Gangsters, mobsters, thugs, and mugs. Organized crime holds the upper tier of the international cinematic commission. “Crime pays,” Edward G. Robinson, who played Rico Bandello in the seminal gangster film Little Caesar (1931), is famous for saying. “But only in the movies.” When a good mob movie is on the table, it is an offer no filmmaker can refuse. There is more intrigue, suspense, violence, mayhem, and madness to be found in the criminal element than any other genre.
“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...
“Gone are the days of the gangsters,” audiences heard for years, usually in movies about mobsters. They always rise up, even if they are splattered across the ornate fountains of their gangland mansions in the last frame, like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Brian DePalma’s Scarface (1983), or rolling down the steps of a church, dead from a hail of bullets. That’s how James Cagney’s Eddie Bartlett went out in The Roaring Twenties (1939). Now,...
- 9/16/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Last last year Sam Inglis led a team of HeyUGuys writers to compile a list of the films of 2021 that were cruelly overlooked. As we’re halfway through 2022 the time has come to draw up another list of films, but this time there’s a different criteria at hand.
These are the films that we have discovered, so far, in 2022. These are the films, from any year, that we have watched for the first time, and wanted to share with you. Here there are cinematic classics along with obscure ‘90s action thrillers, character studies and slasher flicks galore – there is no other list quite like it around.
We hope you’ll find new favourites from the list here, and be inspired to look further afield for your own movie discoveries.
Daniel Goodwin Recommends Colossus: The Forbin Project
At a time when Sci-Fi films were evolving from silly flying saucer B-movies into subversive,...
These are the films that we have discovered, so far, in 2022. These are the films, from any year, that we have watched for the first time, and wanted to share with you. Here there are cinematic classics along with obscure ‘90s action thrillers, character studies and slasher flicks galore – there is no other list quite like it around.
We hope you’ll find new favourites from the list here, and be inspired to look further afield for your own movie discoveries.
Daniel Goodwin Recommends Colossus: The Forbin Project
At a time when Sci-Fi films were evolving from silly flying saucer B-movies into subversive,...
- 6/23/2022
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The scriptwriter and playwright, best known for penning the gangster film starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, died in London after a short illness
Obituary – Barry Keeffe
Barrie Keeffe, the scriptwriter and playwright best known for writing the landmark British gangster film The Long Good Friday, has died aged 74. His agent Stephen Durbridge announced the news, saying Keeffe had died in London after a short illness.
Born in 1945, Keeffe grew up in east London, attending East Ham grammar school and then working as a reporter for the local newspaper, the Stratford Express. According to former Guardian columnist Roy Greenslade, Keeffe’s interest in activism and politics led him towards plays and scriptwriting: “He loved the paper and his colleagues, but he was frustrated by the fact it constricted his chance to tell the stories he thought it important to tell.”...
Obituary – Barry Keeffe
Barrie Keeffe, the scriptwriter and playwright best known for writing the landmark British gangster film The Long Good Friday, has died aged 74. His agent Stephen Durbridge announced the news, saying Keeffe had died in London after a short illness.
Born in 1945, Keeffe grew up in east London, attending East Ham grammar school and then working as a reporter for the local newspaper, the Stratford Express. According to former Guardian columnist Roy Greenslade, Keeffe’s interest in activism and politics led him towards plays and scriptwriting: “He loved the paper and his colleagues, but he was frustrated by the fact it constricted his chance to tell the stories he thought it important to tell.”...
- 12/10/2019
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Barrie Keeffe, known for penning the screenplay for Brit gangster classic The Long Good Friday, has died aged 74 in London following a brief illness.
Keeffe’s agent, Stephen Durbridge of The Agency, confirmed the news.
London-born playwright and screenwriter Keeffe started out as an actor and journalist. His first television play, The Substitute, was produced in 1972, and his first theatre play Only A Game in 1973. He was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s writer-in-residence in 1978 and he went on to write a number of film, TV and stage plays in the 1980s.
BAFTA-nominated 1980 crime-drama The Long Good Friday, about an up-and-coming gangster, starred Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren in a breakout role. Keefe also adapted his own stage play Sus, about police racism, for the 2010 movie of the same name starring Rafe Spall and Clint Dyer.
Keeffe’s agent, Stephen Durbridge of The Agency, confirmed the news.
