THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY 4K Review: Bob Hoskins in Seminal Gangster Flick

Commonly considered one of the greatest British films of all time, the 1980 seminal gangster film The Long Good Friday advances in North America in fine form to 4K UHD.  A special three-disc release from The Criterion Collection quite effectively ices its previous version, which was a largely no-frills 1998 DVD with ugly late-90s Criterion cover art.  

Those who really want to keep score of such things will, however, be interested to know that U.K. boutique label Arrow beat Criterion to the upgrade punch, having released its own version of the title on 4K UHD in an impressive deluxe-packaged edition in May of 2024, several months prior to Criterion.  In fact, most of the supplemental features on the Criterion set originate with an even earlier previous Arrow edition from 2015 and are credited as such.

It adds up to a flurry of possibly familiar extras in service of a movie that’s been available globally in HD via at least two large-scale boutique labels.  But really, is there such a thing as too much of The Long Good Friday?  

Many would say no, as it is very often considered among the finest London gangster film of all time, if not the finest.  As directed by John Mackenzie, the film maintains a taut, persistently ominous energy from start to haunting finish, subtly rigid and helped along accordingly by the surprisingly perfect fit of a tense prog rock-esque score by Francis Monkman.  

Bob Hoskins stars as cockney gangster Harold Shand, intensely exuding a certain power, but never glamorously.   One gets the impression that his wardrobe isn’t exactly custom tailored, though he wears what he wears well.  Shand gives off a certain Napoleonic menace, though perhaps he’s a tad too resigned in his stature.  

This false sense of security is brutally revealed on Good Friday, as two of his reliable cohorts are suddenly and violently taken out by an unknown organization.  Just as the country is preparing to wind down for the Easter holiday, Shard’s world is thrown into explosive escalating peril.

Much is made across the numerous Criterion bonus features about how The Long Good Friday somehow anticipated the reign of Margaret Thatcher, and the gentrification that she brought to the shabby workaday locales of the film. There is something to this, as the controversial Thatcher took office quite soon after The Long Good Friday was shot, her actions greatly reflecting Shand’s grandiose vision for the area, all of which hinge on the city’s 1988 bid to host the Olympics… which in real life failed.  

That the film didn’t actually make it to screens until 1980 or even 1981 does nothing to diminish its standing as a vitally prophetic piece of cinema in this regard.  Also not diminished is its bold inclusion of the paramilitary Irish Republican Army (IRA) as Shand’s aggressors, an intensely topical presence at that time to say the least.  

That the film poses the gangster Shand as the capitalist gentrifier (and by extension, modern colonialist of sorts) versus this violent but passionate group of freedom fighters is all the more incendiary.  (Look for a fresh-faced Pierce Brosnan in his first film role as a silent IRA enforcer).

Much is also rightly made of Hoskins’ performance, a raging tour-de-force of fiery menace, unexpectedly dry cockney wit, and confidence that’s challenged in blood.  It’s an easy jump to compare him to fellow sawed-off firebrand Edward G. Robinson, he of Little Caesar fame.  But, if the pinkie ring fits….  

For Hoskins, the role of Shand marked his leading man debut.  In no uncertain terms, this is a career-making performance.  He’s so intense, so commanding, that no one in 1980 would’ve believed he’d go on to play a detective in Toon Town, Smee the pirate, or Super Mario.

Criterion’s 4K UHD release of The Long Good Friday makes good with the enhanced A/V quality as well as a satisfying number of bonus features.  The film’s director of photography, Phil Méheux, has personally overseen and approved this 4K digital restoration, which is accompanied by an absorbing uncompressed monaural soundtrack.  

The 4K UHD disc of the film boasts Dolby Vision HDR, enabling the picture quality to truly pop.  The accompanying two Blu-ray discs house the film and all the special features.  Director John Mackenzie’s old, soft-spoken (and kinda dull) audio commentary is the only bonus feature to extend beyond the included Blu-ray discs onto the 4K UHD.

