The General (1998)

The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the IRA, ... See full summary »

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

John Boorman, Paul Williams (novel)

Stars:

Brendan Gleeson, Adrian Dunbar, Sean McGinley

14 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Gleeson	...	Martin Cahill
Adrian Dunbar	...	Noel Curley
Sean McGinley	...	Gary
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Frances
Angeline Ball	...	Tina
Jon Voight	...	Inspector Ned Kenny
Eanna MacLiam	...	Jimmy
Tom Murphy	...	Willie Byrne
Paul Hickey	...	Anthony
Tommy O'Neill	...	Paddy
John O'Toole	...	Shea
Ciarán Fitzgerald	...	Tommy
Ned Dennehy	...	Gay
Vinny Murphy	...	Harry (as Vinnie Murphy)
Roxanna Nic Liam	...	Orla (as Roxanna Williams)

Storyline

The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the IRA, the UVF and members of his own team.

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Plot Keywords:

ireland | police | robbery | loyalty | pedophile priest | 

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Taglines:

The extraordinary true story of the rise and fall of the gangster, Martin Cahill.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Once Had a Life

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$26,771 (USA) (18 December 1998)

Gross:

$1,211,865 (USA) (21 May 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Irish Film Board, J & M, Merlin Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The home of director John Boorman was robbed by the real life Martin Cahill. Among other things, he stole a gold record that Boorman had on the wall, which inspired Boorman to include that scene in the movie.

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Goofs

After the robbery of the Thomas O'Connor and Sons jewelry manufacturing plant, which occurred in 1983, the van that pulled into the garage with the stolen goods had a license plate with the number 93 D 25920. Under the Irish vehicle licensing system, the 93 at the beginning of the license plate number identifies the model year of the vehicle. There would not have been such a plate number in 1983.

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Quotes

Martin Cahill: [to Gary, who just admitted to having sex with his own daughter] You're a prick. Criminals don't molest kids. Leave that to the priests will ya?

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Connections

Referenced in All Over the Guy (2001)

User Reviews

What quality filmmaking is all about, in "General".

In a small way, I'm almost glad that all films aren't as good as "The General". It's dripping with one of those intangible elements that seems to escape other films. Sheer quality craftsmanship and excellent storytelling.

There's a very rich quality to this film. What we see on screen merely scrapes the surface of a full history that is eluded to but not entirely exposed explicitly, which is what I think works best to keep interests up. Just brilliant film work in every regard makes this story come to life. Crime, ethics, political standpoints and complex relationships.

Martin Cahill, the film's central character, is the anti-hero thief, something of a modern day Robin Hood but much more visceral. I understand that John Boorman was allegedly one of Cahill's break-in victims. From what we see in the film, he remains constant to his own beliefs and principles, even if that means breaking the law at every turn. His schemes and plots to outwit the cops are so simple and effective you can't help but like him. He's very clever despite a lack of education, and he doesn't shift to the world around him as much as it shifts for him. His biggest weakness appears to be cream filled pastries. Even if he's been beaten, he won't allow his adversaries the pleasure of seeing him suffer in any way.

I don't know how faithful the film is to the truth, history or the spirit of Cahill's actions. But one thing I do know is that the superb craftsmanship of this film should propel it on to everyone's must see list, but that's not too likely to be. At least for North American audiences this film has many things going against it. It's in black and white. The Irish accents are thick and difficult to understand at times. It doesn't seem to have the sort of advertising campaign that it deserves. And worst of all, it appears to have unanimous critical acclaim. Often great films aren't hits, they don't strike a chord with the masses, but in my book, that's fine. You can only tell the quality of a great film in comparison to one that's inferior. Personal taste aside, this film is simply done extremely well.