Ian-Hart Movie Reviews
Great series. I saw it on PBS twice
great spy series-none better
It is fantastic!
Great series. I saw it on PBS twiceOriginal
Episode # Prod # Air Date Episode Title
____ _______ ________ ___________ ___________________________________________
1. 1- 1 5 Sep 83 An Affair with a Married Woman (90 min)
2. 1- 2 7 Sep 83 Prelude to War
3. 1- 3 14 Sep 83 The Visiting Fireman
4. 1- 4 21 Sep 83 Anna
5. 1- 5 28 Sep 83 Dreadnoughts and Crosses
6. 1- 6 5 Oct 83 Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses
7. 1- 7 12 Oct 83 Gambit
8. 1- 8 19 Oct 83 Endgame
9. 1- 9 26 Oct 83 After Moscow
10. 1-10 2 Nov 83 The Trust
11. 1-11 9 Nov 83 The Last Journey
12. 1-12 16 Nov 83 Shutdown
Sidney Reilly / King of all Spies
Great series. I saw it on PBS twice....
Great series. I saw it on PBS twiceOriginal
Episode # Prod # Air Date Episode Title
____ _______ ________ ___________ ___________________________________________
1. 1- 1 5 Sep 83 An Affair with a Married Woman (90 min)
2. 1- 2 7 Sep 83 Prelude to War
3. 1- 3 14 Sep 83 The Visiting Fireman
4. 1- 4 21 Sep 83 Anna
5. 1- 5 28 Sep 83 Dreadnoughts and Crosses
6. 1- 6 5 Oct 83 Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses
7. 1- 7 12 Oct 83 Gambit
8. 1- 8 19 Oct 83 Endgame
9. 1- 9 26 Oct 83 After Moscow
10. 1-10 2 Nov 83 The Trust
11. 1-11 9 Nov 83 The Last Journey
12. 1-12 16 Nov 83 Shutdown
Ken Loach is very accurate historically and politically.
PASSION & COMPASSION IN A BITTER WAR"Land & Freedom" beautifully tells the story of an English communist worker, who like hundreds of other young men and women from around the world, goes to Spain to fight for his principles. Yet, his experiences there teaches him a bitter lesson in political reality: those seeking absolute power, regardless of what they call themselves, are the real enemies of freedom.
This film was clearly inspired by "Homage To Catalonia," George Orwell's chronicle of his own experiences in the Spanish Civil War. Like Orwell, the film's hero joins the militia of the POUM(Spain's anti-Stalinist Marxist-Leninist party)and comes to witness first-hand the betrayal of the anti-facist struggle by the Stalinist forces.
All in all, this is a well-researched and well-written story offered up with superb acting amd directing. It was especially poignant for me as I had the privilege of knowing folks who served in the militias of the CNT-FAI, the Spanish anarchist-syndicalist labor movement. This film brought to mind their sacrifice and heroism in the face of overwhelming odds.
"Land & Freedom" is a film everyone should see.
Similitude with homage to CatalunyaThe only small critizism to the writer of Land and Freedom is that it follows too close the steps of George Orwell in its masterfull Homage to Catalunya and the adventures of the hero of Land and Freedom are too similar to the autobiographic adventures of Orwell, also it oversimplifies the idealism of the social reforms that the anarkists and trotzkists were performing in the valleys of Aragon and the Ebro, disregarding the violence that sometimes fell upon their opositionists or presumed landlords. It was a revolution and as such it had its share of idealists , martirs and also criminals and violentists.
But anyhow the movie is a masterpiece.
A gentle story, good for a relaxing evening
A movie with heart and fun for Anglophiles and country folkMovies of similar beauty, heart, and soul include Waking Ned Devine, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Shakespeare in Love, and The Secret of Roan Inish. I'm now buying a copy to give my mother as a gift, and look forward to watching it on our home theater system. A movie of the people, with quiet in-jokes between English and Welsh that seem to elude the Ugly AmeriMalkin.
Spend a couple of hours with the people of Wales, and feel your heart expand with the love and care and fun of this fine film. There aren't enough of such gems available!
