The Silent City by Ruairi Robinson
It’s been ages since we’ve done a Sunday Short, and Oscar Sunday is as good a day as any for an excuse to show another Irish short film.
Actually there’s a much better reason to watch Ruairi Robinson’s The Silent City now, and it’s not because Cillian Murphy is in it - no, it’s because of the spectacularly exciting news that Robinson has been awarded his first feature length film to direct and it’s none other than the live-action version of Akira.
If manga or anime is not your thing, you should know that Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s Akira is an absolute classic of the genre, if not the classic, and it lifted Japanese animation to a new level upon its release in the late 1980s.
I saw it in Britain when it finally got its cinematic release there in 1991, and since then until as recently as a few months ago have been introducing people to it. Like the original manga, also by Ôtomo, Akira the movie is held in the sort of fanatical love that you hear people speak about Bladerunner.
You don’t need to like science-fiction to like Akira. I don’t; I don’t even like science-fact. But I am a sucker for visual stuff. And my mouth is watering at the thought of Robinson applying his oodles of talent to the live-action project.
In the manga series there was 6 comic books, and the plan is for them to be adapted into 2 feature length live-action films shot simultaneously because that’s all the rage now. Honestly, if Robinson is let do with this story what he can do, you’ll be hearing about him for a very long time.
Anyway, here is the short film that got Ruairi noticed in Hollywood the way his Oscar nomination didn’t. It’s 7 minutes long, and it’s not exactly a feel-good movie, but then who doesn’t feel good when they watch Cillian?
The Silent City
(If you’re not seeing anything then YouTube is on the blink. Try again in a little while)
You might also recall that we featured Robinson’s oscar-nominated short 50 Percent Grey on IrishKC all the way back in 2006.
And knowing me I also probably told you that my favourite Robinson film short is The House on Dame Street. So here is that Dublin gem, though be warned that if you’re not comfortable with certain words then this isn’t for you:
Thanks to The Chancer for the news, to JoBlo and Ain’t It Cool for the details, and to Ruairi for the films.
More Irish Film Shorts:
• Guy’s Dog - Irish claymation by Rory Bresnihan
• Nun More Deadly by the WYD-Eye Film Unit
• Choppers - Irish pub story by Paul Farran
• Dublin Stories: Episode 4 - Peter by NOVARAfilms
• Give Up Yer Aul Sins by Brown Bag Productions
• Ballyvaughan Story by Sara Pocock
Eolaí gan Fhéile:
Yay, Sunday Shorts is back. It has been a long time, Eolai, and Oscar day is the perfect opportunity to reintroduce it.
Yep. It’s been neglected through a combination of distraction through traveling, and an inability to locate one specific film that I want to share. Oh, and I keep forgetting. I will try harder though.