London-born playwright and screenwriter Keeffe started out as an actor and journalist. His first television play, The Substitute, was produced in 1972, and his first theatre play Only A Game in 1973. He was the Royal Shakespeare Company’s writer-in-residence in 1978 and he went on to write a number of film, TV and stage plays in the 1980s.
BAFTA-nominated 1980 crime-drama The Long Good Friday, about an up-and-coming gangster, starred Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren in a breakout role. Keefe also adapted his own stage play Sus, about police racism, for the 2010 movie of the same name starring Rafe Spall and Clint Dyer.
- 12/10/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Screenwriter Barrie Keeffe, who penned the screenplay for the classic British gangster movie “The Long Good Friday” – which starred Helen Mirren in a breakout role – has died. He was 74.
Keeffe’s agent, Stephen Durbridge of The Agency, confirmed the news and said that his client had died in London following a short illness.
Keeffe started out as an actor and journalist, then became a self-professed political writer. His theater work included plays such as “Frozen Assets” for the Royal Shakespeare Company, about a young man who kills a prison officer, and “Sus,” about institutionalized police racism. The latter was adapted as a movie in 2010 with Clint Dyer and Rafe Spall, and with Robert Heath directing from Keeffe’s screenplay.
Keeffe was best known for having penned the original screenplay for “The Long Good Friday,” which starred Bob Hoskins alongside Mirren. It was a breakthrough film for Mirren, and will be...
Keeffe’s agent, Stephen Durbridge of The Agency, confirmed the news and said that his client had died in London following a short illness.
Keeffe started out as an actor and journalist, then became a self-professed political writer. His theater work included plays such as “Frozen Assets” for the Royal Shakespeare Company, about a young man who kills a prison officer, and “Sus,” about institutionalized police racism. The latter was adapted as a movie in 2010 with Clint Dyer and Rafe Spall, and with Robert Heath directing from Keeffe’s screenplay.
Keeffe was best known for having penned the original screenplay for “The Long Good Friday,” which starred Bob Hoskins alongside Mirren. It was a breakthrough film for Mirren, and will be...
- 12/10/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Character actor admired for his role in the London gangster film The Long Good Friday
The actor Bryan Marshall, who has died aged 81, was a solid character actor who brought integrity and realism to the parts he played on screen in Britain throughout the 1960s and 70s. Many will remember him best for his pivotal role as the duplicitous Councillor Harris in the classic film The Long Good Friday (1979), which made a massive impact at the box office with its brutal tale of a London gangland boss, Harold Shand, played by Bob Hoskins, seeing his empire being threatened by rivals from the Ira.
The drama, written by Barrie Keeffe and directed by John Mackenzie, brilliantly captures the dreary London of the 70s as it approaches a new decade of aspiration and docklands regeneration. Shand sees the development opportunities and Harris is on his payroll. For much of the film, Marshall is a silent presence,...
The actor Bryan Marshall, who has died aged 81, was a solid character actor who brought integrity and realism to the parts he played on screen in Britain throughout the 1960s and 70s. Many will remember him best for his pivotal role as the duplicitous Councillor Harris in the classic film The Long Good Friday (1979), which made a massive impact at the box office with its brutal tale of a London gangland boss, Harold Shand, played by Bob Hoskins, seeing his empire being threatened by rivals from the Ira.
The drama, written by Barrie Keeffe and directed by John Mackenzie, brilliantly captures the dreary London of the 70s as it approaches a new decade of aspiration and docklands regeneration. Shand sees the development opportunities and Harris is on his payroll. For much of the film, Marshall is a silent presence,...
- 7/4/2019
- by Anthony Hayward
- The Guardian - Film News
Throughout the supplements on Arrow’s new (rather impressive) Blu-ray edition of this landmark gangster film, nearly everyone involved speaks of their collective desire to simply make the best film they possibly could, and in many ways, The Long Good Friday is just about the most natural result of that pursuit. Nothing goes unaccounted for, the characters are all richly drawn, the narrative drive is forceful without overwhelming a chance for reflection, and there’s just enough of a mystery to the whole thing to keep the audience hooked. The satisfaction that can come from such a well-rounded, expertly-delivered film can sometimes, however, be diminished by the sheer contentedness of the thing. Life is unwieldy, unpredictable, and sometimes incomprehensible, and films that ignore those qualities in the pursuit of “perfection” can feel closed-off.
Indeed, most of The Long Good Friday follows this tendency – Harold Shand’s (Bob Hoskins) is a...
