Shane MacGowan Movies
- 2003
- Add If I Should Fall From Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story to QueueAdd If I Should Fall From Grace: The Shane MacGowan Story to top of Queue
Co-founder, lead singer, and principal songwriter for the seminal Irish band the Pogues, Shane MacGowan made music that was both beautiful and brutal, much of it driven by personal demons. This documentary portrait features extensive archival footage of MacGowan's career, inspired by the twin poles of traditional Irish music and the raging punk scene of the late '70s (he credits John Lydon of the Sex Pistols and that band's anti-British sentiments as a major influence). We see videos of his early band the Nips (short for the Nipple Erectors); performance footage of the Pogues; clips from studio sessions with Elvis Costello, who produced the band's acclaimed Rum, Sodomy and the Lash (and married the band's bass player, Caitlin O'Riordan); a TV appearance with Sinead O'Connor, who publicly criticized MacGowan's drinking, rousing his ire; and the video for the band's justly famous Christmas song, "Fairytale of New York," with Kirsty MacColl. There are interviews with MacGowan's parents, who speak candidly of their son's difficult childhood growing up in an urban slum in England, where the family had moved to find employment; his wife Victoria Clarke; colleagues Philip Gaston, Deirdre Mahoney, Nick Cave, and Liam Clancy; and bandmates who discuss the decision to sack their front man in 1990. Recent footage finds MacGowan a striking figure of decrepitude -- most of his front teeth are missing, and he is never far from a drink and a cigarette -- who also manages to maintain a certain air of besotted dignity. The film opens with a 2000 Christmas Eve performance in Dublin by MacGowan's band, the Popes; MacGowan mumbles his way through one of his songs, but the audience ably offers vocal support. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shane MacGowan, Victoria Clarke, (more)
- 1997
- R
This made-for-cable drama concerns political unrest and personal crises set against the battle for a free Ireland in Belfast in 1983. Gingy McAnally (Anthony Brophy) is a member of the Irish Republican Army who, after serving a stretch in prison, is once again called upon by the IRA to work with them. While McAnally is not certain if he wants to get involved with "the troubles" again, he grudgingly agrees after the safety of his wife and children is threatened by IRA henchmen. However, McAnally is soon busted by Lt. David Ferris (Cary Elwes), a British army officer, and is ruthlessly interrogated by Chief Inspector Rennie (Timothy Dalton), one of the leaders of the Belfast Police who is determined to put the rebels out of business. Rennie convinces McAnally that his only hope is to admit to everything he knows about the IRA and its members; McAnally sheepishly goes along with Rennie's demands, and in time, he strikes up a friendship with Ferris. However, McAnally discovers that betraying the IRA has put his life in grave danger; just as significantly, his wife and family are no longer sure that they can trust him after he turns in his comrades. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Cary Elwes, (more)
This directorial effort from Phil Joanou stars Sean Penn as an Irish-American undercover cop working the Hell's Kitchen beat. Penn is ostensibly on a sentimental journey to his old neighborhood. Actually he's been assigned to infiltrate a criminal gang led by Ed Harris, the brother of Sean's best friend Gary Oldman. Penn suffers the requisite honor vs. duty anguish when he renews his childhood romance with Harris' sister Robin Wright. State of Grace would have had more clout had it been more clear as to time and place: it's supposedly set in the 1990s, but the attitudes and behavior are pure 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A restaurant worker (Lanah Pellay) is fired from a posh London eatery, so the man returns with a band of terrorists, who have their own ideas about how to run a restaurant, and they begin feeding new customers with old customers. Motorhead provides the music. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lanah Pellay, Nosher Powell, (more)
This bizarre comedy spoof on spaghetti westerns was made in a hurry on location in Almeria, Spain. Simms (Joe Strummer), Willy (Dick Rude), and Norwood (Sy Richardson) are inept hitmen who decide to rob a bank. They encounter the MacMahon's (The Pogues), a quintet of caffeine-addicted gunslingers who ride motorcycles across the range wreaking havoc. Elvis Costello has a reoccurring role as a waiter who is always ready with a new tray of coffee. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, (more)
