The Outsider is a 1979 film thriller set largely in Belfast during The Troubles; it was the first film directed by Italian-American Tony Luraschi. The film is based on the book The Heritage of Michael Flaherty by Colin Leinster, and details the fictional experience of an idealistic Irish-American who travels to Ireland and joins the IRA in the 1970s.
| The Outsider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tony Luraschi |
| Based on | The Heritage of Michael Flaherty by Colin Leinster[1] |
| Produced by | Cinematic Arts B.V.,[2] Philippe Modave (executive)[3] |
| Starring | Craig Wasson Sterling Hayden Patricia Quinn Niall O'Brien |
| Music by | Ken Thorne |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Cinema International Corporation (UK)[4][5] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 128 minutes[8] |
| Language | English |
Production
editLuraschi, who had worked as an assistant director with Stanley Kramer and Roger Vadim, had never been to Ireland until 1976.[9] The company was unable to film in Northern Ireland, so instead made arrangement with a local residents' association to film the exterior scenes in the Dublin suburb of Ringsend.[4][10][11]
Release
editDespite the distributor's hope, the film was rejected by the 1979 London Film Festival.[2][5] It opened at The Gate 2 cinema in Bloomsbury, London on 29 November 1979 during the festival.[5]
Reception
editThe film caused a minor scandal where government officials were outraged at a scene that showed a British officer participating in the torture of a partially blind Irish Catholic prisoner.[9][5]
New York magazine praised the direction "his skill at realistically conveying the terrible waste of the civil strife in Northern Ireland and the chilling day-to-day acceptance of violence as a way of life there. Unfortunately, the red-herring contrivances of his plot trivialize his powerful material."[9]
Stepan O'Fetchit said "At the other extreme, modern-dress movies like Tony Luraschi's The Outsider... purport to present a real, contemporary Ireland while effectively reducing it to a traffic snarl-up of faceless ideologues wielding guns, balaclavas, and gritty one-liners."[12]
Variety called it a "thoughtful terrorism drama" but felt that the "lack of concession on the part of director-scripter Tony Luraschi to conventional thriller pacing makes the Paramount-financed production no easy moneyspinner."[13]
References
edit- ^ Greenhill, Steven (July 1988). "Acceptable images of Northern Ireland's troubles". ThirdWay. 11 (7): 19.
- ^ a b Mike Kaplan (1 May 1981). Variety international showbusiness reference. Garland Pub. p. 496. ISBN 978-0-8240-9341-9. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Film Writers. Ifilm Pub. 2001. p. 60. ISBN 9781580650359. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Irish Film & TV Research Online – Trinity College Dublin". Tcd.ie. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Vaines, Colin (3 November 1979). "'Outsider' opening snubbed by LFF". Screen International. p. 24.
- ^ John Pym (1 January 1989). Time Out film guide. Penguin Books. p. 899. ISBN 978-0-14-029414-9. Retrieved 21 October 2012. – or The Outsider, The (1979, Neth, 128 min) d/sc
- ^ Jürgen Elvert (1994). Nordirland in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 479–. ISBN 978-3-515-06102-5. Retrieved 21 October 2012. – Tony Luraschis Film (GB 1979, nach dem Roman von Colin Leinster)
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (2008). Guida Ai Film 2009. Dalai editore. pp. 1341–. ISBN 978-88-6018-163-3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b c New York Media, LLC (28 April 1980). "New York Magazine". Newyorkmetro.com. New York Media, LLC. pp. 62–64. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ Arthur Flynn (2005). The story of Irish film. Currach Press. ISBN 978-1-85607-914-3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ Arthur Flynn (1996). Irish film 100 years. Kestrel Books. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-900505-40-6. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ James MacKillop (1999). Contemporary Irish Cinema: From The Quiet Man to Dancing at Lughnasa. Syracuse University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-8156-0568-3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ Bowker (1983). Variety's Film Reviews: 1978–1980. Bowker. ISBN 978-0-8352-2795-7. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
External links
edit- The Outsider at IMDb