Good Irish Movies?

liah

I don't just mean movies made in Ireland, I'm also stretching it to any movies featuring a predominately Irish leading cast and/or story to do with Ireland/the Irish in general, but actual Irish films with actual Irish actors (no Tom Cruise here please) are preferred.

I've seen stuff like The Commitments, Once, The Van, Garage, The Snapper, Intermission, In Bruges (I consider it to be Irish because of the leads and the humour, I know it isn't really), Hunger, Song for a Raggy Boy, Breakfast on Pluto, Man About Dog, Into the West (that was Irish, wasn't it? Haven't seen it in eons..), The Wind that Shakes the Barley, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Seems you guys either do them funny or incredibly depressing :pac:

Needless to say, I would like to be directed to some quality Irish (or just Irish-related) cinema that I may be overlooking! Any suggestions?

fidge.

i found adam and paul to be good, but be warned it is also very depressing! set in dublin and follows two drug addicts. humourous (believe it or not) and hard-hitting.

Squirm

The Field. Excellent... and depressing... film. Check out the JDIFF line up for some brand new Irish film making.

Squirm

And The Commitments!! What an omission!!

liah

Oh, and Galvasean, if you read this: WHEN IS POAZ OUT?!

liah

Squirm wrote: »

And The Commitments!! What an omission!!

I KNEW I was forgetting something. Of all the ones to forget, too, considering my interactions with Andrew and Rob strong. :pac:

Mickeroo

I presume you've seen Once?

Give Disco Pigs a go, its a bit different, fairly violent and unsettling, but pretty funny in places too.

War of the Buttons was great,although been years since I seen it. If you can track down I Went Down with Brendan Gleeson watch it, its a blast. Also Sweety Barrett is another Gleeson one. Can't think of anymore off the top of my head.

starviewadams

Spin The Bottle,a spin off from the excellent Paths To Freedom TV series shown on RTE from about a decade ago,film is funny in parts but not a patch on the original series.

Oh and Garage is brilliant,a bit depressing though.

Judgement Day

You forgot "The Commitments"! "Boy Eats Girl" is another classic if you like black humour - one of the funniest horror films ever.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9QG1d8OWEc

and another Brendan Gleeson classic - "Six Shooter".

Judgement Day

I meant to say that we have an Irish movie thread going in the History Forum here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056162439 - drop in and add.

Galvasean

liah wrote: »

Oh, and Galvasean, if you read this: WHEN IS POAZ OUT?!

You'll be the first person i tell when I find out. Promise.

There's a great Irish movie called I Went Down starring Brendan Gleeson. Well worth checking out. Very funny and well acted.

The Fighter is also about an 'Irish' person, if that's any use too you.

iMax

Be laughed out of the thread for this one, but "Far & Away" is one I'd pick. apart from the accents it does stand up as a good epic in the traditional sense, & in the same vein "The Quiet Man".

"The Courier" is also a great Irish flick. Which brings me to "The General" & from a different POV - "In America"

the whole year inn

"My Left Foot" seriously come on,14 posts and not a mention of it!

"Intermission" aswell,Whats the one with Brenda ficker and Mike lally in the ballroom aswell.Think about it more and get back to you.

edit: "The Quiet Man" and there s new moview call "The Guard" "In the Name of the Father" "Ordinary Decent Criminal", "The General","Veronica Guerin"

Judgement Day

"A Man of No Importance" (1994) starring Albert Finney, Michael Jambon and Brenda Fricker is another nice Dublin movie - funny and sad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTA670729L8

And another unlikely movie, but one that is excellent, is "Hear My Song" (1991) based on the life of Irish Tenor Josef Locke and filmed all around Ireland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYEIXuQmFGA

losthorizon

The Dead starring Donal McCann possibly the greatest irish film ever. Yet its never mentioned - go figure

iMax

Can't believe I forgot this. "quackser fortune has a cousin in the bronx". Great 1960s movie starring Gene Wilder & Margot Kidder.

the whole year inn

"50 Dead Men Walking" about the IRA,never seen it so cant say if its any good.

losthorizon

The Crying Game set Neil Jordan on the road to international recognition and it contains one or two surprises !

Knifey Spoony

I quite enjoyed Short Order when I saw it over Christmas. I was really surpised by it, didn't expect much but found it oddly enjoyable.

Judgement Day

One of my recent acquistions "Johnny Nobody" filmed in Enniskerry, Dublin and surrounding area in 1959/60. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055030/
It starred many well known Irish actors such Jimmy O'Dea, Cyril Cusack, Noel Purcell and Joe Lynch. Some of the scenes have more than a passing nod to Alfred Hitchcock's adaption of John Buchan's 39 Steps. It's a an interesting movie and is crying out for a remake. It has only been on RTE once in recent decades and is not available anywhere on video/DVD. It may be possible to download it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055030/ but I don't understand these operations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFzy05jucLE

Mickeroo

Mickeroo wrote: »

If you can track down I Went Down with Brendan Gleeson watch it, its a blast.

Very tough to get hold of as it wasnt released on DVD. Such a funny film and am glad to have a copy. Liah if you can get your hands on this you'd be doing well. I recommend to everyone and it hasnt disappointed.

The Mad Hatter

John Huston's adaptation of James Joyce's Dubliners is a masterpiece.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcCVa4S_9PE

The Mad Hatter

Oh, and it's your patriotic duty to watch The Secret of Kells, if you haven't already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMPhHTtKZ8Q

delbertgrady

32A
Rites-of-passage film from 2007, set in the suburbs of North Dublin in 1979. Four girls coping with the trials and tribulations of growing up, but focusing on one central character. Decent period production design, given its limited budget, and a good script. Solid performances, especially the lead actress.

bubbaloo

Inside I'm Dancing - brilliant. Funny and sad. Loved it!

sensibleken

I saw 'Savage' the other day. Brilliant movie.
'I went down' deserves another mention

I usually avoid Irish movies because I hate going to bed depressed but the above two are awesome!

xalot

+1 for 'I went down', does anyone know if it's available on DVD? Tried CDwow and Play to no avail.

