The Long Good Friday

The Long Good Friday is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe, starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren. Set in London, the storyline weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, including mid-level political and police corruption, and IRA fund-raising. The supporting cast features Eddie Constantine, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson, Paul Freeman and Pierce Brosnan in his film debut. The film was completed in 1979, but because of delays, it did not have a general release until early 1981. It received positive reviews from critics, and Bob Hoskins was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and won a Evening Standard Film Award for his performance as gangster Harold Shand. It was voted at number 21 in the British Film Institute's Top 100 British films list, and provided Hoskins with his breakthrough film role. In 2016, British film magazine Empire ranked The Long Good Friday number 19 in its list of The 100 best British films. The music score composed by Francis Monkman specifically for the film is equally memorable. Plot A man delivers money to an unknown recipient in Belfast, in the process taking some of the cash for himself. As the recipients are counting the money in a country farm house they are attacked by uniformed gunmen. Soon afterwards Phil, the driver for the delivery, is kidnapped and killed. Later the delivery man, Colin, is murdered at a London swimming pool.