David Korda, the British film producer and financier who hailed from a family of notable filmmakers including his father Zoltàn Korda, has died. He was 87.
Korda’s death was disclosed Nov. 16 by film historian Charles Drazin via social media. Korda died Sept. 18 at Cromwell Hospital in London following a battle with cancer, according to Drazin who wrote a 2011 biography of Korda’s uncle, producer-director Alexander Korda. News of David Korda’s death was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Korda’s father was the director of films such as 1939’s “The Four Feathers” and 1951’s “Cry, the Beloved Country.” His mother was actress Joan Gardner, known for roles in such films as 1934’s “The Scarlett Pimpernel” and 1937’s “Dark Journey.” His uncle Alexander Korda founded London Films, owner of British Lion Films, which produced the 1933 feature “The Private Life of Henry VIII” and 1949’s “The Third Man.” His uncle Vincent Korda...
Korda’s death was disclosed Nov. 16 by film historian Charles Drazin via social media. Korda died Sept. 18 at Cromwell Hospital in London following a battle with cancer, according to Drazin who wrote a 2011 biography of Korda’s uncle, producer-director Alexander Korda. News of David Korda’s death was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Korda’s father was the director of films such as 1939’s “The Four Feathers” and 1951’s “Cry, the Beloved Country.” His mother was actress Joan Gardner, known for roles in such films as 1934’s “The Scarlett Pimpernel” and 1937’s “Dark Journey.” His uncle Alexander Korda founded London Films, owner of British Lion Films, which produced the 1933 feature “The Private Life of Henry VIII” and 1949’s “The Third Man.” His uncle Vincent Korda...
- 11/16/2024
- by Andrés Buenahora
- Variety Film + TV
David Korda, a prominent member of the Korda family movie dynasty who served as a producer and important film financier in a show business career that spanned more than 60 years, has died. He was 87.
Korda, chairman of the British company Film Finances Ltd., died Sept. 18 at Cromwell Hospital in London, author, editor and film historian Charles Drazin told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been in poor health after a battle with cancer.
Korda’s parents were Zoltan Korda, director of the Ralph Richardson-starring epic The Four Feathers (1939), and actress Joan Gardner (Dark Journey, The Scarlet Pimpernel).
One of his uncles was Alexander Korda, the founder of London Films, the owner of British Lion Films, a producer of such classics as The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and The Third Man (1949) and the first filmmaker to receive a knighthood. Another uncle, Vincent Korda, was a painter and Oscar-winning art director.
Korda, chairman of the British company Film Finances Ltd., died Sept. 18 at Cromwell Hospital in London, author, editor and film historian Charles Drazin told The Hollywood Reporter. He had been in poor health after a battle with cancer.
Korda’s parents were Zoltan Korda, director of the Ralph Richardson-starring epic The Four Feathers (1939), and actress Joan Gardner (Dark Journey, The Scarlet Pimpernel).
One of his uncles was Alexander Korda, the founder of London Films, the owner of British Lion Films, a producer of such classics as The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and The Third Man (1949) and the first filmmaker to receive a knighthood. Another uncle, Vincent Korda, was a painter and Oscar-winning art director.
- 11/14/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It sounds like a winner — Albert Finney and Martin Sheen team up for a daring subterranean bank robbery in the heart of London. The locations, the sets and the production are all first class. So what happened? Susannah York and Jonathan Pryce are in on the heist as well.
Loophole (1981)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date January 3, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Tony Doyle, Christopher Guard, Gwyneth Powell.
Cinematography Michael Reed
Film Editor Ralph Sheldon
Original Music Lalo Schifrin
Written by Jonathan Hales from a novel by Robert Pollock
Produced by Julian Holloway, David Korda
Directed by John Quested
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The great movie titled Loophole is still the underdog film noir from 1954, with Barry Sullivan as a bank clerk being dogged by an insurance investigator. The 1981 Loophole, an English movie,...
Loophole (1981)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1981 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date January 3, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring Albert Finney, Martin Sheen, Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Morley, Alfred Lynch, Tony Doyle, Christopher Guard, Gwyneth Powell.
