About
The foundational British gangster film of the modern era. Bob Hoskins is iconic as Harold Shand, an East End gangster trying to go legitimate on the eve of his American partners arriving. Set across a single Easter weekend as Shand’s empire begins to collapse under unexplained attacks.
Cast
- Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Derek Thompson
- P.H. Moriarty as Razors
Cast crossovers with ROTF
- P.H. Moriarty plays Razors here. Moriarty goes on to play Ian Jarvis in Rise of the Footsoldier: Origins (2021), a forty-year arc.
Why it matters for ROTF
The DNA of every British gangster film since 1980, including Rise of the Footsoldier. The tonal register (East End hardman in over his head, the world closing in, betrayal from below), the rhythms (long takes of menace, sudden violence), even the casting pool all trace back to The Long Good Friday.