Is it a hill? Is it a mountain? No, it's a great comedy!So what happens in this epic story about the Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain? On Sunday, 17 June 1917, cartographers/retired army officers Reginald Anson and George Garrad come to a Welsh village to measure Ffynnon Garw to determine whether it's a hill or a mountain. Their presence causes anxiety among the villagers, who are on pins and needles when they hear the British standard of a mountain defined as anything over 1,000 feet. The Britons stay at the inn of the cheeky Morgan the Goat (as opposed to Morgan the Sheep?), intending to leave after their task is completed. However, guess what height Ffynnon Garw is less than?
The villagers put things in motion with two objectives: one, to make sure their beloved Ffynnon Garw becomes a mountain, and two, to extend the Britons' stay, such as something involving two pounds of sugar and a gas tank, and a knife. The first objective forms the action of the movie, villagers moving dirt from their gardens bucket by bucket, tray by tray, through toil, sweat, and sacrifice, and placing them...guess where? And excuses for delay? The war--take note of the date listed above.
There's also a conflict between the religiously fervent Reverend Jones and Morgan, as the latter doesn't go to church and plies alcohol. When Jones asks Morgan, "Have you no shame?" Morgan flippantly pats himself down and says "No, can't think where I left it" and walks off, leaving Jones fuming.
During the movie, we see that the younger Anson is more sympathetic and humble to the villagers, while the stout and older Garrod is more logical, arrogant, and looks down on the Welsh. A typical British attitude during the period of Empire there. Anson is also taken by Betty, a maid who comes to help Morgan tend bar and also to charm the cartographers. It all goes back to Anglo-Welsh relations. The Welsh have had a rough time of it all, like the Irish. Those who survive the trenches of France return to labour only to die for coal. Sad times indeed for the Welsh.
The whole point of the movie is not just the standard height set for a mountain, but Welsh pride, of national identity. For the Welsh, all they have for monuments are mountains, no pyramids or temples. And if Ffynonn Garw isn't a mountain, then Anson might as well redraw the map and put the Welsh in England. After all, as Morgan tells Betty, "Maps are the undergarments of a country, they give shape to continents." And what's in a measurement anyway? As Morgan says, "Do we call a short man a boy or a small cat a dog? No! This is a mountain, our mountain, and if it needs to be a thousand feet, then by God let's make it a thousand feet!E In other words, it's all relative.
The concept of telling the village people with identical surnames by their occupation or personality is ingenious and charming, so we can tell the difference between Williams the Petroleum from Williams the Deaf. Some are more telling, as in the case of Johnny Shellshock. And there are the Thomas Twps: Thomas Twp and his brother Thomas Twp 2. As one of them says, "we've no learning than most, so people say we're twp, but we're not twp as to not know that we're twp." Right, that makes sense.
All the leads are splendid, particularly Colm Meaney as Morgan the Goat and Kenneth Griffith as the strict but passionate Reverend Jones. And Hugh Grant (Anson) has another charming leading lady, Tara Fitzgerald (Betty), who ranks up there with Andie McDowell (Four Weddings) and Martine McCutcheon (Love Actually). She really has a winning smile and saucy brogue that makes her character lovable. And darn if Ian Hart keeps popping up, be it Harry Potter, Michael Collins, and now here, as Johnny Shellshock.
A wonderful little movie with a wonderful Celtic score, as the ideas and themes that emerge make this more than a one-joke movie. And for you boyos, this was written by Hamlow_the_Writer_Who_Went_Up_A_Paragraph_But_Climbed_Down_A_Review.
Good but slightly flawed bio on "The Big Fella"The movie begins with 29 April 1916, the last day of the Easter Rising, where the undermanned Irish surrendered to superior British artillery. Collins and his friend Harry Boland are captured and fortunately avoid the fate of others like Sean MacDiarmida, and socialist intellectual James Connolly, the latter who is badly wounded and is executed strapped to a chair. Eamon de Valera, future president of Ireland many times over, has his sentence commuted, partially because of his New York birth.
Collins learns from the mistakes of the Rising and with the help of Harry and Joe O'Reilly, sets about creating a band of assassins who use intelligence, wear the uniform as the ordinary man on the street, and the element of surprise to gun down members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and G-Men. Both groups are considered collaborators with the British, traitors to Irish independence. Before long, British elite police auxiliaries, the notoriously brutal Black and Tans are sent in, and they too become targets for the IRA.
