Page updated 5/10/2023
“Four Letters of Love” (in production) added 26/3/2023
“Face of Fu Manchu, The” (1965) (96 mins) Thriller.
Christopher Lee, Nigel Green, Howard Marion Crawford, Tsai Chin, James Robertson Justice, Walter Rilla.
Director: Don Sharp.
A UK/German production.
The first in a series of five movies loosely based on the Fu Manchu novels of Sax Rohmer.
Filmed at Kenure House in Rush, Kilmainham Jail, and the Dublin Docks.
Available from Amazon.com on VHS and DVD – scarce. Seems to also be available on Amazon.de as part of a five box set “Ich, Dr. Fu Man Chu”.
“Fading Light, The” (2010) (71 mins) Drama.
Valene Kane, Bibi Larsson, Emma Eliza Regan, Patrick O’Donnell, Henry Garrett, Jodie Boyle and Cillian Roche.
Director: Ivan Kavanagh.
Produced by Park Films and the Irish Film Board.
Low budget: €100,000.
Filmed in County Dublin.
As their Mother slips into the last stage of a fatal illness, her three children gather under the same roof in Dublin for the first time in a long while. Cathy, back from London where she’s trying to be an actress; Yvonne, living the good life as the wife of a yuppie businessman; and Peter, who has most to lose by their Mother’s death, being the victim of mental disabilities and unable to look after himself. Their days and hours together, and their Mother’s passing away, will first draw them closer to each other than ever before, then force them to face truths about their Father’s death long ago and the secrets that were buried with him – until finally hurling them apart again, each into their individual loneliness.
By the director on IMDb.
Available on download from http://www.volta.ie
“Fair City” (1989-) RTE Soap opera.
Available..
“Fall, The” (2013-2016) BBC (NI) TV Drama. 3 seasons -17 episodes.
Gillian Anderson, Jamie Dornan, Niamh McGrady, John Lynch, Simon Delaney, Séainín Brennan, Michael McElhatton and Ian McElhinney.
Director: Jakob Verbruggen.
Filmed on location in Belfast.
A gripping psychological thriller series that forensically examines the lives of two hunters. One is a serial killer who stalks his victims at random in and around Belfast and the other is a talented female Detective Superintendent on secondment from the MET who is brought in to catch him. http://www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/catalogue/240/108/the-fall-2012.aspx
All three seasons available on DVD.
“Falling for a Dancer” (1998) (204 mins) Made for TV. BBC/RTE.
Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, Dermot Crowley, Liam Cunningham and Colin Farrell.
Director: Richard Standeven.
Adapted by Deirdre Purcell from her novel of the same name.
Filmed in Beara, County Cork.
Ireland 1937. Young, well-to-do Elizabeth Sullivan (Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh) becomes pregnant after a fling with an actor and loses her carefree life forever. In shame, her parents banish her to the remote Beara Peninsula in West Cork to marry an older, widowed farmer (Dermot Crowley) who already has four children of his own.
Youthful dreams of happiness fade away as Elizabeth learns to cope with motherhood and a loveless marriage. Then, at a village dance, in the only escape she has from her harsh existence, a momentary flirtation with Danny (Colin Farrell) ignites a chain of tragic events.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Fallout” (2006) Two- part RTÉ docudrama.
Tara Breathnach, Conor Lovett, Brendan McCormack.
Director: David Caffrey.
Production company: Frontier Films.
A two-part fictional drama which explores some of the possible scenarios in the event of an accident occurring in a nuclear reprocessing plant. According to the dramatic premise, wind carries radioactive material over the Irish Sea, affecting the inhabitants of Ireland’s eastern seaboard, especially Dublin and Louth.
Part .1. concentrates on the immediate aftermath of the accident as some of the implications for the Irish population become clear. Initially, the story is told in the style of unfolding news coverage as well as footage captured by a documentary crew: a mixture of news reportage, studio analysis, and camera phone footage from eye-witnesses. Thus, we get a sense of the immediate aftermath unfolding in the media as the average citizen would experience the crisis.
Part .2. is set one year after the fictional Sellafield accident. The focus is now on longer term economic, social and human repercussions. We revisit and get closer to some of the characters we met in Part One. Through these characters, as well as through ‘official reactions’ and commentary from economic, psychological and medical experts, we examine the economic and social impact of the disaster on Ireland, over the course of one year.
http://www.rte.ie/tv/fallout/index.html
Aired on two consecutive days in April 2006.
Not released on DVD.
“Family” (1994) (180 mins) Four part RTÉ /BBC TV mini-series.
Seán McGinley, Ger Ryan and Neilí Conroy.
Director: Michael Winterbottom.
Based on the book by Roddy Doyle.
Filmed in County Dublin (Dalymount Park) and Ballymun on Dublin’s Northside; also at Ardmore Studios in Bray, County Wicklow.
Family is a compelling, characteristically no-frills look at life in an Irish suburb, where Charlo Spencer’s violent behaviour, infidelities and criminal activities are pushing his wife and children to breaking point. The original transmission was a watershed moment in Irish TV history, leading to an outcry and national debate about domestic violence.
Family centres on the Spencers, a family living in a Dublin housing project. Charlo (Seán McGinley), is the abusive and cheating husband of Paula (Ger Ryan). They have four children: teenagers John Paul and Nicola, and younger children Leanne and Jack.
Told over four episodes, each one devoted to a different family member, this series gives an often harrowing picture of Irish working class life in the 1990s. The first episode focuses on Charlo; the abusive, alcoholic father and husband who makes his living as a small-time crook. Episode two takes up the story of rebellious teenager, John Paul, just as he’s starting secondary school.
The third episode tells the story from the perspective of Nicola, who works in a clothing factory and has a particularly strained relationship with her father. In the fourth and final part the emotionally and physically battered matriarch, Paula, reclaims her identity by throwing Charlo out of the house and getting a job.
Re-released in 1997 as a two-hour movie.
Available on DVD.
“Fantasist, The” (1986) (98 mins) Thriller.
Christopher Cazenove, Timothy Bottoms, Moira Harris, John Kavanagh, Liam O’Callaghan, Mick Lally.
