Bloody Sunday (2002)

A dramatization of the Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops on January 30, 1972.

Director:

Paul Greengrass

Writer:

Paul Greengrass

Stars:

James Nesbitt, Allan Gildea, Tim Pigott-Smith

19 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Nesbitt	...	Ivan Cooper
Allan Gildea	...	Kevin McCorry
Gerard Crossan	...	Eamonn McCann
Mary Moulds	...	Bernadette Devlin
Carmel McCallion	...	Bridget Bond (as Carmel Mccallion)
Tim Pigott-Smith	...	Major General Ford
Nicholas Farrell	...	Brigadier Maclellan
Christopher Villiers	...	Major Steele (as Chris Villiers)
James Hewitt	...	Colonel Tugwell
Declan Duddy	...	Gerry Donaghy
Edel Frazer	...	Gerry's girl
Joanne Lindsay	...	Mary Donaghy
Mike Edwards	...	Soldier 027
Gerry Hammond	...	Para F
Jason Stammers	...	Para G

Storyline

Documentary-style drama showing the events that lead up to the tragic incident on January 30, 1972 in the Northern Ireland town of Derry when a protest march led by civil rights activist Ivan Cooper was fired upon by British troops, killing 13 protesters and wounding 14 more.

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Plot Keywords:

march | protest march | irish | massacre | northern ireland | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Classics

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2002 (UK)

Also Known As:

Domingo Sangrento

Filming Locations:

Ballymun, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$29,419 (USA) (4 October 2002)

Gross:

$768,045 (USA) (17 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bórd Scannán na hÉireann, Granada Television, Hell's Kitchen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To make this movie as authentic as possible, no lights were used in the movie and the camera work was entirely hand-held

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Goofs

The marchers carry homemade cardboard signs with slogans written on them. When shown from behind, some have modern printing ("Made in China") on them that are not appropriate for 1972.

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Quotes

Chief Supt. Lagan: You call that minimum force?

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Crazy Credits

The live rendition of U2's Sunday, Bloody Sunday continues to play for a full three minutes over a black screen after the credits finish rolling.

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Connections

Featured in Bloody Sunday: History Retold (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
Written by U2
Performed by U2

User Reviews

A Chaotic Movie About A Chaotic Event

"Bloody Sunday" is a movie that might be best described as chaotic - which is surely not inappropriate for any movie dealing with the tragedies of Northern Ireland and in particular with the events of January 30, 1972 in Derry. This TV production was filmed in a quasi- documentary style, which perhaps added a touch of reality to what was happening but which, to me, also failed to engage. It largely follows the efforts of the Irish Catholic Member of Parliament Ivan Cooper to organize a peaceful protest march through the streets of Derry, only to be forcibly confronted by the British military. Cooper seems to have modelled his "Civil Rights Association" after figures who were noted for non-violence - particularly Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr. There's absolutely no doubt here that the movie takes sides - it's pro-Irish Catholic and anti-British Army. I don't know that I'd go so far as to declare it pro-IRA, though. The IRA doesn't actually get mentioned very often, the emphasis being on the contrast between the desire of the protesters for a peaceful march and the apparent over-reaction of British troops. The movie is far more interesting in its second half, once the confrontation begins. The lead up to the confrontation really didn't capture me all that much, but the events of the actual confrontation were realistically and graphically recreated.

I suppose that now (in 2010) before one falls into the trap of declaring this pro-IRA (or at least anti-British) propaganda, one has to take into account the results of the Saville Inquiry, which were made public in June 2010 and led to an apology from David Cameron - the British Prime Minister - in response. The closing captions of the movie certainly make clear that the sympathies of the producers were with the protesters.

I didn't consider this to be a great production, but it certainly gives a hint of what feelings were like in Northern Ireland in those troubled times, and it raises a lot of unsettling questions about the use of violence and what it accomplishes.