Cinematography Michael Reed
Film Editor Ralph Sheldon
Original Music Lalo Schifrin
Written by Jonathan Hales from a novel by Robert Pollock
Produced by Julian Holloway, David Korda
Directed by John Quested
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The great movie titled Loophole is still the underdog film noir from 1954, with Barry Sullivan as a bank clerk being dogged by an insurance investigator. The 1981 Loophole, an English movie,...
- 12/30/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Four Feathers Directed by: Zoltán Korda Written by: R. C. Sherriff Starring: John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith, June Duprez Billed as a sort of adventure film, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Four Feathers. Even though the tale has been told on film multiple times, I went in to it knowing nothing about the story and was pleasantly surprised. The film is set in the 1890's during the Mahdist War. I won't claim to have heard of this particular war previous to this film, nor will I act as any sort of expert on the background of this conflict (something to do with the British colonization of Africa). The lead character, Harry Faversham (played by John Clements) was brought up in a family rooted in military history. He's a member of the British Army but resigns on the eve of a massive deployment to Khartoum.
- 12/12/2011
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
DVD Playhouse—November 2011
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
By Allen Gardner
Tree Of Life (20th Century Fox) Terrence Malick’s latest effort is both the best film of 2011 and the finest work of his (arguably) mixed, but often masterly canon. A series of vignettes, mostly set in 1950s Texas, capture the memory of a man (Sean Penn) in present-day New York who looks back on his life, and his parents’ (Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain) troubled marriage, when word of his younger brother’s suicide reaches him. Almost indescribable beyond that, except to say no other film in history so perfectly evokes the magic and mystery of the human memory, which both crystalizes (and sometimes idealizes) the past. Like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001, this is a challenging, polarizing work that you must let wash over you. If you go along for the ride, you’re in for a unique, rewarding cinematic experience. Also available on Blu-ray disc.
- 11/25/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Aspen Extreme (1993)
Synopsis: T.J. and his friend Dexter quit their jobs in Detroit to become ski-instructors in Aspen. While T.J. advances to the most popular instructor of the school during the season, he has to take care for Dexter, who’s future is less bright and who’s eventually thinking about jobbing as drug courier – bringing their friendship to a test. Meanwhile the rich business woman Brice supports T.J. in his writing ambitions and invites him to live at her home. But in her absence he falls in love with the stunningly beautiful blond radio moderator Robin. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Unknown
The Bad Seed (1956)
Synopsis: An ideal housewife begins to suspect her loving eight-year-old daughter may be a heartless killer. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features:
Audio Commentary Featurette Theatrical Trailer
Beautiful Boy (2010)
Synopsis: Bill and...
Aspen Extreme (1993)
Synopsis: T.J. and his friend Dexter quit their jobs in Detroit to become ski-instructors in Aspen. While T.J. advances to the most popular instructor of the school during the season, he has to take care for Dexter, who’s future is less bright and who’s eventually thinking about jobbing as drug courier – bringing their friendship to a test. Meanwhile the rich business woman Brice supports T.J. in his writing ambitions and invites him to live at her home. But in her absence he falls in love with the stunningly beautiful blond radio moderator Robin. (highdefdigest.com)
Special Features:
Unknown
The Bad Seed (1956)
Synopsis: An ideal housewife begins to suspect her loving eight-year-old daughter may be a heartless killer. (blu-ray.com)
Special Features:
Audio Commentary Featurette Theatrical Trailer
Beautiful Boy (2010)
Synopsis: Bill and...
- 10/10/2011
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Release Date: Oct. 11, 2011
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The spectacular 1939 Technicolor epic The Four Feathers, directed by Zoltán Korda (Jungle Book), is considered the finest of the many adaptations of A.E.W. Mason’s classic 1902 adventure novel about the British Empire’s exploits in Africa.
Set at the end of the 19th century, the adventure film follows the travails of a young officer (John Clements, Rembrandt) accused of cowardice after he resigns his post on the eve of a major deployment to Khartoum. Ultimately, he must fight to redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow officers and fiancée (June Duprez, The Thief of Bagdad).
Featuring music by Miklós Rózsa (The Killers) and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Georges Périnal (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp), The Four Feathers remains a timeless, thunderous movie epic.
The film was remade by Shekhar Kapur in 2002. Not nearly as invigorating as the Korda version, the...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
The spectacular 1939 Technicolor epic The Four Feathers, directed by Zoltán Korda (Jungle Book), is considered the finest of the many adaptations of A.E.W. Mason’s classic 1902 adventure novel about the British Empire’s exploits in Africa.
