The Devil's Own
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| The Devil's Own | |
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 The Devil's Own film poster |
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| Directed by | Alan J. Pakula |
| Produced by | Donald Laventhall |
| Written by | Kevin Jarre David Aaron Cohen Vincent Patrick |
| Starring | Harrison Ford Brad Pitt |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 26, 1997 |
| Running time | 111 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90,000,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
- "The Devil's Own" is also a nickname for the Connaught Rangers and of the Inns of Court Regiment
The Devil's Own is a 1997 movie starring Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Rubén Blades, Natascha McElhone, and Treat Williams.
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[edit] Synopsis
A policeman helps a visitor from Northern Ireland, only to discover that he has a potentially deadly secret. Belfast-native Frankie McGuire (Brad Pitt) saw his father gunned down by paramilitaries at the age of eight, and when he grew up he joined the Irish Republican Army, determined that one day he would avenge his father's death. A deadly and dangerous "volunteer," Frankie is responsible for the death of 13 British soldiers and 11 policemen. After a particularly bloody battle, Frankie flies to the United States with alot of money, intending to purchase a bunch of stinger missiles from an underground arms dealer in America, Billy Burke (Treat Williams). Upon arrival in New York City, Frankie is met by a judge who is sympathetic to the IRA's cause and who arranges a place for him to stay. Using the name Rory Devaney, Frankie moves into the home of Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford), an honest cop for 23 years. But, Tom is already in the midst of a personal crisis; his friend and partner Edwin Diaz (Ruben Blades) recently shot a man that he knew was unarmed in the line of duty, and while Edwin wants Tom to help him cover up the matter, Tom's conscience will not allow it. When Tom begins to realize that "Rory" is not simply a man running from the violence of his homeland, he is torn between his sympathy for Frankie's tragic childhood and his desire to see justice served and prevent needless death in his ancestor's home of Ireland.
[edit] Cast
- Harrison Ford - Tom O'Meara
- Brad Pitt - Rory Devaney/Francis Austin McGuire
- Margaret Colin - Sheila O'Meara
- Rubén Blades - Edwin Diaz
- Treat Williams - Billy Burke
Flimed In Greenport NY (Long Island)
[edit] Trivia
- The movie attracted notorious press attention during principle photography. Many stories had reported that there wasn't enough room for both its stars Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, and attributed that, in addition to troubles on the production and escalating the budget. At the U.S. Box Office, the movie was a flop, earning only half of its $90 million budget.
- The title is explained at Ford's daughter's confirmation, where the congregatation renounces Satan and all his works while Pitt remains silent.
- Some critics have made comparisons between this film and The Godfather series.
- A recurring theme in the film is the jealousy felt by Pitt's character, the Irish native, towards Ford's character, an Irish-American, and his peaceful life in New York City. Whenever Ford brings up turmoil in Ireland, Pitt responds with something along the lines of: "Don't expect a happy ending. It's not an American story, it's an Irish one."
- It has been argued that the film is biased towards the IRA's cause and does not adequately condemn the freedom-fighter acts performed by Pitt's character. The British characters are portrayed as either ruthless assassins or as pathetically ineffective soldiers, this is true. In one scene two IRA soldiers wipe out numerous British army soldiers, who run headfirst into the line of fire, displaying an inexplicable lack of urban warfare training.
- Brad Pitt wanted to leave the production, but was threatened by a lawsuit. In the February 2, 1997, issue of Newsweek, Pitt called the film a "disaster", and said that "it was the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking - if you can even call it that - that I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it". Rumors of fighting on the set (especially over which star would be the focus of the film) plagued the production. The original script was discarded and there were at least seven subsequent rewrites. Pitt said the final version was "a mess". "The script that I had loved was gone," he said. "I guess people just had different visions and you can't argue with that. But then I wanted out and the studio head said, 'All right, we'll let you out, but it'll be $63 million for starters.'"[1]
- Alan J. Pakula's final directed film.
- Screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen was one of the original writers but was never credited.
[edit] External links
