The Long Good Friday (Blu-ray) Criterion

A combustible performance from Bob Hoskins is the fuse that lights this underworld saga, a landmark of British crime cinema. Hoskins plays Harold Shand, an ambitious London mobster who, just as he attempts to close a major real-estate deal with the American Mafia, finds his crime empire rocked by a string of attacks, sending him on a ruthless quest to find out who’s responsible. Abetted by an ice-cool performance from Helen Mirren as Shand’s in-command moll, The Long Good Friday is not only a gripping gangster thriller but also a vivid portrait of late-1970s Britain—a powder keg of cultural and political tensions on the verge of explosion.

• New 4K digital restoration, approved by director of photography Phil Méheux, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary with director John Mackenzie
• An Accidental Studio (2019), a documentary about the early years of HandMade Films
• Introduction by Criterion Collection curatorial director Ashley Clark
• Documentary about the making of the film featuring interviews with Mackenzie and actors Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren
• Program comparing the soundtracks for the UK and U.S. releases
• Trailers
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Ryan Gilbey