Michael Collins

[Streetcar]

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.

As far as I can tell, it is pretty accurate (as oppose to what Mel Gibson did to William Wallace).

Is there anyone up on their Irish History enough to tell me how close it was to actual events?

Beloitpiper...?

[macwilkin]

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.

As far as I can tell, it is pretty accurate (as oppose to what Mel Gibson did to William Wallace).

Is there anyone up on their Irish History enough to tell me how close it was to actual events?

Beloitpiper...?

DISCLAIMER: For information purposes only. I am not seeking a discussion of "The Troubles".

If I remember correctly, the screenplay was based on Tim Pat Coogan's biography of "the Big Fella", Michael Collins: the man who made Ireland. They did take some liberties, however; The character of Ned Broy was actually a composite of several of Collins' agents in the Castle, and Broy wasn't murdered; he lived to be a top officer in the Garda. The car bomb scene was not accurate at all.

The Croke Park incident involving the tans wasn't also correct, and Jordan admitted as much in the making of documentary on the DVD.

From a military historians POV, the uniforms, weaponry, etc. were spot on, especially the Free State Army uniforms. Material culture aspects, fashion, even the streets of Dublin looked pretty good.

Regards,

Todd

[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.

[Finn]

I echo much of Cajunscot and everyone else. Julia Roberts & Aidan Quinn need to avoid accents, though his was more consistent. While older, Neeson looked so much like the Big Fella that I found it eerie. Rickman was a bit short for Dev, and I found his performance chilling. It looked very authentic and felt pretty darn real.
Except for "Darkman", Neeson seems to pick quality projects, much like Daniel Day Lewis.
Collins wore a number of hats throughout his career and made the Intelligence function for the rebels far more effective than it had ever been. This, of course, was depicted in the film.
It is an emotive film for those with the slightest link to Irish history. I'd like to see Peter de Rosa's "Rebels" put on film.

[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.

[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.