Set at the end of the 19th century, the adventure film follows the travails of a young officer (John Clements, Rembrandt) accused of cowardice after he resigns his post on the eve of a major deployment to Khartoum. Ultimately, he must fight to redeem himself in the eyes of his fellow officers and fiancée (June Duprez, The Thief of Bagdad).
Featuring music by Miklós Rózsa (The Killers) and Oscar-nominated cinematography by Georges Périnal (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp), The Four Feathers remains a timeless, thunderous movie epic.
The film was remade by Shekhar Kapur in 2002. Not nearly as invigorating as the Korda version, the...
- 8/8/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Boys From County Clare
Screened
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- "The Boys From County Clare" wraps a banal story of young love and old family quarrels in the lively sights and sounds of Ceili music. This most traditional of Irish dance or party music sweeps the characters up in its happy tunes, all emanating from bands that consist of several fiddles, a flute, piano, drum, some kind of accordion and perhaps a banjo or guitar.
The characters feel drawn from life, and the actors do their best to give them sass. Although the story ultimately lets them down, the movie does allow you to mingle in the rehearsal halls, pubs and a small village where the All Ireland Traditional Music Competition takes place. Directed by John Irvin, "Boys" makes an attractive light comedy-drama that is just offbeat enough to please adult audiences hankering for something a little different.
Nicholas Adams' story takes place during the '60s, when the Liverpool sound has conquered the pop world but not the world of Ceili music. (It's pronounced "KAY-lee".) The annual Ceili competition sets the stage for a reunion of two estranged brothers, who haven't seen each other in 20-odd years.
Dapper yet still driven Jimmy MacMahon (Colm Meaney), who left County Clare for success, fine threads and multiple wives in Liverpool, aims to return home with his English band to snatch the trophy away from a band headed by his older brother, John Joe Bernard Hill). A lifelong bachelor who stayed behind on the family farm, John Joe has no intention of letting this happen. Mind you, each brother is more than willing to stoop to sabotage to keep the other from attending.
Despite their worst intentions, both wind up in a small west Irish village that nearly doubles in size to accommodate all the bands and musicians. Some, such as the English lads and a hippie couple, pitch camp by the beach. When Jimmy's flute player, Teddy (Shaun Evans), falls in love at first sight with John Joe's fiddle player, Anne (Andrea Corr), all hell breaks loose.
Only now -- and rather implausibly -- does Anne's overprotective mother, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), the Irish band's piano player, tell her daughter that Jimmy is her long-lost father. This is a shaky plot device that forces first-time screenwriter Adams to concoct a series of confrontations that will lead to snappy resolutions of a lifetime of grief and resentment. Fortunately, the music frequently interrupts the melodrama, and the romance between the two musicians keeps the movie cheerful.
Meaney and Hill play the feuding brothers as a study in contrasts -- one flashy and insincere and the other stolid and reserved. Yet each is passionate about the music. Corr, lead singer of Irish pop band the Corrs, has a charm and sweet gentleness onscreen, though the depth of her acting ability is hard to gauge from this role.
Bradley must play the same note of shrill bitterness throughout, which robs her of a complexity that might have made Maisie a more touching character. Evans is convincing in his puppy-dog devotion to his new love, just as Philip Barantini, playing his buddy Alex, is convincing in his pursuit of female contestants for recreational purposes.
Shot, interestingly enough, not in Ireland but Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, "Boys" benefits from cinematographer Thomas Burstyn's warm, romantic lighting and the true Irish grit supplied by designer Tom McCullagh, who makes the small town's narrow streets and crowded pubs brim with life as musicians celebrate the glory of their music. Composer Fiachra Trench and Scott Gorham, lead guitarist with the rock band Thin Lizzy, supply a spirited Irish score combined with music from the period.
