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Director
Neil Jordan
Credits
Producer: Stephen Woolley. Writer: Neil Jordan
Principal Cast
Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, Alan Rickman
Category
FeatureClassic1916 Centenary
An icon of Irish history, Michael Collins’ (Liam Neeson) life as a revolutionary becomes cinema in Neil Jordan’s historical epic. Retrenching after the failure of the 1916 Rising, Michael Collins sees its hero develop an army of street assassins whose guerilla tactics, after many violent reprisals, bring the British Empire to the negotiating table. Disputes with political leader Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman) and a romantic tangle with his closest friend Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn) over Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts) overshadow the achievement of a peace treaty whose divisive qualities leads to Civil War and Collins’ death. Employing a stylised history that draws on crime films such as The Godfather in imagining the War of Independence and Civil War as being gang warfare, Michael Collins proved controversial on release. The debates it inspired, which often saw political figures offer an opinion, demonstrate not only the sensitivity of the topic, but the openness with which Jordan portrayed a violent political struggle.
132 minutes, Ireland/United States/United Kingdom, 1996, Colour
ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH 16:00, 20:55
BALTIMORE 18:30
IO CAPITANO 13:20
JEANNE DU BARRY 13:10, 18:10
PERFECT DAYS 13:30
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN 15:40, 20:45
THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN Q&A (PREVIEW) 18.30
THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE 20:40
THE ZONE OF INTEREST 16:10
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