There is a standout scene reminiscent of the final scene in the Godfather, where Collins' gunmen take out members of the Cairo Gang, British intelligence specialists who operated in the Middle East and were sent to deal with the IRA, quickly followed by the infamous massacre at a football game, where 14 people, including footballer Sam Hogan, were gunned down by the British searching for Sinn Feiners, and over a hundred wounded. Bloody Sunday indeed! While not condoning the British treatment of the Irish, it shows how retaliatory violence leads to the deaths of the innocent. But as history has shown, there was no other way for the Irish, except by fighting.
Many aspects or themes from Tim Pat Coogan's biography on Collins have either been altered or not emphasized, which is understandable for a movie with limited running time. For example, Ned Broy, the G-man who secretly helps Collins, survived instead of being tortured and killed. Three Irishmen were tortured and executed the day before, and Jordan clearly decided to use their deaths and Broy as a composite character. Another is the band of assassins Collins uses to carry out his hits. Coogan's book refers to them as the Twelve Apostles, which using a Christ-like metaphor to Collins as the saviour of Ireland. That isn't alluded to here, which is unfortunate. And the action slows down in the final quarter hour, a contrast to the first two hours.
The leads do well, Liam Neeson (Collins), Aidan Quinn (Harry Boland), Julia Roberts (Kitty), Alan Rickman (de Valera), and Ian Hart (Joe O'Reilly). The latter two would be reunited in the first Harry Potter movie as Professor Snape and Quirrel, respectively.
Those who know the story of Michael Collins will know how the story ends, but there is cutting back and forth of scenes of Kitty trying out her wedding dress to the final ambush, with Sinead O'Connor haunting rendition of the traditional "She Moved From The Fair" making it all the more poignant. And de Valera is portrayed as someone who wants independence but with strategic violence, not the bloodbath Collins spreads, and but in the end, a Machiavellian manipulator. Indeed, he did say that Collins legacy came at the cost of de Valera's own standing, and that is definitely true in this movie.
Jordan and Neeson's crowning achievements.Neeson was simply born to play this role. An actor of tremendous power, Neeson is here given a role that's multi-dimensional enough for him to show his formidable chops. The Michael Collins character is alternately a boyish, dashing ladykiller and a tactician with a steel will, and just watching Neeson tackle the character's inner and outer demons is worth the price of the movie. He indeed projects the power and charisma of a great leader in his "our refusal" speech. There's more -- Aidan Quinn gives his best performance as friend-turned-enemy Harry Boland; Alan Rickman utilizes his deadpan comic timing and hidden deviance to perfection as Eamon de Valera; Stephen Rea is great as usual as English traitor Ned Broy. The one weak link is of course Julia Roberts, as Harry and Mick's love interest Kitty, with her bad Irish accent and vacant presence. She's paralyzed by the scope of the historical drama and comes off stiff as a result, injecting the character with neither warmth nor power, and none of her signature girlish exuberance. However, this was one case where the filmmaker's sacrifice of a character was to the benefit of the film. In directing the film, Jordan sliced down Kitty's importance and makes her mostly a footnote; the result is that we are now free to interpret Mick and Harry's split as a philosophical and political one, rather than the ol' romantic triangle. And for the better.
The cinematography is terrific, and the script ranks among my favourite of the '90s. Jordan is deeply tapped into the behaviour and concerns of these characters, and he fills every minute with humour, danger, urgency, and personality. The writing translates onto the screen beautifully, giving the audience an insight into not only the sociological scape of the film, but also the psychological. And the pacing and editing never let up -- from the perfectly chosen "in medias res" opening to the brilliant "Bloody Sunday" assassination montage.
A great neglected classic.