Director: Robin Hardy.
Based upon Patrick McGinley’s novel ‘Goosestep’.
Filmed on location in Dublin and Wicklow.
In Dublin a serial killer is terrorising the female population, seducing his victims on the telephone only to stab them to death on the first date. When schoolteacher Patricia (Moira Harris) arrives in the city from a farming community she finds herself pursued by two men: her colleague, Robert (John Kavanagh), and a charming American, Danny (Timothy Bottoms). However, when she starts receiving the deadly telephone calls, Patricia is forced to wonder whether either of her suitors could, in fact, be the killer.
Available on Amazon on VHS and on DVD.
“Far and Away” (1992) (140 mins) Drama.
Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Thomas Gibson, Robert Prosky, Barbara Babcock, Colm Meaney, Eileen Pollock, Michelle Johnson, Cyril Cusack, Clint Howard, Rance Howard, Niall Toibin.
Director: Ron Howard.
Filming locations included Dunquin near Dingle, County Kerry; Killruddery House in Bray, County Wicklow; the Temple Bar area of Dublin (where a Boston street was constructed) and the USA – Montana and Oklahoma.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Faraway” (2013) (60 mins) Thriller.
Jennifer Lim, Daniel York Loh, Oskar Mienandi, Ignacy Rybarczyk, Jacek Dusnik, Stephen Don and Tom Collins.
Writer/Director: Stephen Don.
Trivia: Director Stephen Don is an actor on Game of Thrones.
Low budget – £30,000 (estimated).
Set in contemporary Northern Ireland, Faraway is a thriller that brings characters normally on the periphery of society into the heart of the action. When two Polish petty thieves double-cross a Chinese gang and a local Belfast gang, they set in motion a course of events that rapidly spiral out of control. Two innocents – a Chinese girl and a Polish man – are dragged into events against their will. It seems as if nothing can save them, but there’s a twist or two to this tale along the way.
Released 18 April 2013 at Belfast Film Festival – No sign of general release.
7/8/2021 – Full movie on YouTube here: “Faraway”
“Farm, The” (2009) (86 mins) Horror.
Jack Lowe, Louise Cargin, Cathal Reilly and Neill Fleming.
Director: Dáire McNab.
Filmed in Adare, County Limerick; Killaloe, County Clare; also in Dublin and Bray.
Low budget – €11,000.
Mickey and Juliet, a young couple on the run from a vicious gang of drug dealers arrive at a deserted farm in the Irish countryside near Cork, aiming to flee to France the following day. The Farm is inhabited by only one man, a 20-year-old named John. John is cripplingly shy, but seems to be fascinated by Juliet, who also seems quite taken by him. As Juliet and John forge more and more of a bond, Mickey, fearing that the criminal gang will pounce on him at any moment, and also that John will turn him over to the police, becomes more and more paranoid.
The full movie is available on YouTube here: “The Farm”
Available from Amazon on Region.1. (DVD) – scarce.
“Farmers” (1979) (51 mins) Drama. RTE ‘Thursday Play Date’.
Bosco Hogan, Deirdre Donnelly, Niall Buggy, Leslie Lalor, Cecil Sheridan, Juliet Cronin.
Director: Michael Garvey.
Filmed in Marlay Park, South County Dublin.
A drama about the confrontation between an Irish couple and an American dropout and his ladyfriend. It is set in a run-down farmhouse. TCD.IE
Not available.
“Fatal Deviation” (1998) (90 mins) Crime/Martial Arts. 
James P. Bennett, Mikey Graham, Colin Hamilton, Justin Harmon, Michael Regan and Johnny Murray.
Directors: Shay Casserley, Simon Linscheid.
Low budget – IR£8,900!
Filmed in Ireland – County Meath (Navan and Trim).
A young man, played by kenpo karate martial artist James Bennett, returns home after ten years in reform school to find out who murdered his father. He is befriended by an old monk and a local Irish beauty. His search takes him to the prestigious Bealtaine Martial Arts Tournament. Together with his past, the good guy is drawn into conflict with the local drug baron and his son (played by musician Mike Graham from the Pop band Boy Zone). The conflict makes the young man face his father’s death in an unusual way he never imagined. The action is explosive, the fight scenes are dynamic and the story is wonderful. One of the great things about the film is that one of the car rollovers which occurs in the movie was not supposed to happen at all. However the stunt team got carried away and you will see a real wreck that nearly killed some of the actors.
Straight to DVD without a cinema release and panned by many critics as the worst movie ever made! Having made myself watch it on YouTube, I have to say it’s right up there with some of the worst that I’ve seen – atrocious acting, dire special effects and – were the ‘actors’ dubbed?
Was released on VHS and DVD – but very hard to find now!
The whole movie is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPne3Wh0lqk
“Fatal Inheritance” (1991) (87 mins) Thriller 
Emma Samms, Kevin Davis, David McCallum, Corbin Bernsen, Darragh Kelly, Anna Manahan, Jim Bartley, Joan Brosnan Walsh, Stanford.
Director: Gabrielle Beaumont. Written by: Kevin Davies.
Aka “Dödligt arv” (Sweden)
Filmed around Skerries, Rush and Laytown in north County Dublin.
Jack Carnegie (Kevin Davis) is an American ‘heir-hunter’, whose job it is to trace unknown family members who should rightly inherit unassigned fortunes. He arrives in Ireland to find the sole heir to a fortune — Timothy Murphy. Murphy cannot believe his good luck and he goes out that same night, to celebrate with his fiancee, Brigid O’Toole (Emma Samms). On his way home he is attacked and murdered by a mystery assailant. Brigid is grief-stricken, as is Jack — Timothy had no known heir, so he won’t able to collect his commission for delivering the inheritance to the heir.
German VHS release – German language without subtitles!
Copies can be found on Amazon.de and other German sites.
“Fate: The Wix Saga” (2021) Fantasy
Abigail Cowen, Hannah Van Der Westhuysen, Precious Mustapha….
