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The Commitments
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Synopsis
"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, All Movie Guide

Cast

Michael Aherne Steven Clifford
Robert Arkins Jimmy Rabbitte
Angeline Ball Imelda Quirke
Dave Finnegan Mickah Wallace
Bronagh Gallagher Bernie McGloughlin
Felim Gormley Dean Fay
Glen Hansard Outspan Foster
Kenneth McCluskey Derek Scully
Colm Meaney Mr. Rabbitte
Johnny Murphy Joey "The Lips" Fagan
Andrew Strong Deco Cuffe
Maria Doyle Kennedy Natalie Murphy

Production Crew

Arden Gantly Art Director
Mark Geraghty Art Director
Roddy Doyle Book Author
Michael Roberts Camera Operator
John Hubbard Casting
Ros Hubbard Casting
Gale Tattersall Cinematographer
Dick Clement Co-producer
Ian La Frenais Co-producer
Marc Abraham Co-producer
Paul Bushnell Composer (Music Score)
Penny Rose Costume Designer
Alan Parker Director
Gerry Hambling Editor
Armyan Bernstein Executive Producer
Souter Harris Executive Producer
Tom Rosenberg Executive Producer
G. Marq Roswell Musical Direction/Supervision
David Wimbury Producer
Lynda Myles Producer
Roger Randall-Cutler Producer
Brian Morris Production Designer
Laurie Borg Production Manager
Tom Perry Re-Recording Mixer
Dick Clement Screenwriter
Ian La Frenais Screenwriter
Roddy Doyle Screenwriter
Karen Brookes Set Designer
Year: 1991
Runtime: 116
Country: UK
MPAA Rating: R
for language
Category: Feature

Genre
Musical

Produced by
20th Century Fox
Beacon Pictures
Dirty Hands
First Film Company

Release
August 14, 1991 (USA)
by 20th Century Fox

Awards
1991 - Best Film - British Academy Awards
1991 - Best Film (Musical or Comedy) - Golden Globe
1991 - Best Picture - British Academy of Film and Television
1991 - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - Golden Globe
1991 - Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - Hollywood Foreign Press Association