Harry's Game

I was over in Belfast not long after this film came out & although it was filmed in Leeds, it is so close to looking like Belfast that it always brings back memories -- good & bad. The acting is excellent, most of the accents authentic, the immorality of the bosses on both sides well shown, & the plot totally believable. There now seems a real chance of peace in NI but if ever the 'troubles' resume, this should be used to prepare anyone posted over there. Thoroughly recommended.

Those of us who were fortunate enough to see Harry's Game in 1982 on TV were watching a stitched together version for broadcast distribution. It was originally made as a TV mini series in three one-hour parts. The recently available British DVD (PAL region 2) is shown in its original episodic format.

The other postings have said enough to describe the story, so I won't go into it. We've seen the story in many incarnations, but the real attraction to this film is the film making.

Typical of British cinema, it is very Spartan: no superfluous music, sound, or special effects. The costumes are "everyday," and the sets are actual row houses, typical of the times and area. This gritty story plays out without cinematic distractions or any of the nauseating political correctness which has become "de rigueur" in today's films.

It has been said about music that a simple melody well played is far more beautiful than a symphony butchered. Similarly, one can say about film that a simple, believable story well told is far more captivating than a howler of a story tossed together with a dog's dinner of special effects. Think of this film in terms of Zen.

** I will say the very opening of the film with the haunting Celtic vocals by Enya and Clannad instantly caught my attention. At the time Enya was merely the vocalist in the family band, Clannad, and in 1981, was an unknown in North America. However, I knew immediately this was a voice destined for greatness. For Enya fans who only know her music, the "Theme to Harry's Game" refers to this marvelous film.

This is yet another example of the abysmal ignorance of marketing on the part of the British film industry. Evidently the owners of the property don't like making money. The only thing this film lacked was a marketing budget and someone to market it.

For film lover's who are disappointed by the dearth of North American releases of marvelous British, Aussie and European films, I would highly recommend purchasing a region free DVD player, and ordering your films from England. There are several sites which sell them very cheap. Also, if you like French cinema, set your browser to detect French language hits also when you search film titles. Lots of great used titles available on ebay.fr or amazon.fr.

Outstanding movie.

One comment on a comment above in which someone refers to Enya as the vocalist on the Clannad theme. Enya (Eithne Ní Bhraonáin) had left Clannad before they recorded this theme. If I recall correctly she only appeared on one album "Crann Úll" (Apple Tree) as a backing vocalist. The lead vocalist on the theme was her sister Máire Ní Bhraonáin who records solo under the Anglicised version of her name Moya Brennan. The voice sounds a lot more like Moya also. I heard her perform this in a small venue (about 60-70 people) in Gleann Cholm Cille in Donegal a couple of months ago. Moya did a lovely job singing this as well as some of her newer stuff and a number of traditional tunes in Irish.

After a cabinet minister is gunned down in front of his wife and children on a London street the Provisional IRA claim responsibility. The killer, Billy Downes, makes his way back to the Falls Road in Belfast but it isn't long before a man is sent to find him. That man is army officer, an Ulsterman who takes lodging in The Falls claiming to have been away working as a merchant seaman. He doesn't know Downes identity; all he has to go on is an identikit picture and information he gleans from the locals. Any information gained has the potential to endanger the person who told him. The IRA learn that there is a man, who is unknown to the authorities in Northern Ireland, and start hunting for any outsiders; it is soon a cat and mouse came as Harry searches for Downes and the IRA hunt for him.

This superlative three part TV drama has a very natural feel; there is nothing glamourous about what is happening and Harry is far from the traditional hero. There is an almost constant feeling that things could easily go wrong for him and that would almost certainly mean torture and death. The creators could easily have made Downes a monstrous character but instead he is a fairly ordinary person, almost sympathetic at times as his commanders keep using him without risking themselves. The acting is impressive throughout; the fact that there are few familiar faces makes it feel all the more real. Ray Lonnen and Derek Thompson stand out as Harry and Downes. While most of it was filmed in Leeds rather than Belfast I doubt many viewers will realise... the only times I thought 'That's not Northern Ireland' were when prominent British Rail logos, not the Northern Ireland Railway logos, were shown... a very minor quibble indeed. The story plays out well with many moments of real tension and an ending that will stick with the viewer years after they first see it.

I spent several months scouring DVD stores and P2P networks, looking for Harry's Game, simply because I'd heard from numerous sources that it was the most authentic portrayal of the N. Irish troubles on film. I finally got my hands on a copy, and I was very excited to see what I believed was going to be the best depiction of life in N. Ireland under the shadow of the war.

Dear GOD. The acting, the accents, the dialogue, the camera work, the directing; is there anything in this friggin' series that doesn't seem like it was under the control of a high school media student?

This is the worst - yes, the WORST - depiction of the Troubles I've ever seen, and I've seen some pretty abysmal Troubles-inspired movies, let me tell ya! There are two things, and ONLY two things that make this series tolerable enough so that I could sit through the full three hours. First, the overall visual "bleakness" of the series. It really "felt" like Northern Ireland, and certainly the Northern Ireland of the 80's. As long as no one spoke or acted out anything other than walking around, it was quite authentic. Then again, this probably had nothing to do with the director's/producer's vision and more to do with their budget, but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The second positive point is that it appears to have been reasonably well-researched in terms of the "operating procedures" of both the IRA and the British intelligence apparatus. In that respect, it's no more or less authentic than any other half-decent attempt to portray the N. Irish Troubles.

I found myself shaking my head in both disbelief and anger every time someone did or said something on-screen. The casting appears to have been made up predominately of weak B actors, somewhat-known British TV actors, and a handful of N. Irish natives who probably hadn't acted in their lives. The accents...God almighty, the accents. Every single "N. Irish" person in the series - other than those actually FROM N. Ireland - seemed to have developed their own bastardization of the N. Irish accent. They may as well have been from different planets. Some were so bad that I burst out laughing...others were just bad enough to make me cringe. The dialogue was no better; the writer was putting words into the mouths of these characters that they'd never say, and making them spew out their moronic lines at inappropriate/unnecessary times. It just felt weak and unrealistic, which is quite staggering considering the fact that the one word that everyone associates with this series is "authenticity".

The Clannad theme song for the series is a fine piece of music, and the fact that it plays during the end credits is probably a wise choice - end credits, good music; a fair pay-off for having wasted several hours of your life.

Overall Authenticity = 4/10

Overall Entertainment Value = 2/10

This is bog-standard, low-budget 80's TV. Don't expect anything more, and don't expect a history lesson about N. Ireland.