The only Irish '80s movie: 'My Left Foot'
TODAY'S RETRO-REVIEW: 1989's My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker. Directed by Jim Sheridan. Adapted from the book written by Christy Brown.
THE PLOT: The true life story of Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy to a poor Irish family. With the help of his strong-willed mother, Brown learned to paint and write poetry -- with only his left foot.
MAYBE YOU REMEMBER: My Left Foot is the only film ever to get an A+ rating from Entertainment Weekly, according to IMDB.com. Brenda Fricker won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Christy's mother.
SURELY YOU CAN'T FORGET: Daniel Day-Lewis won his first Oscar for the leading role, beating Tom Cruise (Born on the Fourth of July), Robin Williams (Dead Poets Society), Morgan Freeman (Driving Miss Daisy) and Kenneth Branagh (Henry V ). He also broke two ribs while being hunched over in a wheelchair both on and off screen during filming as he insisted on staying character around the clock.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID: "My Left Foot is a great film for many reasons, but the most important is that it gives us such a complete picture of this man's life. It is not an inspirational movie, although it inspires. It is not a sympathetic movie, although it inspires sympathy." -- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
WHY WE STILL LOVE IT: It has almost as many f-bombs as Scarface. And because deep down, especially on St. Patrick's Day, we all envy Christy drinking whiskey from a straw.
TOP 5 MEMORABLE LINES FROM MY LEFT FOOT:
5. "If you work with me, I'll help you say 'f--- off' more clearly."
4. "Con-gra-tu-la-tions to you and Peter. I'm glad you taught me to speak so I could say that."
3. "Well, Christy, that's the nearest he'll ever come to saying I love you."
2. "This is Christy Brown, my son. Genius."
1. "All is nothing, therefore nothing must end."
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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We have to save the best for the end,right? When you make a top 5 list you don`t start with n.1,you start with n.5. Helen Mirren,what a woman!
Talking about Irish,are you up for some Guinness or a good old Bushmills Irish Whiskey? (See? Saving the best for the end)
Posted by: Miguel | March 17, 2009 at 02:35 PM
You had me at "very hot Helen Mirren," which sadly you waited til the end of your blog post to mention.
Posted by: Spears | March 17, 2009 at 01:52 PM
There`s another Irish 80s movie with a Mark Knopfler soundtrack.It`s called "Cal" with a very hot Helen Mirren.
Posted by: Miguel | March 17, 2009 at 01:51 PM
Mark Knopfler is Sean's guy.
Posted by: Steve Spears | March 17, 2009 at 01:18 PM
Oh Steve....you've cut me deeply on this one. How could you ignore 1983's "Local Hero"? Although it's set in Scotland, you should hang your head in shame for ignoring Bill Forsyth's classic film. The fact that it featured a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack written and performed by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is even more reason to hang your head in your Guinness and weep. Seriously, if you've never seen the movie, do yourself a favor and watch it. And remember, "Ricky's on the road".
Posted by: Former Producer Dave, aka Maestro | March 17, 2009 at 12:16 PM