Bob Hoskins stars as a gangster whose empire is crumbling Certificate: 18 This British gangster drama has a superb cast and is still highly regarded today as one of the best British films of all time. It's quintessentially English, with Bob Hoskins as gravelly Londoner Harold Shand - a ruthless crime boss with big ideas to build a legitimate empire out of London's then depressed and rotting Docklands area. He wants to partner with the New York mafia, but the IRA have Shand in their sights and all hell breaks loose. Helen Mirren stars alongside Hoskins as Shand's girlfriend Victoria. Mirren recalled in 2021 how she fought to make Victoria a more interesting character than 'the girlfriend in the corner' and said of Hoskins (who died in 2014), 'Bob was just electrifying. It was the role of his life. That feeling of being a bomb that's about to go off. In reality he wasn't terrifying, but he did have all that energy. He was an incredibly generous and kind guy.' Hoskins was nominated for a BAFTA but didn't win - although he did for Mona Lisa in 1986. (114 minutes)