Absolutely stunning."Michael Collins" is the story of a member of the Irish Republican Army who succeeded in leading Ireland to independence, but at great cost. A participant in the famous "Easter Rising" of 1916, Collins was arrested and became a leader in the Irish independence movement. Collins was an extraordinary leader who devised guerilla warfare tactics to fight the English army that would later be used by the Viet Cong, and daringly rescued Eamon DeValeria, the man who would become the leader of Ireland and whom many believe was responsible for Collins death. Collins also negotiated the treaty which ended 700 years of English rule in Ireland, and as Commander of the Irish Provisional Army was forced to fight against guerillas opposed to the treaty (which left the northern six counties a part of England and delayed full independence). The irony was that Collins was forced to hunt down and kill the very men he trained. Many in Ireland look on Collins as a hero, others as a traitor. His death is, like the Kennedy assassination, a great controversy- nobody has the faintest idea who killed him. As historical figures go, few are as controversial or as romanticized as Collins. The film covers the 1916-1922 era of Collins life, from the Easter Rising until his death.
Writer & Director Neil Jordan clearly has passion for the project and it shows. Collins is a real hero to Jordan and the director goes to great lengths to be as accurate as possible and to show us Collins in action.
Perhaps Jordan's best move was in casting Liam Neeson in the part. Neeson is a very talented actor who delivers a terrific performance in the title role. Neeson's Collins is firey, angry, passionate, hates war, longs for peace. It is hard to imagine anyone else in the part.
The rest of the cast is good- Alan Rickman is impressive as Eamon DeValeria, a difficult role to play given how much DeValeria and Collins are at odds with one another in the end. Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, and Stephen Rea are all also good in their supporting roles as Collins best friend, the woman the two men compete for, and the English agent who provides Collins with critical intelligence.
In terms of location and cinematography, it is hard to do better than this. Jordan has painstakingly recreated Ireland & Dublin of 1916-1922, and it looks stunningly beautiful and stunningly realistic. One actually feels like you are seeing the real Ireland of the early part of the century instead of a recreation.
"Michael Collins" is a wonderful film that history lovers and people fascinated with Ireland will adore. Highly recommended.
Good but slightly flawed bio on "The Big Fella"The movie begins with 29 April 1916, the last day of the Easter Rising, where the undermanned Irish surrendered to superior British artillery. Collins and his friend Harry Boland are captured and fortunately avoid the fate of others like Sean MacDiarmida, and socialist intellectual James Connolly, the latter who is badly wounded and is executed strapped to a chair. Eamon de Valera, future president of Ireland many times over, has his sentence commuted, partially because of his New York birth.
Collins learns from the mistakes of the Rising and with the help of Harry and Joe O'Reilly, sets about creating a band of assassins who use intelligence, wear the uniform as the ordinary man on the street, and the element of surprise to gun down members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and G-Men. Both groups are considered collaborators with the British, traitors to Irish independence. Before long, British elite police auxiliaries, the notoriously brutal Black and Tans are sent in, and they too become targets for the IRA.
There is a standout scene reminiscent of the final scene in the Godfather, where Collins' gunmen take out members of the Cairo Gang, British intelligence specialists who operated in the Middle East and were sent to deal with the IRA, quickly followed by the infamous massacre at a football game, where 14 people, including footballer Sam Hogan, were gunned down by the British searching for Sinn Feiners, and over a hundred wounded. Bloody Sunday indeed! While not condoning the British treatment of the Irish, it shows how retaliatory violence leads to the deaths of the innocent. But as history has shown, there was no other way for the Irish, except by fighting.
Many aspects or themes from Tim Pat Coogan's biography on Collins have either been altered or not emphasized, which is understandable for a movie with limited running time. For example, Ned Broy, the G-man who secretly helps Collins, survived instead of being tortured and killed. Three Irishmen were tortured and executed the day before, and Jordan clearly decided to use their deaths and Broy as a composite character. Another is the band of assassins Collins uses to carry out his hits. Coogan's book refers to them as the Twelve Apostles, which using a Christ-like metaphor to Collins as the saviour of Ireland. That isn't alluded to here, which is unfortunate. And the action slows down in the final quarter hour, a contrast to the first two hours.
The leads do well, Liam Neeson (Collins), Aidan Quinn (Harry Boland), Julia Roberts (Kitty), Alan Rickman (de Valera), and Ian Hart (Joe O'Reilly). The latter two would be reunited in the first Harry Potter movie as Professor Snape and Quirrel, respectively.
