Michael Collins

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Like Cajunsot said, it isn't history, but it's a damn good movie. Alan Rickman was pretty much spot-on with his portrayal of Dev, although the script made DeVelara out to be a nicer guy than he actually was.

Jordan went to a lot of trouble to get the look of the picture right, and by-and-large he succeeded.

[BoldHighlander]

I just saw the movie of the same name last night.

Good Lord what a movie! I think I'm going to have to add it to my collection.

Indeed.... as they say, Liam Neeson was born to play the "Big Fella"

Funny, I was watching this one about this time last year, and in a few minutes I'm going to sit down and (finally) watch "The Wind That Shakes The Barley".... hmmm

Back in the 80's when I was running with a much rougher & wilder crew from the "other side of the tracks" (& my politics/outlook on life was much different), I use to know a couple from Ireland who were "provos" (the real deal).
I still have a book on "The Troubles" that one left behind on their way back to Ireland.

And that is as close as I'm going to get to the subject &/or politics.

[slohairt]

Liam Neeson looked the part, though he was a bit old for the role, Michael Collins (Mícheál Ó Coileáin) was just shy of 26 during the 1916 uprising, and just shy of his 32nd birthday when he died in 1922. Alan Rickman was a bit old as well. Éamon de Valera (Éamon de Bhailéara) was 34 at the time of the Easter Uprising. Neeson and Rickman were 44 and 50 during the filming.

Julia Roberts 'accent' was terrible just like it was in Mary Reilly.
Collins was Minister of Finance in the Dáil Eireann, not Intelligence.
Arthur Griffith (Art Ó Griofa), founder of Sinn Féin, was leader of the delegation for the Anglo-Irish treaty, Collins was his deputy.
The links between Dev and Collins' assassination are a little questionable, to say the least.
The Irish Free State was formed on Dec. 6, 1922. About four months after Collins died. Northern Ireland had one month to opt out of the Act, which they did on Dec. 13.

[Niblox]

Alan Rickman did a splendid job as Eamon De Valera - he looked and sounded like him so well that many elderly people who saw the film thought it WAS Dev! And Alan Rickman is English....

For those of you who are interested, Tim Pat Coogan has also written a biography of De Valera - "Long Fellow, Long Shadow". Be warned, however, that this is not a hagiography.

[slohairt]

Alan Rickman did a splendid job as Eamon De Valera - he looked and sounded like him so well that many elderly people who saw the film thought it WAS Dev! And Alan Rickman is English....

For those of you who are interested, Tim Pat Coogan has also written a biography of De Valera - "Long Fellow, Long Shadow". Be warned, however, that this is not a hagiography.

Though born in England, Rickman's father was Irish, and his mother was Welsh.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Though born in England, Rickman's father was Irish, and his mother was Welsh.

And Dev was born in the USA. As an aside, having served in the Department of Art, Culture, etc. for two years while Sile de Valera (grand daughter of "The Boss") was Minister, I do not recall her ever using the Irish version of her (presumably) Spanish last name.

[slohairt]

Dáibhid, Dáibhidh, and Daibhéid are other forms of David as well as Dáithí.

I don't think Dev used the 'Gaelicised' spelling of his surname (de Bhailéara) much, if at all, either. It was probably reserved for a few Irish language plaques, literature, or monuments.

[macwilkin]

Liam Neeson looked the part, though he was a bit old for the role, Michael Collins (Mícheál Ó Coileáin) was just shy of 26 during the 1916 uprising, and just shy of his 32nd birthday when he died in 1922. Alan Rickman was a bit old as well. Éamon de Valera (Éamon de Bhailéara) was 34 at the time of the Easter Uprising. Neeson and Rickman were 44 and 50 during the filming.

Julia Roberts 'accent' was terrible just like it was in Mary Reilly.
Collins was Minister of Finance in the Dáil Eireann, not Intelligence.
Arthur Griffith (Art Ó Griofa), founder of Sinn Féin, was leader of the delegation for the Anglo-Irish treaty, Collins was his deputy.
The links between Dev and Collins' assassination are a little questionable, to say the least.
The Irish Free State was formed on Dec. 6, 1922. About four months after Collins died. Northern Ireland had one month to opt out of the Act, which they did on Dec. 13.

I've always felt Kenneth Branagh bears a resemblance to Collins. He would have been a bit old for the part as well.

T.

[slohairt]

I've always felt Kenneth Branagh bears a resemblance to Collins. He would have been a bit old for the part as well.

T.

Hmmm, he does. But you're right, he would have been a bit old, and has all that red hair too!

On a vaguely related side note: As someone who has made a study of Irish names, I find it interesting that both Éamon de Valera and Éamonn Ceannt chose the form Éamon(n) as the Irish form of their name. Éamon(n) is the Irish form of Edmund, while Éadbhárd is the actual Irish form of Edward. (Their real names.) Perhaps they felt, in the first decade of the 20th Century, that 'Edward' in any form was too "British' of a name.

[ccga3359]

I've recently added this to my collection (also Rob Roy) as I enjoy Liam Neeson's work. Alan Ryckman is also superb and really does make the quintessential 'villian'. From what I understand the film maker didn't take great liberties with the truth. It does raise the question of how Ireland would have been different had Micheal Collins had lived. It also show the many different factions of Irish and Northern Irish politics. I do have to question the casting of Julia Roberts but I guess including her helped sell the movie this side of the Atlantic.