Cheap Bloody Sunday (Video) (James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell) (Paul Greengrass) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Bloody Sunday

I had never heard of the event itself (here's my age showing again). Never even learned about it in high school. As a matter of fact, I'm learning there's LOTS of things I never learned in high school, but back to the movie. "Bloody Sunday" is a documentary-like film that re-creates what transpired on Sunday, January 30th, 1972. In a Civil Rights demonstration in Northern Ireland, British troops opened fire on protesters when things were getting hairy, which would eventually lead to 27 wounded and 13 dead. This was a tragedy that struck a major blow to the Civil Rights movement, and to Ireland and Britain as well.

From what I understand, this is still a very controversial topic, even today. Nobody is still 100% sure of what exactly happened. Both sides are still debating and offering their versions of what really went down. I don't know much about the event, as I said in the beginning of this review. What I do know is that this film was done in a very realistic and authentic way, and I believe that what happened on that tragic day might've gone down the way it did in the film, or very close to it. I also believe that the movie shows both sides, not just one.

This film was done entirely hand-held, meaning not once did the filmmakers use a dolly or camera stands. The end result is that it gives it the raw and realistic feel that it needs to be affective. There is no story or plot in the movie. The movie isn't there to tell a single story or show us "characters;" the only goal is to try to educate us all on what happened on January 30th. You never look at the actors as actors, but more like the real people themselves. In fact, when I was watching this, I was very convinced that I wasn't watching a movie, but a real documentary.

The DVD comes equipped with some very nice special features. Those being two commentary tracks and 2 documentary features. That may not sound like a lot, but when you view or hear them, you feel very satisfied. It would've been nice to have a few more extras, but I can't really complain. Nor do I want to.

I really believe the filmmakers when they say that they did not make "Bloody Sunday" to open old wounds. They want to educate us all on what happened and they want us to confront it. Much like when an addict has a problem but he or she won't admit it, the problem will never come to a resolution if we continue to ignore it. I urge every history teacher to make their students watch this movie. I urge EVERYONE I know to give this movie a try. It is a rare and unique gem that takes historical films to a new level that it has never reached before. It's a shame that not many have seen it, but my hope is that more people will see it now since it is available to own and rent on DVD and video. "Bloody Sunday" is an experience you will never forget, and it is an important one you do not want to miss out on. Definitely makes my Top 10 of 2002 list, without question.

Finally an attempt to present the Irish side of the story
January 30, 1972 went down as one of the most horrific days in Irish history. A march scheduled in Derry, Northern Ireland to protest the British policy of internment, a policy used to lock up Irish "troublemakers" without benefit of a trial. An organization called the Derry Civil Rights Movement, a peaceful group dedicated to using non-violent tactics to effect change and supported by MP Ian Cooper, planned to march through the city in order to make their objections to the British policy well known. The British, racked by incessant troubles in Northern Ireland for years, steadfastly demanded that the march not take place. To punctuate their position, the Brits brought in the "Paras," or the British First Parachute Regiment, to break up the peace march. Throw in the usual conflict between Irish Catholics marching through a predominantly Irish Protestant neighborhood, and you can guess what happened next. The Brits panicked and opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing thirteen people and wounding many more. Immediately after the debacle, the British government went into cover-up mode. Known forever after as Bloody Sunday, the events of January 1972 continue to divide the British, Irish Catholics, and Irish Protestants.

Two British filmmakers decided to examine the events leading up to the scurrilous massacre in Derry in this 2002 docudrama aptly titled "Bloody Sunday." Surprisingly, depending on what view you take concerning the mess that is Northern Ireland, the filmmakers fully support the theory that the British bear most of the responsibility for the massacre. According to the film, the British "high command" made it clear to the rank and file that there would be no march through Derry that day. An environment of inflexibility from the top down virtually guaranteed repressive violence, and so there was. Watching the film recreate the events of January 30th is a gut wrenching experience, especially as the marchers near the barricades in the Catholic Bogside neighborhood. When the Paras finally open up on the crowd, they aren't shooting rubber bullets. Protestors are executed after falling to the ground, fired upon while attempting to retrieve wounded comrades, and shot in the back as they run from the British killers. The Army claimed Irish Republican Army militants mingled with the crowd and fired first, thus provoking an appropriate response from the Paras. Yeah, right. This claim became the basis for the findings of several British inquiries into the massacre, a claim that completely ignored or marginalized the fact that the Derry Civil Rights Movement was a peaceful organization merely protesting an illegal government policy.

