The Dubliner magazine, together with Jamesons Irish Whiskey.. Mmmm.. are asking What is the Best Irish Film of All Time?. In order to qualify, the film you choose must satisfy two of the following requirements: 1. Made in Ireland 2. Irish director 3. Irish producer 4. Starring Irish actors… and they’ve got plenty of excellent films to choose from.. and a few not-so-excellent.. Far and Away??.. sheesh.. but they will accept other nominations.. Excalibur?.. As long as it isn’t The Quiet Man.. *shakes head*
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Braveheart
Braveheart? I’m not sure if Gibson qualifies as Irish…
I Went Down is class, as is The Crying Game, The Butcher Boy (what other film could you hear the Virgin Mary saying “For F**k sake”).
The ‘Troubles’ films are all pretty good too.
I liked An Everlasting Piece and Nothing is Personal from NI.
I think the Commitments is one of the most beloved.
I would like to seconded that motion for:
An Everlasting Piece
I brings back so many fond memories of NI the last time I was there.
The Field
Richard Harris,what a man
Disco Pigs certainly got my interest and the opening scene of Intermission with Colin Farrell alone would warrant a vote.
The Boxer is the crappiest on the list. Daniel what were you thinking of?
“The Boxer is the crappiest on the list.”
Not when that list includes Far and Away..
I know it’s unfashionable, but I love the Quiet Man. I’m not sure why so many people in Ireland seem to hate it.
John
In part because it’s the one film that, for too many people, has framed others’ views of Ireland for the last 50 years. 😉
Haven’t seen Far and Away so that might explain it.
I enjoyed the Quiet Man. They don’t make women like Maureen O’Hara anymore.
The quiet man is an abomination. Cultural genocide.
Stage Irish paddywhackery at it’s very worst. At least with aggressive anti-Irishness there’s an honesty of sorts, but this sort of simpering coyness ? I’m not a fan.
Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It doesn’t get any more Irish than that!
Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It doesn’t get any more Irish than that!
Darby O’Gill and the Little People. It doesn’t get any more Irish than that!
That’s a wonderfully Kitsch fim YI 🙂 Scared the you know what out of me as a kid LOL
Davros
I’m not a fan
No kidding?!.. for a minute there I wasn’t sure 😉
YI
Hahaha!!
If it’s cultural genocide you want Davros, go see the excellent Sin City and keep your eyes and ears out for the Irish assassins.
Why isn’t Darby on the list? I just checked the options acvaiable and it’s not there.:(
I loved that as a kid!
Other films I like are The Dead and My Left Foot (with the latter probably deserving to win) but I demand that Darby O’Gill and the Little People be an option! 🙂
Why isn’t Darby on the list? I just checked the options acvaiable and it’s not there.:(
I loved that as a kid!
Other films I like are The Dead and My Left Foot (with the latter probably deserving to win) but I demand that Darby O’Gill and the Little People be an option! 🙂
Why isn’t Darby on the list? I just checked the options acvaiable and it’s not there.:(
I loved that as a kid!
Other films I like are The Dead and My Left Foot (with the latter probably deserving to win) but I demand that Darby O’Gill and the Little People be an option! 🙂
Sin City ? I’m a prude – will it upset me George ? 😉
Not heard of it – I’ll have a look on Google.
You can still vote for it, YI, even if it isn’t on that list.
Darby O’Gill was made in the Good Old US of A Young Irelander so unfortunately doesn’t qualify.
OK – I give up George- what’s the connection in Sin City to Ballyclare ? 😉
It’s guaranteed to upset you, Davros.. 😉
Meanwhile I’ll give a mention for Nora.. which is on the list.
George – the Writer was irish and they don’t come any more irish than Jimmy O’Dea!
“Darby O’Gill was made in the Good Old US of A Young Irelander so unfortunately doesn’t qualify.”
Bollocks anyway! I guess I’ll just have to give it to My Left Foot but Darby is the REAL number one in all our hearts.;)
“Darby O’Gill was made in the Good Old US of A Young Irelander so unfortunately doesn’t qualify.”
Bollocks anyway! I guess I’ll just have to give it to My Left Foot but Darby is the REAL number one in all our hearts.;)
“Darby O’Gill was made in the Good Old US of A Young Irelander so unfortunately doesn’t qualify.”
Bollocks anyway! I guess I’ll just have to give it to My Left Foot but Darby is the REAL number one in all our hearts.;)
Sin City is a new film out with the brilliant Mickey Rourke back to his scary best.