Those who know the story of Michael Collins will know how the story ends, but there is cutting back and forth of scenes of Kitty trying out her wedding dress to the final ambush, with Sinead O'Connor haunting rendition of the traditional "She Moved From The Fair" making it all the more poignant. And de Valera is portrayed as someone who wants independence but with strategic violence, not the bloodbath Collins spreads, and but in the end, a Machiavellian manipulator. Indeed, he did say that Collins legacy came at the cost of de Valera's own standing, and that is definitely true in this movie.
Jordan and Neeson's crowning achievements.Neeson was simply born to play this role. An actor of tremendous power, Neeson is here given a role that's multi-dimensional enough for him to show his formidable chops. The Michael Collins character is alternately a boyish, dashing ladykiller and a tactician with a steel will, and just watching Neeson tackle the character's inner and outer demons is worth the price of the movie. He indeed projects the power and charisma of a great leader in his "our refusal" speech. There's more -- Aidan Quinn gives his best performance as friend-turned-enemy Harry Boland; Alan Rickman utilizes his deadpan comic timing and hidden deviance to perfection as Eamon de Valera; Stephen Rea is great as usual as English traitor Ned Broy. The one weak link is of course Julia Roberts, as Harry and Mick's love interest Kitty, with her bad Irish accent and vacant presence. She's paralyzed by the scope of the historical drama and comes off stiff as a result, injecting the character with neither warmth nor power, and none of her signature girlish exuberance. However, this was one case where the filmmaker's sacrifice of a character was to the benefit of the film. In directing the film, Jordan sliced down Kitty's importance and makes her mostly a footnote; the result is that we are now free to interpret Mick and Harry's split as a philosophical and political one, rather than the ol' romantic triangle. And for the better.
The cinematography is terrific, and the script ranks among my favourite of the '90s. Jordan is deeply tapped into the behaviour and concerns of these characters, and he fills every minute with humour, danger, urgency, and personality. The writing translates onto the screen beautifully, giving the audience an insight into not only the sociological scape of the film, but also the psychological. And the pacing and editing never let up -- from the perfectly chosen "in medias res" opening to the brilliant "Bloody Sunday" assassination montage.
A great neglected classic.
Absolutely stunning."Michael Collins" is the story of a member of the Irish Republican Army who succeeded in leading Ireland to independence, but at great cost. A participant in the famous "Easter Rising" of 1916, Collins was arrested and became a leader in the Irish independence movement. Collins was an extraordinary leader who devised guerilla warfare tactics to fight the English army that would later be used by the Viet Cong, and daringly rescued Eamon DeValeria, the man who would become the leader of Ireland and whom many believe was responsible for Collins death. Collins also negotiated the treaty which ended 700 years of English rule in Ireland, and as Commander of the Irish Provisional Army was forced to fight against guerillas opposed to the treaty (which left the northern six counties a part of England and delayed full independence). The irony was that Collins was forced to hunt down and kill the very men he trained. Many in Ireland look on Collins as a hero, others as a traitor. His death is, like the Kennedy assassination, a great controversy- nobody has the faintest idea who killed him. As historical figures go, few are as controversial or as romanticized as Collins. The film covers the 1916-1922 era of Collins life, from the Easter Rising until his death.
Writer & Director Neil Jordan clearly has passion for the project and it shows. Collins is a real hero to Jordan and the director goes to great lengths to be as accurate as possible and to show us Collins in action.
Perhaps Jordan's best move was in casting Liam Neeson in the part. Neeson is a very talented actor who delivers a terrific performance in the title role. Neeson's Collins is firey, angry, passionate, hates war, longs for peace. It is hard to imagine anyone else in the part.
The rest of the cast is good- Alan Rickman is impressive as Eamon DeValeria, a difficult role to play given how much DeValeria and Collins are at odds with one another in the end. Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, and Stephen Rea are all also good in their supporting roles as Collins best friend, the woman the two men compete for, and the English agent who provides Collins with critical intelligence.
