 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 1989  PG, 126 min.
Genre: Adventure / Comedy / Fantasy
Director: Terry Gilliam
Cast: John Neville, Eric Idle, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams, Sarah Polley, Bill Paterson, Valentina Cortese, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Jeffrey, Charles McKeown, Winston Dennis, Jack Purvis, Alison Steadman, Ray Cooper
Terry Gilliam, who also directed "Time Bandits" and "Brazil," has created an enjoyable film based on the exaggerated war stories of a real-life, 18th-century baron (John Neville). Not only did he have amazing adventures all over the world, the good baron met the King of the Moon (Robin Williams), took a voyage into the heart of a volcano, and was swallowed by a sea monster.
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Amazing Grace 2007   PG, 111 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Michael Apted
Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N'Dour, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Nicholas Farrell, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Jeremy Swift, Stephen Campbell Moore, Bill Paterson, Nicholas Day, Nicholas Woodeson
Eighteenth-century social reformer William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) tries to convince Parliament that the slave trade should be outlawed. While the British do not own slaves, British industries profit greatly from the shipping trade that hauls thousands of slaves to the West Indies and American colonies. Through compromise, Wilberforce continues his work over the years, and his crusade is suspenseful because, despite physical disabilities, Wilberforce will not renege on his dream.
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 Bright Young Things 2003  R, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Stephen Fry
Cast: Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily Mortimer, David Tennant, Fenella Woolgar, James McAvoy, Julia McKenzie, Stockard Channing, Alex Barclay, Simon Callow, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Paterson, Imelda Staunton
Adapted from Evelyn Waugh's "Vile Bodies," this tale satirizes the lifestyles of upper-crust Londoners during the late 1930s.
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Comfort and Joy 1984 PG, 106 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Bill Forsyth
Cast: Bill Paterson, Eleanor David, Clare Grogan, Alex Norton, Patrick Malahide, Rikki Fulton, Roberto Bernardi, George Rossi, Peter Rossi, Billy McElhaney
Leave it to writer/director Bill Forsyth to come up with unusual films, and this is no exception. Bill Paterson is a popular disc jockey in Glasgow, Scotland, who gets involved in a war between rival ice cream businesses by trying to act as an on-air mediator. Good premise with some funny situations.
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 Crush 2001 R, 112 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: John McKay
Cast: Andie MacDowell, Imelda Staunton, Anna Chancellor, Kenny Doughty, Bill Paterson, Caroline Holdaway, Joe Roberts, Josh Cole, Gary Powell, Christian Burgess, Andrew Bicknell, Morris Perry, Roger Booth, Richenda Carey, Derek Deadman
Three single friends–headmistress Kate (Andie MacDowell), police inspector Janine (Imelda Staunton), and gynecologist Molly (Anna Chancellor)–have been meeting weekly to console each other. But, the consolation turns to jealousy when Kate embarks on an affair with a much younger man, Jed Willis (Kenny Doughty).
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Defence of the Realm 1985 PG, 96 min.
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Director: David Drury
Cast: Denholm Elliott, Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay, Bill Paterson, David Calder, Frederick Treves, Robbie Coltrane
The battle between a reporter's right for information and the government's right to secrecy is the subject of this exciting British film as two journalists (Denholm Elliott and Gabriel Byrne) investigate, in their own unique ways, a possible government cover-up.
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Hard Times 1994 TV, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Barnes
Cast: Bob Peck, Bill Paterson, Alex Jennings, Alan Bates, Harriet Walter, Richard E. Grant, Beatie Edney, Christien Anholt, Patsy Byrne, Dilys Laye
In this made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel criticizing England's industrial revolution, Thomas Gradgrind (Bob Peck) is a school teacher in an industrial town, and his philosophy that facts are the only important thing in life brings tragedy to his family
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Heart 1999  N/R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Charles McDougall
Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Saskia Reeves, Kate Hardie, Rhys Ifans, Anna Chancellor, Bill Paterson, Matthew Rhys, Jack Deam, Kate Rutter, Nicholas Moss
Gary (Christopher Eccleston) sits in a wheelchair awaiting a new heart after a heart attack, and is convinced that his wife, Tess (Kate Hardie), is having an affair (which she is). When a teen is killed in an accident, Gary gets his heart. Upon recovery, Tess lets him know she is leaving, and, to complicate his life, the teen's mother (Saskia Reeves) becomes infatuated with Gary. The mother wants to be near the man who has her son's heart. A lackluster thriller.
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Hilary and Jackie 1998 R, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Anand Tucker
Cast: Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths, James Frain, David Morrissey, Charles Dance, Celia Imrie, Rupert Penry-Jones, Bill Paterson, Auriol Evans, Keeley Flanders
This is the true story of how two sisters, Jacqueline Du Pre (Emily Watson) and Hilary Du Pre (Rachel Griffiths)–both gifted musicians–chose diverging paths. One became a wife and mother, the other one of classical music's most talented stars. What price, fame? Watson and Griffiths received Academy Award nominations for Actress and Supporting Actress.
