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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Salesrank: 37687
Released: February 4, 2003 |
| Our Price: $3.53 |
| Used Price: $2.06 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Mickey Rourke (9 1/2 Weeks) gives "his finest performance to date" (L.A. Weekly) in this hair-trigger action-thriller co-starring Bob Hoskins (Enemy at the Gates), Alan Bates (The Sum of All Fears) and Liam Neeson (Star Wars: Episode I). A gritty tale of retribution and redemption, A Prayer for the Dying has "a brisk style and an edgy rhythm" (The New York Times) that will keep your heart racing in suspense until the final frame! Tormented IRA revolutionary Martin Fallon (Rourke) wants out of the endless cycle of violence and bloodshed. Unfortunately, the price for his freedom is to perform one last murder for a ruthless mobster (Bates). As the vicious world he's trying to escape closes in on him, Fallon's only hope for salvation may be the man he's been ordered to kill.
A Prayer For The Dying Reviews:
Redemption and death 
2009-11-27 - This is easily one of Mickey Rourke's best performances as an on the run IRA soldier gone to ground in England. The supporting cast is outstanding with memorable acting by Bob Hoskins as a priest, and Alan Bates as a remorseless crime boss. Liam Neeson shows flashes of talent in this break-out film for him.
The plot is somewhat predictable, but Rourke's acting along with that of Hoskins and Bates is very entertaining and their interactions on screen never dull. Worth watching.
Excellent! 
2009-02-14 - The DVD arrived quickly and in excellent condition. The price was great, too. It was a pleasure doing business with you!
I've seen better 
2008-09-20 - Ummm, you people who think Mickey Rourke (Martin Fallon) was giving a great performance really need to watch more movies. Rourke's accent was almost as funny as Richard Gere's in "The Jackal." He was okay, but not great.
Maybe this was a good movie in the 80's for that genre, but it was very slow, predictable and filled with stereotypical characterizations of cops and bad guys. Oh, the bad guys were especially terrible in this one (Alan Bates as Jack Meehan). Something like New York cops and bad guys; except Irish. The bumbling and fumbling cops weren't any better.
Maybe it's because I like American-Made films better. Granted, that could be the problem with my somewhat biased opinion. But we all know that there have been countless American flops the past years.
Then again, I've always admired Liam Neeson's (Liam Docherty) acting in any movie (A small part in this one, compared to Rourke's)- including "Next Of Kin," just two years after this one. Bob Hoskins (Father Da Costa) on the other hand, has never impressed me with his acting, and was especially terrible in "Enemy At The Gates" - (2001) as Nikita Kruschev; and in "Outlaw" - (2007) as inside police contact Walter Lewis.
I'm still going to give it three stars for trying, and because there actually were parts I enjoyed once they picked up the pace (somewhat). Also, because when I think about it, so many American film makers could and have done worse (read "HITMAN" - Timothy Olyphant 2007).
A Prayer for the Dying
2007-08-29 - It is an excellent movie showing someone who has lost his taste for killing and the road he takes. The acting is very good and the story is excellent.
It isn't King Lear, but it's better than you think!
2007-08-23 - I've read some pretty scathing reviews of this film, but I find every Mike Hodges film I've seen to be extremely interesting. This one is no exception. Bob Hoskins is said to be miscast---but I believed him. Alan Bates could read the phone book and I'd enjoy his work. And this is the only time I've ever liked Mickey Rourke's work. If you're exploring Hodges or you just want something a little different, give this one a shot.