In terms of location and cinematography, it is hard to do better than this. Jordan has painstakingly recreated Ireland & Dublin of 1916-1922, and it looks stunningly beautiful and stunningly realistic. One actually feels like you are seeing the real Ireland of the early part of the century instead of a recreation.
"Michael Collins" is a wonderful film that history lovers and people fascinated with Ireland will adore. Highly recommended.
Good but slightly flawed bio on "The Big Fella"The movie begins with 29 April 1916, the last day of the Easter Rising, where the undermanned Irish surrendered to superior British artillery. Collins and his friend Harry Boland are captured and fortunately avoid the fate of others like Sean MacDiarmida, and socialist intellectual James Connolly, the latter who is badly wounded and is executed strapped to a chair. Eamon de Valera, future president of Ireland many times over, has his sentence commuted, partially because of his New York birth.
Collins learns from the mistakes of the Rising and with the help of Harry and Joe O'Reilly, sets about creating a band of assassins who use intelligence, wear the uniform as the ordinary man on the street, and the element of surprise to gun down members of the Royal Irish Constabulary and G-Men. Both groups are considered collaborators with the British, traitors to Irish independence. Before long, British elite police auxiliaries, the notoriously brutal Black and Tans are sent in, and they too become targets for the IRA.
There is a standout scene reminiscent of the final scene in the Godfather, where Collins' gunmen take out members of the Cairo Gang, British intelligence specialists who operated in the Middle East and were sent to deal with the IRA, quickly followed by the infamous massacre at a football game, where 14 people, including footballer Sam Hogan, were gunned down by the British searching for Sinn Feiners, and over a hundred wounded. Bloody Sunday indeed! While not condoning the British treatment of the Irish, it shows how retaliatory violence leads to the deaths of the innocent. But as history has shown, there was no other way for the Irish, except by fighting.
Many aspects or themes from Tim Pat Coogan's biography on Collins have either been altered or not emphasized, which is understandable for a movie with limited running time. For example, Ned Broy, the G-man who secretly helps Collins, survived instead of being tortured and killed. Three Irishmen were tortured and executed the day before, and Jordan clearly decided to use their deaths and Broy as a composite character. Another is the band of assassins Collins uses to carry out his hits. Coogan's book refers to them as the Twelve Apostles, which using a Christ-like metaphor to Collins as the saviour of Ireland. That isn't alluded to here, which is unfortunate. And the action slows down in the final quarter hour, a contrast to the first two hours.
The leads do well, Liam Neeson (Collins), Aidan Quinn (Harry Boland), Julia Roberts (Kitty), Alan Rickman (de Valera), and Ian Hart (Joe O'Reilly). The latter two would be reunited in the first Harry Potter movie as Professor Snape and Quirrel, respectively.
Those who know the story of Michael Collins will know how the story ends, but there is cutting back and forth of scenes of Kitty trying out her wedding dress to the final ambush, with Sinead O'Connor haunting rendition of the traditional "She Moved From The Fair" making it all the more poignant. And de Valera is portrayed as someone who wants independence but with strategic violence, not the bloodbath Collins spreads, and but in the end, a Machiavellian manipulator. Indeed, he did say that Collins legacy came at the cost of de Valera's own standing, and that is definitely true in this movie.
Jordan and Neeson's crowning achievements.Neeson was simply born to play this role. An actor of tremendous power, Neeson is here given a role that's multi-dimensional enough for him to show his formidable chops. The Michael Collins character is alternately a boyish, dashing ladykiller and a tactician with a steel will, and just watching Neeson tackle the character's inner and outer demons is worth the price of the movie. He indeed projects the power and charisma of a great leader in his "our refusal" speech. There's more -- Aidan Quinn gives his best performance as friend-turned-enemy Harry Boland; Alan Rickman utilizes his deadpan comic timing and hidden deviance to perfection as Eamon de Valera; Stephen Rea is great as usual as English traitor Ned Broy. The one weak link is of course Julia Roberts, as Harry and Mick's love interest Kitty, with her bad Irish accent and vacant presence. She's paralyzed by the scope of the historical drama and comes off stiff as a result, injecting the character with neither warmth nor power, and none of her signature girlish exuberance. However, this was one case where the filmmaker's sacrifice of a character was to the benefit of the film. In directing the film, Jordan sliced down Kitty's importance and makes her mostly a footnote; the result is that we are now free to interpret Mick and Harry's split as a philosophical and political one, rather than the ol' romantic triangle. And for the better.
