Anyone who grew up on a family farm in Ireland which has gone through generations will be able to understand The Bull and relate to everything he is saying.
I understand it all too well sadly (Google "Family Farm Survivor"). I even went on the radio in Cork to talk to Neil Prendeville about my story. The first thing he said after the interview was over? Compared it to "The Field" of course
I am from the Irish countryside, and believe me, these kind of characters are still around. Particularly the older farmers. They are utterly obsessed with land, would literally do anything to get and keep land. Families have been broken up and suicides committed over land. Where I came from, there was a Bull McCabe on every road.
Mr.Kill-Joy why? These people are one of the reasons western Ireland gets no development. They don't want it but moan like fuck that they are being ignored.
Except when you look at who wins these faux Hollywood awards, they no longer mean much. It's all political now. Richard Harris is a great actor, no matter what Hollywood elites say. I find it interesting that he spend his last years in a number of Christian-themed films, though here his performance is as good an attack on the RCC's hypocrisy as any film out there.
I’m not Irish or from farming stock but I really feel this emotion and can understand how strong his feelings are. It’s not his job it’s his life and history and his family’s future ,it’s everything he stands for
Harris was utterly spellbinding in the Field, producing one of THE finest, most authentic and powerful acting performances that I have ever seen in any genre of film making. I would place this in my top 5 of all time.
One of those truly rare films that are so good and so relentlessly tragic I could only watch it once. Harris is perfection-you know he felt and meant every word he spoke. One of the finest performances in screen history.
Well said. I watched it in the Cinema in Ireland when it first came out and although It's one of the best Irish movies I have ever seen I've never been able to watch it again . Harris truly was a great Irish actor probably the best.
Truly a great scene but I favor the one in the church where the same priest throws the congregation out but the Bull refuses to leave and then dresses down the priest outside with the obvious approval of the people. This film strikes me hard, deep inside.
My grandfather was a plough man back in the 20s,30s,40s,50s working for a shilling a day. He had 8 kids. They lived in a little council estate. My father said only for the farmers people would have went hungry.
The field was based on a real murder case that took place in County Kerry in the early 1960s. The man who was murdered was called Moss Moore and his neighbour was the chief suspect, was a man called Dan Foley. The case was never solved although everyone was sure where the guilt lay. Richard Harris is dressed exactly as Dan Foley is in old photos and impressive as Harris is, Foley was even bigger ,heavier and broader than Harris while his neighbour was a small slight man. It;s believed he was murdered iin a dispute over a strip of land just a few yards wide. J.B. Keane wrote the play and he was present when much of the movie was being filmed. He was unhappy with some of the changes that had to be made to turn the play into a viable film but he had nothing but praise for Richard Harris.
Tim mcCaffrey ..Interesting info&background...I was born in Stepney,East London(somewhat ironic considering my old man wasn't exactly fond of the Cockneys),but the Parents are from Cahirciveen,County Kerry,I'v never seen the whole Film,but what I did see,u couldn't help but be impressed by Richard Harris's powerful portrayal. But I didn't know about the origins of the Film,but it certainly doesn't surprise Me. We used to hear many an story about these kind of disputes with plenty redacted of course and For very good reasons..When I met my Uncle over in the States(which is where I live at present)He relayed a Story, which didn't end well for someone..And the intro was typical..."You.Know ur Father was a Peaceful man"..No Satalites or Cell phones in those days.So people had to tread carefully...
5eurocups2005 True. Why exactly did he want the Field anyway? I do not his violence! This Movie seems somewhat Dichotomous, guess why it's so appealing
@@bailmccabe9089 He wanted to build a hydro-electric plant in the area and mine limestone, but this parcel of privately held land right in the middle of the intended site put a hitch in that plan, hence the need to buy it. My wonder is more why he went down personally, and why he stayed when it became apparent that he was dealing with a rather uncompromising man.
Typical of the Irish Catholic church at the time, forget about the poor people of the parish for a fat donation to the parish dues from some blow in. The Bull 100% correct no priest died in the famine. I as child in the 60's remember walking to mass on a Sunday morning past the parochial house to the smell of a cooked breakfast and we as kids in hunger after fasting from the night before to receive holy communion. Our parents and my brother's and sisters would go without during the week on basic things so as the priest would have the collection money. What every parishioner gave the previous week was read out off the alter every Sunday. People were shamed into giving as much has humanly possible. No wonder the wheel has gone full circle in Catholic Ireland. Best movie performance ever by Harris and Hurt too
@@davidkinlon7285 I know what you mean. I remember my mom having to sew the altar cloths and help clean the church meanwhile, me and my little brother having to wait for them to finish. In the end my mom realized that they were just taking advantage...