Indeed, most of The Long Good Friday follows this tendency – Harold Shand’s (Bob Hoskins) is a...
- 7/20/2015
- by Scott Nye
- CriterionCast
I interviewed Pierce Brosnan in conjunction with his third outing as James Bond, in Michael Apted's The World Is Not Enough, in 1999. Brosnan was alternately charming, erudite, thoughtful and intense during our two hour chat. His native intelligence shone through it all, as did a sense of decency which many people seem to acquire after enduring and surviving hardship in their formative years.
Bonding With Brosnan
By
Alex Simon
There are several dangers in becoming a cultural icon, not the least of which is the stigma that your public will forever keep you imprisoned in the mold of your iconography, allowing the recipient a privileged, if imprisoned, existence, particularly if that person is an artist. Sean Connery faced just such a dilemma during the height of James Bond-mania in the mid-60's. A serious actor, Connery desperately wanted to break out of the action hero mold that was British Superspy James Bond,...
Bonding With Brosnan
By
Alex Simon
There are several dangers in becoming a cultural icon, not the least of which is the stigma that your public will forever keep you imprisoned in the mold of your iconography, allowing the recipient a privileged, if imprisoned, existence, particularly if that person is an artist. Sean Connery faced just such a dilemma during the height of James Bond-mania in the mid-60's. A serious actor, Connery desperately wanted to break out of the action hero mold that was British Superspy James Bond,...
- 6/24/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
A superb script and great turns from Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are the making of John Mackenzie’s classic London gangland thriller
“What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius – a little bit more than an ’ot dog, know what I mean?” John Mackenzie’s classic British thriller, from a rip-roaring script by Barrie Keeffe, nearly went straight to TV and only ended up in cinemas thanks to the intervention of George Harrison’s HandMade Films. Today it stands as a prophetic classic, as groundbreaking as Get Carter, as quotable as Withnail & I (“Shut up you long streak of paralysed piss”).
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are magnificent as the lord and lady of their underworld manor, attempting to develop London Docklands in a pre-Canary Wharf world, caught between American investors and Ira bombs. Phil Meheux...
“What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius – a little bit more than an ’ot dog, know what I mean?” John Mackenzie’s classic British thriller, from a rip-roaring script by Barrie Keeffe, nearly went straight to TV and only ended up in cinemas thanks to the intervention of George Harrison’s HandMade Films. Today it stands as a prophetic classic, as groundbreaking as Get Carter, as quotable as Withnail & I (“Shut up you long streak of paralysed piss”).
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are magnificent as the lord and lady of their underworld manor, attempting to develop London Docklands in a pre-Canary Wharf world, caught between American investors and Ira bombs. Phil Meheux...
- 6/21/2015
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
A superb script and great turns from Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are the making of John Mackenzie’s classic London gangland thriller
“What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius – a little bit more than an ’ot dog, know what I mean?” John Mackenzie’s classic British thriller, from a rip-roaring script by Barrie Keeffe, nearly went straight to TV and only ended up in cinemas thanks to the intervention of George Harrison’s HandMade Films. Today it stands as a prophetic classic, as groundbreaking as Get Carter, as quotable as Withnail & I (“Shut up you long streak of paralysed piss”).
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are magnificent as the lord and lady of their underworld manor, attempting to develop London Docklands in a pre-Canary Wharf world, caught between American investors and Ira bombs. Phil Meheux...
“What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius – a little bit more than an ’ot dog, know what I mean?” John Mackenzie’s classic British thriller, from a rip-roaring script by Barrie Keeffe, nearly went straight to TV and only ended up in cinemas thanks to the intervention of George Harrison’s HandMade Films. Today it stands as a prophetic classic, as groundbreaking as Get Carter, as quotable as Withnail & I (“Shut up you long streak of paralysed piss”).
Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren are magnificent as the lord and lady of their underworld manor, attempting to develop London Docklands in a pre-Canary Wharf world, caught between American investors and Ira bombs. Phil Meheux...
- 6/21/2015
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Bob Hoskins’ ruthless East End geezer has big plans for London’s docklands in John Mackenzie’s prescient 80s tale of hubris and revenge
“This country’s a worse risk than Cuba! It’s a banana republic!” That is how Britain is brusquely described in the classic Brit gangster melodrama from 1980, now on rerelease, written by Barrie Keeffe and directed by John Mackenzie. It features a criminal property developer in trouble with rich Americans and the Ira. (A modern-day remake would turn them into Russians and Islamic State.) The film has dated a bit, but it’s surprising how very cleverly it intuits the property boom of London in 2015, and its yearning to be at the centre of a globalised economy, while at the same time absorbing both 70s drear and 80s aspiration. Bob Hoskins (below) is East End geezer Harold Shand – pop-eyed, nervy and insecure about his imminent big...
