The Long Good Friday (1980) on Netflix
Harold Shand, a London gangster, wants American Mafia money to redevelop the Docklands. On the weekend the investors arrive, bombs target his empire, and he hunts for whoever is behind them.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.5/1030,238 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes97%
Trailer
Plot summary
Harold Shand, a Cockney crime boss, aims to become a legitimate businessman. He wants American financiers to back his plan to redevelop the Docklands, and he hosts a party on his boat for politicians and police to help secure a casino project. His girlfriend Victoria works to impress the visiting Americans. Then a car bomb kills his driver outside a church where his mother is attending Good Friday services. Harold learns that his friend and associate Colin has also been murdered at a swimming pool. He realizes a campaign is being waged against him. He summons his police contact, Parky, and demands to know who is responsible. With his henchmen, he begins a ruthless search for answers, determined to protect his empire.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Long Good Friday (1980)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The plot about American financiers was based on real attempts by the Kray brothers to get the Mafia to invest in Britain.
- After seeing the finished film, Grade allegedly objected to what he saw as its glorification of the IRA, and was also concerned about the IRA attacking any cinemas where the film played.
- Before the planned ITV transmission, George Harrison's company HandMade Films bought the rights to the film from ITC for around £200,000 less than the production costs, and gave it a cinema release instead.
- A visit to an Irish pub gave Keeffe the idea of the IRA clashing with a gangster, and the film's original title was The Paddy Factor.
- The Long Good Friday was the film debut of Pierce Brosnan, then 25, and it was also the final role of George Coulouris.
- Keeffe wrote a sequel, Black Easter Monday, set 20 years later: Shand escapes from the IRA after police pull his car over, retires to Jamaica, then returns to stop the Yardies taking over the East End. The film was never made.
