Synopsis

During Ireland's struggle for independence, Michael Collins rises from revolutionary organizer to military strategist and political negotiator. His campaign of guerrilla warfare helps force Britain to the treaty table, but the compromise divides the nationalist movement and pushes Ireland toward civil war. As Collins tries to preserve peace, personal loyalties and political rivalries draw him into an increasingly dangerous conflict.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was written and directed by Neil Jordan and released in 1996 as an Irish, British, and American co-production.

• Much of the production was filmed in Dublin, using locations including Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College, the Four Courts, and Grafton Street. Broadstone was adapted to represent the General Post Office and O'Connell Street.

• Filming took place from July 2 through September 29, 1995.

• The production had an estimated budget of $25 million, making it one of the most expensive films produced in Ireland at the time.

• The film won the Golden Lion at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. Liam Neeson also received the festival's Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

• It received Academy Award nominations for Chris Menges' cinematography and Elliot Goldenthal's original dramatic score.

• The film uses dramatic license with several historical events. Among the best-known changes are the depiction of Eamon de Valera at the General Post Office during the Easter Rising and the use of an armored car during the Croke Park massacre.

• The breakdown of the IRA ceasefire in 1996 affected the film's release plans and contributed to a delay in its opening.

• Neil Jordan presented the movie as a dramatic interpretation of history rather than a literal historical record, compressing years of political and military events into a single feature-length narrative.