Freedom always comes with a price.

After his bomb kills a bus load of school children instead of the British troop truck he was targeting, IRA assassin Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) loses his heart for the cause, his taste for killing, and his faith in God. He quits the IRA, flees to London, and finds a forger who will make him a new passport… but only if he will do one last job for the forger’s boss. Fallon no longer wants any part of killing, but he also needs to get out of the country. Local mob boss Jack Meehan (Alan Bates) wants Fallon totake out his competition. At first, Fallon again refuses but increased police pressure eventually forces him to take the job. Witnessing the hit is local priest, Father Michael Da Costa (Bob Hoskins); however Fallon lets him live. Meehan finds out about the priest and insists Fallon kill him as well; but when he refuses, an angry Meehan reluctantly agrees. Secretly, Meehan begins to set events in motion to kill both Father Da Costa and Fallon. Father Da Costa sees in Fallon’s reluctance to kill him as an opportunity to save the troubled assassin’s soul before he is forever damned. Hunted by the police, the IRA, and betrayed by the mob, Martin Fallon may be forced to do the one thing he doesn’t want to do to stay alive.

Many believe this is one of Mickey Rourke’s best performances and I have to agree; he’s terrific here. He manages to play Fallon’s dichotomy perfectly as both a haunted man who doesn’t really care anymore but also as a man who’s not ready to give up quite yet. He also pulls off a decent Irish accent -- a feat that has managed to trip up countless actors. Bob Hoskins also does an excellent job with his role, but there isn’t a lot of character to work with here. Alan Bates is great as Jack Meehan -- vicious and snide as you would expect a British villain to be. Liam Neeson has a small and under-used role as the IRA member and friend of Martin Fallon who is sent to either bring him back or kill him. Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans will be delighted to see Anthony Stuart Head playing one of Bates’s henchmen; a guy named, of all things, Rupert. It makes you wonder if this film is where Joss Whedon got the first name for the Mr. Giles character or merely a coincidence.

This is an early MGM release with the widescreen version on one side and the full screen on the other. The transfer on this disc leaves a lot to be desired; it’s a bit faded and a little grainy at times. The audio quality is pretty good and the gunshots fill the room. Also, a scene involving a church organ sounds very nice. The only special feature on this disc is the theatrical trailer, so it’s not entirely a bare-bones release, but it’s close.

While not an ideal release for a film this good, I’ll take what I can get and be happy to have it… for now. If you’ve never seen A Prayer for the Dying, then you should. It features one of the best actors around at the top of his game. Fans of Mickey Rourke should really like this movie; the character he plays is different than that of most of his early films. With a cast featuring the talents of Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Bates I can’t recommend this movie enough.