Liam Neeson Movie:

				Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Irish writer-director Neil Jordan followed up his surprise hit The Crying Game with this controversial biography of IRA leader Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), one of the most important political leaders of the 20th century. The film follows Collins as he matures from guerrilla leader to national hero and statesman. Jordan's take on Collins is that he was set up by Irish president Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), who was jealous of Collins's legendary popularity. De Valera puts Collins in the position of negotiating a peace treaty that would never satisfy the Irish hero's hard-core followers. When the IRA leader returns with a first-step compromise, De Valera undercuts Collins's popularity by refusing to support the revised treaty. And the civil war continues for decades. Michael Collins occasionally loses focus and momentum, but is the kind of exciting historical drama that deserves to be called "sweeping." It is also one of the most beautifully photographed films in years: cinematographer Chris Menges uses color and texture to set moods and accent emotions. The movie also stars Aidan Quinn, Julia Roberts, and Stephen Rea. --Jim Emerson

Michael Collins [Region 2] Reviews:
Michael Collins
2009-11-17 -

A wonderfully filmed picture, great color and angles. Wonderful actors, great action and a great piece of Irish history. As we know, freedom is not free.God's rest to Michael Collin a true Irish hero. Surprised by how really great this picture was for the sales price of the film.

SIMPLY; MICHAEL COLLINS
2009-11-04 - In my opinion, the movie was excellent. Even though I felt a few artistic liberties might have been taken, from what I can see, the movie was pretty much 'on point'. Liam Neeson, did an outstanding job in portraying the Irish leader, Michael Collins, intelligent, highly motivated and passionate about what he was trying to attain, almost to a fault. (Note: of course I expected no less from the actor - excellent in whatever he portrays). The movie sheds light on a bit of Irish history regarding the IRB and IRA; the fight to break British total rule over Ireland, and Michael Collins efforts to accomplish this. The movie should be watched closely , noting, that there was a split among the Irish people and in the end, it was the Irish against Irish (which seems to be ongoing, to some extent,even today). I had seen/rented the movie before, but it's the kind of movie I can watch again and again. I enjoyed it that much. So, I decided to purchase the DVD from Amazon for my own library. When I received the DVD, I immediately watch it over again,twice. If you are interested in anything regarding a bit of Ireland's history, or the history of the IRB/IRA,I recommend you buy this movie. Each time I watch it, (contrary to what others might feel), I am left with a deep sense of respect for the young Irish leader and what he accomplished during his brief political career.

Great Movie
2009-10-26 - If you love Ireland this is a great movie, if you love history this is a great movie, if you love a good story this is a great movie.

Great Historical Film Making
2009-07-10 - The story is well told, acted and well balanced. This is a good film to watch with "The Wind that Shakes the Barley". It accurately dislays the civil unrest and feeling about the time period. It would have been nice to see more of Michael's earlier history as a lad growing up and in London, as it seemed more focused on the 1916 uprising and 1922 treaty with the events surrounding. Nevertheless, we enjoy this film, and in our opinion was well done.

Jordan's Most Powerful Film
2009-07-07 - Michael Collins is quite possibly Irish director Neil Jordan's most powerful film. The problem is that the film was not widely seen on its release in 1997. Over time the film has lost some of the controvery surrounding it and viewed in retrospect stands as a tribute to Jordan's storytelling art.

Liam Neeson portrays the Irish revolutionary and statesman Michael Collins at the pivotal timeperiod 1916 until 1922. The film covers ground between the Easter uprising and the leader's death six years later. The cast is excellent and features Aiden Quinn as Harry Boland, Alan Rickman as Irish Republican President Eamon de Valera. If there is a weakness in the casting it is in the part of love interest Kitty Kearnan played by a very American sounding Julia Roberts.

The film has been criticized because Jordan changed some events to make the story flow better. I don't see this as a problem. All history involves revision depending on the author's take on the story. Many will compare this film to Mel Gibson's Braveheart but I feel that this is overall a better film.

A minor issue comes in the presentation. The film was an early release from Warner Brothers and the movie is contained on a double sided single layer flipper disc whicc calls for flipping with only about 30 minutes remaining in the film. The disc contains an episode of the London Weekend Television series The Southbank Show which is a quite good special feature. The documentary runs for about 50 minutes and covers both Collins' life and the production. For an evening of historical drama you can't beat this one.

Highly recommended.