The Borrowers 1997 PG, 83 min. Genre: Family
Director: Peter Hewitt Cast: John Goodman, Jim Broadbent, Celia Imrie, Flora Newbigin, Tom Felton, Aden Gillett, Mark Williams, Hugh Laurie, Bradley Pierce, Celia Imrie
Pod, Arrietty, Peagreen, and Homily Clock are members of a family of Borrowers (four-inch high people who live under the floorboards of the Lender's home). When the diabolical lawyer, Ocious P. Potter (John Goodman) swindles the Lenders out of their inherited house and plans to build luxury apartments in its stead, the Borrowers plot to expose Potter for what he is and return the home to the Lenders.
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Ivanhoe 1997 TV, 300 min. Genre: Adventure / Drama
Director: Stuart Orme Cast: Steven Waddington, Victoria Smurfit, Ralph Brown, Rory Edwards, James Cosmo, Chris Walker, Susan Lynch, Aden Gillett, Christopher Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Nick Brimble, Trevor Cooper, Ronald Pickup, Sian Phillips
This rousing, made-for-TV miniseries is a good retelling of Sir Walter Scott's tale of the young knight Ivanhoe (Steven Waddington) who battles the evil Prince John (Ralph Brown) and his templar cohorts in 12th-century England. After returning from the Crusades, a disguised Ivanhoe finds himself in the middle of Prince John's efforts to replace Richard (Rory Edwards) as king of England. Ivanhoe enters a tournament to win back the love of Rowena (Victoria Smurfit). He wins the tournament but is injured, and is nursed back to health by Rebecca (Susan Lynch) with whom he falls in love. More problems lie ahead when Rebecca is condemned as a witch and is sentenced to be burned at the stake. Ivanhoe rescues Rebecca, but will he be able to restore Richard to the throne?
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Pollyanna 2003 TV, 100 min. Genre: Family
Director: Sarah Harding Cast: Amanda Burton, Kenneth Cranham, Georgina Terry, Aden Gillett, Pam Ferris, Kate Ashfield, David Bamber, Tom Ellis, Tom Bell, Ben Thornton, Amanda Walker
This made-for-TV rendition of Eleanor H. Porter's story stars Georgina Terry as the young Pollyanna who cheers up her community and melts the heart of her cranky Aunt Polly (Amanda Burton). Good fare.
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Shadow of the Vampire 2000 R, 92 min. Genre: Drama
Director: E. Elias Merhige Cast: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, Catherine McCormack, Eddie Izzard, Aden Gillett, Ronan Vibert, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Nicholas Elliott
When German filmmaker F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) began production on his 1922 vampire film, "Nosferatu," he hired method actor Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe) to play the Dracula role. Schreck just happens to be a vampire, and Murnau has promised him the film's star, Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack) when the shoot is finished. Murnau begins to doubt the wisdom of his deal when crew members, one by one, disappear during the interim. Dafoe's great performance resulted in an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor.
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The Winslow Boy 1999 G, 110 min. Genre: Drama
Director: David Mamet Cast: Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Rebecca Pidgeon, Gemma Jones, Guy Edwards, Matthew Pidgeon, Colin Stinton, Aden Gillett, Sarah Flind, Neil North
Based on a true incident that took place in 1912, this story traces the escalation of events as Arthur Winslow (Nigel Hawthorne) deals with what he perceives as his son's unfair treatment resulting in his expulsion from Osburne Naval College. His fight will soon expand to reach national proportions.
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| 1. The Borrowers (1997)
2. Ivanhoe (1997)
3. Pollyanna (2003)
4. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
5. The Winslow Boy (1999)
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