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St. Patrick ’s Dayis a widely celebrated holiday in honor of the Catholic patron of Ireland and while good St. Patrick ’s mean solar day movies do n’t ask to include the very solar day , they should exemplify the nation , cultivation , mass , position , and history in one way or another . Irish picture palace has often examined its own history in films likeIn the Name of the Fatherbut the nation ’s actor and filmmakers have worked with a variety of genres . Colin Farrell , Martin McDonagh , Brendan Gleeson and his family , Stuart Townsend , Saoirse Ronan , Liam Neeson , and Barry Keoghan are just a few names of Irish photographic film diligence titans who have taken over Hollywood .
The best St. Patrick ’s 24-hour interval movies must boast Irish characters or actors , or be predominantly set in Ireland . These films straddle from sweeping epics to goofy comedies , but they are all unmistakably Irish cinema . Whether it ’s the characters , landscapes , or writing , movies from and about Ireland hold a special position in the civilization . The best St. Patrick ’s Day movies have a sprinkle of everything that makes Irish films keen .
15Leprechaun (1993)
This 1993 comedy - repugnance star a youthful Jennifer Aniston fall under the “ so bad it ’s upright ” category . When a man render to the U.S. after steal a pot of amber from a leprechaun in Ireland , trouble ensues . The leprechaun follows the serviceman to the States , and after being interlace up in the cellar for 10 eld , the Irish creature , who is more monster than jolly little fay , is set free by the house ’s unexampled owners . Obviously a niggling nettled about being trammel in a basement for a decade , the leprechaun starts to kill and wreak mayhem in search of his missing gold .
Leprechaunjoins the ranks of strange and oddSt . Patrick ’s Day repulsion moviesand order a singular twist on a authoritative character of the vacation . Warwick Davis is a commendable histrion , and the makeup that transforms him into a morbid animate being from Ireland is smirch on . The flick gather a celebrated cult following large enough to spawn various grim - budget sequels , including one where the leprechaun goes into space .
14In Bruges (2008)
One of the darker St. Patrick ’s Day flick , In Brugesis a black comedy with crackling dialog and sympathetic characters . Hitmen Ray ( Colin Farrell ) and Ken ( Brendan Gleeson ) are forced to lie low in Bruges after Ray botches their last job . While Ken loves taking in the sight , Ray could n’t be more bored , and gets himself into trouble as a outcome . But Ray eventally start to get a new perceptiveness for life story , which is unfortunate , as Ken ’s next designation is to drink down his married person and champion .
write and take aim byMartin McDonagh and star frequent collaborator Farrell , In Brugesis charming and disturb all at the same metre . While it technically remove place in Belgium , it gets St. Paddy ’s Day breaker point for the hilarious jinks of Irish lead Farrell and Gleeson . The pair ’s chemistry is electrical , with Gleeson ’s dearest of the titular metropolis clashing with Farrell ’s ennui . It ’s an unconventional selection for a St. Patrick ’s Day movie , but one that is sure to delight .
13Once (2007)
fructify in Dublin , Onceis a touching pic about the budding love story between two unknown player . The man is an aspiring singer - songster who plays on the Dublin streets at nighttime for money and works at his founding father ’s vacuum repair store by day . The woman is a pianist who does queer jobs with her phratry but longs for something more . The two eventually meet and bond over their musical interests during a ad-lib jam session . They resolve to collaborate on writing material and become inspired to make a demo . During this time they begin to organise an emotional connection which they express through to one another through their songs .
This love affair - turned - Broadway musical is tonic and honest , filled with great performance and majestic strain . The songs in the movie are tremendous , and the motion picture even won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Song with “ return tardily . ”Onceperfectly captures the street life of Dublin and is one of the St. Patrick ’s daytime movies that rewards multiple rewatches , both for the vocal and the sombre romance .
12The Commitments (1991)
Based on the Roddy Doyle novel of the same name , this 1991 comedy is witty , cagey , and savagely honest concern egotism and the societal peril it can lead to . Protagonist Jimmy Rabbitte is bored with all the workaday music acts in Dublin , so he decides to start a band with mortal and Casimir Funk influence . He recruits a group of working - class musician , and with the help of seasoned trumpeter Joey Fagan , the chemical group starts to run their way to the top of Ireland ’s music vista . Their gamy is short - lived , however , as the various egos in the group threaten to founder the striation from the interior .
The Commitmentsis a rarified movie that is side - splittingly rum at one mo , and then soul - crushingly heartbreaking the next . The various personality in the stripe are constantly clashing over the public eye , which needs leads to turmoil and grimness . While the acting is solid , the real whiz of the motion-picture show is the medicine itself , which is actually wager by the actor in the plastic film . This motion-picture show is not just for those who savor St. Patrick ’s Day movies , but for anyone who can describe with the torture and X that come with being in a band .
11Far And Away (1992)
Starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman , this romance is a classic model of an old - fashioned melodrama , thoroughgoing with charming carrying into action and astounding visuals . Cruise and Kidman play Irish immigrants Joseph and Shannon , who issue forth to America in 1893 in hunting of a proficient living . They begin to save money in hopes of one day owning their own Edwin Herbert Land . Joseph becomes a spare - knuckle packer and despite some success , loses most of the pair ’s money in a engagement . Cold and starving , the two conflict through poverty and various challenges and begin to fall in love with one another .
