43 thoughts on “John Charet’s 10 Films to Watch for St. Patrick’s Day (In Chronological Order)”

1. Oddly enough perhaps, as an Irishman myself, I don’t tend to watch Irish themed movies on St Patrick’s Day.

   I think I first saw The Quiet Man on that day on TV when I was a very young boy. I loved it ever since.

   Maybe because I come from the north, I always really rated Odd Man Out, which is a wonderful movie and one of Reed’s masterpieces.

   I also have a soft spot for The Gentle Gunman, with Dirk Bogarde and John Mills.

2. There is John Ford and Ken Loach and then there is everybody else. So my list will stick with everybody else. Your list is excellent, so I neednt repeat any of those titles. There are many more outstanding Irish films, some probably better than my picks, but these ten occurred to me as having stood out or at least left an impression on me over the years.

   My Left Foot

   The Field

   Ryans Daughter

   In the Name of the Father

   Five Minutes of Heaven

   Once

   The Committments

   The Secret of Kells

   The Playboys

   A Fistful of Dynamite

3. also, lest i neglect my disgusting habit of shameless self-promotion, here is a song i wrote with the irish singer david-gwyn jones in dedication to my former dublin sweetheat with whom i spent many memorable nights singing in the irish bars of boston. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-irish-bars-of-london

4. Watched The Fugitive last night….great movie and a great list John, thank you

5. The Quiet Man is a classic indeed Colin 🙂 Thank you for reminding me about Odd Man Out because I do actually watch it during the Saint Patrick’s Day season 🙂 In fact, I just added that to the list and wrote a summary for it. Tell me If you think I did that masterpiece justice in my writing? 🙂 Been a while since I saw The Gentle Gunman. I should rewatch that 🙂

6. Before I comment on your list Bill, I just added two more films on the list bringing it up to 10 🙂 The titles are Odd Man Out and Duck, You Sucker! (a.k.a. A Fistful of Dynamite) 🙂 I hope I did justice in summing them up 🙂

7. Wonderful song Bill and no, you are not engaging in “shameless self-promotion” at all 🙂 I always love to listen to your songs and read your work 🙂

8. Glad that you loved The Fugitive technicallyblue 🙂 Tell me something, were the links the icing on the cake for you? 🙂

9. i agree with you on the leones. once upon a time in america is my favorite of his, with a fistful of dynamite second. did you see the 154 minute cut? your link is to the 138 duck you sucker cut. that title came from a misunderstanding of english when leone overheard a crew member cuss out another crew member. my third favorite leone movie is one he gave he director credit to Tonino Valerii, although leone’s signature is all over the film. my theory is that leone wanted to direct it but wanted to follow up fistful of dynamite with one upon a time in america he wanted a legacy as an epic director. not one of light comedies.

10. Bill, the link I posted has a running time of 02:36:52, which equates to 156 minutes and 52 seconds. Was that video the wrong one and yes, I am aware of the different cuts.

11. Yes, that’s a neat summation of the film’s strengths, John.
    I wrote on it myself years ago: https://livius1.com/2011/12/13/odd-man-out/
    And I also featured The Gentle Gunman on the site: https://livius1.com/2011/12/10/the-gentle-gunman/

    Hope you don’t mind my posting those links, John. Feel free to remove them if so.

12. You are correct John. My mistake. I was confusing it with the 136 minute version which was the US theatrical release that was the first version I saw.

13. Gotcha Bill 🙂 Now I will comment on your choices 🙂

14. Interesting list Bill 🙂 I see three Jim Sheridan titles. All of them are good films btw 🙂

    Five Minutes of Heaven is an interesting one and Once is magical 🙂 The Commitments is rhythmic 🙂 I have not seen The Secret of Kells, but that will change very soon 🙂 Same thing goes for The Playboys, I will check that one out too 🙂 As you probably know, we both agree on A Fistful of Dynamite 🙂

15. Interesting story Bill regarding the title origin for Duck, You Sucker! 🙂 As for the Tonino Valerii film, that one was My Name Is Nobody 🙂 Once Upon a Time in America is so masterful that one wished that Leone could have lived longer to fulfill more projects. As you probably know, one of the films he was going to fulfill was an epic entitled Leningard: The 900 Days 🙂

16. i cant vouch for the playboys. i saw it when it was released and was enthralled with robin wright. she was so beautiful and the personality she exuded so fetching. was the movie that good? honestly, i dont remember. but it was certainly a memorable movie going experience for me. ryans daughter is the first david lean film i loved since bridge on the river kwai. mainly for that storm sequence, but i also was drawn to the love story, with its shades of madame bovary.