Determined to master their enchanting powers, a group of teens navigate rivalry, romance and supernatural studies at Alfea, a magical boarding school.
Bloom, a fairy with fire powers, enrols at a magical boarding school in the Otherworld called Alfea College. There, she shares a suite with Stella (a light fairy), Aisha (a water fairy), Terra (an earth fairy), and Musa (a mind fairy). With the help of her four new friends, Bloom starts to learn more about her past. Meanwhile, ancient creatures called the Burned Ones return to the Otherworld and threaten everyone at Alfea.
Shot at Kilruddery House, Bray, Co.Wicklow.
“Father & Son” (2009) (180 mins) TV Drama mini-series.
Dougray Scott, Sophie Okonedo, Stephen Rea, Simon Delaney, Flora Montgomery, Reece Noi and Ian Hart.
Director: Brian Kirk.
Production company: Left Bank Pictures.
Set in Manchester and Dublin, but was almost entirely shot in Dublin and Wicklow.
Set against the backdrop of Ireland’s once rapid economic resurgence, Father & Son depicts the complexity of modern inner city life where crime is now a global business and where gun culture is an ever more entrenched part of everyday life. Ex-con Michael O’Connor (Dougray Scott) returns to Manchester from a quiet life in Ireland with his pregnant girlfriend Anna (Flora Montgomery) to save his teenage son Sean (Reece Noi) from prison, and to redeem his own troubled past.
Available on DVD – scarce.
“Father O’Flynn” (1935) (66 mins) Drama.
Tom Burke, Jean Adrienne, Robert Chisholm, Henry Oscar.
Directors: Wilfred Noy, Walter Tennyson.
Production company: Butcher’s Film Service.
The plot is based on the song ‘Father O’Flynn’.
Exteriors were filmed in Ireland.
Macushla, daughter of a criminal, is adopted by Fr O’Flynn. She is in love with a squire’s son, but his father opposes the relationship because her father is a criminal. When he re-appears, Macushla’s father persuades her to go to England with him. He opens a gambling house there with money which rightly belongs to her. Fr O’Flynn and her lover come in search of Macushla. She is rescued following a fight. The squire withdraws his opposition and agrees to the marriage of the young couple. TCD.ie
Not available.
“Father Ted” (1995-98) (632 mins) 3 seasons. Comedy. Channel 4 Television.
Dermot Morgan, Ardal O’Hanlon, Frank Kelly, Pauline McLynn, Jim Norton, Pat Shortt, Tony Guilfoyle, Don Wycherley, Graham Norton, Pat Laffan……
Filmed on location in West Clare and in studio in England.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Felicia’s Journey” (1999) (116 mins) Drama.
Elaine Cassidy, Bob Hoskins, Gerard McSorley.
Director: Atom Egoyan.
Adaptation of a novel by William Trevor.
Filmed in Ireland and the UK.
Possible Irish locations include Clogheen and Glanworth in County Cork.
Joseph Hilditch is an eccentric chef who lives in a large country manor. He befriends a young woman named Felicia who has come to town searching for her boyfriend. Felicia is attracted to the seemingly harmless and extremely helpful Hilditch, trusting him, entering his home – and his life – only to discover, too late, that she is not the first woman this man has taken in – although she may be the last.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Fergus’ Wedding” (2002) (150 mins) RTE Comedy 6 part series.
Michael McElhatton, Deirdre O’Kane, Peter McDonald and Julia Ford.
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon.
Writers: Ian Fitzgibbon and Michael McElhatton.
The series chronicles the events leading up to Fergus’ wedding with Penny (Julia Ford). The show centres around Fergus (Michael McElhatton) who is getting organised for his forthcoming wedding to an English girl he met through a personal column. Along the way Fergus has to deal with his family, his disaster of a best mate Tony ‘Tones’ nagging him to be best man.
Available on DVD – scarce!
“Fiddler’s Walk” (2006) (75 mins) Drama.
Sara Dylan, Anthony Fitzpatrick and Aoife Johnston.
Director: George Kingsnorth.
Filmed in Northern Ireland.
Low budget – £10,000.
Architect, Aoife McKenna, inherits an Irish pub but when she attempts to renovate the place, the locals put up resistance. Aoife’s eagerness to succeed reveals a secret with profound consequences. Fiddler’s Walk is the journey of a young woman, stepping away from the hurly-burly of modern America and finding herself in the depths of post-troubles Ireland, where new world commercialism collides with old world community values. Fiddler’s Walk was shot in the beautiful landscapes of South Armagh, County Down and County Louth, in contemporary Ireland. – Written by the Director.
Available on DVD from Amazon.co.uk
“Field, The” (1990) (110 mins) Drama
Richard Harris, John Hurt, Sean Bean, Brenda Fricker, Frances Tomelty, Tom Berenger, John Crowley, Sean McGinley, Jenny Conroy, Eamon Keane, Brendan Gleeson.
Director: Jim Sheridan.
Based upon a play by John B. Keane.
Most filming took place at Leenane in County Galway.
In 1930s Ireland, a woman decides to sell her land at auction rather than to sitting tenant “Bull” McCabe, who has nurtured the field into a prime piece of land.
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Fifth Province, The” (1997) (89 mins) Comedy.
Lia Williams, Anthony Higgins, Jeananne Crowley and Brían F. O’Byrne.
Director: Frank Stapleton.
Ocean Films…Irish Film Board.
Does not appear to be available.
“Fifty Dead Men Walking” (2008) (117 mins) Thriller.
Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess and Kevin Zegers.
Director: Kari Skogland.
Loose adaption of IRA informer, Martin McGartland’s autobiography of the same name and disapproved of by the author.
Filmed in Northern Ireland – Belfast, County Down (Ardglass and Killough).
During the height of the conflict in Northern Ireland, charismatic chancer Martin (Jim Sturgess) is arrested and recruited by the British Special Branch. Sensing his whip-smart, street-wise attitude as an asset, his handlers coerce him into performing the most terrifying assignment imaginable: to infiltrate and inform on the IRA’s movements for the British.
