The director of the 1996 film Michael Collins has spoken about the re-release of the movie 20 years after it was first made.
Neil Jordan was speaking to joe.ie about the iconic film based on the life of Irish leader Collins.
He spoke about the impact the movie had on the country, and how excited he is that it is now being re-released and also made available on Blu-Ray for the first time.
Michael Collins starred Liam Neeson in the title role, with Julia Roberts, Aidan Quinn and Alan Rickman in supporting roles.
Jordan was the man in the director’s chair and looked back on the recording of the movie. He admitted he was surprised by some criticism it received on its original release from academics and historians unhappy with some historical inaccuracies.
However, Jordan said he is pleased the film is now being made accessible to a new generation and is keen to see how it will be received second time around.
He talked about the disruption it caused to the city of Dublin, and he is grateful for the co-operation of the authorities and also the public.
He said: “We disturbed the traffic on successive weekends, we must have made people’s lives hell. For one sequence, the sequence where Collins finally used artillery against his own comrades in the Four Courts.
“We literally had to close the entire of Dublin right from the Ha’penny Bridge right down to the Phoenix Park, as far as the eye could see. And it was a summer’s day and the traffic was backed up but no-one ever complained to me.
“We had to actually give a good account of the city as we could. I’m so glad we didn’t have CGI because GGI just tells lies.”
The interviewer then asks Jordan that if he was to re-make the movie today who would he cast as Michael Collins. You will have to watch the video to see who he said.
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