A história da vida real do herói popular de Dublin, o criminoso Martin Cahill, que realizou dois ousados assaltos na Irlanda com sua equipe, mas atraiu a atenção indesejada da polícia, do IR... Ler tudoA história da vida real do herói popular de Dublin, o criminoso Martin Cahill, que realizou dois ousados assaltos na Irlanda com sua equipe, mas atraiu a atenção indesejada da polícia, do IRA, do UVF e de membros de sua própria equipe.A história da vida real do herói popular de Dublin, o criminoso Martin Cahill, que realizou dois ousados assaltos na Irlanda com sua equipe, mas atraiu a atenção indesejada da polícia, do IRA, do UVF e de membros de sua própria equipe.
- Direção
- Roteiristas
- Artistas
- Prêmios
- 10 vitórias e 14 indicações no total
- Harry
- (as Vinnie Murphy)
- Orla
- (as Roxanna Williams)
- Direção
- Roteiristas
- Elenco e equipe completos
- Produção, bilheteria e muito mais no IMDbPro
Avaliações em destaque
It's anti-hero, Martin Cahill was Ireland's most infamous criminal of recent times - so much so that there has been four screen depictions of him (Ken Stott in The Vicious Circle, Kevin Spacey in Ordinary Decent Criminal, Pete Postlethwaite in When The Sky Falls and Brendan Gleeson in The General).
He was guilty of some of the country's most outrageous crimes and capable of real brutality - most notably, injuring a forensic scientist in a car bomb and literally nailing one of his gang members to the floor.
Add into the mix the fact that the film has a largely Irish cast deploying thick Dublin accents and that Boorman chose to shoot it in black and white and you have a movie which wasn't exactly going to jump out at international and especially, US audiences demanding to be loved.
The result is perhaps Boorman's finest work, certainly on a par with the wonderful 'Hope and Glory'.
The film is also by a furlong the best of the four movies depicting Cahill's life.
This is in large part due to the brilliant performance of Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson in the central role.
The Irish Depardieu not only physically transforms himself into Cahill but captures the rebellious spirit, the intelligence and the charm.
It would have been easy to depict Cahill as a monster.
However, Gleeson and Boorman treat their audience with respect, building up a character with shades of darkness and light.
On one hand, viewers are given an appreciation of how "The General" was able to command the love of two sisters, his children and the adulation of his criminal associates.
However, Boorman's film is certainly no love letter to Cahill. We also see his sadistic side as in the bombing of the forensic scientist's car and crucifixion of one of his gang members, his lack of consideration and compassion for the 100 workers laid off at a storeroom he has robbed, his cold bargaining with the sexually abused daughter of one of his gang members.
The supporting cast also put in fine performances too.
Jon Voight not only masters the rural Irish brogue of the Garda (police) inspector bedevilled by Cahill but also the attitudes. It is a tough but ultimately sympathetic performance of a cop dragged unwillingly into the gutter.
Maria Doyle Kennedy and Angeline Ball give charming performances as the sisters who were also the women in Cahill's rather unorthodox life, with Ciaran Fitzgerald also making a sympathetic son.
Adrian Dunbar, Sean McGinley and Eanna MacLiam all put in spirited performances as members of Cahill's gang. McGinley, in particular, creates another memorably seedy performance as Gary.
Special mention should also go to Pat Laffan as a brutish Garda sergeant.
With it's cracking script, Richie Buckley's musical score and the black and white camerawork, 'The General' is easily up there with the best of modern movies made in Ireland (certainly, up there with Neil Jordan's 'The Butcher Boy' and Alan Parker's 'The Commitments').
It is a must see - a film which demands cult status.
Not your typical A-List Hollywood crime melodrama, this movie is not for everyone, especially those looking for the typical Vin Diesel or Al Pacino crime flick. This is more like the Sopranos in the Irish slums. And, I recommend it highly for a Saturday night rental; just be forewarned that it is quite brutal and intense at times.
Films about the troubles (or around the troubles) in Northern Ireland usually tend to put me off because they often wear their colours very large on their sleeves and seem more interesting in scoring political points than telling a good story. However this happily manages to avoid that and tells a Robin Hood style tale that is fairly well told.
Cahill is a little romanticised in that he has a great sense of humour and is very likeable, but the film doesn't hold back from showing the violence of the life with Cahill having to do nasty stuff as well. For me it worked so well because of the gentle comedy that ran through the story, but it still held plenty of drama and the characters (especially Cahill) held my attention easily.
Gleeson gives a great performance. He has got Cahill's little habits down really well the covering of the face at every opportunity etc. Dunbar is good as are most of the support cast. Voight is an interesting bit of casting that is only used occasionally. However it is really Gleeson's show and his good humour carries the film easily.
Overall this film is very entertaining with a dark edge to it. The story is very enjoyable itself but with the dark humour provided by Gleeson it is even better.
Você sabia?
- CuriosidadesThe house of writer and director Sir John Boorman was robbed by the real-life Martin Cahill. Among other things, he stole a gold record that Boorman had on the wall (an award for the "Dueling Banjos" theme from Amargo Pesadelo (1972)), which inspired Boorman to include that scene in the movie.
- Erros de gravaçãoSet in 1984, the background of the anti-drug march features a car with a license plate beginning with "96," indicating 1996.
- Citações
Garda: Hey Cahill! Which sister did you screw last night? Both?
Martin Cahill: Yours.
- Versões alternativasHome video version is colorized.
Principais escolhas
- How long is The General?Fornecido pela Alexa
Detalhes
- Data de lançamento
- Países de origem
- Central de atendimento oficial
- Idioma
- Também conhecido como
- The General
- Locações de filme
- Empresas de produção
- Consulte mais créditos da empresa na IMDbPro
Bilheteria
- Faturamento bruto nos EUA e Canadá
- US$ 1.214.198
- Fim de semana de estreia nos EUA e Canadá
- US$ 26.771
- 20 de dez. de 1998
- Faturamento bruto mundial
- US$ 1.214.198
- Tempo de duração2 horas 4 minutos
- Cor
- Mixagem de som
- Proporção
- 2.39 : 1