In the latest installment of our Spotlight series, Criterion curatorial director Ashley Clark introduces the British crime-film classic that made Bob Hoskins an instant star.

Directed by John Mackenzie • 1980 • United Kingdom
Starring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King

A combustible performance from Bob Hoskins is the fuse that lights this underworld saga, a landmark of British crime cinema. Hoskins plays Harold Shand, an ambitious London mobster who, just as he at...