Commitments

Theatrical Release Date: 1991 08 14 (USA)

UPC: 086162128929

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Profanity, Watch With Your Teen]

Summary: "The Irish are the blacks of Europe, Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland, and the North Siders are the blacks of Dublin ... so say it loud -- I'm black and I'm proud!" Or so Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) tells his slightly puzzled friends as he tries to assemble a rhythm & blues show band in a working class community in Dublin in Alan Parker's film The Commitments. Jimmy is a would-be music business wheeler and dealer, and he's decided what Dublin needs is a top-shelf soul band. However, top-shelf soul musicians are hard to find in Dublin, so he has to make do with what he can find. However, after a long round of auditions, Jimmy makes two inspired discoveries: Deco (Andrew Strong), an abrasive and alcoholic streetcar conductor who nevertheless has a voice like the risen ghost of Otis Redding, and Joey "The Lips" Fagan (Johnny Murphy), a horn player who knows soul music backwards and forwards and claims to have played with everyone from Wilson Pickett to Elvis Presley. Before long, the band -- called the Commitments -- is packing them in at local clubs. But do they have what it takes to make the big time? Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle, who also co-wrote the screenplay, The Commitments is sparked by fine performances by its young cast and enthusiastic performances of a number of '60s soul classics; the cast, who play their own instruments, reassembled the band for a concert tour after the film became a hit. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Musical

Awards: Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts David Lean Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Adapted Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Commitments

Format: DVD

Release Date: 11/14/2006

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 118 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1
0. Scene Selection
1. Main Titles.
2. How It All Began.
3. Dublin Soul.
4. Answering the Ad.
5. Getting Some Singers.
6. Studying the Expert.
7. A Godsend.
8. The Commitment-ettes.
9. Eat, Sleep and Breathe Soul.
10. First Rehearsal.
11. An Unemployed Musician.
12. The Go-Ahead.
13. Too Many Fish In The Sea.
14. Preparations.
15. Ladies and Gentlemen...The Commitments.
16. Bye Bye Baby.
17. Show Me; A Shocking Experience.
18. It's Alive!
19. A Prior Commitment.
20. Talkin' Elvis.
21. Committed.
22. Take Me To The River.
23. The Dark End of the Street.
24. Billy Quits.
25. The Mister Chippy Van.
26. Hard To Handle.
27. Chain Of Fools; Collection Agents.
28. A Celebrity Jam?
29. Mustang Sally.
30. I Never Loved A Man.
31. Try A Little Tenderness.
32. In The Midnight Hour.
33. No Problems with the Band.
34. Where Are They Now?
35. End Titles.

Michael Betzold

With perhaps more four-letter words than any other film ever made, The Commitments oozes authenticity. The relentless profanity is part of a rich, hilarious, musically satisfying portrait of a fictional working-class Irish band whose mission is to bring American soul music to Dublin. Avoiding the customary romantic view of Ireland and most clich?s about the music industry, rebellious director Alan Parker presents a gritty, alcohol-soaked, often inspired portrait of an Emerald Isle most tourists never see: the alleys and bars of decidely unpicturesque urban ghettoes. The band, fronted by a Joe Cocker-like husky-voiced lead singer, is fabulous, and the music is as powerful as the rhythm-and-blues greats whose songs the band covers -- so good, in fact, that the band released two excellent CDs. This Is Spinal Tap introduced the genre of the rock mockumentary, but The Commitments is a stronger, more genuine, and musically superior film. In fact, it's among the best music films ever made, including those fashioned by "real" bands. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Liam Carney  Actor 
Derek Duggan  Actor 
Anne Kent  Actor 
Paul Bushnell  Actor 
Winston Dennis  Actor 
Dick Massey  Actor 
Paddy O'Connor  Actor 
Peter Rowen  Actor 
Philomena Kavanagh  Actor 
Eanna Mac Liam  Actor 
Mick Nolan  Actor 
Maria Place  Actor 
Alan Parker  Actor 
Andrea Corr  Actor 
Ruth Fairclough  Actor 
Kristel Harris  Actor 
Pat Leavy  Actor 
Rynagh O'Grady  Actor 
Blaise Smith  Actor 
Alan Murray  Actor 
Michael Bolger  Actor 
Lance Daly  Actor 
Sheila Flitton  Actor 
Larry Hogan  Actor 
Brian Mac Aodha  Actor 
Mark O'Regan  Actor 
John Hubbard  Actor 
Jezz Bell  Actor 
Jim Corr  Actor 
Derek Herbert  Actor 
Jody Campbell  Actor 
Phelim Drew  Actor 
Josylen Lyons  Actor 
Bernard Keelan  Actor 
Philip Bredin  Actor 
Emily Dawson  Actor 
Patrick Foy  Actor 
Sean Hughes  Actor 
Mikel Murfi  Actor 
Maura O'Malley  Actor 
Tricia Smith  Actor 
John Cronin  Actor 
Conor Malone  Actor 
Eamon O'Connor  Actor 
Eileen Reid  Actor 
Ros Hubbard  Actor 
Colm Mac Con Iomaire  Actor 
Bob Navan  Actor 
Michael O'Reilly  Actor 
Canice William  Actor 
Gerard Cassoni  Actor 
Lindsay Fairclough  Actor 
Ronan Hardiman  Actor 
Aoife Lawless  Actor 
Owen O'Gorman  Actor 
Ger Ryan  Actor 
Dave Kane  Actor 
Paul Bushnell  Composer (Music Score) 
Armyan Bernstein  Executive Producer 
Dick Clement  Screenwriter 
Roddy Doyle  Screenwriter 
Souter Harris  Executive Producer 
Ian La Frenais  Screenwriter 
Lynda Myles  Producer 
Alan Parker  Director 
Roger Randall-Cutler  Producer 
Tom Rosenberg  Executive Producer 
David Wimbury  Producer 
Robert Arkins  Actor 
Michael Aherne  Actor 
Angeline Ball  Actor 
Maria Doyle Kennedy  Actor 
Johnny Murphy  Actor 
Dave Finnegan  Actor 
Andrew Strong  Actor 
Bronagh Gallagher  Actor 
Felim Gormley  Actor 
Glen Hansard  Actor 
Kenneth McCluskey  Actor 
Colm Meaney  Actor 

Country: UK,USA,Ireland