Get out and see it Davros, I strongly recommend it. A beautifully visual style of commercial filmmaking.
The only problem is the attempted Irish accents you experience from one group in the film makes you think Darby will appear any minute.
“Sin City is a new film out with the brilliant Mickey Rourke back to his scary best… “
.. ably assisted in that scariness by his new face.
I’m with Maca; I Went Down closely followed by The Butcher Boy.
All right, where did all the Adrian Dunbar movies go? Whatabout Hear My Song and The Playboys? They were both made in Ireland with Irish actors (Adrian for one). They also left out Into the West with Gabriel Byrne.
Myself, I’ll have to give the nod to The Commitments, with The Field a close second.
Can we do Favorite NI Actor too? My vote goes to Stephen Rea followed by Gerard McSorley.
Why isn’t Cal in the list? I’m glad it isn’t but shouldn’t it be?
It has to be Into the West, where is that. Tito and the boys. Or War of the Buttons. Geronimo and the boys. Otherwise,from their list there’s only one The Field. Michael Collins was good enough, but with one casting decision (Alan Rickman as De Valera) it has probably shaped the perspective that the next few generations will have on Dev, that of a stuttering, pedantic arsehole.
There’s nothing wrong with stuttering or being a pedant.
George,
You’re right about Cal, which starred John Lynch and Donal McCann and was filmed in Ireland. I don’t think they did their homework before they put up their list.
BTW, did anyone see Mary McGuckian’s “This Is the Sea” with Richard Harris and John Lynch?
This is the sea was a great movie
odd man out with James mason.
Made in the forties,Mason was superb as Johnny McQueen
Good call, bill.
“Odd Man Out” just barely clears the requirements hurdles set by The Dubliner magazine. It had one Irish star (Kathleen Ryan) and one scene was shot in Belfast. Otherwise, the other stars were English, it had an English producer/director, and it was filmed at an English studio. The “What is The Best Irish Film Of All Time?” doesn’t say anything about movies that are about Ireland.
As I recall, someone else out there is a fan of IMDB. Read all about “Odd Man Out” here.
But clear those requirements it does, Alan.
Pete,
The magazine’s hurdles regarding Irish directors/producers has got me wondering just how many such creatures exist. I’m off on a quest; wish me luck!
But of course, Alan.
I’m fascinated to know why they didn’t include such a great movie as Odd Man Out in their list..
Time for a campaign, methinks..
Can we include the intro of Saving Private Ryan?
No. 😉
Pete,
I’m back from my quest (for Irish directors/producers).
Apart from the usual suspects, i.e., Kenneth Branagh, Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan (and John Huston if you count him because he lived in Ireland for such a long time), I could only find 3 (or really 2.5) Irish directors/producers. Here they are:
Joe Comerford (1947- ) was a founding member of the Association of Independent Producers (AIP) with fellow independent filmmakers like Bob Quinn, Cathal Black, Pat Murphy and Thaddeus O’Sullivan. His movies include High Boot Benny (“This is a highly unknown movie about the problem of North Ireland”), Reefer and the Model (with Sean Lawlor and Ian McElhinney), Withdrawal (a 26-minute short with Gerard McSorley).
Thaddeus O’Sullivan (1947- ) played a key role in the early development of Irish cinema. His movies include Ordinary Decent Criminal, Nothing Personal, December Bride*
Herbert Wilcox (1892-1977) may have been born in Cork, but made all his films in England.
* December Bride is a must see movie about Norhtern Ireland. I had forgotten all about it until I read O’Sullivan’s filmography. My wife rented the video because she thought I would enjoy the subject matter, but it’s much more than that. It even has a love triangle with Donal McCann and Ciaran Hinds as early 20th century farmer brothers who bed servant Saskia Reeves, (who is described as “A child of poverty and Presbyterianism”).
John Boorman should also be considered.. President of the Young Irish Film Makers, a youth based film training organisation based in Kilkenny, Ireland.
The General? I admit to not looking at the list, but that is a corking flick.
I was once told (though I refuse to believe they weren’t winding me up) a rather bizarre thing.
merkan: Here, that General film. I saw it.
me: cool. Great, ain’t it?
merkan: Fershure. Though I hear that there is another version of it about.
me: Oh? (*thinks* director’s cut? extra scenes)
merkan: Yeah, there is a black and white version apparently.
me: ….
