Can someone recommend good movies about The Troubles in Northern Ireland?

So far I have seen:

Hunger – amazing

In the name of the father – a little bit too mainstream, but excellent storytelling

Bloody Sunday – very good

The Wind that shakes the Barley – very bad

can’t think of other ones right now.

Any ideas?

Why is The Wind that Shakes the Barley very bad? Hidden Agenda is another film by Loach, but set in N.Ireland itself and in a more recent period, that’s worth seeing

too melodramatic / predictable, too much pathos. plus nothing that struck me as incredibly interesting or new…

As far as Loach’s films, I prefer Hidden Agenda to The Wind That Shakes the Barley.

John Ford’s The Informer

Harrison Ford – Patriot Games. That should boost Loach’s film a few stars.

Odd Man Out is a much admired classic

Does The Boxer count? I don’t remember.

Fifty Dead Men Walking was quite good. Very intense also.

How about The Crying Game? hehe

or U2 3D?

Dammit Fredo you beat me to it lol

I’ll contribute with Michael Collins.

“Fifty Dead Men Walking was quite good. Very intense also.”
Awful. If I hadn’t seen Pontypool earlier that day it would’ve ruined my night. And the worst part is that it’s awful within ten minutes of opening, so you just sort of sink lower and lower into your chair hoping that something, anything, will happen to the print to make it stop.

Think about “Cal”

Elephant, and Four Days in July.

I don’t understand how The Wind that Shakes the Barley is melodramatic. I’m not asking you to explain it, but it doesn’t make sense. Loach’s films are probably the exact opposite of direct melodrama. Mike Leigh, Spike Lee, and Ingmar Bergman are more melodramatic than Loach, who in the movie in question deals with social issues as opposed to familial or relationship issues. They’re arguments. There’s no music added to the arguments. Where’s the melodrama?

I meant not stylistical melodrama, but melodrama/pathos of the movie as a whole or the script… The ending for one… It’s sheer predictability and, yes, melodrama, even though it was downplayed stylistically, i just didn’t like… Music in my opinion has little to do with it…

I want to see Hunger – it’s supposed to be quite riveting and wellmade.

It was voted film of the year by Sight and Sound, which raised my expectations a bit higher than it may have deserved, though it is impressive

I would definetely called the best debut film of the year if not of the decade.

I thought John Boorman’s The General was very good. Brendan Gleeson was outstanding.

Nothing Personal with Ian Hart is pretty good.
Also the Boxer with Daniel Day Lewis.

Hunger was one of the greatest films i’ve seen in many years. With a top class performance by Michael Fasssbinder.

- Defense of the Realm, directed by David Drury (who I see has done mostly TV in his career) and starring Gabriel Byrne and Greta Scacchi (yowza!)

- Angel aka Danny Boy (1982), Neil Jordan’s first film.

I, too, was going to mention Cal

And maybe The Run of the Country

Well, some answers here take the troubles of the whole of Ireland not just the North, but anyway of course they’re linked. I wasn’t sure if only films set in N.Ireland were wanted. I’ll second The General, one of Boorman’s better films

Hennessy (1975)

Unfortunately it’s not easy to see since it has never been released on DVD but you can find VHS copies of the film selling at Amazon.

Everything in This Country Must is a great short film regarding the topic. He lived in Northern Ireland during some of the heavy violence. Good short.

These three come immediately to mind: The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Crying Game, and In the Name of the Father.

Four Days in July by Mike Leigh

Great call Kimberly on Hennessey…with a great (shockingly low key) performance from Rod Steiger.

I’d recommend In the Name of the Father and The General

Fifty Dead Men Walking.
I wouldn’t say it’s awful. I was able to sit through the entire thing and stay interested in the end. It doesn’t compare to some of the movies mentioned here (Hunger, Hidden Agenda, In the Name of the Father) but nevertheless the film’s portrayal of Belfast in the late 80’s was pretty decent.

Fifty Dead Men Walking.
I wouldn’t say it’s awful. I was able to sit through the entire thing and stay interested till the end. It doesn’t compare to some of the movies mentioned here (Hunger, Hidden Agenda, In the Name of the Father) but nevertheless the film’s portrayal of Belfast in the late 80’s was pretty decent.

Bloody Sunday. Loved it.