Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Lightdeossk Captivating movie !

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

st-shot In Shake Hands with the Devil Jimmy Cagney takes his Cody Jarrat to Dublin with the same homicidal intent but this time for Irish Independence. As cruel and cold as any of his youthful mug portrayals Cagney is indeed a lion in winter.American born Kerry O'Shea (Don Murray) studying to be a doctor in Dublin is implicated in a bloody confrontation with The Black and Tans during Ireland's fight for Independence in the early 20s. Given the option to leave or stay and help the cause he chooses at first to leave but decides to stay when he falls for a Brit captive played by Dana Wynter. His college professor Dr. Lenihan (Cagney) it turns out is a major player in the IRA but also a stubborn recalcitrant to anything less than total Independence.In Devil we are given a clearer picture of what the fight for Irish Independence was about that earlier classics The Informer and in the case of Odd Man Out an attempt to avoid naming the combatants at all. Anderson like Reed ( Ford was clear in his declaration) walks a fine line as he balances the blood lusting Lenihan with the Fascist martinet Tan commandant. It is clear atrocity is pervasive on both sides.Anderson however is neither Ford nor Reed in eye or story telling style and while it is more revealing in content the editing is sloppy, the action slap dash, the performances inconsistent and in spite of the magnificent countryside displayed lacking the crushing melancholy ambiance of either .Cagney's quick change from convivial prof to cold blooded realist is a jolt and while he has lost a step his menace and his intensity remains intact and intimidating. The Murray Wyntar romance merely bogs the film down with tepid passion and performance. Glynis Johns tragic barmaid, Ray McNally's activist student, Dame Sybil Thorndike's defiantly campy 80 year old IRA supporter and especially the lilting voice of Cyril Cusack expounding on life lend strong support. In a small role Richard Harris mumbles bungles his way along while Collins prototype Michael Redgrave poses in profile and key light pontificating on the rewards of partial peace while old pro Cagney facially contorts in agony over his words.Shake Hands with the Devil is a credible work but for me it is hard to shake the finely crafted ghosts that hover above it and amplify its drawbacks.

parachute-4 A rather nondescript movie which labors to really come to grips with the issues, but there is more to this film than meets the eye, and its worth viewing more than once. Jim Cagney gives an excellent portrayal as the intellectual who seems to have thought everything through, and draws his protégé over onto the dark side, much against the latter's better judgment. Only right at the end are we made aware that whatever higher levels of reasoning may have led the professor down the path of terrorism, all he really wants to do is kill women.I'd call that a fairly definitive statement about terrorists in general and Cagney makes it in his understated but masterful style. I wonder if his character was based on a real person from that troubled time ? R. B.

donrey This is also the first movie role for Richard Harris. He is easily recognizable as one of the IRA gunmen and makes a dramatic suicide stand against the British on the dockside. No idea why he is not mentioned in the database credits, but it is worth mentioning. He plays a lean, mean Irish tough in the pub scene and on the dockside at the shootout. It is because of the Richard Harris character that the hero is captured alive. It is easy to recognize Richard Harris in the movie by his voice and his face, but his youth and apparent physical strength is surprising, given how he has slimmed with age. I hope that this brief comment will alert the interested movie goer to look for Richard Harris in the movie and see all of the elements of his style, which are repeated in countless movies later.

Gilly-13 The powerful imagery extends to characters as well as extraordinary cinematography. A fine cast turns in great performances all around. Beautiful b&w photography appears to be born of a long and co-operative association between director Michael Anderson and cinematographer Erwin Hillier. There is ample evidence of a director at work with a firm sense of purpose and the creative ability to pull it off. Unusual for its time in this respect. This film confirms what I've heard today's filmmakers (Scorcese and Spielberg) are saying--the work of Michael Anderson deserves much greater recognition.