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The General

1998

John Boorman

Brendan Gleeson, Adrian Dunbar, Sean McGinley, Angeline Ball ...

6.9

3,141

Drama The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team, but attracted unwanted attention from the police, the I.R.A., the U.V.F., and members of his own team.

	Author	Review
United States	Janet Maslin The New York Times	"Canny, elegant (...) Boorman's great skill in unifying 'The General' lies in creating a big, blustery, most unlikely hero"	POS
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"[The director] finds subtle humor in Cahill's domestic arrangements (...) Boorman's narrative style has a nice offhand feel about it (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"	POS
United States	Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader	"It's extremely competent (...) and though it kept me absorbed it failed to win me over."	NEU
United Kingdom	Time Out	"Boorman's energetic account of Cahill's real-life escapades (from the book by Paul Williams) is notable for its deft characterisations and authenticity"	POS
United States	Derek Elley Variety	"[It] both challenges and entertains the audience at a variety of levels, as well as reviving the vitality of the helmer's earliest, mid-'60s pics"	POS
United Kingdom	Ian Nathan Empire	"A fulsome, fascinating piece of 20th century Irish folklore (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS

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