Ardmore Studios
Encyclopedia
Ardmore Studios is a film studio in Bray
, County Wicklow
, Ireland
which was founded by Emmet Dalton
and opened by the Minister for Industry and Commerce
Seán Lemass
on May 12, 1958.
In July 2008, Kevin Moriarty, Ardmore Studios boss, criticised Irish movies saying that: "there is an absence of a core structure, a surface (even superficial) storyline that allows the audience to navigate its way."
made his first visit to Ireland. Prior to this visit Irish film was made up of newsreels. His first film based in Ireland was The Lad from Old Ireland and was produced by Kalem. His next Irish film was called Rory O'Moore and was based around the Irish Rebellion of 1798. This displeased both the British Home Office and the Catholic Church. Most of his films at this time were filmed in Kerry in the towns of Beaufort, Dunloe and Killarney. Films of the time included The Gypsies of Old Ireland, Arrah-na-Pogue, Robert Emmet, Ireland's Martyr, You'll Remember Ellen and Ireland the Oppressed. By 1914 Olcott was planning a studio based in Beaufort to film all year round, with the outbreak of World War I
these plans were put to rest.
In 1913 another American producer Walter MacNamara produced Ireland a Nation and was filmed in Baltinglass and Glendalough in Co. Wicklow. However the film only aired once in Dublin in 1917 as the British quickly banned the controversial content about Irish rebel Robert Emmett. In March 1916 just before the Easter Rising the Irish Film Company was established by James Mark Sullivan
.
Bray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
which was founded by Emmet Dalton
Emmet Dalton
Emmet Dalton was an Irish soldier and film producer. He served in the British Army in the First World War, reaching the rank of Major. However, on his return to Ireland he became one of the senior figures in the Dublin Brigade of the guerrilla Irish Republican Army which fought against British...
and opened by the Minister for Industry and Commerce
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ireland)
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is the senior minister at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the Government of Ireland.The current Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation is Richard Bruton, TD...
Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....
on May 12, 1958.
In July 2008, Kevin Moriarty, Ardmore Studios boss, criticised Irish movies saying that: "there is an absence of a core structure, a surface (even superficial) storyline that allows the audience to navigate its way."
Irish Film before Ardmore Studios
In 1910 Sidney OlcottSidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.-Biography:Born John Sidney Alcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business...
made his first visit to Ireland. Prior to this visit Irish film was made up of newsreels. His first film based in Ireland was The Lad from Old Ireland and was produced by Kalem. His next Irish film was called Rory O'Moore and was based around the Irish Rebellion of 1798. This displeased both the British Home Office and the Catholic Church. Most of his films at this time were filmed in Kerry in the towns of Beaufort, Dunloe and Killarney. Films of the time included The Gypsies of Old Ireland, Arrah-na-Pogue, Robert Emmet, Ireland's Martyr, You'll Remember Ellen and Ireland the Oppressed. By 1914 Olcott was planning a studio based in Beaufort to film all year round, with the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
these plans were put to rest.
In 1913 another American producer Walter MacNamara produced Ireland a Nation and was filmed in Baltinglass and Glendalough in Co. Wicklow. However the film only aired once in Dublin in 1917 as the British quickly banned the controversial content about Irish rebel Robert Emmett. In March 1916 just before the Easter Rising the Irish Film Company was established by James Mark Sullivan
James Mark Sullivan
James Mark Sullivan , was a lawyer and the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Santo Domingo. He was arrested in Dublin in 1916 for aiding the Irish rebellion.-Biography:...
.
Films made, or based, at Ardmore Studios
- This Other Eden (1958)
- Shake Hands with the DevilShake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)Shake Hands with the Devil is a 1959 film directed by the English director Michael Anderson.It is set in 1921 Dublin, where the Irish Republican Army battles the "Black and Tans," the ex-British soldiers sent to suppress the IRA with excessively harsh measures.The film stars James Cagney as Sean...
(1959) - Sword of Sherwood ForestSword of Sherwood ForestSword of Sherwood Forest is a 1960 British adventure film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions. Richard Greene reprises the role of Robin Hood, which he played in The Adventures of Robin Hood on TV from 1955 to 1960....
(1960) - The MarkThe MarkThe Mark is a 1961 film which tells the story of a convicted child molester, now out of prison, who is suspected in the molestation and beating of another child. It stars Maria Schell, Stuart Whitman, Rod Steiger and Brenda De Banzie....
(1961) - The Spy Who Came in from the ColdThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film)The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John le Carré. It was adapted by Paul Dehn and Guy Trosper. The film stars Richard Burton as Alec Leamas, along with Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, Peter van Eyck, Sam Wanamaker, Rupert Davies and Cyril Cusack...
(1965) - The Blue MaxThe Blue MaxThe Blue Max is an 1966 British war film about a German fighter pilot on the Western Front during World War I. It was directed by John Guillermin, stars George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress, and features Karl Michael Vogler and Jeremy Kemp. The screenplay was written by David Pursall,...
(1966) - The Viking QueenThe Viking QueenThe Viking Queen is a 1967 Hammer Films adventure film set in ancient Britain.-Synopsis:To honour her father's dying wish, Queen Salina shares the rule of Icena with Justinian, a fair and just Roman. This displeases the bloodthirsty Druids on one side and the more hard-line Romans on the other...
