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Liam Cunningham, Gregg Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney, John S. Coffey, Eveanna Ryan ... see more see more... , Paul Batt , Thomas Kavanagh , Dervla Kirwan , Brendan McNamara , Gerard Kearney , Kevin O'Malley , Anthony Cunningham , John Cleere , Stuart Dannell-Foran , Karl Byrne , Barry Walsh , Derek O'Leary , Niall Collins , Maureen Bennett , Brendan Cauldwell , Donncha Crowley , Alan Devlin , Barbre Dowling , Martin Dunne , Frank Grimes , Frank Kelly , Pat Laffan , Helen Montague , Declan Mulholland , Johnny Murphy , Ger Ryan , Jack Lynch , Maurice O'Donoghue , Frank O'Sullivan , John Olohan , Daragh Naughton , Darragh Naughton , Kevin O'Malley (II) , Brenda McNamara , Gerald Kearney , John Murphy , John Coffey

Rival groups of boys from two neighboring Irish villages engage in a running battle in this remake of the 1962 French movie of the same name, based on a novel by Louis Pergaud. The boys from Ballydows... read more read more...e, who dress as they please, exchange insults with boys from nearby Carricksdowse -- who wear school uniforms. One day, the Bally gang cuts the buttons off the clothes of a bully in the Carricks gang. The Carricks retaliate by swiping the buttons from the clothes of the leader of the Bally boys, Fergus (Gregg Fitzgerald). The Ballys deface the Carricksdowse church, though both groups are Catholics. They rout the Carricks by charging at them naked. Marie (Eveanna Ryan), who heads the Ballys' girls auxiliary, tries to calm down the boys by raining new buttons on them to replace those lost in warfare. When Fergus' abusive stepfather (Jim Bartley) finds out about the war, he beats Fergus and sends him away. Fergus goes to the cliffs along the valley between the two villages, chased by the Carricks' leader, Geronimo (John Coffey). Geronimo, who has come to help, slips, and Fergus rescues him from a fall. In the end, Fergus, riding a horse, leads his troops, dressed in motley medieval suits, into a final battle. The allegorical anti-war film is primarily aimed at children. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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85% liked it

5,851 ratings

PG, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: John Roberts, Margy Kinmonth

Release Date: June 1, 1995

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DVD Release Date: September 10, 1996

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Stats: 301 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (301)

  • itsjustme2004
    October 25, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Very enjoyable, yet hard to find movie. I rented this many years ago, just on a whim. I was pleasantly surprised.
  • ileo
    December 25, 2007
    ileo
    This is a movie from my childhood. A personal favorite. LOVE IT!
  • lothlorien83
    December 27, 2006
    lothlorien83
    My uncle showed us this one and I loved it! Of course I love Ireland as well so watching this was a joy!!!!!
  • brentsirvio
    September 23, 2006
    brentsirvio
    I loved this movie, but I can never seem to find it anywhere...

    Maybe I'm not actually looking. Shame.

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Critic Reviews

February 23, 2012
Variety

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Derek Elley
August 5, 2008
Derek Elley, Variety

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Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

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Emanuel Levy
July 17, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Scott Weinberg
July 25, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

January 26, 2006
Time Out

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May 24, 2003
Film4

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Shlomo Schwartzberg
June 5, 2002
Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine

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Barbara Shulgasser
January 1, 2000
Barbara Shulgasser, San Francisco Examiner

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January 1, 2000
Jam! Movies

No review available.

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War of the Buttons Trivia

  • what was the war of the buttons about?  Answer »
  • Which film possesses the following characters: Fergus Marie Geronimo Big Con Little Con  Answer »
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