Search - Secrets of the Dead: Irish Escape on DVD

Truth Is Better Than Fiction

Diana Duffy | Wisconsin | 05/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This overlooked episode in history has all the ingredients for a great action/adventure movie. While I have read quite a bit of Irish history, this escaped my attention, so when I saw the DVD, it seemed like a good thing to watch. And I was not disappointed.

From the beginning, the sequence of events keeps the viewer hanging on to his/her chair. If someone made this into a movie (and I'm surprised they haven't), most movie goers would think it was fiction. There were so many close calls, so much suspense, such overwhelming odds against success, and an improbable and totally insane plan for the rescue of the Fenian brothers, the planners surely had divine inspiration and assistance, and perhaps Irish luck thrown in for good measure.

One reviewer found this production disturbing (therefore only giving it four stars), claiming that these men were "terrorists" and the documentary admits as much. It does no such thing, and the word "terrorist" is not heard once. The Fremantle Six are referred to as "freedom fighters", "Fenians", "rebels", "Irish patriots", "brothers-in-arms", and "traitors to the British crown". They can't be compared to modern-day terrorists. Fenians were fighting for freedom in and of their homeland (Ireland) from the brutal, heavy-handed, tyrannical rule of England under which the Irish populace enjoyed literally no freedoms. Remember, the Great Famine occurred only about 30 years earlier, causing the deaths of possibly two million, and the emigration of millions more, while food grown in Ireland was exported to England. They fought for freedom for their land and their people; today's terrorists want to destroy us and our freedom.

This is an inspirational event in history which is well-presented, so well that the viewer will feel he is right there in the midst of it all. If you're Irish (and even if you're not), love history, a good story, and need a bit of an Irish "fix", this is a must-see."