The Long Good Friday18

Directed by John Mackenzie | UK | 1981 | 1h 55m | Starring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Paul Freeman, Patti Love, Kevin McNally

A cockney crime boss, with eyes on becoming a legitimate property mogul, plans to transform the derelict docklands of London into a possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of targeted bombings leave his plans in disarray. With Bob Hoskins’ commanding breakthrough performance, John Mackenzie’s crime thriller holds up as a searing state-of-the-nation portrait of Britain sliding into the rampant enterprise culture of Thatcherism.

Reviews

‘Although The Long Good Friday is firmly rooted in a very different era — early 1980s Britain is another country entirely — the film still feels fresh and uncompromisingly tough.’
★★★★★
Katy Muir, The Times

‘A superb script and great turns from Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are the making of John Mackenzie’s classic London gangland thriller’
★★★★★
Mark Kermode, The Observer

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Long Good Friday between July 12, 2022 and July 14, 2022.

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What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 25th March)

14:30

One Battle After Another 15
2h 41m
A paranoid ex-revolutionary and his daughter are forced into confrontation when an old nemesis returns. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Paul Thomas Anderson’s (There Will Be Blood, The Master) sharp satirical adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Vineland’.

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17:45

The Testament of Ann Lee 15
2h 17m
From poverty in England to revolutionary America, Ann Lee’s spiritual vision and utopian dreams shape the lives of a newly formed religious community. Mona Fastvold’s sweeping historical epic stars Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shaker Movement.

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20:45

Sirāt 15
1h 54m | Spanish, French & Arabic w/ English subtitles
Oliver Laxe’s intense, hallucinatory road movie follows a father and son through Morocco as they try to find a missing relative at various sprawling, illegal raves. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2025.

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Tomorrow (Thursday 26th March)

14:45

The Testament of Ann Lee 15
Descriptive subtitles
2h 17m
From poverty in England to revolutionary America, Ann Lee’s spiritual vision and utopian dreams shape the lives of a newly formed religious community. Mona Fastvold’s sweeping historical epic stars Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shaker Movement.

Book here

17:45

Sirāt 15
1h 54m | Spanish, French & Arabic w/ English subtitles
Oliver Laxe’s intense, hallucinatory road movie follows a father and son through Morocco as they try to find a missing relative at various sprawling, illegal raves. Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2025.

Book here

20:30

Blue Morpho U
1h 45m
Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien joins us for a Q&A screening of short film Blue Morpho, focussing on his journey through the wilds of Wales as he prepares for the release of his new solo album. A special event screening plus two short film screenings by director Kit Monteith.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!