“This country’s a worse risk than Cuba! It’s a banana republic!” That is how Britain is brusquely described in the classic Brit gangster melodrama from 1980, now on rerelease, written by Barrie Keeffe and directed by John Mackenzie. It features a criminal property developer in trouble with rich Americans and the Ira. (A modern-day remake would turn them into Russians and Islamic State.) The film has dated a bit, but it’s surprising how very cleverly it intuits the property boom of London in 2015, and its yearning to be at the centre of a globalised economy, while at the same time absorbing both 70s drear and 80s aspiration. Bob Hoskins (below) is East End geezer Harold Shand – pop-eyed, nervy and insecure about his imminent big...
- 6/18/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Stars: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, P.H. Moriarty, Kevin McNally, Alan Ford, Dave King, Bryan Marshall, Derek Thompson, Eddie Constantine, Paul Freeman, Leo Dolan, Patti Love, Pierce Brosnan | Written by Barrie Keeffe | Directed by John Mackenzie
The gangster movie is a beast very like the gangs it is based on. Depending on the country of origin the crime organisations tend to have certain looks and style and a certain tradition that they cling to as their laws of how to do business. The modern gangster movies are definitely an example of this, but they also share one thing in common, they lend a lot from The Long Good Friday which gets the Arrow Video treatment with its new release on Blu-ray.
Harold (Bob Hoskins) is a British gangster with an eye to capitalism and being a successful business man. Seeing London as his empire he is taken aback at the incredulous...
The gangster movie is a beast very like the gangs it is based on. Depending on the country of origin the crime organisations tend to have certain looks and style and a certain tradition that they cling to as their laws of how to do business. The modern gangster movies are definitely an example of this, but they also share one thing in common, they lend a lot from The Long Good Friday which gets the Arrow Video treatment with its new release on Blu-ray.
Harold (Bob Hoskins) is a British gangster with an eye to capitalism and being a successful business man. Seeing London as his empire he is taken aback at the incredulous...
- 5/5/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Triple Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis has cited the vanity-free actor Phil Davis as a key inspiration, alongside Brando and Streep. Is it time the star of Quadrophenia and Whitechapel was recognised as a British acting great?
Phil Davis calls himself "the nose-and-teeth man". He says he sometimes looks in the mirror and thinks: "Look at that tired old boat race." And it's true that, with his pink skin, squinting eyes and shock of vanilla hair, there is something of the naked mole rat about him.
But this week the largely unsung hero of British screen acting was cited by Daniel Day-Lewis as one of the biggest influences on his career. In an article for Port magazine, Day-Lewis ranked Davis alongside Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Marlon Brando: the actor's 1977 turn in Gotcha, he wrote, had made a "deep impression". Day-Lewis has won three Oscars (Lincoln, There Will Be Blood,...
Phil Davis calls himself "the nose-and-teeth man". He says he sometimes looks in the mirror and thinks: "Look at that tired old boat race." And it's true that, with his pink skin, squinting eyes and shock of vanilla hair, there is something of the naked mole rat about him.
But this week the largely unsung hero of British screen acting was cited by Daniel Day-Lewis as one of the biggest influences on his career. In an article for Port magazine, Day-Lewis ranked Davis alongside Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Marlon Brando: the actor's 1977 turn in Gotcha, he wrote, had made a "deep impression". Day-Lewis has won three Oscars (Lincoln, There Will Be Blood,...
- 3/13/2013
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Forgotten Classics is a recurring feature, a look back and reflection on great motion pictures that often slip under the radar and become under-appreciated, ignored relics of a previous era or simply damned by lack of face time in the spotlight.
The Long Good Friday
Directed by John Mackenzie
Screenplay by Barrie Keeffe
UK, 1980
The urge to remain topical while discussing the past can quite easily be met when it comes to film, such is the sliding wall of time, faces and names that retains connection. But sometimes such links aren’t of the happy variety, such as the case here. Bob Hoskins, renowned actor of burly, diminutive disposition and with occasionally overlooked raw talent and expressive style as a thespian, last month retired from the acting business after it emerged he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder made famous by Michael J Fox’s diagnosis in the 1990’s.
