Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1980s
    Movies - 1980s Movies - L 3 Mins Read

    Long Good Friday, The (1980)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    A violent British gangster crime thriller set over the course of a Good Friday weekend, directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe.

    Bob Hoskins stars as the brutal East End gangland boss Harold Shand; the film follows Shand’s attempts to go respectable by interesting a band of American Mafia in a real estate deal in the moribund London Docklands.

    After returning to London from a trip to America, Harold discovers that a rival gang seems to be destroying his empire and that two of his henchmen have been murdered.

    Harold attempts to trace the identity of his men’s killers but finds no reasoning behind the attacks on his organisation.

    The pressure on Harold is increased when his American visitors are subjected to a bomb attack and Charlie (Eddie Constantine) informs Harold’s girlfriend, Victoria (Helen Mirren), that he has 24 hours to find the culprits or the American’s will pull out of the deal.

    Harold learns that while he was abroad his right-hand man Jeff (Derek Thompson), was involved in delivering money to the IRA in Belfast and that some of the money was stolen.

    The IRA now seems to be retaliating against Harold’s men for the death of their members and theft of the money.

    Harold decides to seek revenge on the IRA by pretending to deliver more money, but during the drop-off, Harold kills the terrorist commander and several of his men.

    Later, Harold and Victoria are then kidnapped at gunpoint by the IRA, and driven away to meet their fate.

    “There’s gonna be an eruption!” roars Shand like a mobster Macbeth, with his empire collapsing around him. And there was, although it was short-lived for director MacKenzie who descended into TV hell.

    Having been made in 1979 for £900,000 with backing from Black Lion (a subsidiary of Lew Grade’s ITC Entertainment behemoth), the film hit festivals in 1980 but was delayed when Grade and others baulked.

    There were concerns that the IRA might blow up cinemas that screened it, and another version was prepared with the Irish references and violence heavily excised with a view to selling it to television instead of giving it a cinematic release.

    Additionally, Bob Hoskins’s voice was dubbed in a Wolverhampton accent for fears Americans wouldn’t understand him. Hoskins decided to sue and had support from actors including Alec Guinness, Richard Burton and Warren Beatty prepared to stand as expert witnesses in court.

    Fortunately, George Harrison’s Handmade Films stepped in and paid £700,000 to give the film cinematic distribution in November 1980.

    Look out for Pierce Brosnan in his first credited screen performance (as “1st Irishman”).

    longgoodfriday_035

    Harold Shand
    Bob Hoskins
    Victoria

    Helen Mirren
    Parky

    Dave King
    Harris

    Bryan Marshall
    Jeff
    Derek Thompson
    Charlie

    Eddie Constantine
    Colin

    Paul Freeman
    Phil

    Leo Dolan
    Carol

    Patti Love
    Razors

    PH Moriarty
    1st Irishman

    Pierce Brosnan

    Director
    John MacKenzie

    Related Posts

    • Campus Man (1987)
      Campus Man (1987)
      In an effort to meet tuition costs, Todd Barret (John…
    • Chariots Of Fire (1981)
      Chariots Of Fire (1981)
      It's hard to think of a more quintessentially British film.…
    • Friday the 13th, Part 3 (1982)
      Friday the 13th, Part 3 (1982)
      The third film in the Friday the 13th series was…
    • Heavy Metal (1981)
      Heavy Metal (1981)
      Science fiction, sword-and-sorcery, violence, sex, drug culture and humour all…
    • Fantasy Man (1984)
      Fantasy Man (1984)
      Perhaps Fantasy Man is a comedy. It's hard to tell. Perhaps…
    • Life at the Top (1965)
      Life at the Top (1965)
      Joe Lampton returns in this sequel to Room At The…
    • London Nobody Knows, The (1969)
      London Nobody Knows, The (1969)
      Directed by Norman Cohen and based on a book by…
    • Friday the 13th, Part 7: The New Blood (1988)
      Friday the 13th, Part 7: The New Blood (1988)
      Tina Shepherd (Lar Park-Lincoln) - a young girl with ESP…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleLosers, The (1970)
    Next Article Lords Of Flatbush, The (1974)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Dinah Lee
      In the 1960s Dinah Lee was the most successful female singer in […]
    • Chordettes, The
      The Chordettes, label-mates of The Everly Brothers, were one of […]
    • Magilla Gorilla Show, The
      1 9 6 4 – 1 9 6 7 (USA) The Magilla Gorilla Show premiered […]
    • Misleading Cases
      1 9 6 7 – 1 9 6 8 (UK) 13 x 30 minute episodes 1 9 7 […]
    • Rachel Sweet
      By the age of 16, Akron-girl Rachel Sweet was a veteran […]
    • Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) (1972)
      Bruce Lee plays Chen Zhen, the former student of a revered […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.