December Bride was a good film.
McCann & Hinds made the film work,it was a bit dark and bleak at times,though.
Whatever description works, Alan…
Darby O’Gill is evil.
I remember playing outside on a bank holiday as a nipper, my mother calling me in and plonking me in front of the tv – ‘watch this’ she says.
so for the first wee while it’s going great, sean connery singing away and leprechauns dancing and a right oul laugh. And then all of a sudden there’s fecking banshees and the coach of the dead and the rest of it – terrifying!
Darby O’Gill was made in the Good Old US of A Young Irelander so unfortunately doesn’t qualify.
Stary Toaster – That was great, Buster.
Bill – December Bride was almost as dark as Pelle the Conqueror.
Pete – Yes, I would consider Boorman to be an adopted Irish director like John Huston.
Ricardo – As if Sean Connery singing wasn’t scary enough. Did you ever see Paint Your Wagon with a singing(?) Clint Eastwood?
Speaking of Great Irish Movies, can we all collaborate on a new one? Since I have read that he wants to play the title role, can we all come up with suggestions for supporting actors for “Ian Paisley: the Movie” starring Liam Neeson?
Absolutely Alan.. although Excalibur qualifies anyway.
But I’m still waiting to hear why The Dubliner failed to include Odd Man Out in their list… although the clue may be in the [magazine] title..
Pete,
OK, it’s hair (or hurdle) splitting time. The Dubliner rules say 2 out of the following 4:
1. Made in Ireland
2. Irish director
3. Irish producer
4. Starring Irish actors
Removing numbers 2 and 3 from the equation, requires that Excalibur was Made in Ireland (which it was) and Starring Irish actors (which is where the hair-splitting comes in).
Gabriel Byrne and Liam Neeson were in the movie, but they were not the Stars.
That’s really splitting hairs, Alan.
But I thought we’d moved on to Odd man Out
Vote, Vote, Vote!
Ciaran Hinds was also in excalibur although not a star, great film lots of mud and gore. Personal fav the commitments still very funny and great music.
I like i went down but my favourite would be Resurrection Man staring Stuart Townsend not one for the fainthearted
Resurrection man
jesus,did you ever see a film capture such dark times.
It doesn’t do the book justice,though.
The book was going to be very difficult to translate into a film,tell you what it puts the rumper room into a different perspective.
‘Speaking of Great Irish Movies, can we all collaborate on a new one? Since I have read that he wants to play the title role, can we all come up with suggestions for supporting actors for “Ian Paisley: the Movie” starring Liam Neeson?’
You could make it a musical, with Daniel O’Donnell playing Jeffrey Donaldson, Art Garfunkel as Paisley’s nemesis, Martin McGuinness
Officially the best movie to come out of Ireland was the Quiet Man due to its popularity and staying power and the number of oscars it garnered.
My favourite would be the Quiet man anthing with the great John Wayne is going to be superlative and I find the entire movie quality while dealing with some strong themes.
What else has Irish films got to offer the Butcher boy inside and outside this island that movie is treated as a joke and rightly so.
Roger,
The Quiet Man won two Oscars; so did My Left Foot. The difference is, Quiet Man is an American movie (made by Argosy Pictures); My Left Foot is an Irish movie (made by Ferndale Films and RTE).
As for as genuine Irish flms are concerned, I wouldn’t have the depth of knowledge of some of the contributors, but I’d go for The Field. An absolute classic.
Quiet Man an American movie directed by an Irish man with IRA sympathies get ahold of yourself.
Roger,
I got into a hair-splitting session with Pete before about Irishness, but I’ll try again. As far as I’m concerned, people born in the USA are Americans, whether they call themselves “Irish men” or not.
I did find the following two items in researching Ford’s background prompted by your comment.
Though he would like to have been Irish, Sean Aloysius O’Fearna was American, born in Maine in 1895, the eleventh and last child of an Irish family.
Ford won his first Academy Award for Best Director for The Informer, a 1935 film about a man who betrays his best friend and the IRA. Ireland was a subject close to Fords heart, for he was proud of his Irish heritage and took a keen interest in Irelands struggle to free itself from British rule. Indeed, some years before while on a trip to Ireland, he ran afoul of the authorities for giving money to the IRA.
The book by Liam O’Flaherty is far superior to the film IMO – mind you it’s years since I saw the film.
Darby O’Gill is evil.
