Related Directory Categories
Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
The Field
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Field | |
|---|---|
 Film poster for The Field |
|
| Directed by | Jim Sheridan |
| Produced by | Noel Pearson |
| Written by | John B. Keane(play) Jim Sheridan |
| Starring | Richard Harris John Hurt Sean Bean Brenda Fricker Tom Berenger |
| Release date(s) | 1990 |
| Running time | 107 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Field is a play written by John B. Keane, first performed in 1965. It was adapted into a film in 1990 by Jim Sheridan. It tells the story of the hardened farmer "Bull" McCabe and his love for the land he rents.
The Field is set in a small country village in southwest Ireland. Bull McCabe has spent many hard years of labor turning the rocky land he rents from the widow Maggie Butler into a field suitable for grazing cattle. He has always considered the land his own, and dreams of buying it; after years of torment from McCabe's son Tadgh, Butler decides to sell the land at public auction. The McCabes intimidate most of the townspeople out of bidding in the auction, to the chagrin of honest auctioneer Mick Flanagan, but Englishman William Dee arrives with his own plans for the field. An encounter between Dee and the McCabes ends in bloodshed and an attempted coverup. Other characters include the town priest Father Murphy, Flanagan's wife and son, and the loyal town drunk "Bird" O'Donnell.
The Field debuted at Dublin's Olympia Theatre in 1965, and was published in 1967 by Mercier Press. A new version with some changes was produced in 1987.
Jim Sheridan's 1990 film version starred Richard Harris as Bull McCabe, Sean Bean as Tadgh, Brenda Fricker as Bull's wife Maggie, and John Hurt as Bird O'Donnell. Adaptations included changes to the cast; the town priest received an expanded role as Father Chris Doran, played by Sean McGinley, and the Englishman William Dee is replaced by the sympathetic Irish American Peter, played by Tom Berenger. The auctioneer's role is considerably reduced, while new additions include a family of Irish Travellers, despised by Bull McCabe for having lost their connection to the land. The ending was also changed for the film. The film was released to generally mild or poor reviews,[1] but Harris received an Academy Award nomination for his role. In 1996 the An Post, the Irish Post Office, issued a set of postage stamps to commemorate the centenary of Irish cinema; the 32p stamp featured an image from The Field of actors Harris, Bean, and Hurt standing against the backdrop of Killary Harbour.[2]
Contents |
The Field was based on the murder of Moss Moore, a bachelor farmer living in Reamore in County Kerry in 1959. Dan Foley, a neighbour with whom Moss Moore had a long-running disupte, was suspected of the murder. The family of Dan Foley say that he was not a murderer.[3]
- ^ Rottentomatoes.com.
- ^ Detail of the 32p stamp. From europeanstamps.net. Retrieved July 15, 2006.
- ^ Fuil agus Dúch, Broadcast on TG4, 22 Mar 2007 at 10 p.m. GMT.
- "John B Keene". doolee.com. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- The Field at the Internet Movie Database
 |
This 1990s drama film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |