The Long Good Friday

The Long Good Friday has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in the US on HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV, and in the UK on Amazon Prime Video and Channel 4 Plus. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. 433 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Bob Hoskins's performance alone is worth the time investment. Put it on tonight on HBO Max Amazon Channel and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Long Good Friday earns its spot. The plotting gives The Long Good Friday its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion. Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1980. What makes The Long Good Friday hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find The Long Good Friday proves them wrong. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Bob Hoskins anchors it, but the writing does the real work. If you are going to commit to one crime drama this month, make it this one.