Michael Collins (DVD), Warner Archives, Drama

Michael Collins, the man and the movie, stands tall. The man is a hero whose fighting tactics became a model for other 20th-century struggles, a statesman who negotiated Ireland's break with England, a political martyr slain for the great cause he lived and breathed. The movie is an epic triumph as brave and heartfelt as Braveheart (lack Mathews, Newsday) I will never make a more important film, Academy Award winner Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) says. Only time will tell if he makes a more exciting one. Michael Collins roils with the passions of war furiously waged and peace desperately sought. Liam Neeson (winner of a Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award) plays the title role. Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts also deliver vivid performances. They, Jordan and a superb behind-the-cameras team make Michael Collins a man and a movie you won't soon forget.