17. I echo your thoughts on Robin Wright Bill 🙂 I do not know If you knew this, but did you know that John Ford was originally supposed to direct Young Cassidy, but when he became physically ill, famed cinematographer Jack Cardiff took over 🙂

18. when i saw the butchered theatrical cut of once upon a time in america, my first response was a shock that it was not anamorphic. i wish i had been at the preview at the paris theatre when an audience member shouted “Answer the phone,” a bit of heckling that i consider the movie equivalent of the “Judas” catcall dylan received in england 1966. Reportedly, it was that comment that set the audience laughing that led to the extensive re-edit of the film. I was disappointed with the film at that point, and the restoration was a revelation. also its my favorite morricone score. i cant imagine some of those scenes without the music. My Name is Nobody is among my ten favorite westerns. I like it better than any one of the dollars trilogy. I saw Valerii’s A Reason to Live A Reason To Die as a second feature to the theatrical premiere of peckinpah’s The Killer Elite, and found none of the talent that went into My Name is Nobody in that film, .

    An aside, since you dont mind me posting my music here, I am very curious to know your reaction to this song I just did with a London band. I am eager to get an honest opinion of its potential as a Bond theme for the opening credits. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/track/the-city-that-killed-me-twice

19. Great list John. As I was scrolling I wondered if Banshees was going to make it and it did at #10. Very good list. I didn’t know Fugitive had the dyed River and one of the only films to feature that. Also didn’t know Michael Mann and Andrew Davis were Chicagoan’s. Very cool, so many films from this list I need to see, which ones you recommend the most?

20. Andrew Davis or Michael Mann Jim? 🙂

21. Before I give you a full reply Bill, your site is asking some questions about accepting cookies and I just need to know what you recommend? 🙂

22. I knew ford directed some of Young Cassidy, but although i admire Cardiff as a cinematographer, I found him a very bad director, so never watched Young Cassidy. I had the same problem with Mister Roberts, which I did suffer through because Ford as credited with the direction, but is nothing like a Ford picture. On some posters for Young Cassidy, Ford is credited as director. Mister Roberts lists Logan and Leroy as well as ford on the posters.

23. i depends on what you think of cookies. i think they are harmless and easily flushed out when you are cleaning your computer of useless files.

24. Bill, I just chose to collect the necessary ones 🙂 I listened to the song you wrote and I loved it 🙂

    The lyrics that you wrote for The City That Killed Me Twice sound so personal that it is simply too good for a Bond film, but the producers of the OO7 franchise could use it If it was something along the lines of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service or Casino Royale or Skyfall 🙂 David Taro has the perfect vocals. Tell me something, just out of curiosity, do you see this song as autobiographical in any kind of way? 🙂

25. For me, Jack Cardiff’s best film as a director is 1968’s Dark of the Sun, which is a war film 🙂

26. Awesome story about your experiences watching Once Upon a Time in America, My Name Is Nobody, A Reason to Live A Reason To Die and The Killer Elite Bill 🙂

27. all of my songs are autofiction to some degree. if not in things i did or felt, then i ideas i entertained. also, when i collaborate with people, they are my alter-egos. david taro is mastroianni to my fellini. it is interesting that in the dozen or so songs i wrote with him, most of them have some reference to the sea…and the only time i was at sea was when i took a ship from florida to lima peru. i dont know if i told you this, but davids father and uncle were the first songwriters john lennon signed to apple publishing. they had a band called grapefruit (i wonder if beatleypete knows of them) that was only moderately successful. the chorus is the only part of the song in which i truly express myself in an autobiographical way, although it is true that while living outside of memphis, i once drove down elvis presley boulevard but turned around before i got to graceland because the selling of elvis on every corner embarrased me. anyway, i sent a copy of the song to barbara bach, who is in preproduction for a new bond movie in 2026. i doubt whether i will hear back from her. but i think it would be a perfect title song, seeing as both bond and his wife died in previous movies, and now he is coming back even though he said he would not.

