Music
Ford chose his friend, Hollywood composer Victor Young, to compose the score for the film. Young sprinkled the soundtrack with many Irish airs such as the “Rakes of Mallow” and “The Wild Colonial Boy”. One piece of music, chosen by Ford himself, is most prominent: the melody the “Isle of Innisfree”, written not by Young, but by the Irish policeman/songwriter Richard Farrelly. The melody of the “Isle of Innisfree”, which is first heard over the opening credit sequence with Ashford Castle in the background, becomes the principal musical theme of The Quiet Man. The melody is reprised at least eleven times throughout the film.
The upbeat melody comically hummed by Michaeleen Oge Flynn and later played on the accordion is the “Rakes of Mallow”.
A portion of the Irish version of “The Wild Colonial Boy” is played throughout the film.
When Maureen O’Hara died in October 2015, her family stated she listened to music from The Quiet Man during her final hours.[14] Filmmaker George A. Romero was also said to have died listening to the score.[15]
I’ve got very mixed feeling about that movie. The scene where he drags her physically across the countryside doesn’t hold up all that well. It’s interesting how it buries the politics of land ownership and emigration in gauzy green romanticism. Why would the IRA want to burn Danaher’s house down, do you think? Why does the widow have an English accent? How come she owns the Thornton’s land? Why did the Thornton’s have to emigrate?
Also like so many Irish themed films it’s almost impossible to tell what year it is. Until the car shows up and the phone is invoked it could be 1850: then it could be anywhere between 1910 and 1950. Ireland as “Brigadoon.”
So is Roddy Doyle’s “Last Roundup” trilogy the last volume of which has a lot to say (fictional, with some loose basis in fact) about John Ford and the making of The Quiet Man. By all accounts Ford wanted to make a much more explicitly “political” movie that would touch more directly on land ownership in the republic, but he was restrained by Ward Bond, (father lonergan) who was a ferocious anti-communist.
BTW there is a brilliant scene with Ford in Steven Spielberg’s movie “The Fablemans,” which I found only so-so till that ending scene.
For my taste
Music - The Boys and Girls of County Clare
War of Independence - Michael Collins and The Wind That Shakes the Barley
The troubles - Hidden Agenda (dir Ken Loach)
Land rights - The Field
Modern Life - Twin Town
Thriller - The Wonder
Traveller Life - Into the West
I enjoy The Quiet Man more for the raucous and comedic nature, but it does seem pretty over the top in ways that are not so endearing too.
And then there’s a few others I like that others may sigh over. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched “Waking Ned Devine”. It’s likely my all-time favorite, but was actually filmed on the Isle of Man. I also enjoy The Matchmaker, but the language is a bit over the top for my tastes. I enjoyed Michael Collins, but it was a really long time ago. I need to watch it again. Finally, I want to see The Banshees of Inisherin, but have not yet.
Matchmaker, but the language is a bit over the top for my tastes
I am not sure what that means exactly. I have little recollection of it, other than that it was filmed in Roundstone and involved the usual abundance of Paddywhackery.
I’ll repeat my recommendation, made above, half tongue in cheek, for The Guard. It is hilarious and Brendan Gleeson is brilliant in it:
If we’re including Netflix, I’ll go with Derry Girls. Teens growing up in Derry (duh!) in the 1990s. Mostly comedy with stunning moments of personal and Troubles-related seriousness.
I didn’t check the geo tagging for individual items but you can find out for yourself. TG4 does list the availability for each listing on their site, the wonderful ‘Songs of granite’ for example is listed ‘Ireland only’. But YMMV. Or you can crank up the old vpn.
And no one ever mentioned “The Informer” with Victor McLaglen’s Oscar winning performance?
Haven’t seen it but one might to check out the doc “Dreaming of The Quiet Man”.
Yes,no arguing the movie itself is all stereotypes - as it seems (to me) it was supposed to be.
From a sociological perspective it’s also an interesting tale of culture shock.