Also love intermission.

Borat_Sagdiyev

Waking Ned is definitely worth a watch - I would highly recommend it.

the whole year inn

"The Matchmaker" i think its called,about a women that goes to ireland to interview a old time matchmaker.Did anyone mention "Michael Collins" ?

sensibleken

gob_smacked wrote: »

"The Matchmaker" i think its called,about a women that goes to ireland to interview a old time matchmaker.Did anyone mention "Michael Collins" ?

They said 'good' irish films

Yi Harr

Watched 'His and Hers' last night, brilliant documentary/film.

bubbaloo

Yi Harr wrote: »

Watched 'His and Hers' last night, brilliant documentary/film.

^^ + 1 Brilliant!!

yellowbear

"A film with me in it" is very good. Dylan Moran is in it.

delbertgrady

Thirty Five Aside, Damien O'Donnell's short film from around 1995.

Exclamation Marc

I vaguely remember enjoying "The Front Line" when it came out in 2006

I've bought it recently on DVD and must have a look at it again, but I do remember it being pretty good.

Lahm

It was yeah.


Watermelon is also good.

Earthhorse

One I haven't seen mentioned yet is Kings which is an excellent Irish language film.

arsenallegend

THE HALO EFFECT- Lance daly of KISSES fame debut film. decent enough good performance from Stephen REA.

SUNBURN- one of Cillian murphy's earliest performances from 1999, its a romantic drama about A two young lads who go to Amercia for the summer. tough one to find but its rather a sweet film.

losthorizon

Zonad raises a good few laughs in a dorky sort of way or is that just me?

DublinWriter

A very obscure and darkly funny film starring Albert Finney as a closeted Gay CIE bus conductor with an Oscar Wilde obsession in 1960's Dublin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Man_of_No_Importance_%28film%29

arsenallegend

Lahm wrote: »

<snip>
Halo Effect is also good.

What about:

Chaos
Crush Proof

Crush proof, i always found odd. there's a great film in there somewhere but its a bit of a mess. Some terrible acting too.

Dozen Wicked Words

When Brendan Met Trudy is an OK irish comedy film.

The Crying Game has Irish relevance, and the spoiler:

everyone knows the spoiler

Edit: Crying Game already mentioned, sorry! Forest Whitakers accent needs work in it, cor blimey gov.

arsenallegend

This was probably mentioned already

ON THE EDGE: i might get a lot of hate for this but i think this is John Carney's best film, Great performance from Cillian Murphy and great soundtrack. Sadly overlooked compared to Once.

How HArry Became a tree: Very strange film with colm meaney and cillian Murphy, this is a tough one to find.

The Disappearence of Finbar: Johnathan rhys Meyers debut lead role, saw this on RTE 2 one night a few years back. Very arty but interesting film about a friend going on a journey to find his friend Finbar in Sweden, Meyers is Finbar but he;s barely in it.

Moondance: a very solid film with Ruaidhri Conroy. Worth checking out

Dozen Wicked Words

Oh, and Wild About Harry is quite a funny Irish film, think BBC NI are involved and it has Brendan Gleeson in, which is usually a good sign. Amanda Donohue's accent is a sound to behold though.

BeanFlicker

No one has mentioned 'In Bruges' & 'Perriers Bounty', highly recommend both

Lahm

How to cheat in the Leaving Cert

arsenallegend

BeanFlicker wrote: »

No one has mentioned 'In Bruges' & 'Perriers Bounty', highly recommend both

IN BRUGES is a modern day classic

Perriers Bounty was really disappointing.

iMax

gob_smacked wrote: »

"The Matchmaker" i think its called,about a women that goes to ireland to interview a old time matchmaker.

Great movie, Denis Leary & Jeannine Garafolo. Was on just before Christmas, stayed up late to watch it again.

Educating Rita is another one

There was also one called "The Closer You Get" (AKA "American Women") about a group of guys from the country who place an ad to invite American women looking for husbands to their town. One of my favourite movie posters:



Also "Da" starring Martin Sheen

arsenallegend

Lahm wrote: »

How to cheat in the Leaving Cert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z_WHOnHjA4

This is the full film.

pretty fine for its budget but the characters are so dislikeable which just makes this film fine instead of great.

arsenallegend

Here's a few more

Nothing Personal, very good film about the troubles this time told from the side of the UVF. Ian Hart is brillant in this.

Studs, not a great film but good even though it stars Brendan Gleeson, about a football team in Dublin.

Saltwater, the follow up to the Classic I Went Down, Nowhere near as good as that film but still very fine filmmaking with Brian Cox, Brendan glesson and Peter McDonald. Very hard to find on DVD

This Is My father, pretty fine film with a great performance from Aidan Quinn. Plus you Have James Caan and Colm meaney plus brendan Glesson.

Trojan Eddie, a little known irish film from the 90's with Stephen Rea and the late great Richard Harris. Very good worth trying to find.

The Treaty, the best Micahel collins film with Brendan Glesson as the great man himself. a t.v movie this needs to be released now.

The Eclipse, Another great film from Conor mcPherson. Starring Aidan Quinn and Ciaran hinds, well worth checking this one out for sure.

TheBunk1

If ya can find "I Went Down" somewhere, it's definitely worth watching