I remember playing outside on a bank holiday as a nipper, my mother calling me in and plonking me in front of the tv – ‘watch this’ she says.
so for the first wee while it’s going great, sean connery singing away and leprechauns dancing and a right oul laugh. And then all of a sudden there’s fecking banshees and the coach of the dead and the rest of it – terrifying!
At best Ford was an Irish American but lets not get away from the fact that the Quiet Man is the best Irish movie 54 years after it was made and its still so popular.
Depends what you mean by “best” Roger. Popularity ?
How popular is it with Irish people ? It’s very popular with Irish America. Do huge sales mean that the Birdie Song was a “good ” record ? Or that the Spice Girls made “good” music?
I think the Quiet Mans main problem is that it contains no sex violence or swearing so that will put of a lot of modern audiences.
The Quiet Man to my recollection is very popular with Irish people and many people in the ROI and NI have a copy of the movie in addition to this where the film was made in a huge tourist attraction.
The film is the best simply because it had the best ever director behind the camera namely Ford the most popular Star in front of the camera, one of the finest ever actors and the greatest screen presence namely big John and with quality dialogue direction and cinematography no other Irish movie comes close.
The Quiet Man is all hokum ‘n blarney. I LOVE it!
There’s few other Irish films worth talking about unless you go all the way back to Robert Flaherty’s Man of Aran. Nanook of the Occupied Six doesn’t qualify though. The soundtrack of Is Mise Eire is fantastic but why is the DVD always out of stock?
The Quiet Man is dreadful lads. Are ye on the funny fags again? 😉
Barney,
As an American, I was familiar with Flaherty’s documentaries but not with Is Mise Eire. My favorite movies site (IMDB) never heard of it. When I googled it, I found this posting:
Mise Éire not on DVD
17-10-2004, 08:23
Just got a DVD player recently, and having feasted for a few weeks on obscure Chinese- and Japanese-language films (Beijing Bicycle, Scent of Green Papaya, Battle Royale…) I decided to take a look at Mise Éire. But to my surprise it doesn’t seem to be available at all, nor does Saoirse.
Strange. Shouldn’t historical documents such as these be available – for history classes, as well as for entertainment?
In fact, the video shop from which I was renting films (Laser) didn’t have an Irish section at all. Classics, Horror, sections for French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, German….
I thought at first that it was just the video rental place, and went looking on Amazon, then googled ‘”mise eire” dvd’ and got nowhere. Extraordinary. In what other country could this be the case?
Maca
Back up your statement.
The Quiet Man to my recollection is very popular with Irish people and many people in the ROI and NI have a copy of the movie
I don’t know anybody outside of the USA who has a copy of this monstrosity.
Easy that is a very personal attack on a superb movie.
Maureen O’hara stated than in 52 High Noon was released with the Quiet Man and back then high Noon won all the main awards but now in America it is the quiet man and not High Noon that gets all the accolades.
Incidentally it is rumoured that Duke was not nominated for an oscar due to his political stance.
‘I don’t know anybody outside of the USA who has a copy of this monstrosity.’
Never seen it myself, but i did order a copy of the internet for a friend’s boyfriend, so that is one copy in Northern Ireland at least
that should have read ‘off the internet’, whoops
a superb movie.
Says who? Irish-America ?
Ghastly film.
Why do you dislike it so much, there are many people whom do like it, it even has its own fan club.
see my 6.24PM June 10 for reasons.
What has popularity and fan clubs got to do with quality ? Think Spice Girls, think Gary Glitter.
Well then awards and recognition by professional critics.
This movie has been used in many media studies classes throughout NI as an example of a high quality movie.
This movie has been used in many media studies classes throughout NI as an example of a high quality movie.
is this like your claim that many people in NI and the ROI have a copy ?
How do they define “quality” ? As in successful at box-office ?
I know personally speaking to friends of mine whom have studied this movie and I also know many people whom have it on dvd/vcr.
Successful at the box office yes it was but that is not how I would define quality.
1. Look at the depth of John Waynes acting he is clearly hiding something.
2. The excellent camera work by Ford look at the scene when Duke and Maureen kiss the first time Spielberg was so inspired he used this scene in ET.
3. The excellent use of symbols such as the thunder storm to illustrate the supposed sin Sean and Mary Kate were commiting.
4 Excellent lines such as ‘If you say three Mr you’ll never hear the man count ten’
5. Superb supporting characters played by Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor Mclaglen to name but three.