Earning a formidable reputation as a dependable foot soldier, Martin reluctantly rises in the ranks, all the while risking his life feeding information to his handlers. Though his skills result in countless lives being spared, his existence begins to spiral out of control as his superiors’ suspicions are aroused. As the possible discovery of his deception closes in on every side, he must fight for everything he believes in and sacrifice everyone he loves before capture and certain death becomes a chilling reality.
Available on DVD.
“Fighting O’Flynn, The” (1949) (94 mins) Drama.
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Helena Carter, Richard Greene, Patricia Medina.
Director: Arthur Pierson.
Scriptwriter: Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Based on the 1910 novel “The O’Flynn” by Justin Huntly McCarthy.
Intriguingly McCarthy (1859-1936) was an Irish Nationalist MP for a number of years and not the sort of person you would have expected to produce such a work.
Production companies: Fairbanks Company, Universal International Pictures (UI).
Set in early 1800s Ireland, a daring Irish leader (Douglas Fairbanks, Jnr.) tries to keep Napoleon from invading Ireland. The hero, in every way a swashbuckler, journeys to his recently inherited castle where he saves a fair lassie, the Viceroy’s daughter Lady Benedetta (Helena Carter), from highwaymen. He then gets involved in many exciting and hair-raising exploits as he saves his beloved Erin from an evil conspiracy precipitated by the Viceroy’s assistant Lord Sedgemouth (Richard Greene) who is secretly in league with Napoleon.
Not officially available.
“Fighting Prince of Donegal, The” (1966) (112 mins) Drama.
Peter McEnery, Susan Hampshire, Tom Adams, Gordon Jackson, Andrew Keir.
Director: Michael O’Herlihy (who later directed TV shows such as “Hawaii Five-O,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” and “The A Team”.)
A Walt Disney film.
Filmed at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, England.
Ireland 1587 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the English, fearful that Spain will attack through Ireland, occupy the Irish countryside. A gallant young man, Hugh O’Donnell (Peter McEnery), the Prince of Donegal, leads a resistance against the English soldiers. But then Hugh is kidnapped and imprisoned by the Viceroy of Ireland and held ransom for the Clans’ good behaviour. But he escapes to lead and win the final battle against the English and rescue his love, Kathleen (Susan Hampshire).
Available on DVD.
“Film with me in It, A” (2008) (83 mins) Black Comedy.
Dylan Moran, Mark Doherty, Amy Huberman, and Keith Allen.
Director: Ian Fitzgibbon.
Filmed in Dublin.4.
A darkly comic tale about a dissolute scriptwriter and a dejected actor who become unwittingly drawn into a labyrinthine mess when several people experience bizarre accidental deaths in their flat. Fearing they will be unfairly charged with murder the two attempt to escape their predicament by re-writing the day’s events as if it were a film. As the body count mounts, they pitch ideas back and forth desperately searching for a way out.
Available on DVD.
“Finbar’s Class” (1995-96) RTÉ TV Drama/Musical. Two seasons (24 episodes)
Brian Glanney, Michael Sheridan, Barry McGovern.
Filmed in Dublin City – Synge Street School etc.
Not available – and doesn’t look like we’re missing much!
“Finding Joy” (2018-) Comedy. RTÉ mini series. 3 seasons.
Amy Huberman, Aisling Bea, Laura Whitmore, Lochlann O’Mearain, Jennifer Rainsford, Catherine Walker, Paul Reid, Hannah Scott and Mark Doherty.
Director: Kieron J Walsh.
Created and written by Amy Huberman.
Co-produced by RTÉ and Acorn TV.
Shot in Dublin.
Joy (Amy Huberman) is perfectly happy with her life. It’s neat and tidy and just how she likes it. Sure, her long-term boyfriend, Aidan (Lochlann O’Mearáin), has left her, but Joy is fine with it. She’s certainly not suffering from heartbreak and stress-induced incontinence like canine Aidan. Things are totally fine the way they are – That is until Joy unwittingly lands herself a new job filling in for Ireland’s most-beloved vlogger, Flora (Laura Whitmore) the Happy Hunter. This unwanted promotion throws Joy firmly out of her OCD level of control and forces her to deal with a world she has put great effort into avoiding; one full of oversharing, boundary breaking, messy housemates, one-night stands, and full-contact wrestling; all in the name of learning about the crazy, uncomfortable and new-age methods people use to find – well joy.
Available on DVD.
“Fine Girl You Are” (1973) Drama. RTE TV movie.
Anna Manahan, Chris Curran, Danny Figgis.
Director: Sheelah Richards.
Writer: Adapted by Hugh Leonard from the Anton Chekhov short story ‘The Darling’.
Not available.
“Finnegan’s Wake” (1964) (97 mins) aka “Passages from Finnegan’s Wake”
Martin J. Kelly, Jane Reilly, Peter Heskell, Page Johnson, John V. Kelleher, Ray Flanagan.
Director: Mary Ellen Bute.
Based upon the novel by James Joyce as adapted into the play by Mary Manning.
Filmed in a small studio in New York and on location in Dublin.
A Dublin publican dreams in his sleep of the Irish legendary hero Finn McCool and attending his own wake.
Not officially released on VHS or DVD.
“Fire and Sword” (1982) (84 mins) Drama. German/Irish production.
Peter Firth, Christoph Waltz, Antonia Preser, Kurt Raab and Leigh Lawson.
Director: Veith von Fürstenberg.
aka “Tristan and Iseult”aka “Feuer und Schwert”.
Filmed at various locations, including the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Achill Island, and Glendalough.
Above, cover from the 2009 DVD release which apparently is not the best of quality.
A version of the Tristan and Isolde legend. An English knight is torn between love of country and the love of an Irish princess.
Available from Amazon.com on VHS (used) and DVD – very scarce.
“Fire at Magilligan” (1984) (46 mins) BBC NI
Dilys Hamlett, Derek Halligan.
Director: Jan Sargent. Writer: Harry Barton.
A Driver gives a lift to a hitch-hiker whom he has met somewhere before.
“First Great Train Robbery, The” (1979) (111 mins) Drama.
Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland.
Director: Michael Crichton.
