The General is a crime film written and directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who undertook several daring heists in the early 1980s and attracted the attention of the Garda Síochána, Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) .The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998.

The story of Dubliner Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies but came into conflict with members of his gang and attracted attention from the police and the IRA, and whose dealings with the UVF ultimately led to his downfall.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Irish journalist Paul Williams, who was then crime correspondent for the Sunday World.

[3] This event is dramatised in a scene in which Cahill breaks into a home, stealing a gold record and pilfering a watch from the wrist of a sleeping woman.

The consensus summarizes: "Director John Boorman assuredly returns to the crime genre with The General -- a psychologically rich and darkly humorous piece of gangster cinema anchored by Brendan Gleeson's audacious performance.