John Mackenzie on 'The Long Good Friday'

The director discusses this gangster classic, which is screening as part of the Time Out London on Screen.

Sep  6 2006

'The Long Good Friday' is regarded by many as the UK's greatest gangster flick. Starring Bob Hoskins as ferocious mob boss Harold Shand, the film follows his fraught efforts to seal a deal with the American mafia to redevelop London's docklands. Meanwhile, an unknown force is destroying Harold's empire from the inside out. Director John Mackenzie explains why he thinks the film's appeal has endured.

'The plans [for the redevelopment of Canary Wharf] had been around for several years before we started work on the film. There was a lot of building going on around the dock before 1981 with various big firms involved, so we knew quite a lot about what was proposed. London had essentially been a port and we regretted that all that had gone and it felt like a total area of neglect. The writer Barry Keefe, Bob and myself were very aware that there was going to be huge exploitation and that everyone was going to try to get rich quick. We were very conscious of that and worried it was going to be a mess.

'I think Harold would have liked how it's turned out. I think he would have been delighted, because it has flourished – it's a whole new extension of London. The high-rise buildings and skyscrapers make the whole place come alive and Harry would have been at the heart of that. Of course, he also would have been the biggest exploiter of them all. As for the prophetic idea of London getting the Olympics, that was a bit of fun. Harold's thinking was getting more and more expansive – about Britain joining Europe and everything being on the up-and-up – [so] the Olympic idea just slipped in as part of that.

'When they got the final product, the producers were very uncertain about it. I'd built up the IRA a lot from what was originally in the script, because I wanted this theme of terrorism versus the state. But the Grade organisation didn't really want to put it out as a feature film. They wanted to take out all the 'offensive' bits that they thought were there, all the – in their opinion – unpatriotic stuff about the IRA, and put it out as a simple television film. That argument went on for two years. [George Harrison's Handmade Films eventually bought the film and released it theatrically.]

'I certainly didn't think it was going to become a legend or a cult film like it has. I think the reason is a combination of things. The idea of the classic gangster was important; you got them in American films but you didn't get them in Britain. The James Cagney, Edward G Robinson, Humphrey Bogart era of the 1930s – they were fantastic characters and I was brought up on that sort of thing as a wee kid so I wanted Harry Shand to be like that. People are never totally one-sided; even the worst villains in the world have certain qualities that are liked, and Bob had the personality and humour to pull it off.

'If the main character is interesting and strong then it's more than a gangster film, and I tried to take it further than that. I gave him a home background and a woman who was not just a gangster's moll but a real woman who actually had decisions to make. I tried to give them all a well-roundedness and depth, even the IRA characters.

'I also think it's to do with the diversity of themes that are in the film. There's terrorism, religion, corruption… The one that instantly emerged and stood out was the terrorist theme: how can you ever fight a war against terror? We're still asking that question and I still think you can't. But I think all those themes will keep the film interesting and fresh for other generations. I hope so, anyway.

'The Long Good Friday' screens at the Gate, Notting Hill, at 11.30pm on September 22 and 23 as part of the Time Out London on Screen season (for more details, head here). The twenty-fifth anniversary special edition DVD is out September 18.

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