Adapted by Michael Crichton from his novel of the same name.
Filmed at the National Film Studio at Ardmore, Georgian Dublin, and other locations throughout the country of Ireland including the railway line between Mullingar and Athlone, Moate, Cork and Dublin (Heuston) stations.
In 19th century England, a gang plan to rob a train carrying gold bullion (the payroll for troops fighting in the Crimea). A superb recreation of the Victorian era….
Available on DVD.
“Fishermaid of Ballydavid, The” (1914) U.S.A
Gene Gauntier, Robert Vignola.
Director: Sidney Olcott.
Not available.
“Fistful of Dynamite, A” (1972) (138 mins) Western/War/Drama
aka “Duck you Sucker”.
James Coburn, Rod Steiger, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti.
Director: Sergio Leone
Musical score by Ennio Morricone.
Filmed in Spain and Ireland – Glendalough and pastures in Wicklow, Howth Castle and, memorably, Toner’s pub in Baggot Street are used in the flashback scenes.
1913 – Mexico is in the throes of revolution and Juan (Rod Steiger), the leader of a bandit family, meets John Mallory (James Coburn), an Irish revolutionary, and explosives expert, on the run from the British. Seeing John’s skill with explosives, Juan tries to persuade him to join the bandits in a raid on the great bank of Mesa Verde. However, John has his own agenda and has already made contact with the revolutionaries….
Available from Amazon on VHS (scarce) and DVD.
“Fitz, The” (2000) (180 mins) BBC TV sitcom – six episodes.
Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Eamon Morrissey, Bronagh Gallagher, Ruth McCabe, Billy Carter.
Written by comedian Owen O’Neill.
The Fitz family live in a house which straddles the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Half of the house is in the Republic, while the other half is in Northern Ireland. Ma (Ruth McCabe) and Da (Eamon Morrissey) have lost count of the number of children they have had. They also tend to be rather vague about which child is which. For reasons best known to themselves, they decided to call all of their many children after members of the Kennedy family.
The Fitz is so rooted in unreality, it makes Ballykissangel look like a Ken Loach movie. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2000/jul/31/tvandradio.television1
Pulled by the BBC after six episodes after much criticism for being too ‘over the top Oirish‘.
Not officially available.
“Five Day Shelter” (2010) (95 mins) Drama.
John Lynch, Kate Dickie, Ger Ryan, Michael Fitzgerald, Marcella Plunkett, Emma Tuthill.
Director/Script Writer: Ger Leonard.
Production company: Paradox Pictures.
Filmed in Dundalk, County Louth.
Does not appear to be available.
“Five Minutes of Heaven” (2009) (89 mins) Drama.
Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinca.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel. Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert.
Filmed in Northern Ireland – County Down (Lurgan, Newtownards etc.)
In 1975, 17-year-old UVF member Alistair Little (Liam Neeson) killed 19-year-old Catholic Jim Griffin in his Lurgan home. The murder was witnessed by Griffin’s 11-year-old brother Joe (James Nesbitt). Alistair is arrested and imprisoned for twelve years while Joe is blamed by his mother for not saving his brother. Thirty years later, Alistair is released from prison, while Joe remains traumatized and bitter. But when a TV talk show decides to bring them together for a live on-air reconciliation, two men haunted by one moment must come face-to-face with their own worlds of pain, violence and vengeance.
Available on DVD.
“Flag, The” (2016) (84 mins) Comedy
Pat Shortt, Moe Dunford, Simone Kirby, Ruth Bradley, Brian Gleeson, Sorcha Cusack .
Director: Declan Recks.
Harry Hambridge (Pat Shortt ) is a down-on-his-luck paddy living in London. In one day he loses his job, father and beloved pet hamster. On returning home to bury his father, he finds a statement from his Grandfather, claiming that it was he who raised the flag over the GPO during the 1916 Rising, which now hangs upside-down in an army barracks in England. Too long used to the mockery of his life, he sets out with his motley crew to find that fecking flag and maybe his passion for life along the way.
Available on DVD.
“Flame is Love, The” (1979) (98 mins) Drama. Made for TV movie.
Linda Purl, Timothy Dalton, Shane Briant, Richard Johnson, and Godfrey Quigley.
Director: Michael O’Herlihy.
Based on the novel by Barbara Cartland.
Set mainly in France but filmed in Ireland: County Wicklow – Bray railway station, Powerscourt Demesne and in Dublin City – Merrion Square.
At the end of the 19th century, an American heiress Emmaline Nevada ‘Vada’ Holtz (Linda Purl) travels to Paris where she falls in love with a French journalist Pierre (Shane Briant) although she is already promised to an English nobleman. Another Frenchman, the Marquis de Guaita (Timothy Dalton) also has designs on her but for much darker reasons involving the occult.
Available from Amazon.com on VHS (1987) only – scarce and expensive!
“Flick” (2000) (82 mins) Crime
David Murray, Isabelle Menke, David Wilmot, Aaron Harris, Gerard Mannix Flynn.
Director: Fintan Connolly.
A low budget movie shot in Dublin over an 18 day period at a cost of just £18,000.
Jack Flinter (David Murray), the “Flick”, is a small-time drug dealer grafting through Dublin’s club-cultured sin bins, getting to know the flip side of the Celtic Tiger first hand. He knows all the moves and all the shakes. But he’s bored. Getting restless, he loses his girlfriend and his friends are just a precession of hurried faces punctuating his time. Something must give. And it does. When an old girlfriend shows up from Spain with a fresh drug addiction and a dangerous gang of criminals, the “Flick” gets drawn into a world of serious crime and becomes bait for the Dublin police interested in the capture of the new arrivals.
Released on VHS (2001) and available from Amazon.com on DVD (2003) – scarce.
“Flight of the Doves” (1971) (101 mins) Childrens’ Drama.
Ron Moody, Dorothy McGuire, Helen Raye, Jack Wild, Stanley Holloway, William Rushton, Noel Purcell, Tom Hickey, John Molloy, Brendan O’Reilly, Barry Keegan, Dana.
Director: Ralph Nelson.
