Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5088 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-03
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Synopsis
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, activist 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.

Customer Reviews

A multi-faceted chronicle of a war crime
Bloody Sunday is a brave film which combines a documentary-style realism with complexities which merit more than one viewing.
We have the vividly recreated atmosphere of Derry's Creggan and Bogside in 1972 - humanity struggling against poverty and deprivation, against which backdrop riots provided teenagers with both a vent for frustration and a social activity. James Nesbitt as Ivan Cooper, local MP and Civil Rights activist, is seeking to hold a march demanding Civil Rights and protesting against internment without trial (introduced some six and a half months previously). The film makes it abundantly clear that it is to be a peaceful march, attended by unarmed civilians. The focus switches between scenes of the local people of Derry to vignettes of the British Army's preparation for the march. The British are portrayed (in vivid contrast to the demonstrators) as actively anticipating and even desiring violence. Dialogues between soldiers are included to reflect typical (often racist) attitudes of British soldiers towards Irish people. As the British authorities do not allow the march to take its planned course, there is some minor rioting (a daily occurence in NI at the time). The British Army Paras then open fire indiscriminately on the crowd, using live bullets and shooting to kill. Thirteen unarmed civilians are killed and as many more injured and this is conveyed in what is a piece of incredibly realistic filming. Fear, pain, anger and confusion reign as the demonstrators try to assist the dead and dying while the Paras continue to pick them off. The film then depicts a British cover-up, soldiers not only telling lies but planting false evidence on a dying teenager.
Thus "Bloody Sunday" is a story of murder, of war crimes that have gone unpunished. There are some who might want to disagree with the interpretation of events reflected in this film, but I feel that it is a film that should be watched by everyone, prior to taking up a stance on the issue.

A dramatisation of a key turning point in Northern Ireland
Sunday 30 July 1972 was a turning point in Northern Ireland for all the wrong reasons. I'm no expert on the conflict but I do know that the rash actions of the paras that day created a watershed that led to 25 years of civil strife and murder and mayhem in the Province. Of course, there were killings before that fateful day (on both sides) but the situation radically changed and a new politics arose thereon (including direct rule from London).

As for the movie, it's a very watchable 105 minutes. It's based on the events of that single day from dusk till dawn and revolves around the organiser, Ivan Cooper (a local MP from the Protestant community), various individuals among the marchers, several top brass officers and a number of soldiers who opened fire (shooting a total of 27 people and killing 13 of them on the day).

The film is very gritty and down to earth, so expect shifting cameras and a bit of variety in the quality of the sound during dialogues. It has the feel of the teledrama. It's low budget, but somehow that adds to the authenticity of what you see on the screen. On the downside, there are no subtitles (these would have been handy).

It's worth noting that the extra features are very worthwhile on this DVD. For example they include over an hour of interviews with the director, the main actor and even Mr. Cooper himself.

Overall, an award winning film that is both controversial and thought provoking at the same time.

Let's hope such events are consigned to the past and that all the people of Northern Ireland can share in a prosperous and peaceful future.

A stirring and powerful film
This is a gripping piece of cinema that it is very involving and very sad. It's hard to watch some scenes and it really is an extremely emotional film, and one that presents a side of the event that is sometimes overlooked - namely the lives of the people involved.