Based on a 1959 novel by Rosalie Fry, Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, Sayles’ Roan Inish tells the story of a young girl, Fiona, who when her mother dies is sent to live with her grandparents on the Irish coast in the years immediately after WWII.

The film is beautifully shot, by Haskell Wexler, with a lilting Celtic soundtrack, and the cast, apparently professional but largely unknown here in the States, plays it straight down the line, as drama not fantasy.

It’s all as anti-modern as can be and makes for a splendid old-fashioned movie experience, for the whole family or just for the adults.

The Commitments

Keep in mind that this is one of the greatest films ever made in the 1990s, so influential and original to the extent that it made the British Film Institute’s list of the best 100 films ever made in Ireland and the British Isles during the last century. Yet eerily, I can only count on two hands the number of people who’ve seen it! This has gotta change!

This is a must-see DVD!

You may not immediately spot the leprechauns, wizards, and other tell-tale signs, but as you watch `Waking Ned Devine’, you will soon realize that what you are seeing is an Irish fairy tale, simple and pure. The signs are all there, and if you are sharp, you will soon start to catch them. First to make its appearance is the pot of gold, disguised as a winning lottery ticket held by some lucky neighbor in the tiny village of Tulaigh Morh. Next, you will discover that the two old men scheming for a piece of the action, blarney filled Jackie O’Shea (Ian Bannen) and his expressive faced scarecrow pal Michael O’Sullivan  (David Kelly), are but thinly disguised mischievous leprechauns.

Waking Ned Devine’ will enchant you and make you laugh.

The letters sent home from immigrants expressing their own personal experiences in America give this movie a nice, personal touch.

This is an excellent movie on the history of Ireland and on Irish immigration.

Jean Butler’s Irish Dance Master Class

This DVD has virtually everything you need to learn Irish dance as an amateur, or practice as a serious dancer. You learn the most basic movements by themselves, then in the context of dance, with lots of close ups and explanations so that you can back it up and practice a single move as many times as you need. For those who already have a good handle on Irish dance, or who have practiced the simple moves enough to master them, there is a full performance that you should be able to watch and imitate if you’re at that level.

This is a great Irish Dance DVD.

James Galway and the Chieftains

This is a must for fans of The Chieftains and James Galway. James Galway is a guest flute player with The Chieftains, and a HUGE plus are the interviews with all of them and especially him between pieces.

This is an altogether delightful DVD.

Darby O’Gill and the Little People

The most interesting element of the film is seeing Sean Connery with hair. Hhe gives a fine performance and isn’t that bad a singer; good insight about how he got this role, in the extras, but I won’t blab away the stuff. Janet Munro made her Disney debut, here, and he used her in many others (I liked her in ”Swiss Family Robinson”).

This is PURE Disney…sweet, serious, and especially, great for kids.

Beginner’s Guide To Irish Dancing [DVD]