THE BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE
First Look Media presents a Studio Hamburg Worldwide Pictures production in association with the Isle of Mann Commission, TPC and Kolar/Rufus Isaacs
Credits:
Director: John Irvin
Screenwriter: Nicholas Adams
Producers: Evzen Kolar, Wolfgang Esenwein, Ellen Little
Executive producers: Anthony Rufus Isaacs, Martyn Auty, Steve Christian, David Korda, Jim Reeve, Dieter Stempnierwsky, Bill Kenwright
Director of photography: Thomas Burstyn
Production designer: Tom McCullagh
Music: Fiachra Trench
Costume designer: Hazel Webb-Crozier
Editor: Ian Crafford
Cast:
Jimmy: Colm Meaney
John Joe: Bernard Hill
Anne: Andrea Corr
Teddy: Shaun Evans
Alex: Philip Barantini
Maisie: Charlotte Bradley
Padjo: Patrick Bergin
Bernie: Catherine Byrne
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- "The Boys From County Clare" wraps a banal story of young love and old family quarrels in the lively sights and sounds of Ceili music. This most traditional of Irish dance or party music sweeps the characters up in its happy tunes, all emanating from bands that consist of several fiddles, a flute, piano, drum, some kind of accordion and perhaps a banjo or guitar.
The characters feel drawn from life, and the actors do their best to give them sass. Although the story ultimately lets them down, the movie does allow you to mingle in the rehearsal halls, pubs and a small village where the All Ireland Traditional Music Competition takes place. Directed by John Irvin, "Boys" makes an attractive light comedy-drama that is just offbeat enough to please adult audiences hankering for something a little different.
Nicholas Adams' story takes place during the '60s, when the Liverpool sound has conquered the pop world but not the world of Ceili music. (It's pronounced "KAY-lee".) The annual Ceili competition sets the stage for a reunion of two estranged brothers, who haven't seen each other in 20-odd years.
Dapper yet still driven Jimmy MacMahon (Colm Meaney), who left County Clare for success, fine threads and multiple wives in Liverpool, aims to return home with his English band to snatch the trophy away from a band headed by his older brother, John Joe Bernard Hill). A lifelong bachelor who stayed behind on the family farm, John Joe has no intention of letting this happen. Mind you, each brother is more than willing to stoop to sabotage to keep the other from attending.
Despite their worst intentions, both wind up in a small west Irish village that nearly doubles in size to accommodate all the bands and musicians. Some, such as the English lads and a hippie couple, pitch camp by the beach. When Jimmy's flute player, Teddy (Shaun Evans), falls in love at first sight with John Joe's fiddle player, Anne (Andrea Corr), all hell breaks loose.
Only now -- and rather implausibly -- does Anne's overprotective mother, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), the Irish band's piano player, tell her daughter that Jimmy is her long-lost father. This is a shaky plot device that forces first-time screenwriter Adams to concoct a series of confrontations that will lead to snappy resolutions of a lifetime of grief and resentment. Fortunately, the music frequently interrupts the melodrama, and the romance between the two musicians keeps the movie cheerful.
Meaney and Hill play the feuding brothers as a study in contrasts -- one flashy and insincere and the other stolid and reserved. Yet each is passionate about the music. Corr, lead singer of Irish pop band the Corrs, has a charm and sweet gentleness onscreen, though the depth of her acting ability is hard to gauge from this role.
Bradley must play the same note of shrill bitterness throughout, which robs her of a complexity that might have made Maisie a more touching character. Evans is convincing in his puppy-dog devotion to his new love, just as Philip Barantini, playing his buddy Alex, is convincing in his pursuit of female contestants for recreational purposes.
Shot, interestingly enough, not in Ireland but Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, "Boys" benefits from cinematographer Thomas Burstyn's warm, romantic lighting and the true Irish grit supplied by designer Tom McCullagh, who makes the small town's narrow streets and crowded pubs brim with life as musicians celebrate the glory of their music. Composer Fiachra Trench and Scott Gorham, lead guitarist with the rock band Thin Lizzy, supply a spirited Irish score combined with music from the period.
THE BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE
First Look Media presents a Studio Hamburg Worldwide Pictures production in association with the Isle of Mann Commission, TPC and Kolar/Rufus Isaacs
Credits:
Director: John Irvin
Screenwriter: Nicholas Adams
Producers: Evzen Kolar, Wolfgang Esenwein, Ellen Little
Executive producers: Anthony Rufus Isaacs, Martyn Auty, Steve Christian, David Korda, Jim Reeve, Dieter Stempnierwsky, Bill Kenwright
Director of photography: Thomas Burstyn
Production designer: Tom McCullagh
Music: Fiachra Trench
Costume designer: Hazel Webb-Crozier
Editor: Ian Crafford
Cast:
Jimmy: Colm Meaney
John Joe: Bernard Hill
Anne: Andrea Corr
Teddy: Shaun Evans
Alex: Philip Barantini
Maisie: Charlotte Bradley
Padjo: Patrick Bergin
Bernie: Catherine Byrne
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 7/9/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Boys From County Clare
Screened
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- "The Boys From County Clare" wraps a banal story of young love and old family quarrels in the lively sights and sounds of Ceili music. This most traditional of Irish dance or party music sweeps the characters up in its happy tunes, all emanating from bands that consist of several fiddles, a flute, piano, drum, some kind of accordion and perhaps a banjo or guitar.
