The Dead (1987)

Gabriel Conroy and wife Greta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

James Joyce (short story from "Dubliners"), Tony Huston (screenplay)

Stars:

Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Helena Carroll

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helena Carroll	...	Aunt Kate
Cathleen Delany	...	Aunt Julia
Rachael Dowling	...	Lily
Kate O'Toole	...	Miss Furlong (as Katherine O'Toole)
Bairbre Dowling	...	Miss Higgins
Maria Hayden	...	Miss O'Callaghan
Cormac O'Herlihy	...	Mr. Kerrigan
Colm Meaney	...	Mr. Bergin
Ingrid Craigie	...	Mary Jane
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Mr. Brown
Anjelica Huston	...	Gretta
Donal McCann	...	Gabriel
Sean McClory	...	Mr. Grace (as Seán McClory)
Frank Patterson	...	Bartell D'Arcy
Marie Kean	...	Mrs. Malins

Storyline

On the lightly snowy evening of January 6, 1904 in Dublin, elderly spinster sisters Kate and Julia and their niece, Mary Jane - all music teachers or performers, past or present - are hosting their annual Epiphany party and dinner, and, with the exception of Mary Jane's new crop of students and the young gentlemen tasked with keeping them company, most of the guests have attended in previous years. Kate and Julia's nephew Gabriel and his wife Gretta hold integral roles for the evening, Gabriel, who, in addition to being Freddy Malins caregiver if he gets too drunk as is often the case, is to carve the dinner goose and provide the evening's main toast, while Gretta is to present the pudding. With the added unexpected excitement provided by Irish nationalist Molly Ivors for Gabriel, the party basically goes according to script. As most of the guests have departed and just before Gabriel and Gretta are to do the same - this year they staying in a downtown hotel instead of making the long...

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Plot Keywords:

ireland | haunted by the past | dublin ireland | dinner party | 1900s | 

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Taglines:

A vast, merry, and uncommon tale of love.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK Ireland USA West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Huston's The Dead

Filming Locations:

15 Usher's Island, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$69,074, 20 December 1987, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,370,078

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vestron Pictures, Zenith Entertainment, Liffey Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min 79 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The word-count of the film's 1914 source short story of the same name by James Joyce totals to 15,672 words.

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Quotes

Gabriel Conroy: [asking Gretta about Michael Furey] What was it he died of so young? Consumption, was it?
Gretta Conroy: I think he died for me.

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Alternate Versions

Ten minutes of the film have been omitted from the 2009 DVD release.

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Connections

Referenced in C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989)

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Soundtracks

"For He's a Jolly God Fellow' (uncredited)
Traditional American and British song
Sung by Donal McCan and guests to his aunts and cousin at Christmas table

User Reviews

A faithful screen adaption by a director at the peak of his powers

Superlatives really are a dangerous thing. No sooner do we rashly assert something as being unsurpassable, the object of our veneration immediately becomes just that. James Joyce's concluding story in his book 'Dubliners,' entitled, 'The Dead,' was always going to be the exception to that rule. It's been described by a number of critics over the years as the greatest short story in the English language. After seeking the story out many years ago when I was a teenager, I can do nothing but agree whole heartedly with the critics.

The story captured a time, a place, and a romanticism that I've dreamt about all my life. The setting is a house at the turn of the century, filled with guests from all over Ireland, who gather for an evening of dancing, poetry and piano recitals.

Joyce's consummate story telling, is not found in the almost mechanical way most authors put their stories together, but it's revealed in the sheer power and strength of feeling projected by the characters involved; Gabriel's concern about his after dinner speech and the ongoing changes in Ireland, Gretta's secret passion for someone she'd once loved and lost, and now even the mere acknowledgment of such a love threatens to destabilize her relationship with Gabriel, Freddie's inability to rise beyond his drug dependency, the arrogant tenor Mr D'Arcy at the table loudly trying to upgrade his status through his supposed musical superiority, Lilly the housemaid all nervousness and efficiency, the list goes on: each playing their part with absolutely convincing character motivation.

How could John Huston's film ever really of taken on such a literary masterpiece and still proved faithful? Well, to his credit, he comes pretty close.

Of course when we're reading a story, an author often leaves a degree of ambiguity, specific areas in which we're allowed to interpret our own mental pictures from the words cited. Joyce was no different. Here lies the problem: transfering a work of fiction to celluloid is like trying to join up the dots. Not everyone is going to recognize the picture and be happy with the adaptation.

Personally, I loved the film. However, there were a couple of scenes that I knew were going to prove a problem, and they did prove problematic. Firstly, when Gretta defers her descent down the stairs after dinner, because she's filled with thought's of Michael Furey and the love that she'd lost. The memories come flooding back. She can hear his voice superimposed over D'arcy's and it unsettles her. It's such a deep enduring moment. In the film, Huston just looks away dreamily. There's very little to express the full range of thoughts rushing through her head. It's not Angelica Huston's fault. It simply highlights how difficult it is to accommodate the limitless expression of literature to the silver screen, which is why like an earlier commentator on this film asserted, I too strongly recommend that Joyce's story is read first. It really does add a great deal.

The second scene that troubled me was the ending. It doesn't even begin to pack the tremendous power of Joyce's written word. How could it? This is a stream of subconscious thought extracted from the greatest short story in the English language reduced to a simple voice-over.

Ah, well! Still a good film. Overall Rating: 8 out of ten.