Hennessy

Hennessy (1975)

Runtime: 103 minutes

Directed by: Don Sharp

Starring: Rod Steiger, Lee Remick, Richard Johnson, Trevor Howard, Peter Egan

From: AIP/Hennessy Film Productions

Perhaps not the most dignified movie to discuss on St. Patrick's Day, but... after not watching any pictures on Wednesday due to my busy schedule yesterday of attending two games of a college basketball tournament in Orlando (no details, as I imagine the vast majority reading this would have little to no knowledge of that anyhow) I had the time last night to check out a movie. Yes, the main reason was because two weeks ago on the Video Archives Podcast Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary discussed Hennessy, something I had no knowledge of beforehand.

It probably is controversial to talk of this today. After all, the movie revolves around the IRA, bombings, and a former IRA member (Rod Steiger!) looking for revenge for the accidental death of this wife and daughter (Patsy Kensit!) by... blowing up Parliament on its opening day when The Queen will be present. While not mentioned in the podcast review, you are supposed to think of Guy Fawkes. Also, I was surprised how much the podcast revealed of the plot; subsequently, my opinion will be more vague.

As people of all ages literally around the world read what I write on Letterboxd, an explanation of The Troubles is needed. The name is much too light for the conflict: Wikipedia provides all the details you could ever need but I will be brief. The Irish Republican Army wishes for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join Ireland, while the Ulster Protestants wish to remain in the UK. The conflict that resulted in Steiger's family being massacred involved Irish youths in the midst of an uprising and members of the British military trying to stop them. The former throws a rock at a soldier, who stumbles and falls, discharging his assault rifle in the process. 

That's really all the viewer needs to know; I am 42 and as a youth remember all these conflicts, the IRA bombings in England (which also happened in the early 70's), the other side responding in kind... it was a big deal at the time. A '98 treaty didn't entirely stop it but it's definitely not as severe as before. Of course, I will NOT offer my opinion on The Troubles! Nothing good can come from that. The movie doesn't appear to take any sides: Steiger does his scheme independent of anyone else. The IRA wishes to stop him as his idea is a “holy crap!” which won't benefit them and so does Scotland Yard once they hear the scuttlebutt.

The movie wasn't as grand as QT and the gang hyped it up to be-a complaint I've heard with some other pictures they covered-yet at the same time was still good so there shouldn't be any grousing about it from me. There are quality performances from the main players... this includes a subdued Steiger, Lee Remick as one of Rod's friends who was already touched by tragedy before, Richard Johnson as the gruff bend the rules Scotland Yard detective, and Trevor Howard as his superior. It was fascinating trying to watch both sides stop him, along with discovering what Hennessy's scheme is, then how he plans to pull it off. It's a rather grim movie yet not so miserable it ever becomes an endurance test. Oh, and Patrick Stewart made his feature film debut here—with some hair!

A very memorable aspect is how the pomp and circumstance of the State Opening of Parliament was shown via stock footage, which includes Queen Elizabeth II speaking at the event. This is just a blind guess but when the filmmakers got permission from the Royal Family to use the footage, “The Queen being edited to look as if she's reacting to a big moment” was a carefully crafted omission. Despite a disclaimer at the beginning there was still controversy when this came out for a variety of reasons you can probably surmise, including Buckingham Palace being irate. Perhaps that is why the copy on Prime is in SD... is the film still too hot to ever enter the world of HD?