In the Name of the Father

Good storyline and good acting.

You know, when you see who the star of this film is, that the odds are excellent it's going to be a very, very good film.In this case, the odds are right.The story--based on reality--is disturbing. Any story of prison, misjudgment, and innocence is bound to be. Further, this film references recent times (well, to me, at least...) and takes a cold look at the Irish Troubles and the people who lived them, the British experiences with it, and how all of it, rolled up into one nasty ball of dung, ends up hurting Just Regular People.The acting is spectacular. The direction above-average, the filmography spot-on. If you haven't seen this, do. Especially if you're a history freak.

Good movie. Not more to say. The story line flowed well and it was something that has held up through time. I first saw this in high school with my mim. Almost 20yrs later I still watch it from time to time.

The horrible tradegy these families and friends endured. Gerry's father dying in prison was so uncalled for. These families were physically beaten and other abuses by the British legal system. Dirty British police and none of the police were punished for their wrong doings. In fact some of them received promotions years later. The promotions were not related to the Conlon/McGuire cases. Still today, the British legal system remains corrupt. Falsely accusing innocent people. If I ever were to go to Great Britain, I would watch my back around the British police. This movie is heart wrenching. All the people were wrongfully convicted. Not just adults, but children were also convicted. Daniel Day-Lewis (Gerry Conlon), Emma Thompson (Gareth Pierce) and all actors in this movie did an excellent job. Excellent is putting it mildly. Daniel Day-Lewis put his heart and soul into this movie to show that all these people were innocent. It is a tearjerker at times. Gerry Conlon today suffers from PTSD and it is understandable after what this poor guy and his family endured. The McGuire’s went through hell. Annie McGuire is Gerry Conlon's aunt. Annie was in prison for 14 years, which should have never been. Her teenage boys put in prison. Patrick McGuire was only 12 or 14 years old. A young lad stuck behind bars for something he did not do. Giuseppe Conlon died in prison for something he did not do.Yes, you must watch this movie because if you are around British dirty cops it could be you falsely accused of something. I do not know why the British legal system is allowed to continue their corrupt acts. If the police are dirty then it shows the entire system in disrepute. The British police need to be investigated, but then how can they be investigated when the entire system is dirty. Makes one think twice about visiting the UK.You will not waste your money on this movie.

"In the Name of the Father", newly released on Universal Blu-ray, has three strong arguments in its favor. First, there is the overall excellence of its production: the film, its director, Jim Sheridan, its co-writers, its editor and three of its actors were all nominated for Oscars. Then there is the continuing relevance of its volatile subject matter and, finally, the mesmerizing quality of its leading performance, delivered by perhaps the finest film actor of the past thirty years, Daniel Day Lewis."Father" is squarely in the middle of today's obsession with national security issues (cited in the dialogue),the fear engendered by domestic terrorism and the treatment of suspects before the law. This is a heavy trio of themes, to be sure, but "Father" presents them in a relatable if complicated father/son struggle which evolves during more than a decade spent behind bars by the two. The father, Giuseppe Conlon (Oscar nominee Pete Postlethwaite) is a mild mannered and deeply religious man who works as a turf accountant ("bookie" in American parlance) while his first born is a petty thief and ruffian who runs afoul of the local IRA and taunts the British soldiers occupying Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1974. Initially, Gerry Conlon (Day Lewis) presents himself as a Gaelic variation on Robert De Niro's Johnny Boy in Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" (1973) with his clownish defiance of authority.During the course of the film, however, he morphs from an irresponsible young man seeking "free love and dope" in a London hippie commune to a victim of British police brutality to an unjustly convicted victim derided as an "Irish bastard" and " Irish scum" in a politically charged courtroom and prison enflamed by the bombing of a pub frequented by the British military at home.Finally, following a moral education at the hands of two fathers, one biological and the other a political terrorist, Joe Mc Andrew (Don Baker, in a surprisingly cool and elegant performance, given his character), he emerges as a strong willed crusader out to prove his father's innocence of the charge of criminal conspirator in the pub bombing and his own innocence as well. If the too comfortable and obvious symbolism of having father and son occupy the same cell underlines the more melodramatic aspects of the plot adapted from Gerry Conlon's autobiography, "Proved Innocent", then there is the schematic opposition of the two main British characters. The good defense attorney/solicitor Gareth Peirce, played by Oscar nominee Emma Thompson, accidentally uncovers the suppressed evidence that will free the unjustly imprisoned while the evil Chief Inspector Robert Dixon, played by Corin Redgrave, brother of Vanessa and Lynn, writes the incriminating and exculpatory note that will lead the presiding judge in the new hearing to throw out the case which resulted in some people spending 15 years of their lives in jail wrongly. What motivated Dixon? "Our job is to stop the bombing", he asserts. Even if he has to subvert the English judicial system to do so , observes the defense attorney."Father" bristles with emotional energy, especially in the force of Day Lewis's and Postlethwaite's performances. It touches the raw nerves of every parent trying to communicate personal and cultural values to a child who is reluctant to absorb them. In one sense, "In the Name of the Father", the first words said when making the Sign of the Cross, depicts a lifelong battle between religion, represented by rosary beads and holy pictures, and the secular world, represented by an acid soaked map of the British Empire and posters of Jimi Hendrix and Che Guevara, all of which figure in the visual design of the prison cells.Giuseppe Conlon dies in prison, fearful but faithful to God and wife. It takes the horrific burning of the chief prison warden at the hands of the IRA agitator to turn Gerry against him and toward the securing of justice. Once his case, and those of the others, is dismissed, Gerry charges out of the front door of the courtroom building, proclaiming an ongoing campaign for the clearing of his father's name and in pursuit of the truth.The British Prevention of Terrorism Act, cited in the film, is part of a continuum embracing American post 9/11 anti-terrorism legislation, including the establishment of the Homeland Security Department, and the bombing of the London transit system.The Blu-ray of "In The Name of the Father", with its crisp, propulsive soundtrack and flawless blending of dialogue, sound effects and score (Bono and Sinead O"Connor are contributors) is an aural gut punch. We feel this film and how it speaks to our lives today.

Excellent movie. A must have for anyone's movie collection.

Daniel Day Lewis is a genius

Deze dvd heeft area code 1 en is dus niet afspeelbaar op de meeste Europese dvdspelers (area code 2)

Der Film ist auch nach 25 Jahren noch immer sehenswert.

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce film, l'interprétation de Daniel Day-Lewis est incroyable de vérité... Je le note 10/10 sans souci.

Me encanta este tipo de películas.Muy buena calidad de imagen y sonido