The Devil's Own

"They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war."

1997 1h 47m EN

😐

6.2

MID

🥫

34%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.2TMDB · 1,416🥫34%Rotten Tomatoes●52Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 76,244

CrimeThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.

“They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war.”

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Cast

Harrison Ford
Tom O'Meara
Brad Pitt
Rory Devaney
Margaret Colin
Sheila O'Meara
Rubén Blades
Edwin Diaz
Treat Williams
Billy Burke
George Hearn
Peter Fitzsimmons
Mitchell Ryan
Chief Jim Kelly
Natascha McElhone
Megan Doherty

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writers: David Aaron Cohen, Kevin Jarre, Vincent Patrick
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan J. Pakula, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dennis Virkler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt and Margaret Colin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0118972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan J. Pakula directs. Gordon Willis behind the camera. James Horner scores. Dennis Virkler cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
229 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Alan J. Pakula, shot by Gordon Willis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James Horner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dennis Virkler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt and Margaret Colin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war.".
8IMDB entry: tt0118972 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "new york city", "assassin", "anonymity", "showdown".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gordon Willis
Original score: James Horner
Editing: Dennis Virkler
Production design: Jane Musky
Costume design: Bernie Pollack
Makeup / hair: Jean Ann Black
Sound: Lee Dichter
Stunt coordinator: Doug Coleman
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $90,000,000
Box office: $140,807,547
Return: 156% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Devil's Own (1997)
Rotten Tomatoes: 34% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 52/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 76,244 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

Alan J. Pakula

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-06
★ 5/10
On the face of it, two A-list men at the top of the bill should have made this compelling, but sadly what we get is a rather lacklustre thriller that is positively lacking in thrills! The story centres around police officer "O'Meara" (Harrison Ford) who takes in an Irish lodger "Devaney" (Brad Pitt and his hilarious Irish accent). From the outset, we are aware that the lodger is really an IRA terrorist who is hiding out under an assumed name, and gradually his host begins to suspect that all is not what is seems. What now ensues is a really rather poorly constructed story that leaves breadcrumbs for us all to follow to an ending that though taut at times along the way, is really nothing very interesting. As a Brit, I've always found these intrigue films that portray terrorists as glorified freedom fighters a bit tough to stomach and the narrative here plays to just about every dumb stereotype imaginable. There is precious little by way of action and the pace sort of lumbers along with little to engage the little grey cells. The plot is overly simplistic and from a political perspective, totally one-sided and that renders the whole thing little better than an hollow outing for both. Though Pitt is at his most eye-catching, this is nothing at all to write home about and offers us little of meaning to help comprehend the complexities of the true problems on the island of Ireland.

Production companies