Based upon a book by Walter Macken.
Filmed in part at Ardmore Studios and in several counties from Dublin to Galway.
Above: Ron Moody in drag with director Ralph Nelson during a break in filming.
Constantly bullied by their cruel stepfather, Finn Dove (Jack Wild) and his young sister Derval (Helen Raye) decide to run away. But their great escape across the sea to Ireland proves to be as famous as it is thrilling – with their very lives at stake.
Their wicked Uncle Hawk (Ron Moody), a brilliant master of disguise, discovers the children are heirs to a great fortune and, if they die or can’t be traced, he will get all the money.
As Finn and Derval stow away on a Dublin-bound ferry, evil Hawk, disguised as a policeman, is hard on their heels….
Available on VHS and DVD.
“Float like a Butterfly” (2018) Drama
Hazel Doupe, Dara Devaney, Johnny Collins, Hilda Fay, Jamie Kierans, Aidan O’Hare and Lalor Roddy.
Writer/Director: Carmel Winters.
Raised in roadside camps in rural Ireland, 15-year-old Frances (Hazel Doupe) wants to champion her people inside the boxing ring and out, like her idol Muhammad Ali. But society is determined to break her spirit and destroy her way of life. And her father, once her greatest ally, is too defeated himself to imagine any better for his daughter. But Frances was not born to be broken. In the mother of all fights, she must dig deep to find in herself the Champion her father once knew her to be.
Winner of a major award at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival.
Available on DVD.
“Flora and Son” (2023) (97 minutes) Music/Drama/Romance
Eve Hewson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Orén Kinlan and Jack Reynor.
Writer/Director: John Carney
Shot on location in County Dublin.
Dublin, single mother Flora (Eve Hewson) is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, Max (Orén Kinlan). Encouraged by the Gardai to find Max a hobby, Flora tries to occupy him with a beat-up acoustic guitar. With the help of a washed-up LA musician (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Flora and Max discover the transformative power of music.
In Irish cinemas October 2023.
Trailer here: Flora-and-Son
“Flying Irishman, The” (1939) (71 mins) Bio-pic.
Douglas Corrigan, Paul Kelly, Robert Armstrong.
Director: Leigh Jason.
Filmed in the USA – California.
This is the story of the historic 1938 flight of Douglas ‘Wrong Way’ Corrigan. Mr Corrigan starred in this film, which chronicled his famous flight. On July 17, 1938, Mr Corrigan loaded 320 gallons of gasoline (40 hours worth) into the tiny, single-engine plane. While expressing his intent to fly west to Long Beach, CA, Mr Corrigan flew out of Floyd Bennett Field heading east over the Atlantic. Instrumentation in the plane included two compasses (both malfunctioned) and a turn-and-bank indicator. The cabin door was held shut with baling wire. Nearly 29 hours later, he landed in Baldonnel near Dublin. He forever claimed to be surprised at arriving in Ireland rather than California. He returned to the US as a hero, with a ticker tape parade in New York and received numerous medals and awards. IMDB
Available on DVD here: www.moviesunlimited.com
“Folk Singer, The” (1972) (60 mins) Comedy/Drama Thames TV Armchair Theatre. Season.2.Ep.3.
Tom Bell, Celia Bannerman, Bernard Spear, J.G.Devlin, Allan McClelland, Bill Nagy, Ann Murray, Harry Towb, Frederick Hogarth, Michael Elwyn, Tim Hardy, Declan Mulholland..
Director: Piers Haggard.
Script/Adaptation: Dominic Behan.
The story of Danny Blake (Tom Bell) a Liverpudlian folk singer who arrives in Belfast where he begins to discover how the opposing sides in the conflict are being used by other people towards their own ends.
On YouTube here: The Folk Singer
“Food Guide to Love, The” (2013) (90 mins) Comedy/Romance.
Richard Coyle, Leonor Watling, Simon Delaney, Lorcan Cranitch, Ger Ryan, Bronagh Gallagher, Gines Garcia Millan.
Directors: Dominic Harari, Teresa de Pelegri.
Filmed in Dublin.
Set in contemporary Dublin, The Food Guide to Love is a comedy of romantic errors that charts the dysfunctional love between a Dublin food writer and the completely incompatible Spanish woman he falls for. Irish Film Board.
Available as Region 2 import DVD.
“Food of Love” (1916)
Kathleen Murphy, Fred O’Donovan.
Director: J.M. Kerrigan.
Produced by The Film Company of Ireland.
Not available.
“Fools of Fortune” (1990) (104 mins) Drama.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Iain Glen, Julie Christie, Michael Kitchen, John Kavanagh, Niamh Cusack, Mick Lally, Tom Hickey, Rosaleen Linehan.
Director: Pat O’Connor.
Based on a novel by William Trevor.
Filmed in Dublin, Mullingar, the Aran Islands, Robertstown (Co.Kildare??) and Wicklow Town. Interior scenes filmed at MTM, Ardmore Studios.
At the height of the struggle for Irish independence the Anglo-Irish Quinton family live tranquil lives and seem sheltered in their Big House. However, they become caught up in the conflict when one of their farm labourers is brutally murdered on their land on suspicion of being a British informer. In retaliation, the Black and Tans, burn down the Quinton’s’ house, and gun-down Quinton in front of his young son Willie…….The film examines the devastating consequences of this awful event on the surviving members of the family in the years that follow…
Available on VHS (used) – scarce.
“Forbidden Quest, The” (1993) (75 mins) Dutch. Fantasy/Horror. Tinted B/W. English language.
Joseph O’Conor and Roy Ward.
Director: Peter Delpeut.
1941: In Ireland, a filmmaker hears of an aged ship’s carpenter who knows the fate of the “Hollandia”, a Norse ship that set sail for the Antarctic in 1905 and vanished. The old man has canisters of film to prove his tale. We see the footage as he narrates. They sail south in June 1905, with scores of Siberian huskies aboard, meeting no living soul, the crew ignorant of the trip’s purpose, until they reach Antarctica. A mysterious Italian paces the deck; a polar bear appears, and the Italian, possessed, hunts it down. That night, the boatswain explains to the crew how an Arctic bear could be at the South Pole and why the Hollandia has come.
