St Patrick’s Day Movies
I like to celebrate my Irish Heritage with a wee bit of fillum. Here's a list of Irish and Irish-American Flicks that I like - Except for that Lord of the Dance - What an embarrassment to be Irish when those limp-armed clodhoppers hit the stage.
Anyway...
-Go out tonight and pick up one or more of these flicks to celebrate all that's Irish for St Patrick's Day. Some Old, some new, some classic, some forgettable.
And remember - for just one day we are all Irish. Sing, Dance, Drink!
The Quiet Man The classic tale of Sean "Trooper" Thornton (John Wayne). Sean returns to his homeland to buy plot of land and snag a wife. The Wife is a firey redhead named Mary Kate Danaher( Maureen O'Hara), sister to "Red" (Victor McLaglen ) the town bully, who also has his eyes on Sean's plot. There's plenty of fun in this bit of eyre.
St. Patrick: The Irish Legend Movie version of the Story of St. Patrick.
Billy Elliot This Little kid just wants to dance. But in tough County Durham, a fellow dancing might as well be wear a shirt that says, "I'm a Poof." Billy is a a young man faced with a major dilemma about being himself. When his teacher says he should enter auditions to attend ballet school, how's he gonna keep that quiet?
Dear Frankie Young Frankie's mom has been sending him letters since he was tiny. They've all been fake, addressed from his "dad". His real dad is a piece of work and his mom has made up a seafaring wanderer who sends Frankie letters from a ficticious freighter that frequents distant ports. When the ficticous ship turns out to be real and headed to Frankies home town things go desperately wrong, then maybe perfectly right. But it could be a real disaster!
A Little Bit of Irish Bing Crosby selections from the past. Songs include: Molly Malone, The Rose of Tralee, Bold Fenian Men, Send me my Desire, Irish Jig, Ignatius John, Across the Irish Sea,Isle of Innisfree, Off to Philidelphia, Gaelic Lament, The Fool and the Mother, The Boys of Wexford/Captain Kelly's Kitchen, Off to Dublin in the Green, Macnamara's Band, and of course WHEN IRISH EYES ARE SMILING.
Leprechaun Pot of Gore Collection Yay! All five Leprechaun movies in the proverbial pot of gore! Dan O'Grady starts it all off by trying to steal the little guys pot of gold. From there we learn more and more truth about the vicious little critter who ain't about to share any lucky charms.
The Brothers McMullen Is a chick flick where three Irish Catholic brothers share emotions and deal with relationships and all that "manly" emotional blarney. Nothing reallly happens except you cry a lot.
The Devil's Own Frankie McGuire (cute little Brad Pitt) is an IRA killer who's visiting America to buy weapons. He's posing as a young immigrant in search of work. McGuire is sponsored by Tom O'Meara (tough guy Harrison Ford), a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Things go wrong with the arms deal, putting both Frankie and the O'Meara family in a real tough spot.
Angela's Ashes Frank McCourt made great with Irish wit when dealing with misery. This tale in particular is his very own - told from his perspective as a lad in Limerick whose drunken dad and overworked mom trudge on through the endless poverty and cruelty that marked the 1930's in much of the Emerald Isle. Malachy McCourt's heirloom to his son was all he had, a way of weaving a story that you just had to hear. Luckily the younger McCourt found a typewriter and a publisher and made good for the whole family. This goes a long way to stereotype that Irish were nothing but shiftless drunks, Thanks.
In the Name of The Father Based somewhat on the story of Gerry Conlon and the Guildford four, It gives a good look into the relationship between a man and his slacker son. It also shows that a boy without purpose can become a man with a mission. Nicely acted and lots of Irish-Anglo conflict, this gritty crime drama tops the list of Daniel Day Lewis films.
The Commitments One of the greatest movies about music and musicians ever. Jimmy Rabbitte wants to form the "World's Hardest Working Band". Jimmy's experience in music so far is selling bootleg tapes from a duffel bag in Dublin's street markets. Somehow he manages to bring together a group of the "blackest blacks in Europe" and they actually begin to make beautiful music. They just need a big break. The big break is on it's way when The Commitments encounter the things that have brought down many a musician - Family, friends and the fame they have worked for.
The Magdelene Sisters The only thing worse than a flirty Catholic girl is being a pregnant Catholic girl, even if it was because your cousin raped you. The Magdelene Sisters were good enough to take these troublesome creatures out of circulation until 1996. This is the tale of three such young women in the 1960's who faced the brutality of the pious nuns. Unrelenting drudgery of laundry (the nuns were paid, the girls got gruel), constant prayer and complete seclusion (even from their own families) were to get the women to heaven.
Waking Ned Devine Oh what a tangled web! The luck o' the Irish hits Ned Devine Smack between the eyes. He wins the Lottery bigtime - but the shock of it all gives his ticker a fit. When the townsfolk find him dead they conspire to have a ringer collect the winnings so they can split it.
Borstal Boy When Brendan Behan was sent to a reform school for attempting to set a bomb in Liverpool, His life took a series of turns that changed him. This is his story.
IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT IRELAND traces the history and legends of ancient Ireland. Beginning in 2000 B.C. -- when Stone Age farmers built some of the largest and most spectacular Neolithic monuments in Europe -- the series explores events and stories from millennia of history, to 1167 A.D., when the Norman invasion placed Ireland under control of England's king.
Rudy EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE! Rudy's hopes, dreams, ambitions - really his whole life revolves around him playing football for Notre Dame. He has worked, studied, practiced, done everything possible to make his dream come true. Unfortunately Rudy is just a little too small and a little to slow to play at that level. But that doesn't stop him. It may not have gotten an oscar but it is one of the top movies of all time.
Celtic Woman Hot chicks sing and play the music of the Emerald Isle.
The Celtic Tiger Starring Michael Flatley Michael Flatley, the fastest feet on earth returns to the stage to spearhead his powerful new dance spectacular, Celtic Tiger.