History Film / TheLongGoodFriday

* EvilVsEvil: It's {{London Gangster}}s vs the [[TheTroubles Irish Republican Army]]. Needless to say, there's no heroes in this battle.

* AffablyEvil: Harold Shand as it would appear at first, see FauxAffablyEvil below.

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Murdering the IRA men after promising them a safe meeting was not an especially clever thing to do, was it Harold?]]

* EvilVsEvil: It's {{London Gangster}}s vs the Irish Republican Army. Needless to say, there's no heroes in this battle.

* FauxAffablyEvil: Sure Harold would like to present himself as AffablyEvil, but it quickly becomes clear he's got quite a sadistic streak and a bad temper that only gets more pronounced as the movie goes on.

* DarkMistress: Victoria (Helen Mirren) is an unusually posh, well-bred version of this, who claims to play Polo with Princess Anne. She acts as something of an advisor to him.

* AntiVillain: Harold begins somewhat likeable, however he quickly descends into straight out VillainProtagonist.

* [[spoiler: BolivianArmyEnding]]

* * HairTriggerTemper / HotBlooded: Harold will go off at the drop of a hat. And it only gets worse as things get more stressful.

* * HairTriggerTemper/HotBlooded: Harold will go off at the drop of a hat. And it only gets worse as things get more stressful.

* HairTriggerTemper: Harold will go off at the drop of a hat. And it only gets worse as things get more stressful.

* AntiHero: Harold.

* DarkMistress: Victoria, played by Helen Mirren, is an unusually posh, well-bred version of this, who claims to play Polo with Princess Anne. She acts as something of an advisor to him.

* DidYouActuallyBelieve: Averted in the film's final scene; no one actually says it to Harold, but it's pretty clear from the smirks what they're thinking.

* {{Homage}}: The final scene of Harold being taken to his implied death is a homage to the ending of ''Film/{{Performance}}''.
* TheIrishMob: Subverted. Harold thinks that's who he's dealing with, but in reality it's the I.R.A. The kicker is once everyone realises who they are and try to warn him, Harold ''continues'' to treat them as he would a rival gang.

* LondonGangster: Harold.

* DevelopmentHell: A variation; the movie was filmed and completed in 1979, but due to various issues did not see theatrical release until 1982.
** It very nearly didn't get a theatrical release at all. The original plan was to re-cut it for television, which at the time would have meant cutting out all the violence and swearing. Thankfully, a campaign by various critics and film-lovers eventually got it the recognition it deserved.

* HeyItsThatGuy: You've probably seen half the cast in something or other, particularly if it was made in Britain, but some notable examples include:
** The film was Bob Hoskins' break-out performance.
** It was also Pierce Brosnan's very first film role.
** Helen Mirren as Harold's girlfriend Victoria.
** [[{{Casualty}} Charlie Fairhead]] is Harold's [[TheDragon right-hand man]].
** [[{{Sharpe}} Patrick Harper]] is Pierce Brosnan's accomplice.
** [[{{Snatch}} Brick Top]] is seen in the slaughterhouse scene as one of Harold's mooks.

* TheIrishMob: Subverted. Harold thinks that's who he's dealing with, but in reality it's the I.R.A.

[[caption-width-right:280: ''TheMafia? Hah! I've shit 'em.]]

* LeaveTheCameraRunning: An excellent example [[spoiler: in the final scene; just a close-up on Bob Hoskins' face as he silently conveys everything that Harold is thinking as he's 'taken for a drive'. You can practically see the entire movie play out in his head.]]

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/akeelah-and-the-bee_1069.jpg]]

!!Provides examples of:

** [[{{Casualty}} Charlie Fairclough]] is Harold's [[TheDragon right-hand man]].

* CorruptPolitician: Councilman Harris

* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler Harold glasses Jeff in a fit of rage, after he finds out he used Harold's resources.]]

* The Brute: Razors, Harold's gangland enforcer