The Long Good Friday

Rififi am Karfreitag

Homage 2020

Cockney gang boss Harold Shand wants to go legit and make London the “capital of Europe” by building an Olympic stadium in the Docklands. He is hoping to persuade the New York mafia to invest in the venture. But no sooner have its representatives arrived before Harold runs into problems. Two members of his gang have been murdered and he himself is almost killed by a bomb. To save face with the Americans, he needs to find the culprits right away – and he’s not squeamish about how he does it … Behind every successful man is a strong woman. In this case, she’s Helen Mirren. In The Long Good Friday, she eschews playing Victoria as a typical eye-candy gun moll in favour of embodying a self-reliant woman. When Shand starts to lose control over not only his business, but also himself, it’s Victoria who calls the shots. Helen Mirren had a great influence in how the role was written during script development. Just as the film almost prophetically envisions a reshaping of the urban landscape into a “new London”, Mirren’s portrayal provides a role model of a new image of women.

by John Mackenzie
with Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson, Eddie Constantine, Pierce Brosnan, P. H. Moriarty United Kingdom 1980 English 114’ Colour Rating R18

With

Bob Hoskins
Helen Mirren
Dave King
Bryan Marshall
Derek Thompson
Eddie Constantine
Pierce Brosnan
P. H. Moriarty

Crew

Director	John Mackenzie
Screenplay	Barrie Keeffe
Cinematography	Phil Meheux
Editing	Mike Taylor
Music	Francis Monkman
Sound	David John
Art Director	Vic Symonds
Costumes	Tudor George
Make-Up	Freddie Williamson
Producer	Barry Hanson