The Long Good Friday
Directed by John Mackenzie
Screenplay by Barrie Keeffe
UK, 1980
The urge to remain topical while discussing the past can quite easily be met when it comes to film, such is the sliding wall of time, faces and names that retains connection. But sometimes such links aren’t of the happy variety, such as the case here. Bob Hoskins, renowned actor of burly, diminutive disposition and with occasionally overlooked raw talent and expressive style as a thespian, last month retired from the acting business after it emerged he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder made famous by Michael J Fox’s diagnosis in the 1990’s.
- 9/2/2012
- by Scott Patterson
- SoundOnSight
Having brought Gollum and King Kong to life, Andy Serkis was the obvious choice for a clever chimpanzee who leads a gang of imprisoned apes to freedom in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.
Although his character has little to say, there's already a buzz around his outstanding performance. Not to mention the film, which has topped the box office for two weeks in the States, has been the first UK release in a month to dethrone Harry Potter from the top spot.
The movie stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist using apes to test a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that's turned his father into a helpless old man. When a chimpanzee who's showing promising signs of advanced skills suddenly goes berserk and is put down, Will's left looking after its tiny baby, who he names Caesar.
Unbeknown to Will, the baby chimp's mum passed on...
Although his character has little to say, there's already a buzz around his outstanding performance. Not to mention the film, which has topped the box office for two weeks in the States, has been the first UK release in a month to dethrone Harry Potter from the top spot.
The movie stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist using apes to test a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that's turned his father into a helpless old man. When a chimpanzee who's showing promising signs of advanced skills suddenly goes berserk and is put down, Will's left looking after its tiny baby, who he names Caesar.
Unbeknown to Will, the baby chimp's mum passed on...
- 8/19/2011
- by David Bentley
- The Geek Files
Film director whose career took him from gritty television plays to Hollywood thrillers
People who talk wistfully of the "golden age of British television drama" are often accused of viewing the past through the rosy lens of nostalgia. But a clear-eyed examination of the era proves that such slots as the BBC's The Wednesday Play (1964-70) and Play for Today (1970-84) were unsurpassed as breeding grounds for talented directors such as John Mackenzie, who has died after a stroke aged 83. Like most of his contemporaries who gained their experience by working in television – Philip Saville, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Ken Loach, Mike Newell, Michael Apted and Mike Leigh – Mackenzie went on to make feature films, notably his superb London-based gangster picture, The Long Good Friday (1980).
The television background trained Mackenzie to work quickly on taut and realistic narratives, within a tight budget and on schedule. One of his first jobs was as...
People who talk wistfully of the "golden age of British television drama" are often accused of viewing the past through the rosy lens of nostalgia. But a clear-eyed examination of the era proves that such slots as the BBC's The Wednesday Play (1964-70) and Play for Today (1970-84) were unsurpassed as breeding grounds for talented directors such as John Mackenzie, who has died after a stroke aged 83. Like most of his contemporaries who gained their experience by working in television – Philip Saville, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Ken Loach, Mike Newell, Michael Apted and Mike Leigh – Mackenzie went on to make feature films, notably his superb London-based gangster picture, The Long Good Friday (1980).
The television background trained Mackenzie to work quickly on taut and realistic narratives, within a tight budget and on schedule. One of his first jobs was as...
- 6/12/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
"People who talk wistfully of the 'golden age of British television drama' are often accused of viewing the past through the rosy lens of nostalgia," writes Ronald Bergan in the Guardian. "But a clear-eyed examination of the era proves that such slots as the BBC's The Wednesday Play (1964-70) and Play for Today (1970-84) were unsurpassed as breeding grounds for talented directors such as John Mackenzie, who has died after a stroke aged 83. Like most of his contemporaries who gained their experience by working in television — Philip Saville, Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Ken Loach, Mike Newell, Michael Apted and Mike Leigh — Mackenzie went on to make feature films, notably his superb London-based gangster picture, The Long Good Friday (1980)."
Paul Gallagher has posted a documentary on the making of The Long Good Friday at Dangerous Minds, preceded by a deeply appreciative introduction: "It started when producer Barry Hanson asked writer Barrie Keefe, one night,...
Paul Gallagher has posted a documentary on the making of The Long Good Friday at Dangerous Minds, preceded by a deeply appreciative introduction: "It started when producer Barry Hanson asked writer Barrie Keefe, one night,...
