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The Long Good Friday (1980)
Director: John Mackenzie
Tagline: “Who lit the fuse that tore Harold's world apart?”
Forget the American Dream: here’s the English version – complete with a new kind of gangster for a new era. And you’ve got to hand it to wannabe entrepreneur Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins), he may not win too many points for social conscience but he’s definitely got the gift of foresight. Long before Boris and co. popped up with their velodromes and their legacy projects, the cockney-boy-made-bad had a dream of transforming East London into a venue fit for the Olympics. The problem? The IRA has other ideas. A hit team is on the loose with an unspecified grudge, a ton of Semtex and minimal interest in three-day eventing. Like Mike Hodges’ Get Carter, John ‘Frenzy’ Mackenzie gets much mileage out of the incongruous clash of gangster cultures – the American Mafia’s visit to London gangland offers a beautifully edgy fish-out-of-water scenario – as Shand slowly learns what it feels like when the concrete shoe is on the other foot. Behind the glossy sheen of gangster living (hello, Helen Mirren’s fur-clad moll!) and the shocks of sudden violence, Barrie Keeffe's blackly funny script is double-barrelled with quotable dialogue (“A sleeping partner is one thing, but you’re in a fuckin’ coma!”) and a scathing indictment of Thatcherite Britain. Oh yes, and we almost forgot to mention it’s got a young Pierce Brosnan going all Taffin as an IRA gunman.
Iconic moment: Panicked by the spate of bombings that have shaken his business empire, Shand does the obvious thing and hangs a few of his sworn enemies from meat hooks.
What to quote: “The Mafia? I've shit ‘em.”
Pub trivia: Bob Hoskins successfully sued producers British Lion when they tried to have his voice dubbed over by a Midlands actor for American audiences.
Further reading… Brighton Rock (1947),The League Of Gentlemen (1960), Get Carter (1971), Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Sexy Beast (2000), Layer Cake (2004), Eastern Promises (2007)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Director: Sergio Leone
Tagline: “As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.”
While arguments raged on over which Mob movie is the greatest – The Godfather? The Godfather: Part II? Goodfellas? Analyze That? – the genre rolled up its mattress and headed to TV. The Sopranos and Boardwork Empire have filled the gap for fans of perfectly-cooked meatballs and razor sharp suits, but the last decent Mob thriller to hit the big screen was arguably Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco a full 15 years ago. Still, sandwiched between the genre’s ‘70s renaissance and an early ’90s purple patch that saw Coppola, Scorsese and the Coen brothers each turn out gangland classics in the space of 12 months, came Sergio Leone’s grand crime opera. Okay, technically the Mafia are peripheral to the story, but the film’s themes and scope make it a Mob movie in everything but name. In fact, Once Upon A Time In America isn’t so much a movie as a glorious history lesson that spans half of the 20th century, as switchblade-wielding Jewish gangster Noodles (Robert De Niro) and his crew slice their wedge of the American pie. Leone’s opus was supposed to have come in at a relatively brisk 165 minutes. It didn’t, and the subsequent editing room butchery would have impressed even Noodles himself. “I hope they burn the fucking negative,” raged James Woods at the version that was eventually released. Catch the restored version to absorb its full majesty, but, you know, schedule in some loo breaks. Capeesh?
Iconic moment: Noodles’ discovery that his friends have been gunned down in an abortive heist and that he, unwittingly, caused it to happen.
What to quote: “I like the stink of the streets. It makes me feel good.”
Pub trivia: Robert De Niro’s typically meticulous research for the part of Noodles led him to request a meeting with mobster Meyer Lansky. He was refused.
Further reading… On the Waterfront (1954), Salvatore Giuliano (1962), The Godfather (1972), The Sting (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976), Bugsy Malone (1976), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Casino (1995), Get Shorty (1995)
Sonatine (1993)
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Tagline: “His mob boss double-crossed him. Now it's payback time!”
Like Danny Boyle’s The Beach grown up and gone to seed, Takeshi Kitano’s yakuza classic ambles about in a remote seaside spot, kicking over sandcastles, staring at the sky and playing Russian roulette to pass the time. As you do. Unlike The Beach, of course, its characters can’t muster a grain of idealism or empathy between them. Takeshi Kitano gives us startlingly bleak insights into the fragile loyalty that bonds gangs together and a glimpse into the dead space gangsters have to fill between jobs. There are no tracking shots through glitzy restaurants, no kitten-heeled femme fatales and the closest the gang’s Okinawa hideout comes to a Vegas casino is the grim hotel in which they convene. Kitano’s Mr. Murakawa is sent to join them on the island by his kingpin boss. His mission is to mediate between two rival gangs, but he quickly discovers that he’s been sent on a deadly fool’s errand. Needless to say, the double-cross goes down like a plate of fly-blown fugu with the jaded yakuza, even if he doesn’t seem to care much either way.
Iconic moment: The bloodiest elevator scene this side of The Shining, Kitano’s demented lift shoot-out offers probably the highest corpse-to-square foot ratio in cinema history. It makes no sense whatsoever, but it’s fantastically gore-some nonetheless. Quick, somebody press the big red button!
What to quote: “When you're scared all the time, you reach a point when you wish you were dead.” The world-weary Murakawa needs a serious hug.
Pub trivia: Quentin Tarantino re-released Sonatine in the US under his Rolling Thunder Pictures marque.
Further reading… Tokyo Drifter (1966), Sympathy For The Underdog (1971), Battles Without Honor And Humanity (1973), The Yakuza (1974), The Killer (1989), Boiling Point (1990), Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)
Director: John Mackenzie
Tagline: “Who lit the fuse that tore Harold's world apart?”