6. A simple but effective love story that still captivates audiences even today.
7. One of the all time great on screen movie fist fights between Mclaglen and the Duke.
That is why this is a great movie and there are many other reasons but I don’t need to go into them the fact so long after the movie was made were still discussing it says enough.
the fact so long after the movie was made were still discussing it says enough.
people will still be discussing “Heavens gate ” in 50 years time ….does that make it a great film?
You said that “many people” in NI and the ROI have a copy – many now is a few of your acquaintances ?
You still havent pointed out to me why TQM is a ‘poor movie’ and you have disregarded my post on TQM qualities.
You may be informative about politics but your knowledge of movies is poor.
You said that “many people” in NI and the ROI have a copy – many now is a few of your acquaintances ?
Well, not quite. For a time, few people turned up asking about “The Quiet Man.” In spite of the seven Academy Award nominations and two Oscars, “Quiet Man” couldn’t change a changing cinemascope. Raw, realistic, gritty films were coming into vogue. Lighter entertainment was the big movie musical. “The Quiet Man,” with its sentimentality and touch-me-not romantic style, was declared quaint and consigned to the netherworld of late-night television around St. Patrick’s Day. Then, slowly, the movie enjoyed a renaissance. With the arrival of the VCR, the movie posted surprising sales — the biggest single title in Britain and huge sales in America. A cult movie had been born. Republic last year printed new Technicolor negatives — an expensive and difficult process — and let fly not one but two different “Quiet Man” videos, one a numbered collector’s edition.
Roger – where have I said that it’s a ‘poor movie’ ?
I wouldn’t even rate it that highly. Paddywhackery.
you on the other hand came out with the amusing claim that many people in NI and the ROI have a copy.
Alan the American here.
It’s half past midnight on Saturday over there (making it technically Sunday). Since I’m home alone too, I’m so glad to see that you guys (Roger and Davros) don’t have dates either.
Please, continue the battle royal.
you on the other hand came out with the amusing claim that many people in NI and the ROI have a copy.
I backed up this claim with evidence your dismisal of TQM shows your lack of knowledge of quality movies.
Well, not quite.
Indeed 😉
Why would Irish people want a copy of paddywhackery?
I backed up this claim with evidence
LOL 🙂
Night night Roger.
I know personally speaking to friends of mine whom have studied this movie and I also know many people whom have it on dvd/vcr.
Successful at the box office yes it was but that is not how I would define quality.
1. Look at the depth of John Waynes acting he is clearly hiding something.
2. The excellent camera work by Ford look at the scene when Duke and Maureen kiss the first time Spielberg was so inspired he used this scene in ET.
3. The excellent use of symbols such as the thunder storm to illustrate the supposed sin Sean and Mary Kate were commiting.
4 Excellent lines such as ‘If you say three Mr you’ll never hear the man count ten’
5. Superb supporting characters played by Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor Mclaglen to name but three.
6. A simple but effective love story that still captivates audiences even today.
7. One of the all time great on screen movie fist fights between Mclaglen and the Duke.
That is why this is a great movie and there are many other reasons but I don’t need to go into them the fact so long after the movie was made were still discussing it says enough.
the fact so long after the movie was made were still discussing it says enough.
people will still be discussing “Heavens gate ” in 50 years time ….does that make it a great film?
You said that “many people” in NI and the ROI have a copy – many now is a few of your acquaintances ?
Middle of the night there. Children all snug in their beds. Good.
Davros, I had to go lookup paddywhackery. It says:
The fakey, out-of-a-box Irishness that insists on the same damned songs and the same damned menu and the same damned Guinness advertisements on the wall of every Irish bar outside of Ireland. (I was in just such a bar after the last St. Patrick’s day parade, and I could even see the Guinness posters, now that you can’t smoke indoors anymore.)
Seen in nearly every film which features a non Irish actor doing an Irish accent. Notable exceptions include Daniel Day Lewis in “In The Name of The Father” and Brad Pitt in “Snatch”. (Yeah, Ward Bond did sound phony as the parish priest in “The Quiet Man.”)
That’s not a bad definition Alan 🙂
“Cowboys & Angels” brought out my soppy side. Probably not the best film on the list, but I enjoyed it.
There was one that came out a few years ago (can’t remember the name of it) about a guy who found his landlord dead or something like. Anyway, it was the type of film where one murder led to another and son on. Absolutely awful. I’d be surprised if it was on the list.