- 6/12/2011
- MUBI
'National treasure'; 'sexy at 60' – the cliches continue to pile up around Helen Mirren's feet. But, as she tells Ryan Gilbey, she's been battling against being stereotyped for her entire career
Helen Mirren first gave an interview to this newspaper 42 years ago. All things considered, it could have gone better. The article was headlined "I've been sexy-looking since I was 14." Three days later she wrote to the letters page. "It is a shame that being interviewed by the Guardian should turn out to be such a miserable experience." Yes, she says with a rueful smile, she well remembers that interview, and its emphasis on her ambition and her looks. ("Miss Mirren is still widely regarded as a sexy actress.") She's foggier on the matter of her correspondence, but chuckles when I read out the sign-off line, in which she laments that the grotesque image of herself presented...
Helen Mirren first gave an interview to this newspaper 42 years ago. All things considered, it could have gone better. The article was headlined "I've been sexy-looking since I was 14." Three days later she wrote to the letters page. "It is a shame that being interviewed by the Guardian should turn out to be such a miserable experience." Yes, she says with a rueful smile, she well remembers that interview, and its emphasis on her ambition and her looks. ("Miss Mirren is still widely regarded as a sexy actress.") She's foggier on the matter of her correspondence, but chuckles when I read out the sign-off line, in which she laments that the grotesque image of herself presented...
- 3/4/2011
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Screening Tonight at 9:30Pm, as part of the ActNow New Voices In Black Cinema Film Festival, at BAMCinematek here in Brooklyn, NY, is the riveting racial drama Sus, starring Clint Dyer.
I’ll be introducing the film and its star, so obviously I will be there! A Q&A with Clint, moderated by Christopher Farley of the Wall Street Journal, will follow the screening.
You’re all Strongly encouraged to attend this screening, if you can. It’s an incredible, powerful film, very topical and relatable, especially for those of us who’ve been victims of wrongful police harassment, or know of people who’ve been victims. And, who hasn’t and/or doesn’t, right?
The acting is stellar across the board, it’s beautiful shot and edited, gritty, raw, engaging from beginning to end.
It’s a film you likely won’t get to see anywhere else after this,...
I’ll be introducing the film and its star, so obviously I will be there! A Q&A with Clint, moderated by Christopher Farley of the Wall Street Journal, will follow the screening.
You’re all Strongly encouraged to attend this screening, if you can. It’s an incredible, powerful film, very topical and relatable, especially for those of us who’ve been victims of wrongful police harassment, or know of people who’ve been victims. And, who hasn’t and/or doesn’t, right?
The acting is stellar across the board, it’s beautiful shot and edited, gritty, raw, engaging from beginning to end.
It’s a film you likely won’t get to see anywhere else after this,...
- 2/7/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
Continuing with previews of noteworthy films scheduled to screen at the upcoming Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles (Paff), from Feb 16 to the 23rd…
As I said in my last Paff profile, several of these films have previously been covered well on this blog, like Sus!
MsWOO profiled this Brit flick back in March last year Here; about 4 months later, I attended a screening of it, and posted a review on this blog which you can read Here.
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you are planning to attend the Paff this year, and can only see a handful of films, it should be on your list of films to see! You’ll be glad you did!
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe,...
As I said in my last Paff profile, several of these films have previously been covered well on this blog, like Sus!
MsWOO profiled this Brit flick back in March last year Here; about 4 months later, I attended a screening of it, and posted a review on this blog which you can read Here.
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you are planning to attend the Paff this year, and can only see a handful of films, it should be on your list of films to see! You’ll be glad you did!
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe,...
- 2/3/2011
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
As most of you know, Tambay and I are curators of an independent Black film series that has recently expanded into a five-day festival as well – ActNow: New Voices in Black Cinema.
The festival itself starts next Friday, February 4th and runs until Wednesday February 9th, and ActNow is proud to show the acclaimed British film Sus, starring (and produced by) Clint Dyer, directed by Robert Heath and written by acclaimed dramatist Barrie Keeffe. Tambay reviewed it here months ago.
With most of our lineup, ActNow’s blogger Tanya St. Louis has interviewed the directors or producers of the films, and here is her brief interview with Mr. Clint Dyer himself.
Clint Dyer
Please read it below and help spread the word about this important new film festival.