This Ron Howard - directed movie crop thanks to the personal magnetism and magic spell of its lead . Far and Awaymight not be the most precise portrayal of immigrant life sentence , and it might not boast the most original screenplay , but it make up for it with attractive visuals and heartfelt appealingness , a theme song of many St. Patrick ’s Day movies .
10The Boondock Saints (1999)
Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery flirt the MacManus brothers , two pitiable Irish immigrant endure in the crime - infest city of Boston inThe Boondock Saints . After shoot down some Cosa Nostra thugs in ego - defense , the brothers get a mouthful for annihilate the dreg and trash of their city . They recruit their Italian Mafioso buddy Rocco to their suit , and the three start killing self-aggrandising - name gangsters one by one . the right way on their heels is a detective played by the wondrous hammy Willem Dafoe , and with every step , he comes closer to catching the brothers , though he also start to infer and even corroborate their action .
This dim funniness magnetic declination of St. Patrick ’s Day movies blend the styles of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie . The motion picture did n’t even get a theatrical rill ab initio but pick up an enormous furor following when it came out on DVD and video . Some thought the moving picture gratuitous , excessively violent , and derivative , but that ’s part of the appealingness . The Boondock Saintsis a marvelous action - drollery invigorate by the likes ofDeath WishandPulp Fictionand a great way to get into the Irish spirit .
9The Quiet Man (1952)
John Ford won a Best Director Oscar for this 1952 classic that features love story , play , drollery , and a little action for good measure . Frequent Ford collaborator John Wayneplays American boxer Sean Thornton , who settle to retire to the village in Ireland where he was assume . Sean becomes smitten with a lovely but poor maiden , Mary Kate ( Maureen O’Hara ) , and the two quick return in love . Problems inevitably develop however when Mary Kate ’s comrade Will forbids the two from marrying each other . Will challenge Sean to a fight , which Sean refuse because of a morose chapter of his yesteryear .
The Quiet Manshows what happens when westerly filmmakers take on Irish and St. Patrick ’s Day movies . Instead of the Old West , this Ford picture take home in rural Ireland , which showcases some beautiful visuals of the highland countryside . The whole cast is wild , especially Wayne as the troubled boxer . The Quiet Manis a cinematic classic that should n’t be missed .
8The Secret Of Kells (2009)
Visually stunning and appeal to both minor and adults , The mystery of Kellsis a will to the wonders of animation . Brendan ( Evan McGuire ) is a young boy who resides in a chivalric outpost in Ireland that is under attack from Viking raids . The young boy amount across an ancient book that holds the Florida key to orphic powers . The book , however , is bare , and Brendan must travel into the nearby enchanted forest to conquer his fears and triumph over evil .
The motion picture is establish on the book of the same name but has an identity operator all its own . St. Patrick ’s Day movies are generally lively - action , so it ’s famed enough that this one is animated , and the fact that the entire movie is all hired hand draw and quarter is amazing . In a existence where computer invigoration is the young standard , The Secret of Kells’old - school advance is fresh and visually arresting . The draught and character designs are especially unique and varied , make a breathtakingly secret world . It ’s a must - determine , not just for its Irish background but for its mesmerizing vivification .
7Gangs Of New York (2002)
Gangs of New Yorkis Martin Scorsese ’s ultra - violent tale of retaliation , greed , redemption , and superbia that stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon , a unseasoned Irishman who sees his father murdered in a gang fight in New York . twelvemonth afterward , he bring back to the city ( circa 1863 ) to avenge his founding father ’s dying . The metropolis is now run by gangs , the most powerful headed by Bill “ the Butcher ” Cutting , who believes that immigrant , specially the Irish , should n’t be allowed in New York . St. Patrick ’s Day film often depict the Irish mass being put down by the English , and Scorsese portray a similar sentiment with these " aboriginal " Americans .
While the picture might not be the most historically exact , it ’s still a electrifying epic . Scorsese proves himself as a cinematic master , and this production was his passion project of New York ’s lineage - soaked past tense . It ’s worth watching forDaniel Day - Lewis ’ remarkably method performanceof Bill the Butcher alone . A movie about Irish pridefulness and identity , it ’s a must - watch for St. Patrick ’s Day .
6The Guard (2011)
John Michael McDonagh wrote and directedThe Guard , a hilarious 2011 crime comedy . Brendan Gleeson plays the part of a confrontational Western Ireland cop who has problems pamper in alcohol , drugs , and sexuality proletarian . After uncovering a murder , his precinct is visited by an FBI agent toy by Don Cheadle , who intend the crime is tie to four Irish drug traffickers . The two fibre then decide to team up on the example with screaming misadventure cursorily accompany .
The Guardis essentiallyLethal Weaponin West Ireland . The buddy mischievousness of worker Gleeson and Cheadle are well - played here as mismatched cops , and the two have excellent chemical science on - cover . Gleeson is specially convincing as the cross Irish cop with a sympathetic sense of wit . The Guardworks as many St. Patrick ’s Day movies do , as a cagey comedy with situational humor about Irish culture .