The characters feel drawn from life, and the actors do their best to give them sass. Although the story ultimately lets them down, the movie does allow you to mingle in the rehearsal halls, pubs and a small village where the All Ireland Traditional Music Competition takes place. Directed by John Irvin, "Boys" makes an attractive light comedy-drama that is just offbeat enough to please adult audiences hankering for something a little different.
Nicholas Adams' story takes place during the '60s, when the Liverpool sound has conquered the pop world but not the world of Ceili music. (It's pronounced "KAY-lee".) The annual Ceili competition sets the stage for a reunion of two estranged brothers, who haven't seen each other in 20-odd years.
Dapper yet still driven Jimmy MacMahon (Colm Meaney), who left County Clare for success, fine threads and multiple wives in Liverpool, aims to return home with his English band to snatch the trophy away from a band headed by his older brother, John Joe Bernard Hill). A lifelong bachelor who stayed behind on the family farm, John Joe has no intention of letting this happen. Mind you, each brother is more than willing to stoop to sabotage to keep the other from attending.
Despite their worst intentions, both wind up in a small west Irish village that nearly doubles in size to accommodate all the bands and musicians. Some, such as the English lads and a hippie couple, pitch camp by the beach. When Jimmy's flute player, Teddy (Shaun Evans), falls in love at first sight with John Joe's fiddle player, Anne (Andrea Corr), all hell breaks loose.
Only now -- and rather implausibly -- does Anne's overprotective mother, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), the Irish band's piano player, tell her daughter that Jimmy is her long-lost father. This is a shaky plot device that forces first-time screenwriter Adams to concoct a series of confrontations that will lead to snappy resolutions of a lifetime of grief and resentment. Fortunately, the music frequently interrupts the melodrama, and the romance between the two musicians keeps the movie cheerful.
Meaney and Hill play the feuding brothers as a study in contrasts -- one flashy and insincere and the other stolid and reserved. Yet each is passionate about the music. Corr, lead singer of Irish pop band the Corrs, has a charm and sweet gentleness onscreen, though the depth of her acting ability is hard to gauge from this role.
Bradley must play the same note of shrill bitterness throughout, which robs her of a complexity that might have made Maisie a more touching character. Evans is convincing in his puppy-dog devotion to his new love, just as Philip Barantini, playing his buddy Alex, is convincing in his pursuit of female contestants for recreational purposes.
Shot, interestingly enough, not in Ireland but Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, "Boys" benefits from cinematographer Thomas Burstyn's warm, romantic lighting and the true Irish grit supplied by designer Tom McCullagh, who makes the small town's narrow streets and crowded pubs brim with life as musicians celebrate the glory of their music. Composer Fiachra Trench and Scott Gorham, lead guitarist with the rock band Thin Lizzy, supply a spirited Irish score combined with music from the period.
THE BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE
First Look Media presents a Studio Hamburg Worldwide Pictures production in association with the Isle of Mann Commission, TPC and Kolar/Rufus Isaacs
Credits:
Director: John Irvin
Screenwriter: Nicholas Adams
Producers: Evzen Kolar, Wolfgang Esenwein, Ellen Little
Executive producers: Anthony Rufus Isaacs, Martyn Auty, Steve Christian, David Korda, Jim Reeve, Dieter Stempnierwsky, Bill Kenwright
Director of photography: Thomas Burstyn
Production designer: Tom McCullagh
Music: Fiachra Trench
Costume designer: Hazel Webb-Crozier
Editor: Ian Crafford
Cast:
Jimmy: Colm Meaney
John Joe: Bernard Hill
Anne: Andrea Corr
Teddy: Shaun Evans
Alex: Philip Barantini
Maisie: Charlotte Bradley
Padjo: Patrick Bergin
Bernie: Catherine Byrne
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- "The Boys From County Clare" wraps a banal story of young love and old family quarrels in the lively sights and sounds of Ceili music. This most traditional of Irish dance or party music sweeps the characters up in its happy tunes, all emanating from bands that consist of several fiddles, a flute, piano, drum, some kind of accordion and perhaps a banjo or guitar.
