The Renegade

What an amazing piece of film making on show here. Its essentially a Western set to the back drop of The Irish Potato famine. That this period has never really been depicted before really is sad,as its a time that should never be forgotten. Both the leads in James Frecheville as Feeney,and Hugo Weaving as Hannah are simply masterful. Whilst we may be used to Weaving putting in such a great roll Frecheville is a relative newcomer.But judging from the intensity that he brings to this part he will be around for a long time. This should be required viewing to anybody who studies English history. Bravo.

There is a lot in this that reminds me of elements of the movie First Blood. However this is set in Ireland in the 1800's during the potato famine.

I'm an Englishman and i have to say, i absolutely support the people of Ireland against the English in this. The way the English behaved toward that people of Ireland is abhorrent to me. I would and do fully side with the Irish on their right to own their own land, to be free, but them, we're more alike than we realise since we were both the victims of Norman Monarchs and their descendants.

Anyhow, politics aside, this is a really moving and gripping action/revenge story. The acting is great. Yes the concept is black and white, a bit cliched, but the execution is brilliant. Cast, well, it has Hugo Weaving so we're off to a solid start and the cast does work well.

The English Captain is a bit of a cliched plum, but hey, somebody has to be the bad guy and the English aristocracy were.

Really gritty, solid movie. Both entertaining and moving. Very enjoyable to watch. The only downside is it reminds us all how badly the poor Irish of the time are treated and that is something kids in the UK should learn about and be ashamed of.

This piece of the dark history about how the Ireland people was brutally treated by the British is like the Jewish Holocaust that have been repeatedly made into novels and films. My latest viewing of it was the TV series "Highlander" about how the Scotland people were so cruelly treated by the British. This 'Black '47" is one of the best films that I have viewed in late of this year. It's so thoughtful, dark, dreary, atrocious, cruel, bloody and sad; a mixture of unforgetable and undeniable heartless inhuman crime committed by the British Empire and its aristocratic society.

The whole film is well scripted, directed and performed by a bunch of A-list actors to support a not quite well known actor, James Frecheville, to play the leading "Fenny" role. There's no romantic moment at all in this film, only the horrible human sufferings. I just felt sad and numb when this film ended, but at the same time, would like to praise its seriousness of making this film.

Just watched Black 47 tonight in West Belfast with a hushed audience. A story about injustice and famine and how comradeship can redeem the evil in man. A dark and emotional film which will make you cry - and whoop as some of the culprits are served justice by a man of the people.

A great script, cast, acting, covering a great tale of injustice and violence. Incredible the amount of great Cinema that barely gets an airing in the UK. Historical events such as the Famine, Culloden, Easter Rising, Transportation, Glencoe Massacre, Tolpuddle martyrs, Peterloo and the Highland Clearances are stories that deserve telling. Instead the Big Budgets are left to fetishise WW2 again and again.