Tanya St. Louis: Clint Dyer is the actor and producer of the film Sus and I was lucky enough to ask him a few questions about Sus.
The festival itself starts next Friday, February 4th and runs until Wednesday February 9th, and ActNow is proud to show the acclaimed British film Sus, starring (and produced by) Clint Dyer, directed by Robert Heath and written by acclaimed dramatist Barrie Keeffe. Tambay reviewed it here months ago.
With most of our lineup, ActNow’s blogger Tanya St. Louis has interviewed the directors or producers of the films, and here is her brief interview with Mr. Clint Dyer himself.
Clint Dyer
Please read it below and help spread the word about this important new film festival.
Tanya St. Louis: Clint Dyer is the actor and producer of the film Sus and I was lucky enough to ask him a few questions about Sus.
- 2/2/2011
- by Curtis the Media Man
- ShadowAndAct
MsWOO profiled this Brit flick, titled Sus, back in March, earlier this year Here; about 4 months later, I attended a screening of it, and reviewed it on this blog which you can read Here.
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you live in New York, you could dig it too, if you attend either of this weekend’s screenings of it at Urban World Film Festival.
Your first opportunity will come tomorrow night, September 17th, at 9:15Pm, at the AMC on West 34th Street and 8th ave.
Your second and last chance will happen on Sunday afternoon, September 19th, at 1:30Pm, at the same location.
Click Here for ticket purchase info.
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe, and is directed by Robert Heath.
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you live in New York, you could dig it too, if you attend either of this weekend’s screenings of it at Urban World Film Festival.
Your first opportunity will come tomorrow night, September 17th, at 9:15Pm, at the AMC on West 34th Street and 8th ave.
Your second and last chance will happen on Sunday afternoon, September 19th, at 1:30Pm, at the same location.
Click Here for ticket purchase info.
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe, and is directed by Robert Heath.
- 9/16/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
MsWOO profiled this Brit flick, titled Sus, back in March, earlier this year Here; about 4 months later, I attended a screening of it, and reviewed it on this blog which you can read Here.
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you live in Chicago, you could dig it too, if you attend tonight’s screening of it at Ice Theaters, brought to you by Black World Cinema.
The lights go down at 7Pm.
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe, and is directed by Robert Heath. Clint Dyer stars, in a distinguished performance! Be there if you can to see this. You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s its trailer as a refresher:...
In short, Sus is an engrossing drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979 London, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. I dug it, and if you live in Chicago, you could dig it too, if you attend tonight’s screening of it at Ice Theaters, brought to you by Black World Cinema.
The lights go down at 7Pm.
Sus is based on the play by Barrie Keefe, and is directed by Robert Heath. Clint Dyer stars, in a distinguished performance! Be there if you can to see this. You’ll be glad you did!
Here’s its trailer as a refresher:...
- 9/2/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
MsWOO profiled this Brit flick, titled Sus, back in March, earlier this year. I won’t rehash; you can read that post Here for all the details. But in short, Sus is a riveting drama, set entirely in an interrogation room, in 1979, in which a pair of racist cops question a black murder suspect. It’s been described as “a devastating critique of institutional racism.” Read on below…
I just learned that the star of the film, Clint Dyer (who plays the black murder suspect) is right here in New York, to present a screening of the film at the Tribeca Screening Room at the Tribeca Film Centre. And you’re all invited, if you can make it. There’s no charge. But you have to RSVP at [email protected].
The screening is tomorrow, Thursday night (July 15), at 5pm, at, Tribeca Film Centre, 375 Greenwich Street (between North Moore St...
I just learned that the star of the film, Clint Dyer (who plays the black murder suspect) is right here in New York, to present a screening of the film at the Tribeca Screening Room at the Tribeca Film Centre. And you’re all invited, if you can make it. There’s no charge. But you have to RSVP at [email protected].
The screening is tomorrow, Thursday night (July 15), at 5pm, at, Tribeca Film Centre, 375 Greenwich Street (between North Moore St...
- 7/14/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
There's a lot of righteous anger in this new film from the writer of The Long Good Friday, even if it is very stagey, writes Peter Bradshaw
After the jollity of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, and those Tory/Labour Audi Quattro ad campaigns, perhaps it's as well to remember the sheer unfunny nastiness of what was once allowed to happen in police cells. The 1979 play Sus by Barrie Keeffe, legendary screenwriter of The Long Good Friday, has now been adapted by Keeffe himself for the screen, reviving memories of a world before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and before people could video police misdemeanours in the street on their mobile phones. A couple of racist coppers bring in a black man for questioning on election night with what they think are grounds for suspicion on a murder charge. But owing to a sinister mix of paranoia and triumphalism,...
