Vicious Circle (1999 film)

Vicious Circle is a single British television crime drama film, written by former Tomorrow's World presenter Kieran Prendiville, that first broadcast on BBC1 on 9 February 1999.[1] Based loosely on The General by Irish journalist Paul Williams, and the 1998 film of the same name, Vicious Circle follows notorious Irish criminal Martin Cahill as he undertakes a high stakes jewellery robbery, stealing loot worth more than a million pounds. The film was directed by David Blair.

Vicious Circle
GenreCrime drama
Written byKieran Prendiville
Directed byDavid Blair
Starring
Composer(s)Stephen McKeon
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of episodes1
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Robert Cooper
  • Kevin Menton
  • Nigel Warren-Green
Producer(s)Sue Austen
Production location(s)Aberdeenshire, Scotland
CinematographyFred Tammes
Editor(s)Melanie Adams
Running time100 minutes
Production company(s)BBC Northern Ireland
Release
Original networkBBC1
Picture format16:9
Audio formatStereo
Original release9 February 1999 (1999-02-09)

The film was released on DVD via Just Entertainment in the Netherlands in 2004, but this remains the only home video release to date.[2]

Production

When questioned about the film's similarities to The General and Ordinary Decent Criminal, producer Sue Austen emphasised; "Ours isn't just the Martin Cahill story. It's a story about a Dublin gangster coming up against an IRA operative and a policeman, both of whom we've invented, and the three of them constantly circling each other. It doesn't deal with any of the events of his earlier life. We start at the time of the O'Connor's raid, and go straight down the line with an exciting piece of drama. We've compressed the events, going through the whole Kilakee episode, up to his death and our other characters' reaction to it."[3]

Reception

James Rampton from The Independent gave the film a positive review, writing; "Ken Stott has just the right screen presence for the role of Cahill. He brings a sense of wordless menace to the character without making him a cardboard cut-out baddie. He makes Cahill a man who cares deeply for his pigeons and at the same time is capable of cold-bloodedly nailing a traitor's hands to the floor."[4]

Cast
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References
  1. "Vicious Circle - BBC One London - 9 February 1999, 22:00". BBC Genome. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  2. "Vicious Circle - DVD - Catawiki". Catawiki. 7 February 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  3. "Cahill on Celluloid". Irish Times. 6 February 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  4. "Quiet Hard Man". The Independent. 6 February 1999. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
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