Plot
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.
Release Year: 1996
Rating: 7.0/10 (14,397 voted)
Critic's Score: 60/100
Director:
Neil Jordan
Stars: Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts
Storyline Neil Jordan's depiction of the controversial life and death of Michael Collins, the 'Lion of Ireland', who led the IRA against British rule and founded the Irish Free State (Eire) in 1921.
Cast: Ian Hart
-
Joe O'Reilly
Julia Roberts
-
Kitty Kiernan
Richard Ingram
-
British Officer
Liam Neeson
-
Michael Collins
Aidan Quinn
-
Harry Boland
John Kenny
-
Patrick Pearse
Ronan McCairbre
-
Thomas MacDonagh
Jer O'Leary
-
Thomas Clarke
(as Ger O'Leary)
Michael Dwyer
-
James Connolly
Martin Murphy
-
Captain Lee-Wilson
Alan Rickman
-
Eamon de Valera
Sean McGinley
-
Smith
Gary Whelan
-
Hoey
Frank O'Sullivan
-
Kavanagh
Stephen Rea
-
Ned Broy
Filming Locations: Broadstone, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
Box Office Details
Budget: $28,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $187,052
(USA)
(13 October 1996)
(6 Screens)
Gross: $16,900,000
(Worldwide)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Tom Cruise was offered the 'Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' cameo of the Assassin
Goofs:
Anachronisms:
The car that de Valera gets into after arriving by boat has the registration 15 D 1, which indicates that although it is a 1915 car, it was imported and registered in Dublin as a historic vehicle sometime after 1987. An original Dublin registration of the time would be in the format IK 1234.
Quotes:
[first lines]
Joe O'Reilly:
[dictating a letter]
You've got to think of him the way he was... He was what the times demanded. And life without him seems impossible. But he's dead. And life is possible. He made it possible.
User Review
A great movie
Rating: 10/10
This movie is an excellent portrayal of the brutal and often
non-conventional Irish freedom struggle. The movie has several great
strengths. The biggest strength is Liam Neeson in his tour-de-force.
His acting in this movie is as good as it gets. His personality changes
subtly throughout the movie, becoming increasingly affected by the
changes of the world around him. The supporting cast is also excellent,
with Rickman in one of his best roles.
Cinematography is very nice, capturing everything from the hopelessness
of the defeats in the ashy cities to the beauty of the Irish
landscapes. The pacing is very good as well.
If you saw this movie with no opinion on the Irish history, you will
have one when you leave the theater. This shows to me how powerful this
movie is. After all, Michael Collin's tactics were not pretty,
everything from car-bombings to mob-style executions. Yet we still care
for him, we want him to succeed, even if he himself isn't sure he wants
to.
Without it's politics, this movie is still excellent. It's a great
piece of movie-making, it's involving, sad, funny and sometimes tense.
One of the movies I consider classic.
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