The scenes in the (Ant)arctic are all composed from actual expedition films, shot by (among others) Frank Hurley who was the photographer on Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to the Antarctic.
Available on VHS (scarce) and DVD.
Also available as part of a two DVD box set which includes the movie “Lyrical Nitrate”.
“Force of Duty” (1992) (72 mins) Thriller. BBC (NI)/RTE. Screenplay: Season 7. Episode 2.
Donal McCann, Adrian Dunbar and Patrick Malahide.
Director: Pat O’Connor.
A psychological thriller about RUC detectives in Northern Ireland. When Det.Insp. Simpson Gabby’s fails to act decisively in a moment of terror his friend and partner is killed. Consumed with guilt, he hunts the killers obsessively, losing his self-control and becoming alienated from family and work.
Not Available.
“Foreign Bodies” (1987-1989) (18 x 30 mins) Comedy Drama. BBC
Dan Gordon, Colum Convey, Hilary Reynolds, Maeve Germaine, Louis Rollston, Trudy Kelly, John Hewitt, Catherine Brennan, Eileen Colgan, Tracey Lynch, Barry McGovern, Bosco Hogan.
Foreign Bodies was the work of playwrights, Graham Reid, from Ulster, and Bernard Farrell, from Dublin; neither had experienced the hatred they were led to believe would greet them when they mixed with people from across the border, and this was the basis for their series. Roisin (Hilary Reynolds) and Septa (Maeve Germaine) are two young Catholic nurses from Dublin who go to work at a hospital in Belfast. Roisin meets and falls in love with Tom (Dan Gordon), a young Protestant car mechanic. This causes a series of problems for the young couple, their families and friends.
Original transmission: BBC2 5/03/1987 – 08/06/1989
No official DVD release.
“Foreigner, The” (2017) (114 mins) Thriller
Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Murphy.
Director: Martin Campbell.
David Marconi (screenplay), based on the novel “The Chinaman” by Stephen Leather.
Filmed in London.
£35 million budget – a Netflix Original.
London businessman Quan’s long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fuelled vendetta when his teenage daughter is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism. In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat-and-mouse conflict with a British government official (Brosnan), whose own past may hold clues to the identities of the elusive killers.
Available on DVD (Jan.2018) and Netflix.
“For Ireland’s Sake” (1914) Drama
Jack J.Clark, Gene Gauntier and Madam Norina.
Director: Sidney Olcott.
Filmed in County Kerry.
Available on IFI “The O’Kalem Collection” DVD.
“48 Angels” (2007) (95 mins) Drama.
Shane Brolly, John Travers and Ciaran Flynn.
Director: Marion Comer.
Filmed in Ireland – County Donegal.
Seamus is a 9-year-old boy who has been diagnosed with a serious illness. In search of a miracle, he sets off to find God before God comes for him. Inspired by Saint Columcille, Seamus sets out in a small boat without oars or sail. On his quest, he encounters James, a teenage runaway, and Darry an ex-convict. Despite initial conflict, the trio decide to stay together and enter upon a journey that results in the healing of hearts and minds.
Available on DVD.
“Four Days in July” (1984) (99 mins) BBC TV movie.
Brid Brennan, Desmond McAleer, Charles Lawson, Paula Hamilton, Shane Connaughton, Eileen Pollock and Stephen Rea.
Director: Mike Leigh.
Two couples, one Catholic, one Protestant, meet for the first time in a maternity ward of a Belfast hospital. The film shows that despite both getting by with what little they have, how little they actually have in common.
Available as part of a DVD box set from Amazon.com and eBay – scarce and expensive.
“Four Letters of Love” Romantic Drama IN PRODUCTION 2023
Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, Gabriel Byrne, Fionn O’Shea, Ann Skelly, Pat Shortt.
Director: Polly Steele.
Based on Dublin author, Niall Williams’ best-selling 1997 novel of the same name.
Filming has started in Northern Ireland and is also due to take place in the Republic.
Nicholas and Isabel were made for each other but how will they ever know it? As ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull them together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart.
“Fox of Glenarvon, The” (1940) (91 mins) Wartime propaganda movie.
Original title “Der Fuchs von Glenarvon”.
Olga Tschechowa, Karl Ludwig Diehl and Ferdinand Marian.
Director: Max W. Kimmich.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_of_Glenarvon German propaganda movie.
The film takes place in the fictional Irish county of Glenarvon, somewhere in the northwest of Galway, and tells the story of Gloria Grandison, the Irish wife of the local British magistrate, who falls in love with an Irish freedom fighter and leaves her husband for him.
Available on DVD… http://stores.reichskino.com/StoreFront.bok
“Foyle’s War” (2013) (3 x 90 mins) Crime/Spy Drama.
Michael Kitchen, Honeysuckle Weeks, Tom Brooke, Max Brown, Ryan Kiggell.
Directors: Stuart Orme and Andy Hay.
Series.7.
Episode.23. The Eternity Ring
Episode .24. The Cage and Sunflower.
Episode.25. Sunflower
Shot on location in Dublin – Stoneybatter, St.Patrick’s Close (nr.St.Patrick’s Cathedral), the Customs House, Trinity College..
World War II is over, but the Cold War simmers in 1946. Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchin) has retired from police work when Britain’s secret intelligence service, MI5, compels him to join its ranks. Relocated to London and reunited with his former colleague, newlywed Sam Wainwright, Foyle faces new—but no less deadly—threats in the world of spies and counterintelligence.
If you would like more information about the series you could do worse than check-out the Official Foyle’s War website: http://www.foyleswar.com/
Available on DVD.
“Frank” (2014) (95 mins) Comedy
Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson.
Production company: Element Pictures.
Shot in the USA Albuquerque, New Mexico and in Ireland – County Dublin.
A comedy about a young wannabe musician, Jon (Domhnall Gleeson), who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender).
Available on DVD.
“Frankenstein Chronicles, The” (2015) (283 mins) Six-part ITV Crime Drama.
