"I have never lost more sleep over the making of a film than I have over 'Michael Collins,'" states filmmaker Neil Jordan, "but I'll never make a more important one. In the life of one person you can tell the events that formed the north and south of Ireland as they are today.
"This story is more about history than any political statement," continues Jordan. "Collins wasn't a proponent of terrorism. He developed techniques of guerilla warfare later copied by independence movements around the world, from Mao Tse-Tung in China to Yitzhak Shamir in Israel. He fought the British Empire in Ireland with the only army available to him -- the Irish Volunteers, bands of poorly armed peasants and working-class youths. Collins would never be a proponent of contemporary terrorism as practiced today. He was a soldier and a statesman and, over time, a man of peace.
"Even though Collins lived only about 75 years ago, much of the information we have about him is as mysterious as the existence he maintained. I have made choices about certain events based on my own extensive research into his letters and reported speeches. I wanted to make this story as accurate as possible without killing it dramatically and I think I have. It is a very true film.
"I have had to combine a few of the minor players into composite characters -- most notably a double agent named Broy who dies in the movie, on the night of Bloody Sunday. Though the real Broy survived these events, two of Collins' associates, Dick McKee and Peadar Clancy, were tortured to death in Dublin Castle that night. For purposes of dramatic unity, I have combined all three characters.
"With regard to the murky circumstances surrounding Collins' death, I have made several assumptions. One was that Eamon De Valera was in the vicinity at the time, which is true. Two, that Collins was trying to arrange some conciliatory meeting with those on the opposing side in the Civil War, which is also true. Three, that Collins was ambushed and shot by a renegade band on his way to a meeting, which I believe to be true. Out of this I have constructed the drama of the last ten minutes -- Collins' attempts to meet De Valera, De Valera's inability to deal with the issues, and the young nameless go-between, who sets up the ambush on his own initiative, and becomes Collins' assassin.
"There are those who have called this film a 'pro-IRA' movie, but I believe that this inaccurate description is being used simply to inflame an already contentious situation. Collins' Irish Volunteers did later take the name of the IRA, but then split into two factions in 1921 over the issue of whether to accept the partition treaty Collins had negotiated with the British. The IRA we refer to today is technically known as the Provisional IRA, and was created in 1969 in Belfast as a result of the intensified troubles in that area.
"The film spares neither the Irish nor the British in its depiction of the savagery of the time. How often has independence been achieved without bloodshed? Very rarely. But allied to Collins' capacity for violence was the ability to see when it had to stop, when political means and negotiations would be the only way forward. He died in his attempt to replace warfare with ordinary democratic politics. Although many people have celebrated Michael Collins the Irish Warrior, I believe this movie tells the story of Michael Collins the Irish Patriot, statesman and ultimately, man of peace."
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A Special Note From Director Neil Jordan
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