This obscure but well-regarded mini-series from the UK (also recut into a movie version for certain markets) has long fascinated me, going way back to 1992, when I first saw Phillip Noyce’s adaptation of Tom Clancy’s best-selling novel Patriot Games.
Through that underrated action / thriller, I was introduced to something the soundtrack lists as ‘Theme From ‘Harry’s Game’’, by some obscure (by my standards) Irish band named Clannad; the mournful chart-topping piece being used beautifully in a key sequence in Harrison Ford’s first outing as CIA analyst ‘Jack Ryan’.
Ever since then, it stuck with me, both the track and the mystery of ‘What is this Harry’s Game thing?’.
A little research yielded that it was the sole adaptation of a 1975 novel of the same name, by former journalist Gerald Seymour, and it was filmed largely in Northern Ireland itself, which is interesting, as the early 1980’s was a mercurial time for The Troubles (1969-1998) and right in the thick of things comes this spy / thriller production delving into the real-life issues stemming from the British occupation and the Irish populations resulting resentment.
Harry’s Game opens with the bold assassination of a prominent cabinet minister in front of his family in London by Provisional IRA gunman ‘Billy Downes’ (Derek Thompson). Despite the efforts of the British authorities to prevent the unknown murderer’s escape, ‘Downes’ successfully flees back into the waiting arms of the IRA in Northern Ireland, vanishing into the near-ghetto of lower-class Belfast with the help of the local brigade commander.
Incensed by the audacity of the IRA to carry out a broad-daylight killing of a high-ranking member of parliament, a secret plan is quickly concocted by British Military Intelligence, requiring the infiltration of the likely hiding area of the fugitive terrorist to capture or, preferably, eliminate the target, to prove to the group that they can be reached anywhere, regardless of their clandestine efforts.
Into this plan comes a highly experienced military operator named ‘Harry Brown’ (Ray Lonnen), who’s tasked with carrying out this dangerous mission, which involves a fake cover story and a regional Irish accent and the ability to meld into the local population, which he does primarily through a blossoming relationship with a local Catholic woman named ‘Josephine Lafferty’ (Gil Brailey). And thus begins the intricate and harrowing cat n mouse game where the slightest wrong move could be ‘Harry’s last.
SO, after all this time, does Harry’s Game live up to the self-inflated hype?
In many respects, yes.
It is almost exactly what I expected, and hoped for, in a mini-series of this nature. Once I got past the dated trappings (understanding and accepting that the story takes place at the same time it was made goes a long way) and, at times, the rough presentation (if there was ever a piece of media that deserved a from-the-ground-up restoration, or even a remake, this definitely qualifies), I found it easy to get sucked into the twisting 150 minute, 3 episode (each broken into two parts) story.
Which is not to say that it’s perfect.
Despite being a mini-series, there were elements of the narrative that felt overly choppy and convenient (how ‘Harry’ gets on ‘Downes’ trail abruptly comes to mind), segments that could’ve benefited from some additional fleshing out, maybe some more connective tissue delving deeper into how the Provos’ operations and infra-structure worked. Other technical issues stem from the obvious budgetary limitations and the television-bound structure and content, but they’re largely forgivable if you accept the time-period and allow yourself to get caught up in the story director Lawrence Gordon Clark weaves.
Going back to the visual presentation of this series in its current, available form, this is not something I normally delve into, but for some reason, I feel compelled to touch on it here.
Harry’s Game is seemingly not available in anything but a standard, near-VHS quality DVD that I talked myself into scoring, after coming across episodes on Youtube and thinking they looked like shit.
Well, color me surprised when I slipped the disc into my region-free Blu ray player (hoping for some form of upscaling) and it looked super rough. A side-by-side comparison to the Youtube version showed that they were both gleaned from the same source, identical scratches and hairs intruding on the edges of the frame.
Like I said…rough.
It’s like they scanned whatever film version they happened to find in someone’s attic with no effort or care at all, and just shat it quietly onto the market in limited numbers and formats, probably to fulfill some distribution clause in some contract somewhere.
The image looks like what it probably is, and that’s shot on lower-grade 16mm film stock, that’s loaded with dirt, grain and scratches. After a while, given the documentary feel much of the series has, the roughness of the image almost started to work in its favor. Almost.
The lack of definition still irked me. That being said, I’d love it if someday, someone would take on the task of locating the original film elements and giving it a thorough clean and digital restoration, followed by a re-release on Blu ray (similar to how the excellently horrific Threads, from 1984 and also from the UK, was treated for its recent re-release). Should that happen, I would be certainly interested in giving this another look.
Given the touchy nature of the show’s core subject matter, that being the ongoing strife between the British military and the Northern Irish rebel forces (at the time), I admit that I appreciated the seemingly neutral political standpoint the narrative took, especially in the climax. Both sides are given the chance to be somewhat humanized, with reasons given to their actions, while also both being shown to be in the wrong or brutal in their methodologies. It also wraps up with the predictable (but valuable) lesson that Violence Only Begets More Violence and, in the end, no one wins.
A lesson I’m saddened to say I don’t believe our species is capable of incorporating into our society anymore, for the benefit of all of us, given how objectively awful we, as a whole, actually are. Take a step back and try looking at ‘us’ after removing the insufferable human ego…we are most definitely the most destructive species to curse the surface of this planet, both to the world itself and to each other…over the dumbest, most evil bullshit ever.
*steps down from soap-box*
Going back to the documentary feel, I’ll admit that many of the scenes of army raids, street riots, civil unrest and urban decay, mostly seen at night, at dawn or in fog, felt surprisingly authentic (says the North American who’s never experienced anything like it) and it showed that they wanted to skew closer to reality than to James Bond.
All in all, I’m glad that I FINALLY, after 32 years, have gotten to scratch this particular itch. I wish that the picture and sound quality had been better (as this series deserves), but technical aspects aside, I admit that I found myself caught up in the twisting and, at times, surprisingly edgy (for a TV series in ’82) spy tale.
It effectively took a nasty period in the histories of both England and Northern Ireland as its backdrop and effectively used it to highlight what, to me, seemed like a plausible series of events, based on what I know of the IRA’s military operations in both Ireland and the UK itself.
Couple that with the historic reality of the British government’s machinations and often-cruel efforts to stop those who they deemed terrorists, despite the inconvenient truth that they were the occupiers in a country that was rejecting its historic ties to a dwindling British monarchy that was clinging to the cruel spectre of centuries of oppressive and often violent colonialism, rightfully rejecting it like many other Commonwealth countries, including my own – Canada.
To anyone interested in realistic historical dramas and grounded spy thrillers, especially those of the 1970’s and ‘80’s, this is worth a look, if you can find it. It’s not long-winded, with a user-friendly episode count, and the story that it tells seems relatively fair, albeit tragic, for both sides in question.
Is it ironic that this series, depicting a British secret agent infiltrating the Provisional IRA at the height of The Troubles, was sent to me from Belfast, of all places? Seems kinda odd.
Just saying.
thekneejerkreaction 