The characters feel drawn from life, and the actors do their best to give them sass. Although the story ultimately lets them down, the movie does allow you to mingle in the rehearsal halls, pubs and a small village where the All Ireland Traditional Music Competition takes place. Directed by John Irvin, "Boys" makes an attractive light comedy-drama that is just offbeat enough to please adult audiences hankering for something a little different.
Nicholas Adams' story takes place during the '60s, when the Liverpool sound has conquered the pop world but not the world of Ceili music. (It's pronounced "KAY-lee".) The annual Ceili competition sets the stage for a reunion of two estranged brothers, who haven't seen each other in 20-odd years.
Dapper yet still driven Jimmy MacMahon (Colm Meaney), who left County Clare for success, fine threads and multiple wives in Liverpool, aims to return home with his English band to snatch the trophy away from a band headed by his older brother, John Joe Bernard Hill). A lifelong bachelor who stayed behind on the family farm, John Joe has no intention of letting this happen. Mind you, each brother is more than willing to stoop to sabotage to keep the other from attending.
Despite their worst intentions, both wind up in a small west Irish village that nearly doubles in size to accommodate all the bands and musicians. Some, such as the English lads and a hippie couple, pitch camp by the beach. When Jimmy's flute player, Teddy (Shaun Evans), falls in love at first sight with John Joe's fiddle player, Anne (Andrea Corr), all hell breaks loose.
Only now -- and rather implausibly -- does Anne's overprotective mother, Maisie (Charlotte Bradley), the Irish band's piano player, tell her daughter that Jimmy is her long-lost father. This is a shaky plot device that forces first-time screenwriter Adams to concoct a series of confrontations that will lead to snappy resolutions of a lifetime of grief and resentment. Fortunately, the music frequently interrupts the melodrama, and the romance between the two musicians keeps the movie cheerful.
Meaney and Hill play the feuding brothers as a study in contrasts -- one flashy and insincere and the other stolid and reserved. Yet each is passionate about the music. Corr, lead singer of Irish pop band the Corrs, has a charm and sweet gentleness onscreen, though the depth of her acting ability is hard to gauge from this role.
Bradley must play the same note of shrill bitterness throughout, which robs her of a complexity that might have made Maisie a more touching character. Evans is convincing in his puppy-dog devotion to his new love, just as Philip Barantini, playing his buddy Alex, is convincing in his pursuit of female contestants for recreational purposes.
Shot, interestingly enough, not in Ireland but Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man, "Boys" benefits from cinematographer Thomas Burstyn's warm, romantic lighting and the true Irish grit supplied by designer Tom McCullagh, who makes the small town's narrow streets and crowded pubs brim with life as musicians celebrate the glory of their music. Composer Fiachra Trench and Scott Gorham, lead guitarist with the rock band Thin Lizzy, supply a spirited Irish score combined with music from the period.
THE BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE
First Look Media presents a Studio Hamburg Worldwide Pictures production in association with the Isle of Mann Commission, TPC and Kolar/Rufus Isaacs
Credits:
Director: John Irvin
Screenwriter: Nicholas Adams
Producers: Evzen Kolar, Wolfgang Esenwein, Ellen Little
Executive producers: Anthony Rufus Isaacs, Martyn Auty, Steve Christian, David Korda, Jim Reeve, Dieter Stempnierwsky, Bill Kenwright
Director of photography: Thomas Burstyn
Production designer: Tom McCullagh
Music: Fiachra Trench
Costume designer: Hazel Webb-Crozier
Editor: Ian Crafford
Cast:
Jimmy: Colm Meaney
John Joe: Bernard Hill
Anne: Andrea Corr
Teddy: Shaun Evans
Alex: Philip Barantini
Maisie: Charlotte Bradley
Padjo: Patrick Bergin
Bernie: Catherine Byrne
Running time -- 90 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/15/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.