a vulnerability that is not always seen in other gangster roles.
His wife, played by Helen Mirren, is tough in her own way, yet never loses her feminine touch. However, we sense they're both haunted by demons, as if they know some day they'll pay the ultimate price for their misdeeds. Razors, or as the youth of the day call him, "The Human Spirograph", is one of the most menacing bodyguards I've ever seen.
The accents are a bit hard to understand at points to those of us here in the US ('ands across the ocean!), but it adds to the authenticity and helps make this movie stand out from the typical Hollywood gangster film. I do share other criticisms of the dated early 80's music, but it helps to place the movie in the period where it takes place.
Harold can't accept that those who seek to remove him play by a different set of rules and are motivated not by criminal aspirations as he is, but by politics and ideology. This is admittedly an oversimplification of a very complex situation, but it helps explain why he's destined to fail in a world that's changing beyond the limits he's been comfortable with for years.
I saw this movie on its first run in San Francisco, bought the tape when it became available, and now have it on DVD. It's still my favorite Hoskins role. If you get a chance, watch out for George Harrison's comments on this movie. His company, Handmade Films, produced it, and he stated he wouldn't have accepted the project had he known how violent it would turn out to be. The violence, however, isn't gratuitous. As Harold says, "he never hurt no one, well, only when it was necessary. He was always clean about it."
It makes a great pair with "The Krays", by the way....
His wife, played by Helen Mirren, is tough in her own way, yet never loses her feminine touch. However, we sense they're both haunted by demons, as if they know some day they'll pay the ultimate price for their misdeeds. Razors, or as the youth of the day call him, "The Human Spirograph", is one of the most menacing bodyguards I've ever seen.
The accents are a bit hard to understand at points to those of us here in the US ('ands across the ocean!), but it adds to the authenticity and helps make this movie stand out from the typical Hollywood gangster film. I do share other criticisms of the dated early 80's music, but it helps to place the movie in the period where it takes place.
Harold can't accept that those who seek to remove him play by a different set of rules and are motivated not by criminal aspirations as he is, but by politics and ideology. This is admittedly an oversimplification of a very complex situation, but it helps explain why he's destined to fail in a world that's changing beyond the limits he's been comfortable with for years.
I saw this movie on its first run in San Francisco, bought the tape when it became available, and now have it on DVD. It's still my favorite Hoskins role. If you get a chance, watch out for George Harrison's comments on this movie. His company, Handmade Films, produced it, and he stated he wouldn't have accepted the project had he known how violent it would turn out to be. The violence, however, isn't gratuitous. As Harold says, "he never hurt no one, well, only when it was necessary. He was always clean about it."
It makes a great pair with "The Krays", by the way....