War of the Buttons (1994)

Director:

John Roberts

Writers:

Louis Pergaud (novel)
Colin Welland (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Family

Tagline:

Most wars last years. This one has to be over by dinner.

Plot:

The children of Ballydowse and Carrickdowse engage in battles where they cut of the buttons, shoe-laces and underwear of their captured opponents...

Plot Keywords:

Buttons | Underage Drinking | Dressing | Profanity | Remake

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Gregg Fitzgerald	...	Fergus
Gerard Kearney	...	Big Con
Darragh Naughton	...	Boffin
Brendan McNamara	...	Tim
Kevin O'Malley	...	Fishy
John Cleere	...	Peter
Anthony Cunningham	...	Little Con
Thomas Kavanagh	...	Riley
Eveanna Ryan	...	Marie
John Crowley	...	Pat
Stuart Dannell-Foran	...	Tich
Danielle Tuite	...	Fionnuala
Helen O'Leary	...	Helen
Yvonne McNamara	...	Maeve
John Coffey	...	Geronimo

Also Known As:

La guerre des boutons, ça recommence (France)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK | France | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/6 | USA:PG | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Castletownshend, County Cork, Ireland

Company:

Enigma Productions

Trivia:

The parents of one of the boys in this film took a court action to prevent this film being released. The grounds for their action were that their son's naked buttocks could be seen in the film. the action was dismissed on the grounds that they (the buttocks) didn't appear on screen long enough to allow identification and also that the parents should have raised their objection before the scene was filmed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the boys go to vandalize the church, they take off their shoes. When they are almost caught and the boy with the eggs goes out, he has his shoes on. After he comes out of the house they're off again.

Quotes:

Riley: Long live the King.
Boffin: It's the Queen now, it is, you moron.
Riley: Then God save the Queen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game-On: (#3.2)" (1998)

Irish boys engaged in an epic struggle

I enjoyed this one a lot! That's basically due to the amount of kids and the depiction of the Irish countryside as the main setting. All the actors - without exception - do a perfect job. I especially liked the moldering tension between Geronimo and Fergus, the two leaders. The way the two gangs clash into each other is both amusing and absorbing. The movie has a tremendous amount of natural, genuine charm to it. It is both sincere and blithe. There ought to be more movies like this one. Entertaining and intriguing at the same time, with some nice twists and unexpected events. The cultural dimension, as the movie takes place in Ireland, is another argument to see it. Friendship and fidelity are some of the main themes. Just to recommend for an entertaining evening.