The single most notable extra included is the 2019 documentary An Accidental Studio.  Directed by Ben Timlett, Kim Leggatt, and Bill Jobes, it tells the tale of HandMade Films, George Harrison’s production company that enabled production of the Monty Python and Python-adjacent films Life of Brian (1979) and Time Bandits (1981).  That cultural one-two punch sandwiched HandMade’s distribution of The Long Good Friday, another hit for the scrappy studio.  In so doing, HandMade Films is credited with reviving the floundering, nearly lifeless British film scene.  

As a film unto itself, An Accidental Studio is a rather stock affair.  It’s a chronological stroll through the studio’s filmography with a lot of contemporary talking head interviews with folks prominent in the HandMade tale, including Terry Gilliam, Bruce Robinson, Neil Jordan, Michael Palin, Brenda Vaccaro, Richard E. Grant.  At the center of it all is a reluctant George Harrison, whose financial commitment to this rickety venture is wholly commendable.  

The late Harrison appears quite a bit via archival interviews, as does his HandMade business partner, the late Denis O’Brien.  It’s an unintentionally awkward side effect that while Harrison sails through unscathed, his own chosen business manager O’Brien ends up the de facto antagonist of the piece.  An Accidental Studio, in its niche focus and standard approach, is better as this kind of glorified bonus feature than as a singular release unto itself.  It’s a great inclusion in support of The Long Good Friday.

From the 2015 Arrow Blu-ray release we get brief interviews with director of photography Phil Méheux (3+ minutes) and screenwriter Barrie Keeffe (8+ minutes), as well as a short program comparing the soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases (7+ minutes).  The latter inclusion, while informative, originates from a place of head-scratching fear on the part of the film’s distributors.  

Back in the day, they decided that Hoskins’ cockney accent and associated slang was too much for American audiences and opted to overdub him in a handful of scenes.  This 7-minute piece includes the original and dubbed versions of each of these scenes, which, to my midwestern American ears, aren’t all that different.

Interesting still is a longer and older retrospective documentary about the making of the film, which features interviews with Mackenzie and actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, discussing how the burden fell to her to beef up her role, included the former recalling with frightening detail the aggressive tirade he launched into upon being told that they’d be overdubbing him.  A passage of his contract is shown that confirms that he’s correct when he yells that they aren’t allowed to do that.  

I guess just a few changed lines here and there were okay, as long as he did the recording?  Anyhow, the film itself as presented on this set has the original British dialogue, which is what matters most at this juncture.

The only truly new bonus feature on this release is a video introduction by Criterion Collection curatorial director Ashley Clark.  Clark, a self-identified Londoner, touts The Long Good Friday as essential cinema of his homeland.  His earnest intro touches on the brewing politics of the time of the film, as well as the eventual ramifications of Lady Thatcher’s policies, Brexit, and London’s eventual hosting of the Olympic in 2012.  Clark’s intro is a terrific addition to an already great package.  

Is it worth an upgrade for those who already own the Arrow 4K?  Costing what these releases cost, I’d have to say no.  For those, however, who don’t yet own a decent HD version of The Long Good Friday, then this brief feature is a fine mark in Criterion’s favor.

Despite Hoskins’ physical stature, The Long Good Friday stands quite tall as a gangster film, a London film, an acting showcase, and evocative time capsule of a city unknowingly on the cusp of serious change.  Criterion’s 4K UHD, adorned with excellent striking new artwork by Eric Skillman and an insert essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey, will not leave cinephiles wanting.  Nail down your copy as you are able.

Criterion's official list of features:

•            New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Phil Méheux, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack 

•            One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and two Blu-rays with the film and special features

•            Audio commentary with director John Mackenzie

•            An Accidental Studio (2019), a documentary about the early years of Handmade Films

•            Introduction by Criterion Collection curatorial director Ashley Clark

•            Documentary about the making of the film featuring interviews with Mackenzie and actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren

•            Interviews with Méheux (3+ minutes) and screenwriter Barrie Keeffe (8+ minutes, both Arrow 2015)

•            Program comparing the soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases (7+ minutes, Arrow 2015)

•            Trailers

•            English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

•            PLUS: An essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey



•            New cover by Eric Skillman