Flick James’ “St. Patrick’s Day” Good Movie Recommendations

[Flick James]

Okay, we all know there will be plenty of Leprechaun viewings going on amongst bad movie lovers this St. Patricks Day, and more power to it. However, here is my list of “good” Irish films that are worth checking out. Irish film tends to be heavy on the drama, but I’ve managed to stick a couple of comedies in there as well. Feel  free to contribute your own.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) – This is an outstanding film made in Ireland. It is not a biographical history, as the characters are fictional, but it is arguably the finest representation of what the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War that followed it did to the people of Ireland. If anybody who is not Irish is interested in understanding the roots of why Ireland has been so torn in two for nearly a century, this film does exceedingly well.

The Commitments (1991) – This film is a guilty pleasure of mine. I don’t care what anybody says, this film is amazing. It follows the rapid local rise and fall of a bunch of working-class Dubliners who start a band playing soul covers from the 60’s. This film is kind of like an Irish version of That Thing You Do, but grittier and a lot less grandiose. Alan Parker, who seems to be quite gifted at films with a musical focus, does well with this one. While the preceeding film can be a bit depressing, this one is a lot of fun.

The Field (1990) – Stories from Ireland can be quite dark at times, and this one is no exception. Richard Harris turns in a fantastic performance as Irish tenant farmer “Bull” McCabe, whose love for the land he tends leads him to desperate, and violent, measures to hold onto it.

An Everlasting Piece (2000) – If you think it’s impossible to make a funny comedy set in Belfast during the troubles of the 80’s, think again. This little comedy is not perfect, but has some definite charm. Two barbers, one Protestant and one Catholic, who initially detest one another due to the animosity of the time, set aside their differences in a scheme to get rick selling hairpieces. Yeah, you read it right. It’s pretty funny at times. One of my favorite bits is the potential customer who misinterprets the heavily accented “hairpiece” as “herpes.” “Why would I want herpes?”

In the Name of the Father (1993) – Daniel Day-Lewis stars in this biographical film about Gerry Conlon, one of the Guilford Four, four disadvantaged Irish youths from Belfast wrongly convicted of a series of IRA pub bombings in 1975. There are a few historical inaccuracies present in this film, but most of them have to do with the details of imprisonment, while the details of the wrongful conviction of the four and their clearing after 14 years of imprisonment are quite accurate, from the intimidation techniques used to coerce confessions, to the withholding of evidence to the defense that provided alibis, to the stroke of luck that allowed the wihholding to be exposed, to the dramatic final trial. I saw this film upon its initial release, where it worked particularly well on the big screen due to fanstastic close-up work. The direction is very intimate, and the entire cast delivers.

[Silverlady]

I had seen "The Commitments" years ago and remember really enjoying it.

 My favorite movie for St. Patrick's Day is "The Quiet Man" with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  Got the dvd and going to watch it with hubby later.   

[lester1/2jr]

Leprechaun in Space

[Allhallowsday]

THE DEAD worth clicking on to youtube to watch: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6FGIaWaQxA
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[Frank81]

Synopis  below from 'wiki', I recall these two films as fun 'Irish' films I have seen over the years.

The Quiet Man- The Quiet Man is a 1952 American Technicolor romantic comedy-drama film. It was directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Victor McLaglen and Barry Fitzgerald. It was based on a 1933 Saturday Evening Post short story by Maurice Walsh. The film is notable for its lush photography of the Irish countryside and the long, climactic, semi-comic fist fight between Wayne and McLaglen.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People- is a 1959 Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Albert Sharpe, Janet Munro, Sean Connery and Jimmy O'Dea, in a tale about a wily Irishman and his battle of wits with leprechauns. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and its screenplay written by Lawrence Edward Watkin after the books of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. The film's title is a slight modification of one of the two Kavanagh books, Darby O'Gill and the Good People. This title, and her other book; The Ashes of Old Wishes And Other Darby O'Gill Tales were the original source for this movie.

[claws]

I noticed St. Patrick's Day appears to be a big deal in the states. All my Facebook friends from the U.S. seem to enjoy it more than Halloween or any other "Holiday".
I'm surprised it didn't catch on here in Germany much yet. Give Germans any reason to party and to get drunk and they are happy. That said, here are my late recommendations:

Dead Meat (2004) - A couple on vacation in Ireland are exposed to zombified country folk, with the infection caused by mad cow disease. This is a comedy alright but a good one, oozing with creepy 1970s atmosphere and Let Sleeping Corpses Lie references.

Isolation (2005) - Irish farmers are exposed to gen manipulated experiments. Quarantine/Infection horror caused by cows again. Thrilling and original.

Dorothy Mills (2008) - A psychiatrist is assigned to work on the case of a disturbed young girl somewhere in Ireland. Psychological horror with great performances and a few plot surprises.

[Flick James]

Oh, I forgot to mention Dementia 13. 

[Nakuyabi]

How about one of my favorites, Waking Ned Devine (1998)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnIDRm7OLdo
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I'm afraid that trailer gives away most of the plot, but it's a hilarious movie anyway no matter how many times I watch it, and the Irish music on the soundtrack is top notch.

[ulthar]

No THE DEVIL'S OWN?   

[Trevor]

No THE DEVIL'S OWN?   

 

I was also going to mention Patriot Games, Blown Away, A Prayer For The Dying and Angel but then I thought I wouldn't feel safe starting my car again. 

[tracy]