The Long Good Friday 4K Ultra HD Review

The Long Good Friday from director John Mackenzie and Beatle George Harrison’s Handmade Films is considered one of the greatest British crime films ever made and the film that blasted Bob Hoskins into stardom.

Hoskins plays London mobster Harry Shand who, with his icy cold girlfriend Victoria, played by a super-sexy Helen Mirren, by his side, is trying to take his business legit. It is Good Friday, and he is working on a big real estate deal for the London dockside with the American Mafia that will bring in a lot of money and help him finally legitimize his business. But just as Harry is about to seal the deal, someone starts killing his associates and bombing his businesses. Harry then goes on his own violent and vicious tirade trying to root out the person or people responsible for targeting him.

The Long Good Friday is gritty, on the nose British crime drama, hitting the crumbling British society and the underbelly of a society on the brink in 1980, long before films like Layer Cake or RockNRolla. This is a Britain trying to crawl out of 1970s recession and under the neoliberalism of Thatcher. Post-punk, IRA bombings, and mob bosses looking to cash in. Hoskins in a revelation as the greedy and dangerous gangster as is Mirren as his moll.

Visually, we see both a de-industrialized and desaturated London, as well as a glamorous, yacht-dwelling and warm side of Britain, with sparkling lights and glitzy outfits. The film is also amazingly frank and accepting of LGBTQ issues given its 1980 vintage. Hoskins would return to crime drama in 1986 with another Brit crime classic, Mona Lisa.

Purchase The Long Good Friday 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion Collection) on Amazon.com

The Video

The Long Good Friday is a new 4K restoration undertaken by Arrow Films and the Criterion Collection and overseen by the original cinematographer Phil Méheux, scanned from the original 35mm camera negative. It is presented in a 1.85:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. The disc was mastered by NexSpec. It averages bitrates from the low to high 90s. The transfer is densely packed with consistent grain and has lots of texture. The comparison between the Blu-ray and 4K shows a little more of an organic quality to the image on the 4K disc and wider color palette, but basically the same image. The Blu-ray looks a little more artificially sharp, but one might not notice this unless comparing it side by side. The Dolby Vision’s brightness is not excessive, it just adds subtle highlight pop, like the glistening of light off the water or the sheen on the cars.

The Audio

The original mono mix was restored from the original 35mm magnetic track. It is presented in a LPCM 1.0 track on the 4K and Blu-ray discs. The track sounds very clear and dynamic given it is only mono. It is disappointing, however, that unlike Arrow, Criterion has not included the Atmos remix for those home theater enthusiasts who would like to watch with that option, but purists will be satisfied.

The Supplements

Criterion Collection does not give us a lot of bonus features on the feature film discs, but they include a third disc with an over 90-minute-long documentary on the film and more interviews and featurettes. Additionally we get an essay by film critic Ryan Gilbey.

Bonus Features:

• Audio commentary, recorded in 2002, featuring director John Mackenzie

Blu-ray Only Bonus Features:

• Introduction (1080p; 00:06:08) – Ashley Clark, curatorial director of the Criterion Collection, introduces the British film classic that made Bob Hoskins an instant star.

Blu-ray Two:

• An Accidental Studio (1080p; 01:37:22) – This 2019 documentary charts the unlikely rise of Handmade Films, the independent producer and distributor that revitalized British cinema in the 1980s. An Accidental Studio features archival interviews with the man who started it all, former Beatle George Harrison, as well as with filmmakers Terry Gilliam and Neil Jordan, and actors Bob Hoskins, Richard E. Grant, and Michael Palin.
• Bloody Business: Making “The Long Good Friday” (1080i; 00:54:52) – This 2006 documentary features interviews with director John. Mackenzie, producer Barry Hanson, and actors Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan.
• Barrie Keeffe, 2015 (1080p; 00:08:28) – An interview with the screenwriter of The Long Good Friday.
• Phil Méheux, 2015 (1080p; 00:03:18) – An interview with the cinematographer of The Long Good Friday.
• Hands Across the Ocean (1080p; 00:07:12) – This 2015 program documents differences between soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases of The Long Good Friday.
• Trailers:
  • UK Trailer (1080i; 00:02:32)
  • U.S. Trailer (1080i; 00:02:01)

The Final Assessment

A gritty and riveting British crime drama with standout performances from Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, The Long Good Friday has been restored in 4K and looks very filmic and is a great film for anyone who loves crime dramas and its two leads to watch. Highly recommended.

The Long Good Friday is out on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray September 17, 2024 from the Criterion Collection

Purchase The Long Good Friday 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (Criterion Collection) on Amazon.com

• Rating Certificate: R
• Studios & Distributors: Black Lion Films | Calendar Productions | HandMade Films | The Criterion Collection
• Director: John Mackenzie
• Written By: Barrie Keeffe
• Run Time: 114 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • Max. Luminance: 1000 nits
  • Min. Luminance: 0.0001 nits
• Primary Audio: English LPCM 1.0
• Subtitles: English SDH
• Street Date: 17 September 2024