The General is a 1998 crime film about Dublin criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off several daring heists in the early 1980s, and attracted attention from the Garda, IRA, and UVF. The film was directed by John Boorman, filmed in 1997 and released in 1998. Brendan Gleeson played Cahill, Adrian Dunbar played his close friend Noel Curley, and Jon Voight played Inspector Ned Kenny.

Production

The movie was based on the book of the same name by Irish journalist Paul Williams, who is also crime editor of Ireland's best-selling tabloid, The Sunday World.

Director John Boorman was himself one of Cahill's burglary victims. This event was dramatized in the film in a scene where Cahill breaks into a home, stealing a gold record and pilfering a watch from the wrist of a sleeping woman. The gold record, which Cahill later broke in disgust after discovering it was not made of gold, was awarded for the score of Deliverance, Boorman's most well-known film.

The General was filmed in color, but it has been released in both a color version and a black-and-white version.

Reception

The General was nominated for and won several awards, including "Best Director" at the Cannes Film Festival.

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