There goes another who thinks by using this fuken description of being criminally underfuckinrated they're thinking it's exclusively theirs 😂😂😂. I've heard this describing just about everyone and everything everyfukinwhere 😂😂. Give it a rest with that one
Men like the bull built the world we live in,educated men took everything they had without going through any hardships-easy come easy go mentality is what todays world has whereas when you work for something it's harder to part with.
When my grandfather died on his farm, pneumonia, the priest came to the house, said to my grandmother, "now Bridget I'll take these 3 (Joe, Eugene, Ita) to the orphanage! Thank God my grandmother said " my children will go to no orphanage" we will manage". They did the 4 of them kept the farm going till my grandmother died, then they all left home. This is the hard life in Ireland in those days!
The Bull calls the field "my child" (0:21). His own child Seamie committed suicide because the field could not support the family and this would mean that Tadhg would have had to emigrate when he was older. This element to the movie (which is not in the original play) is incredibly powerful. Much of the angst and anger in the Bull comes from the pain of Seamie's suicide. Even after the murder of the Yank we see the Bull cradle the dead man and call out Seamie's name. The Bull tells the priest that he brought the dead field/child to life through his hard work and devotion. Sadly he could not save his own children and because of his total devotion to the land he drove his children from him. Seamie killed himself and Tadhg later tells him that he never wanted the field! The closing scene has the Bull vainly trying to protect Tadhg's body from the waves. Almost Grecian in its tragic ending. One of my all time favourite movies.
Aoife Fitzgerald I know what you mean. I researched my family history and visited Cork last year and I saw people like Bull. I was told a story that one of my distant relatives threatened to cut another's head off with a scythe over some disputed land. The Famine taught the Irish the only thing that mattered was to have your own piece of land.
To me this is where The Bull realises the field is about him keeping his own mythology alive. His fathers tears were about the death of his mother and shame that her son only thought about the field. The Bull needs to keep the field to keep the idea his father was proud of him.
Think most Irish people would side with The Bull in this dispute, or at least appreciate the utter injustice of the field being sold from under him by his landlord, yet he was portrayed as the villain. Of course John B Keane was a Kerry Blueshirt and we can see what’s happening to tenants all over again in 2023 under Fine Gael.
One of the many things so powerful in this scene is how the camera doesn't show the reaction of the priest or yank to The Bull when he says "no collar, uniform, or weapon will protect the man who stands in my way".
My Da and great grand parents on my mothers side were Irish.I was born in Australia....”apparently” I’m 98% Irish....I didn’t need a DNA test to telll me where my YEW T’TRE began ( excuse the pints)....when I hear ...the bull...I hear my Da.Now 10 yeats past.GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN ☘️☘️☘️
The bull was clever...he know years later aldi or lidl would of paid big money for the field...probably in the region of one thousand maybe 2thousand euro...
I've always wondered about the message this film was trying to portray. Scenes like this make me think it was sympathetic to people like Bull McCabe, showing the importance of tradition and the responsibility we have to our ancestors (and descendants). On the other hand, the ending [slight spoiler] seemed to show that he was in the wrong. Or maybe the film wasn't trying to take one side over the other so much as it was just displaying a tragic, yet complex, story with a basis in reality.
I think the Bull is both a protector of tradition who deserves respect and a lunatic.....key is when his mother dies and he wants to bring in the hay rather than call the priest....his father has tears in his eyes when he hears this.....is it pride in his sons love of the field, or shame in his disregard for his own mothers death.........I think this is the whole queation of the story..........I don't know the answer. And that is why this is a beautiful peace of story telling
it's some imagery, the bull is standing over his father, who is over his dead mother. the father has tears in his eyes and the bull thinks it's because of the fathers gra for bulls love of the Field! the bull has guilt in this scene.
He was wrong. Murder is always wrong. And he put land first over God. He didnt care if he saw his mother in hell. So he is wrong However, most of feelings on the matter are correct. And this is what widows do, they get rid of the land. U should ensure that the land passes to the male since his name is your own and he ought to have children. Land is worthless if u have no kids
Jim Sheridan talked about this scene recently. It was the first thing they shot for the film. Richard Harris, being from a theatre background, did a very dramatic rendition on the first take, which really impressed the crew, who applauded, but it wasn't what Sheridan wanted at all. So after the applause died down, Sheridan said, "Well, that was just about the worst fucking overacting I've ever seen!" It was rocky between the two for the shooting of the film, but I think the tension really added something to the performance in the end.
The greatest coward & hypocrite is the priest himself. Had it not been for his complicity, nothing bad would have happened. To the priest i say: YOU are the first to 'share in his guilt', YOU are the first 'murderer', YOU are the one 'defiling the church', YOU ought to be the first 'to get out of the church'.