Sean Bean, Anna Maxwell Martin, Tom Ward, Steven Berkhoff, Richie Campbell, Vanessa Kirby.
Production Company: Rainmark Films.
Set in Regency London of 1827 but filmed in Northern Ireland.
A thrilling and terrifying reworking of the Frankenstein story as a crime drama.
Drama set in 19th century London. Inspector John Marlott (Sean Bean) is tasked with investigating a spate of recent crimes in the capital by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel (Tom Ward). His findings lead him to believe the prime suspect to be a scientist trying to reanimate the dead with his search seeing him visit William Blake (Steven Berkoff), Mary Shelley (Anna Maxwell Martin) and a house where body snatchers gather known as The Fortune of War.
Available on DVD.
“Frank of Ireland” (2021) (25 mins) 6-part Comedy TV series
Pom Boyd, Brian Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Greene, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Pat Shortt…
Filmed in Dublin and Belfast.
Frank Marron is a thirty-something unemployed man-child living with his mother. Frank continues to keep his hopes alive for a singer/songwriter career, but he excels only at manipulatively ruining things for his improbably loyal best friend, Doofus, and dragging down his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Áine. The show is set in a suburb of Dublin.
Premiered on Channel 4 on 15th April 2021.
“Frankie Starlight” (1995) (100 mins) Drama.
Anne Parillaud, Matt Dillon, Gabriel Byrne, Corban Walker, Alan Pentony, Georgina Cates, Dearbhla Molloy, Niall Toibin, Rudi Davies.
Director: Michael Lindsay-Hogg.
Based upon a novel by Chet Raymo entitled “The Dork of Cork”.
Filmed in Dublin, London and Texas.
The publication of Frankie Bois’ (Corban Walker) first novel causes him to reminisce about his childhood. The story begins with his mother, Bernadette (Anne Parillaud), escaping from war-torn France in a GI troop ship and arriving in Cork alone, penniless and pregnant. A local customs man attempts to win her favour, treating the newborn Frankie like his own son, but competition arrives in the form of Bernadette’s long-lost American lover.
Available from Amazon on VHS (used) and DVD.
“Freedom to Die” (1961) (61 mins) Crime Thriller.
Paul Maxwell, Felicity Young, Kay Callard, Bruce Seton, Laurie Leigh and T.P. McKenna.
Director: Frances Searle.
Filmed at Ardmore Studios in Bray.
Convicted criminal Craig Owen (Paul Maxwell) discovers his cellmate possesses the secrets required to access a valuable safety deposit box. But when the man dies in prison, Craig breaks out and kidnaps his late cellmate’s daughter to help him crack the mystery.
Available on DVD (2015).
“Freeze Frame” (2004) (99 mins) Crime Drama.
Lee Evans, Sean McGinley and Ian McNeice.
Director: John Simpson.
Filmed in Northern Ireland – Belfast.
Traumatized by his arrest and near-conviction for a series of brutal murders, 33-year-old Sean Veil (Lee Evans) has become a true paranoid. Convinced that sinister figures are determined to set him up, he has spent the last 10 years since his acquittal videotaping his every waking and sleeping moment as insurance against the day they confront him with another crime.
Sean’s paranoia forces him to live in a bunker-like basement where he ventures out only when armed with a set of video cameras attached to his body. Despite all of his precautions, the police suspect him of a new murder and the one tape that could prove his innocence is missing. As the accusations pile on, paranoia becomes reality as a shocking twist leaves him fighting for his life.
Available on DVD.
“From the Dark” (2014) (90 mins) Horror
Niamh Algar, Stephen Cromwell, Gerry O’Brien, Ged Murray.
Director: Conor McMahon.
Filmed in the Irish Midlands – Counties Laois and Offaly.
A couple on a trip through the Irish countryside find themselves hunted by a creature who only attacks at night.
Available on DVD (import).
Currently available on Netflix – July 2015.
Official Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKsceLZu_wg
“Front Line, The” (2006) (93 mins) Crime.
Eriq Ebouaney, Gerard McSorley and James Frain.
Director: David Gleeson.
Filmed in Ireland (Dublin) and Germany (Hamburg).
Set in Dublin, the movie centres on a recent refugee from the war-ravaged Congo, Joe Yumba (Eriq Ebouaney) who is accorded asylum status in Ireland. He is given a job as a security guard in a bank and manages to reunite with his wife, Kala and eight-year-old son. Just as Joe and his family are starting to put the horrors of the past behind them, things take a bad turn when a notorious criminal, Eddie Gilroy (James Frain) and his gang kidnap Kala and Daniel, using them as ransom to get Joe to help them gain access to the bank’s vaults.
Available from Amazon.com on DVD – very scarce!
“Fun at Finglas Fair” (1915) Comedy
F.J. McCormick and the Columbian Players.
Director: F.J. McCormick.
Written by: Cathal MacGairbhigh.
A comedy about two English crooks who escape from jail, travel to Ireland and then try to rob a group of farmers. When their activities are discovered and they are caught, they are thrown into the canal.
Not available.
“Further Gesture, A” (1996) (96 mins) Thriller
Aka “The Break” (USA)
Stephen Rea, Alfred Molina, Rosana Pastor, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Brendan Gleeson.
Director: Robert Dornhelm.
Dowd (Stephen Rea), is a long-term IRA inmate in an H-Block prison near Belfast. When he escapes as part of a mass breakout, the survivors head back to their former lives while Dowd heads for New York and a new beginning. But a man can never escape his past. In order to avoid detection by the authorities, Dowd steers clear of the Irish community but finds it difficult to get work. Eventually, he gets a job as a dishwasher in a restaurant where he falls in with a group of Central American exiles including Tuilo (Alfred Molina) and his beautiful sister Monica (Rosana Pastor). It is Dowd’s growing love for Monica which ultimately leads him back to a life of violence and involvement in a botched assassination attempt on a colonel responsible for torture and murder in Guatemala. Dowd survives but the FBI is closing in and he soon learns that every gesture has a price.
Available on VHS (used) – very scarce!
Irish Movie Madness 