To help construct the lengthy narrative required to put the event into context, the filmmakers focus their attentions on Irish MP Ian Cooper (James Nesbitt) and a young Irish man recently released from jail who ultimately takes part in the march with disastrous consequences. Most of the attention goes to Nesbitt's Cooper, a man stridently fighting for the right to peacefully protest the internment policy. His character roams the streets of Derry, handing out flyers about the march, attempting to keep the protest going in the face of concerns about British actions, and working hard to keep the IRA out of the picture. Simultaneously, we see the British soldiers planning their response to the protest. There's a crusty general with a no nonsense attitude about any organized activity in Northern Ireland (he simply won't have it whether it's the IRA or non-violent protestors), and his underlings who express a bit more concern about the proceedings. Of particular note are the behind the scenes looks at the Paras, young men with a lot of bravado and a negative attitude about the Irish people. Yes, the film takes these young commandos to task, but it also shows how fear of the Irish marchers led directly to murder.

"Bloody Sunday" is shot using hand held cameras and dramatic fade-outs and fade-ins to add a dimension of slowly unfolding tension to the actions of the characters, and it works. I felt sick to my stomach as I watched soldiers gunning down innocent civilians, felt deeply moved as Ian Cooper anguished over having to inform families about the deaths of their loved ones, and felt my Irish blood rise as the credits rolled to the tune of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday." There is a scene towards the end of the film where Cooper holds a press conference to discuss the massacre, and he grimly tells the assembled journalists that the British just gave the IRA its greatest victory. Sure enough, the Irish Republican Army gained hundreds of recruits after the killings, a fact hammered home in the film during a scene when young men line up to receive weapons from an IRA safehouse. I cannot say I blame these kids; I would have joined up too after such an egregious incident even though violence often causes more problems than solutions.

The DVD edition of "Bloody Sunday" comes with a lot of extras, including an interview with an elderly Ian Cooper about the events of January 1972, a trailer, interviews with Nesbitt and other cast members, a couple of commentaries, and a great looking widescreen transfer. We will never know for sure what exactly happened on that bloody day, but this movie goes a long way towards presenting a more balanced interpretation of events. If the British had only admitted to SOME wrongdoing in Derry, and there was British wrongdoing, many subsequent deaths may have been averted. Perhaps this film will help lead to relief of sorts for the beleaguered Irish still struggling under British influence. Whatever your view, "Bloody Sunday" is a gripping film well worth watching.

When Stormont Bans Our Marches
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" was a John Lennon song from his "Some Time In New York City" set that introduced me to this sad day. "When Stormont bans out marches," was the chorus that rattled in my head for the early 70s. Then the U2 song came out. Now I'm pleased to see this film.

It's hard to review this film without either reviewing the event itself and the political situation that surrounds it or reviewing the cinema verite style that director Paul Greengrass employs. There is no doubt that "Bloody Sunday" is powerful. I sat watching the credits roll afterwards and listened to the U2 song even after the screen went black. I found this film less effective that the docu-drama "Veronica Guerin." Gerald McSorely played Irish Mafioso John Gilligan in "VG"; and here plays Capt. Supt. Lagan who sits dumbfounded hearing the news, patently ignored by the British officers.

The film is centered around Ivan Cooper played by James Nesbitt. He does an excellent job as a wheeler dealer politician who then becomes dumbfounded at the day's results. Tim Piggott-Smith does a marvelous job as the boneheaded Gen. Robert Ford who goads the British into the confrontation and then crows about it as a tremendous success.

The short abrupt cuts didn't work as well for me. If they had started with longer sequences and progressively been snipped to shorter and shorter shots as we approach the massacre, the film would have had more of a sense of build. As it is, it does convey the sense of confusion with people talking at once, not listening to each other, and then the screen cutting to a completely different setting and sequence, leaving each part dropped but adding to a cumulative effect.

Because this film is about an extremely important event, one that is unfortunately mirrored in too many unjust situations around the world, it does have a universality and resonance. On the other hand, because we don't spend long enough with each character, because we don't come to know the 13 killed or the 14 wounded, there is a facelessness to the proceeding. It would have been more moving for me if like "Veronica Guerin" we become directly involved with the characters and concerned with their outcome. Even so, it's a film that deserves to be seen. Enjoy!