Forget the American Dream: here’s the English version – complete with a new kind of gangster for a new era. And you’ve got to hand it to wannabe entrepreneur Harold Shand (Bob Hoskins), he may not win too many points for social conscience but he’s definitely got the gift of foresight. Long before Boris and co. popped up with their velodromes and their legacy projects, the cockney-boy-made-bad had a dream of transforming East London into a venue fit for the Olympics. The problem? The IRA has other ideas. A hit team is on the loose with an unspecified grudge, a ton of Semtex and minimal interest in three-day eventing. Like Mike Hodges’ Get Carter, John ‘Frenzy’ Mackenzie gets much mileage out of the incongruous clash of gangster cultures – the American Mafia’s visit to London gangland offers a beautifully edgy fish-out-of-water scenario – as Shand slowly learns what it feels like when the concrete shoe is on the other foot. Behind the glossy sheen of gangster living (hello, Helen Mirren’s fur-clad moll!) and the shocks of sudden violence, Barrie Keeffe's blackly funny script is double-barrelled with quotable dialogue (“A sleeping partner is one thing, but you’re in a fuckin’ coma!”) and a scathing indictment of Thatcherite Britain. Oh yes, and we almost forgot to mention it’s got a young Pierce Brosnan going all Taffin as an IRA gunman.
Iconic moment: Panicked by the spate of bombings that have shaken his business empire, Shand does the obvious thing and hangs a few of his sworn enemies from meat hooks.
What to quote: “The Mafia? I've shit ‘em.”
Pub trivia: Bob Hoskins successfully sued producers British Lion when they tried to have his voice dubbed over by a Midlands actor for American audiences.
Further reading… Brighton Rock (1947),The League Of Gentlemen (1960), Get Carter (1971), Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Sexy Beast (2000), Layer Cake (2004), Eastern Promises (2007)
Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Director: Sergio Leone
Tagline: “As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.”
While arguments raged on over which Mob movie is the greatest – The Godfather? The Godfather: Part II? Goodfellas? Analyze That? – the genre rolled up its mattress and headed to TV. The Sopranos and Boardwork Empire have filled the gap for fans of perfectly-cooked meatballs and razor sharp suits, but the last decent Mob thriller to hit the big screen was arguably Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco a full 15 years ago. Still, sandwiched between the genre’s ‘70s renaissance and an early ’90s purple patch that saw Coppola, Scorsese and the Coen brothers each turn out gangland classics in the space of 12 months, came Sergio Leone’s grand crime opera. Okay, technically the Mafia are peripheral to the story, but the film’s themes and scope make it a Mob movie in everything but name. In fact, Once Upon A Time In America isn’t so much a movie as a glorious history lesson that spans half of the 20th century, as switchblade-wielding Jewish gangster Noodles (Robert De Niro) and his crew slice their wedge of the American pie. Leone’s opus was supposed to have come in at a relatively brisk 165 minutes. It didn’t, and the subsequent editing room butchery would have impressed even Noodles himself. “I hope they burn the fucking negative,” raged James Woods at the version that was eventually released. Catch the restored version to absorb its full majesty, but, you know, schedule in some loo breaks. Capeesh?
Iconic moment: Noodles’ discovery that his friends have been gunned down in an abortive heist and that he, unwittingly, caused it to happen.
What to quote: “I like the stink of the streets. It makes me feel good.”
Pub trivia: Robert De Niro’s typically meticulous research for the part of Noodles led him to request a meeting with mobster Meyer Lansky. He was refused.
Further reading… On the Waterfront (1954), Salvatore Giuliano (1962), The Godfather (1972), The Sting (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976), Bugsy Malone (1976), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Goodfellas (1990), Miller’s Crossing (1990), Casino (1995), Get Shorty (1995)
Sonatine (1993)
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Tagline: “His mob boss double-crossed him. Now it's payback time!”
Like Danny Boyle’s The Beach grown up and gone to seed, Takeshi Kitano’s yakuza classic ambles about in a remote seaside spot, kicking over sandcastles, staring at the sky and playing Russian roulette to pass the time. As you do. Unlike The Beach, of course, its characters can’t muster a grain of idealism or empathy between them. Takeshi Kitano gives us startlingly bleak insights into the fragile loyalty that bonds gangs together and a glimpse into the dead space gangsters have to fill between jobs. There are no tracking shots through glitzy restaurants, no kitten-heeled femme fatales and the closest the gang’s Okinawa hideout comes to a Vegas casino is the grim hotel in which they convene. Kitano’s Mr. Murakawa is sent to join them on the island by his kingpin boss. His mission is to mediate between two rival gangs, but he quickly discovers that he’s been sent on a deadly fool’s errand. Needless to say, the double-cross goes down like a plate of fly-blown fugu with the jaded yakuza, even if he doesn’t seem to care much either way.
Iconic moment: The bloodiest elevator scene this side of The Shining, Kitano’s demented lift shoot-out offers probably the highest corpse-to-square foot ratio in cinema history. It makes no sense whatsoever, but it’s fantastically gore-some nonetheless. Quick, somebody press the big red button!
What to quote: “When you're scared all the time, you reach a point when you wish you were dead.” The world-weary Murakawa needs a serious hug.
Pub trivia: Quentin Tarantino re-released Sonatine in the US under his Rolling Thunder Pictures marque.
Further reading… Tokyo Drifter (1966), Sympathy For The Underdog (1971), Battles Without Honor And Humanity (1973), The Yakuza (1974), The Killer (1989), Boiling Point (1990), Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)
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