St. Patrick: The Irish Legend

A young boy is kidnapped and forced into slavery, guarding sheep in Ireland. With his faith in God, he returns home only to decide to study to become a priest and introduce Christianity to the poor and enslaved people of Ireland. His deeds led him to becoming the second Bishop of Ireland. Very informative look at this fifth century personage. His reported use of the shamrock as an illustration of the Holy Trinity led to its being regarded as the Irish national symbol.

A very talented cast featuring Patrick Bergin as the adult Patrick and Luke Griffin as the young Patrick. Malcolm McDowell, Alan Bates and Susannah York seemed flawless.

I bought this movie for a dollar at the local library years ago and watched it for the first time today on St. Patrick's Day. The cast is great, the running time is short since it originally aired as a made for TV movie on what is now Freeform, and the plot is simple. The CGI is cheesy though. Definitely worth a rental.

I want to put in a good word for this movie. I watched it with my family, including husband, sons 19 and 17, and daughter 13. We all enjoyed it. The plot moves along, characters are well developed, and the important events of St. Patrick's life are covered with reasonable accuracy. The movie avoids getting bogged down in confusing historical details.

Several miracles/legends are depicted by special effects that may seem out of place to some viewers, but they are all famous legends told about St. Patrick. (eg. his banishing of snakes from Ireland)

I bought some DVDs not locally available for rent this Christmas, and thought I'd list my three favorites for others who are looking for something other than the usual Hollywood fare. 1.St. Patrick the Irish Legend (I really liked it that much!) 2. Ushpizin (Award winning Israeli film with English subtitles) 3. The Way Home (Award winning Korean film with English subtitles)

This is a decent telling of the life of Patrick from teen, to Irish slave, to Bishop of Ireland, to Patron Saint of the Irish. It gives a lot of information and background on the legend of the man who becomes the saint. It's starts off pretty good, but turns a little too unbelievable towards the end when he starts using magical powers. At one point, he chokes a man like Darth Vader using the force. It's just a little too over the top. The cinematography of the Irish countryside is beautiful.

**1/2 (Out of 4)

I loved this movie,but since I know nothing about the story or legend of St. Patrick,I watched it as a fantasy and enjoyed it very much. After reading the other reviews here I can agree with the historical inaccuracies,and that is a shame,if this was indeed meant to be a factual retelling. But as the title of the DVD said it was "The Legend of Ireland" I did not go into watching this movie with any expectations of historical truths. Therefore,I thoroughly enjoyed this film,and it truly is beautiful and a definite"Feel Good" movie!It has peaked my interest to do some more research on St. Patrick and Ireland as well.If you enjoy movies about how God can work in and change people's lives as I do,I do not think you will be disappointed in this film.