Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Break out the Lucky Charms and the Guinness and make merry with a trio of Emerald Isle stunners:
“The Dead”(1987, Lionsgate, PG, $15): Have you ever wondered what it would be like to attend a holiday shindig in turn-of-century Dublin? In his final film, John Huston provides a lovely illustration. The plotless drama, which stars Anjelica Huston and Donal McCann, waltzes its way to a bittersweet finale that will break your heart into a million pieces. Available for sale and at rental outlets
“The Molly Maguires” (1970, Paramount, PG, out of print). Richard Harris stars as an Irish detective recruited by a mining company to infiltrate the Sean Connery-led Molly Maguires, a gang of rebels working to improve the lot of their coal-covered comrades. At least 30 minutes too long, “The Molly Maguires” still scores points because it’s shot in such NEPA locales as Eckley Miners Village and Jim Thorpe. When the action sags, it’s fun to play spot-the-local-landmark. If you can’t find the DVD, you can attend a free showing at Eckley Miners Village, Highland Road, off Route 940, at 2 p.m. Sunday. Call 636-2070 for details. Available at rental outlets.
“Miller’s Crossing” (1990, Fox, R, $10): This enormously entertaining Irish gangster drama from the Coen Brothers delivers plenty of blarney as well as the rat-a-tat of dialogue and gunfire. Best of all is a haunting, deep-woods chase that prefigures the infamous “Pine Barrens” episode from “The Sopranos” by more than a decade. Available for sale and at rental outlets.