Michael Collins (1996)

Neil Jordan's historical biopic of Irish revolutionary Michael Collins, the man who led a guerrilla war against the UK, helped negotiate the creation of the Irish Free State, and led the National Army during the Irish Civil War.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writer:

Neil Jordan

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Hart	...	Joe O'Reilly
Julia Roberts	...	Kitty Kiernan
Richard Ingram	...	British Officer
Liam Neeson	...	Michael Collins
Aidan Quinn	...	Harry Boland
John Kenny	...	Patrick Pearse
Ronan McCairbre	...	Thomas MacDonagh
Jer O'Leary	...	Thomas Clarke (as Ger O'Leary)
Mike Dwyer	...	James Connolly (as Michael Dwyer)
Martin Murphy	...	Captain Lee-Wilson
Alan Rickman	...	Eamon de Valera
Sean McGinley	...	Smith
Gary Whelan	...	Hoey
Frank O'Sullivan	...	Kavanagh
Stephen Rea	...	Ned Broy

Storyline

Neil Jordan's depiction of the controversial life and death of Michael Collins, the "Lion of Ireland", who led the IRA against the UK and helped found the Irish Free State in 1922.

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Plot Keywords:

british soldier | civil unrest | irish civil war | 1920s | soldier | 

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Taglines:

Ireland, 1916. His dreams inspired hope. His words inspired passion. His courage forged a nation's destiny.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alan Rickman, Brendan Gleeson, and Ian Hart all appeared in many films of the Harry Potter franchise.

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Goofs

The film's introduction states that the United Kingdom was the foremost world power at the beginning of the 20th century. However this is not true as the UK was being surpassed economically and industrially by both Germany and the United States. In addition the Imperial German Navy had almost eclipsed the Royal Navy in size, threatening the UK's ability to hold onto its Empire.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joe O'Reilly: [dictating a letter] You've got to think of him the way he was... He was what the times demanded. And life without him seems impossible. But he's dead. And life is possible. He made it possible.

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Crazy Credits

Opening scroll: At the turn of the century Britian was the foremost world power and the British Empire stretched over two-thirds of the globe. Despite the extent of its power its most troublesome colony had always been the one closest to it, Ireland For seven hundred years Britain's rule over Ireland had been resisted by attempts at rebellion and revolution, all of which ended in failure. Then, in 1916, a rebellion began, to be followed by a guerilla war which would change the nature of that rule forever. The mastermind behind that war was Michael Collins. His life and death defined the period, in its triumph, terror and tragedy. This is his story.

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Connections

Referenced in The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (2015)

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Soundtracks

Civil War
Performed by Sinéad O'Connor
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records UK

User Reviews

A great movie

This movie is an excellent portrayal of the brutal and often non-conventional Irish freedom struggle. The movie has several great strengths. The biggest strength is Liam Neeson in his tour-de-force. His acting in this movie is as good as it gets. His personality changes subtly throughout the movie, becoming increasingly affected by the changes of the world around him. The supporting cast is also excellent, with Rickman in one of his best roles.

Cinematography is very nice, capturing everything from the hopelessness of the defeats in the ashy cities to the beauty of the Irish landscapes. The pacing is very good as well.

If you saw this movie with no opinion on the Irish history, you will have one when you leave the theater. This shows to me how powerful this movie is. After all, Michael Collin's tactics were not pretty, everything from car-bombings to mob-style executions. Yet we still care for him, we want him to succeed, even if he himself isn't sure he wants to.

Without it's politics, this movie is still excellent. It's a great piece of movie-making, it's involving, sad, funny and sometimes tense. One of the movies I consider classic.

Details

Country:

UK Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Michael Collins

Filming Locations:

Broadstone, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$182,221, 13 October 1996

Gross USA:

$11,092,559

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,135,803

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Geffen Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1