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Mood:
- StylizedCynicalCleverSincereTense
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Plot:
- Criminal HeroesMaster CriminalRise and FallAmbitionCrimesDishonestyLaw EnforcementMind and Soul more...
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Genres:
- CrimeDramaThriller
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Time/Period:
- 20th Century50s80s90s
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Place:
- EuropeIreland
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Audience:
- Boys' Night
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Praise:
- Award WinnerCritically AcclaimedCannes Festival WinnerPrestigious Awards
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Based on:
- Based on BookBiographyBased on True Story
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Attitudes:
- SeriousRealistic
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Look:
- B&W
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Flag:
- ProfanitySexual ContentViolent Content
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The General, 1998
English
UK, Ireland
Profile of The General
The mood of The General is cynical, stylized, and clever. The plot centers around a master criminal, a rise and fall, and law enforcement. It is a drama, crime, and thriller movie. In approach, The General is serious and realistic. The setting is Ireland. It happens in the 1950s, in the 1980s, and in the 1990s. Visually, The General is black and white. It is drawn from a biography, originally a true story, and based on a book. The movie is known for being a Cannes festival winner and critically acclaimed. The General is especially suggested for a boys' night. Note that it includes sexual content, profanity, and violent content.
Summary of The General
Brendan Gleeson stars as Martin Cahill, the leading Irish criminal of the 1980s. A protean figure, Cahill was a man of extraordinary intelligence, obsessive secretiveness, and vicious brutality who was never stopped by the Irish police despite having pocketed more than $60 million of other people's money. He was also capable of generosity to those in need and exuded a contagious joie de vivre that made him a hero to Ireland's poor and working-class population.
Born into poverty in the slums of Hollyfield, Cahill ends up in reform school after robbing a local merchant. Given his abilities, his rise in the world of crime is swift, abetted by a violent streak that has him nailing a partner to a pool table when he mistakently suspects him of talking to the cops. His creative domestic arrangements have him married to Frances (Maria Doyle Kennedy) while also begetting children with her sister, Tina (Angeline Ball). Although he enjoyed mocking every form of authority from the church and the government to the IRA, he had an unspoken bond with police inspector Ned Kenny (Jon Voight), who curses himself for allowing this latter-day Celtic chieftain to charm even a cop. A completely engrossing film anchored by the brilliant Gleeson and a terrific supporting cast, The General was shot by director John Boorman in color and printed in crisp black and white.
Details
| Language: | English |
| Country: | UK, Ireland |
| Release date: | October 1998 |
| Runtime: | 124 min |
| Awards: | Cannes |
Awards
Cast and Crew
as Martin Cahill
as Noel Curley
Photos
Clips
Users Reviews
- 20.August.2008
- |
- by: barak gilon
- barak gilon rated this movie7/10Good