The cinematography is terrific, and the script ranks among my favourite of the '90s. Jordan is deeply tapped into the behaviour and concerns of these characters, and he fills every minute with humour, danger, urgency, and personality. The writing translates onto the screen beautifully, giving the audience an insight into not only the sociological scape of the film, but also the psychological. And the pacing and editing never let up -- from the perfectly chosen "in medias res" opening to the brilliant "Bloody Sunday" assassination montage.
A great neglected classic.
Absolutely stunning."Michael Collins" is the story of a member of the Irish Republican Army who succeeded in leading Ireland to independence, but at great cost. A participant in the famous "Easter Rising" of 1916, Collins was arrested and became a leader in the Irish independence movement. Collins was an extraordinary leader who devised guerilla warfare tactics to fight the English army that would later be used by the Viet Cong, and daringly rescued Eamon DeValeria, the man who would become the leader of Ireland and whom many believe was responsible for Collins death. Collins also negotiated the treaty which ended 700 years of English rule in Ireland, and as Commander of the Irish Provisional Army was forced to fight against guerillas opposed to the treaty (which left the northern six counties a part of England and delayed full independence). The irony was that Collins was forced to hunt down and kill the very men he trained. Many in Ireland look on Collins as a hero, others as a traitor. His death is, like the Kennedy assassination, a great controversy- nobody has the faintest idea who killed him. As historical figures go, few are as controversial or as romanticized as Collins. The film covers the 1916-1922 era of Collins life, from the Easter Rising until his death.
Writer & Director Neil Jordan clearly has passion for the project and it shows. Collins is a real hero to Jordan and the director goes to great lengths to be as accurate as possible and to show us Collins in action.
Perhaps Jordan's best move was in casting Liam Neeson in the part. Neeson is a very talented actor who delivers a terrific performance in the title role. Neeson's Collins is firey, angry, passionate, hates war, longs for peace. It is hard to imagine anyone else in the part.
The rest of the cast is good- Alan Rickman is impressive as Eamon DeValeria, a difficult role to play given how much DeValeria and Collins are at odds with one another in the end. Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, and Stephen Rea are all also good in their supporting roles as Collins best friend, the woman the two men compete for, and the English agent who provides Collins with critical intelligence.
In terms of location and cinematography, it is hard to do better than this. Jordan has painstakingly recreated Ireland & Dublin of 1916-1922, and it looks stunningly beautiful and stunningly realistic. One actually feels like you are seeing the real Ireland of the early part of the century instead of a recreation.
"Michael Collins" is a wonderful film that history lovers and people fascinated with Ireland will adore. Highly recommended.
A graphic look at the making of legends.
a great storyThe love story of Stu and Astrid will captivate all romantics and the music and raunchiness of Hamburg nightlife will enthrall rock lovers.
Just a great movie to watch more than once. you will fall in love with the characters. Steven Dorf is amazing and underrated in this movie....
Backbeat DVD is done right!Ian Hart is my favorite actor and this is the role that introduced me to him. Backbeat is my favorite film and I am thrilled with finally having it on DVD. This is a film that you will never forget.
Original
Episode # Prod # Air Date Episode Title
____ _______ ________ ___________ ___________________________________________
1. 1- 1 5 Sep 83 An Affair with a Married Woman (90 min)
2. 1- 2 7 Sep 83 Prelude to War
3. 1- 3 14 Sep 83 The Visiting Fireman
4. 1- 4 21 Sep 83 Anna
5. 1- 5 28 Sep 83 Dreadnoughts and Crosses
6. 1- 6 5 Oct 83 Dreadnoughts and Doublecrosses
7. 1- 7 12 Oct 83 Gambit
8. 1- 8 19 Oct 83 Endgame
9. 1- 9 26 Oct 83 After Moscow
10. 1-10 2 Nov 83 The Trust
11. 1-11 9 Nov 83 The Last Journey
12. 1-12 16 Nov 83 Shutdown