(1967) - The Lion in WinterThe Lion in Winter (1968 film)The Lion in Winter is a 1968 historical drama made by Avco Embassy Pictures, based on the Broadway play by James Goldman. It was directed by Anthony Harvey and produced by Joseph E...
(1968) - ImagesImages (film)Images is a 1972 British-American psychological thriller film directed by Robert Altman.-Plot:Wealthy housewife and children's author Cathryn receives a series of disturbing and eerie phone calls in her home in London one dreary night...
(1972) - ZardozZardozZardoz is a 1974 science fiction/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, and Sara Kestelman. Zardoz was Connery's second post-James Bond role...
(1974) - The Last Remake of Beau GesteThe Last Remake of Beau GesteThe Last Remake of Beau Geste is a 1977 American historical comedy film. It starred and was also directed and co-written by Marty Feldman. It is a satire loosely based on the novel Beau Geste, a frequently-filmed story of brothers and their adventures in the French Foreign Legion. The humor is...
(1977) - ExcaliburExcalibur (film)Excalibur is a 1981 dramatic fantasy film directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner...
(1981) - AngelAngel (1982 film)Angel is a 1982 film directed by Neil Jordan and starring Stephen Rea. The film was Neil Jordan's directorial debut, and the executive producer was John Boorman.-Plot summary:...
(1982) - My Left FootMy Left Foot (film)My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown is a 1989 drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. It tells the true story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. Christy Brown grew up in a poor, working class family, and...
(1989) - Fools of FortuneFools of FortuneFools of Fortune is a 1990 British drama film directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Iain Glen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Julie Christie, Amy Joyce Hastings and Michael Kitchen. It depicts a Protestant family caught up in the conflict between the British army and the IRA during the Irish War of...
(1990) - The CommitmentsThe Commitments (film)The Commitments , the soundtrack for the film, was released on 13 Aug 1991. "Mustang Sally" was released as a single. Most of the songs on the album are performed by the cast band, but two are by Irish singer Niamh Kavanagh.-Track listing:-Chart positions:-The Commitments, Vol...
(1991) - Rock-a-DoodleRock-A-DoodleRock-a-Doodle is a 1992 American animated re-telling of Edmond Rostand's comedy, Chantecler. This film was directed by Don Bluth, produced by Goldcrest Films for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and originally released in the United States on April 3, 1992.-Plot:Chanticleer is a proud rooster whose...
(1991) - In the Name of the Father (1993)
- BraveheartBraveheartBraveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
(1995) - Space TruckersSpace TruckersSpace Truckers is a 1996 American comedy science-fiction film written and directed by Stuart Gordon. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios, County Wicklow, Ireland....
(1996) - The Tailor of PanamaThe Tailor of PanamaThe Tailor of Panama is a 2001 American film based on the 1996 spy novel of the same name by John le Carré, which was inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana...
(2001) - EvelynEvelyn (film)Evelyn is a 2002 drama film, loosely based on the true story of Desmond Doyle and his fight against the Irish courts to be reunited with his children. The film stars Sophie Vavasseur in the title role, Pierce Brosnan as her father and Aidan Quinn, Julianna Margulies and Stephen Rea as supporters to...
(2002) - King ArthurKing Arthur (film)King Arthur is a 2004 film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Franzoni. It stars Clive Owen as the title character, Ioan Gruffudd as Lancelot, and Keira Knightley as Guinevere....
(2004) - Breakfast on PlutoBreakfast on Pluto (film)Breakfast on Pluto is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Neil Jordan and based on the novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, as adapted by Jordan and McCabe...
(2005) - Becoming JaneBecoming JaneBecoming Jane is a 2007 historical film directed by Julian Jarrold. It is inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen , and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy . Also appearing are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith...
(2007) - The TudorsThe TudorsThe Tudors is a Canadian produced historical fiction television series filmed in Ireland, created by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime...
(TV series) (2006 - 2010) - The Last Furlong (2011)
Music albums recorded at Ardmore
- The Corrs UnpluggedThe Corrs UnpluggedThe Corrs Unplugged is an album by Irish band The Corrs, released in 1999. The album is part of MTV's Unplugged series. It was released internationally but for a short time was not available in the United States until later. The song "No Frontiers" was sung by Sharon and Caroline, with Jim playing...
(1999) - VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in DublinVH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in DublinVH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live In Dublin is an album which is a live performance performed by the Irish celtic folk-rock band, The Corrs in Dublin, Ireland who are accompanied by the Irish Film Orchestra. The Corrs have performed previous released songs with a slight remix into it...
(2002)
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Ardmore%20Studios%20-%20Herbert%20Road,%20Bray,%20County%20Wicklow,%20Ireland&&heading=18;with+locations+including;Ardmore%20Studios%20-%20Herbert%20Road,%20Bray,%20County%20Wicklow,%20IrelandArdmore Studios at IMDbInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - Ardmore Studios official website
- Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Debate, December 1993 Irish Film Board (Amendment) Bill, 1993