28. I had never heard of Dark of the Sun. Just watched the trailer on youtube and it looks very good. Some of the shots reminded me of Cross of Iron.

29. Sorry for the late response Bill 🙂 I think that is an interesting way of interpreting things (you comparing Taro to Mastroianni and yourself to Fellini) 🙂 I am sure the two would be flattered 🙂 I had no idea that David’s father and uncle were signed to apple publishing by singer John Lennon 🙂 Fascinating 🙂 As for James Bond, I do hope that Barbara Bach gives you a call back and accepts the song 🙂

30. Dark of the Sun would fit perfectly on a double bill with either Robert Aldrcih’s The Dirty Dozen or Sam Peckinpah’s Cross of Iron 🙂 But yes, check it out 🙂 The great Martin Scorsese has championed the film, which is not a surprise considering that Jack Cardiff was often associated with Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (Marty’s cinematic heroes) – click on the link below 🙂

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_of_the_Sun#Cult

31. Great list! As I mentioned on my other comment, being in Northern Ireland, Paddy’s Day has never been celebrated here as ‘big’ as it is in the US. It’s a day off work, a day off school, and an excuse for pubs to whack the prices up! Much better to stay in and watch a movie.

    Honestly, there aren’t many full blown Irish movies I love. Movies by Irish directors – absolutely. Movies set over here, or filmed over here, sure.

    In recent years, some ‘Irish’ movies (made here/Irish directors/based here etc) I’ve enjoyed are:

    ’71

    Oddity

    Caveat

    Grabbers

    A Dark Song

32. i realize that fellini/mastroianni comparison was pretentious, so ill elaborate on what i mean. i put these collaborative albums together like a book of short stories, and each song is in the narrative voice of an individual character. i choose the singer/musicians in the same way i cast for a play. david taro reminds me of myself in my earlier years, and has the kind of rock and roll energy i used to have (i still have it to a degree but david does it so much better), so in that sense he is to me as mastroianni is to fellinis younger self. in the more poetic and sophisticated songs it may be a bergman-ullman, godard-karina relationships. john ford couldnt play the strong heroes who are the protagonists in many of his movies, but john wayne can,,, so that is the kind of analogy i was going for….then there are my solo albums which are me doing my one man show.

33. Insightful analysis Bill 🙂 Btw, I do not think that you are pretentious at all 🙂

34. hey john. if you are free tomorrow (friday the 21st) at noon, stop by to my listening party for my new album. its a short one, a little less than half an hour. i dont expect many will show up as ive done no promotion, but i automatically have these for new releases. there is an open chat where we can write to each other while the album plays. people usually make comments and ask questions. they are usually well attended during the months when im actively involved in collaborative efforts, but in these off months when i just work alone, i sometimes am the only person present at the listening party. so stop by if you are free and feel up to it. try either of these two links. https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/album/movement-and-rest
    https://billwhite.bandcamp.com/merch/movement-and-rest-listening-party

35. Nice list Carlosnightman 🙂 I got to check out some of these because I have first heard about them now 🙂 Grabbers sounds like it does for monster movies what Shaun of the Dead did for zombie movies 🙂

36. Thanks Bill 🙂 I am not sure If I will can visit the blog at the time you want, but I will go and visit it tomorrow to see If I can listen to what I miss 🙂 Since you live in Florida, I assume it would be 11 am central time (I live in Illinois) 🙂

37. Grabbers is fun, but I always recommend 71 as an underrated, action/thriller

38. Gotcha carlosnightman 🙂

39. yes. 11am… Illinois. you can hear the album any time. but the 11am listening party will be live and we can chat while listening. other wise, i an curious as to what you think of the album. i think of each one as some great departure from the last, but they probably, in reality, all sound the same.

40. I can’t argue with any of your selections, John. All of them are fine films. (Haven’t seen The Wind that Shakes the Barleys or Barry Lyndon. )
    I’ll use your list (if I may) and add to it State of Grace, Shadow of Violence and The Guard.

41. State of Grace is very good 🙂 Shadow of Violence and The Guard are ones that I need to catch up on Pam 🙂 Thanks for the recommendations 🙂

42. wonderful selection. I’ll try to remember it next year for Saint Patrick’s Day.

43. Thanks, I am glad that you enjoyed it 🙂