Best Irish Movies

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rufnek's Avatar
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03-18-09
Originally Posted by Silas
Darby o Gill is not Irish to the core. No offence to people but i really dont like people thinking these kind of movies depict irish life. I usually get asked do Irish people live in thatched cottages and what not (unfortunately for this conversation the only Irish person i have ever known who lives in a thatch cottage was my ex girlfriend) she has moved into a bigger house now though.
Are we talking thatched cottages today or thatched cottages during the periods in which Darby O'Gill and The Quite Man were set?

Darby O'Gill touched on several Irish folktales. Plus it was chocked full of blarney, and if that ain't Irish, what is?



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03-18-09
While we're paying tribute to Irish films, best not leave out the bloody IRA.

The Informer (1935) w/Victor McLaglen is likely the best of Hollywood's take on the IRA, and The Crying Game (1992) is a more recent one. Odd Man Out (1947) was good primarily because of James Mason (the remake in the 1960s with Sidney Portier in Mason's role as the leader of black revolutionaries sucked swampwater, however). But my personal favorite IRA flick is Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) with James Cagney, Don Murray, Glynis Johns, and Sybil Thorndike. Trained as a doctor, Cagney becomes a bloody and unforgiving IRA gunman because, it is hinted, deep down he doesn't like women. His pistol is his substitute, one might say.

Other films about the war between Catholics, Protestants, and Brits:
The Plow and the Stars (1936) Preston Foster, Barbara Stanwyck
Beloved Enemy (1936)
Fools of Fortune (1990)
The Dawning (1988)
I See a Dark Stranger (1946) Deborah Kerr, Trevor Howard
Nothing Personal (1997)
Resurrection Man (1975)
This is the Sea (1997) Richard Harris, Gabriel Byrne
A Terrible Beauty (1960, aka Night Fighters) Robert Mitchum, Richard Harris
Quiet Day in Belfast (1974)

The IRA carry their war outside of Ireland in The Long Good Friday (1980) with Bob Hoskins as a gangster going up against the unforgiving terrorists, and A Prayer for the Dying (1987) starring Mickey Rourke and Bob Hoskins.

In real life, the Molly Maguires (1970) predated the IRA but embraced terrorism to settle disputes with Pennsylvania mine-owners.

Two good Irish comedies with nothing to do about violence in the auld country: Into the West (1992) w/Gabriel Byrne and Luck of the Irish (1948) w/Tyrone Power, Anne Baxter.

Other interesting films about Ireland:
Ulysses (1967)
Da (1988) Martin Sheen, Barnard Hughes
The Dead (1987) Anjelica Huston

The ultimate Irish movie, however, is Parnell (1937). Clark Gable stars as Charles Stewart Parnell, the famous Irish politician. It is considered Gable's worst film, and is classified in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. A film only an Irishman could love.






Caitlyn's Avatar
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03-18-09
Originally Posted by Silas
Darby o Gill is not Irish to the core. No offence to people but i really dont like people thinking these kind of movies depict irish life. I usually get asked do Irish people live in thatched cottages and what not (unfortunately for this conversation the only Irish person i have ever known who lives in a thatch cottage was my ex girlfriend) she has moved into a bigger house now though.


My favorite Irish movie is My Left Foot followed by Michael Collins and Garage

Ye have mentioned a lot of movies that are debatably Irish. Like i said they are debatable

Can't believe I forgot Michael Collins... and I'm adding Garage to my "to see" list...

As for Darby O'Gill... I've never looked at it as depiction of Irish life anymore so than I would view any of the old Hollywood westerns as a depiction of how American Indians lived... it's just a fun movie to me that I get a kick out of...

I am interested in which movies you think are debatable as being Irish though... and I ask out of a genuine desire to get your input on those selections...
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