After the jollity of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, and those Tory/Labour Audi Quattro ad campaigns, perhaps it's as well to remember the sheer unfunny nastiness of what was once allowed to happen in police cells. The 1979 play Sus by Barrie Keeffe, legendary screenwriter of The Long Good Friday, has now been adapted by Keeffe himself for the screen, reviving memories of a world before the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and before people could video police misdemeanours in the street on their mobile phones. A couple of racist coppers bring in a black man for questioning on election night with what they think are grounds for suspicion on a murder charge. But owing to a sinister mix of paranoia and triumphalism,...
- 5/6/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
On election day 2010, Film Weekly goes back to election night 1979 with Sus, The Long Good Friday scriptwriter Barry Keefe's first film in 30 years. We also take you back to 1986 with John Cusack's Hot Tub Time Machine, and football fever in 1990 with James Erskine's World Cup documentary One Night in Turin.
But first, a film that's bang up to date with the state we're in: Chris Morris's Four Lions, which tells the tale of a secret cell of British-born Muslim extremists and their hapless attempts to create havoc at the London marathon with bombs, fury and furry animal suits. Musician and actor Riz Ahmed tells Jason Solomons about playing a family man turned wannabe suicide bomber, running in a Honey Monster suit and why the film is not poking fun at terrorism.
Next, Xan Brooks joins in to review the week's key films: the deceptively radical Four Lions,...
But first, a film that's bang up to date with the state we're in: Chris Morris's Four Lions, which tells the tale of a secret cell of British-born Muslim extremists and their hapless attempts to create havoc at the London marathon with bombs, fury and furry animal suits. Musician and actor Riz Ahmed tells Jason Solomons about playing a family man turned wannabe suicide bomber, running in a Honey Monster suit and why the film is not poking fun at terrorism.
Next, Xan Brooks joins in to review the week's key films: the deceptively radical Four Lions,...
- 5/6/2010
- by Jason Solomons, Xan Brooks, Jason Phipps, Observer
- The Guardian - Film News
In my memories of long-ago days as a reporter in east London one of the friends who stands out is Barrie Keeffe. He worked for the Stratford Express and we were fellow journalism students - if we felt like turning up - at the West Ham College of Further Education.
He went on to write two novels, several well-received plays - such as Gotcha and Only A Game - and, most famously, the script of that iconic 1981 movie The Long Good Friday.
In an online interview last week, Barrie revealed that it was touch and go whether the film was released because its financiers, the Lew Grade Organisation, believed it to be Ira propaganda.
They couldn't show it in their cinemas, they explained, because they were afraid that the Ira would blow them up.
So Barrie asked someone in the organisation why the Ira would want to do that if the film was Ira propaganda?...
He went on to write two novels, several well-received plays - such as Gotcha and Only A Game - and, most famously, the script of that iconic 1981 movie The Long Good Friday.
In an online interview last week, Barrie revealed that it was touch and go whether the film was released because its financiers, the Lew Grade Organisation, believed it to be Ira propaganda.
They couldn't show it in their cinemas, they explained, because they were afraid that the Ira would blow them up.
So Barrie asked someone in the organisation why the Ira would want to do that if the film was Ira propaganda?...
- 4/30/2010
- by Roy Greenslade
- The Guardian - Film News
I was reminded by an email I received today of an enquiry I received over the weekend from a regular S&A reader about an upcoming British film called Sus. I’d never heard of the film before last Saturday and could only assume that it was about the so called “sus laws” which were used prolifically in the 1970s and allowed policemen to stop and search, and even arrest, people they suspected were about to commit a crime. These sus laws were used most heavily, and randomly, against black men in the 70s, causing much discord between Black British communities and the police, and it wasn’t until riots in Bristol, London and Liverpool in 1981 that these laws were dropped.
Turns out I was right. And in my online search for information about the film, it turns out that the screenplay was written by Barrie Keeffe, who penned the seminal 1980 British mobster flick,...
Turns out I was right. And in my online search for information about the film, it turns out that the screenplay was written by Barrie Keeffe, who penned the seminal 1980 British mobster flick,...
- 3/11/2010
- by MsWOO
- ShadowAndAct
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