Movie Description
In documentary style, Paul Greengrass' BLOODY SUNDAY, which chronicles the events of January 30, 1972 in Derry, Ireland, is filmed with gritty gray realness. Surrounding a peaceful protest march staged in contest to British laws that permitted internment without trial, the film charts the progress of the march from the night before it to the night following it. As the final organizing of the march takes place that morning, MP Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) rushes from the street where police barriers are being erected to his office where he fields a string of urgent phone calls. Meanwhile Major General Ford (Tim Pigott-Smith) arranges for a heavily armed troop of commandos in fatigues and face paint to be ready to intercept the march if it turns violent. A third persona, Kevin McCorry (Allan Gildea), is a young lad with a prison record who believes in the cause of the march but wants to avoid conflict and any real trouble. As the march proceeds, and chaos ensues, the British militia opens fire onto the unarmed crowds, shooting 27 and killing 13 in one of the most shocking instances of excessive force in Irish history, ending any hope of nonviolent resolution, and stoking the IRA.
| Credits | | Producer: | Mark Redhead | | Cast: | Gerard McSorley, Mary Mouldes, Tim Pigott-Smith |
| Details | | Edition: | Checkpoint Security Tag |
Notes
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case - Checkpoint
Widescreen
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Paul Greengrass - Writer/Director, James Nesbitt - Actor,
Don Mullan - Co-Producer/Author of the book BLOODY SUNDAY
Cast & Crew Interviews
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection, Theatrical Release: OCTOBER 4, 2002 (LIMITED)
Editorial Reviews
"...BLOODY SUNDAY is an exceptionally accomplished historical recreation....James Nesbitt turns in a stoic, penetrating performance..."
Box Office - p.140 - Wade Major (09/01/2002)
"...[An] epic, anxiety-jangled, ripped-from-the-headlines-of-history docudrama....It recreates a moral earthquake....BLOODY SUNDAY etches it into your nervous system..."
Entertainment Weekly - p.54 - Owen Gleiberman (10/11/2002)
"...[A] volcanic re-creation of the massacre in Northern Ireland on January 30th, 1972...The film is also a triumph for actor James Nesbitt..."
Rolling Stone - p.114 - Peter Travers (10/19/2002)
"...An exceptional film, a compelling, gut-clutching piece of advocacy cinema that carries you along in a torrent of emotion as it explores the awful complications of one terrifying day..."
Los Angeles Times - p.C1 - Kenneth Turan (10/18/2002)
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] devastating reconstruction....Filmed with all the kinetic urgency and adrenaline-inducing propulsion of a Jason Bourne car chase."
Total Film - Neil Smith (04/01/2008)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Superb Paul Greengrass retelling of the events of January 30, 1972....James Nesbitt excels..."
Uncut - Andrew Mueller (04/01/2008)
"BLOODY SUNDAY is bravura film-making....The jerky, handheld camerawork and constant reframing give a sense of immediacy."
Sight and Sound - Geoffrey Macnab (04/01/2008)
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