7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Entrepreneurial mob boss Harold Shand runs an underworld empire but his dreams are much bigger. He and his sophisticated wife aspire to partner with American mobsters to turn the barren docklands of London into a development for the upcoming Olympics. But their perfect plan begins to unravel when a string of deadly bombings leads Shand to the stunning realization that he is being targeted by the IRA.
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Kevin McNally, P.H. MoriartyDrama | 100% |
Crime | 44% |
Mystery | 5% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
British gangster films are ten a penny, but the great ones—movies with a unique take on the genre— are few and far between. Films like Get Carter (the Michael Caine version, not the blah Stallone remake), The Krays, Sexy Beast, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, which, for all its stylistic excesses, is undeniably original. For a more recent entry, check out the ultra-violent true crime comedy Bronson, driven by rising-star actor Tom Hardy’s deliriously over-the-top portrayal of England’s most expensive—and deranged—criminal. No top-10 list of British gangster dramas would be complete, however, without director John Mackenzie’s The Long Good Friday, a rock-solid entry that introduced the world to actor Bob Hoskins, who would soon become one of the genre’s most recognizable faces. The film is less flashy than many of its successors, but it’s grounded, gritty, and features some terrific performances.
After a Criterion release from way back in 1999, an Anchor Bay DVD in 2006, and a Blu-ray released in the U.K. with some cropping issues, The Long Good Friday makes it to Blu-ray in the U.S. with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, framed in a screen-filling 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Like the other HandMade titles that Image is releasing on the 24th, this one sits on a single-layer, 25 GB Blu-ray disc, and while there's a definite leap in clarity and color from standard definition releases, the film would certainly look better if given a proper—that is, expensive and unlikely—restoration. The movie was a fairly low budgeted production to begin with, so it's never going to look as sharp and pristine as more mainstream titles from the late '70s and early '80s, but there's definitely room for improvement. Although much of the film has a soft, slightly hazy look, there's an appreciable upgrade in overall clarity here—especially in close-ups—and the movie's natural filmic texture is intact, with no DNR abuses. There are several scenes that look outright blurry, but we can presume this is due to slightly off focusing and not any problem with the transfer. Skin tones can look quite ruddy—then again, this might just be the boozy complexions of some of the actors—but color is otherwise well balanced and, for the most part, realistic. I did, however, notice some strange color/brightness fluctuations, most apparent during the scene where Howard is pouring a Bloody Mary for Victoria. Black levels are strong during the daytime scenes, but at night the image often takes on a grayish, gritty quality, mostly because these sequences spike in both grain and compression noise. There's a lot of wobble and judder during the opening credits, but thankfully this goes away once the movie actually begins. Overall, this is a middling transfer—a better bit-rate and a larger file size might help a little—but this also the best that the film has looked on home video thus far.
The Long Good Friday features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, but I wouldn't call this a real surround mix. It sounds to me like the original 2.0 audio elements were just bled into the surround channels to make a 5.1 presentation. If you listen carefully in the rear speakers, you'll hear almost exactly what you hear from the front channels—dialogue and all—only quieter. So, don't expect any cross-channel movements or directional precision. To be honest, I'd prefer a lossless 2.0 mix. Still, the expansion does work in some ways, filling out the soundfield with ambience, like pub chatter and water splashing sounds at the pool. Francis Monkman's synthesizer-tinged score is the most intense thing about this track and it sounds great, with plenty of punch and only a few moments of shrillness —the strings can be overly piercing. Dialogue is easy to understand throughout—well, as easy as Cockney accents can be to understand—and unlike previous releases, English subtitles are available.
While the 2006 Anchor Bay DVD release of the film contained a commentary by director John Mackenzie and an hour-long documentary, the sole piece of supplementary material on this disc is a theatrical trailer (SD, 2:42).
A successor to American gangster flicks from earlier in the century and a predecessor of the British cinematic crime wave that was to come, The Long Good Friday is a meat and potatoes mob movie elevated by religious symbolism and a dynamic performance by Bob Hoskins in his breakout role. Its impact has been slightly dulled in the intervening years since its release—mostly because, for a while, it seemed like the crime caper was the default British film genre—but The Long Good Friday is still a hell of a good time. This is a spartan release, with no special features to speak of and a mediocre video transfer, but it still comes recommended, especially considering its attractively low price point.
1971
4K Restoration
1973
1955
1986
1973
4K Restoration
2007
2014
1976
2009
2014
1990
2011
1973
1999
Tengoku to jigoku / 天国と地獄
1963
1966
Import
1978
Encore Edition | Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1953
Choice Collection
1958
1993