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How to Lose Friends & Alienate People 2008  R, 109 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Robert B. Weide
Cast: Simon Pegg, Megan Fox, Jeff Bridges, Kirsten Dunst, Danny Huston, Gillian Anderson, Max Minghella, Miriam Margolyes, Bill Paterson, Diana Kent, Thandie Newton, Kelan Pannell, Janette Scott, Kelly Jo Charge, Christian Smith
British tabloid journalist Sidney Young (Simon Pegg) is hired by the New York magazine "Sharps" editor Clayton Harding (Jeff Bridges) to write about U.S. celebrities. Young has big problems fitting in, and his co-worker Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst) seems to be constantly bemused with Young's actions. Finally, Young manages to get a big scoop, which just might lead to getting together with Sophie Maes (Megan Fox), the actress of his dreams. Based on "Vanity Fair" reporter Toby Young's memoirs, the film does change the names of the celebrities involved.
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The Killing Fields 1984 R, 142 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Roland Joffe
Cast: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, Craig T. Nelson, John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Spalding Gray, Bill Paterson, Ira Wheeler, Graham Kennedy, Patrick Malahide
The tragedies of Cambodia are artfully depicted in this film, which provides a look at man's inhumanity to man. This excellent presentation was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Ngor won for Best Supporting Actor.
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Miss Potter 2006 PG, 92 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Chris Noonan
Cast: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn, Bill Paterson, Matyelok Gibbs, Lloyd Owen, Anton Lesser, David Bamber, Patricia Kerrigan, Judith Barker, Chris Middleton, Sarah Crowden, Richard Mulholland
Renee Zellweger takes on the role of Beatrix Potter, the author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." The film explores Potter's ill-fated romance with her publisher, Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor), amidst Potter's struggle for an independent life vs. marriage in an era when women were expected to marry and not have careers.
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The Object of Beauty 1991 R, 101 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Cast: John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell, Lolita Davidovich, Rudi Davies, Joss Ackland, Bill Paterson, Ricci Harnett, Peter Riegert, Jack Shepherd, Rosemary Martin
Jake (John Malkovich) and Tina (Andie MacDowell), who live way beyond their means, are currently residing in a London hotel. When Tina's valuable Henry Moore sculpture is stolen, the couple creates even more problems for themselves as greed and infidelity take center stage.
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Othello 2001 TV, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Geoffrey Sax
Cast: Eamonn Walker, Keeley Hawes, Christopher Eccleston, Christopher Fox, Allan Cutts, Patrick Meyers, Del Synnott, Samantha McDonald, Andrew Charleson, Bill Paterson
"Othello" gets a new persona and setting in this made-for-British TV film. Racial tension reigns in near-future London, and John Othello (Eamonn Walker), a black policeman, is promoted to Police Commissioner over his friend and mentor, Ben Jago (Christopher Eccleston). Jago not only thinks he is best qualified for the job, he desperately wants it. Thus, he starts a campaign of lies against Othello and Othello's white wife.
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A Private Function 1985 R, 93 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Malcolm Mowbray
Cast: Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Richard Griffiths, Tony Haygarth, John Normington, Bill Paterson, Liz Smith, Alison Steadman, Pete Postlethwaite
Set in a Yorkshire village at the end of World War II, the plot revolves around food rationing prevalent in that era. The main focus is on a stolen pig that becomes the center of controversy.
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Richard III 1995 R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Richard Loncraine
Cast: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Nigel Hawthorne, Robert Downey Jr., John Wood, Jim Broadbent, Bill Paterson, Edward Hardwicke, Jim Carter, Adrian Dunbar, Roger Hammond, Tim McInnery, Dominic West
The story remains the same as Richard uses seduction and murder to attain power in Shakespeare's story of the treacherous English monarch Richard III (Ian McKellen). There is a twist to the screen adaptation: the time has been updated to the 1930s, and the hunchbacked king is a Fascist. After killing members of his family, Richard finally does gain the throne and attempts to set up a dictatorship. In this version of Shakespeare's story, the famous lines, "My horse! My horse! My kingdom for a horse." are uttered by Richard when his jeep gets stuck in the mud.
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Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars 2007 TV, 90 min.
Genre: Family / Drama / Mystery
aka: Baker Street Irregulars
Director: Julian Kemp
Cast: Jonathan Pryce, Bill Paterson, Anna Chancellor, Michael Maloney, Aaron Johnson, Benjamin Smith, Mia Fernandez, Brendan Patricks, Dean Gibbons, Alice Hewkin, Megan Jones
In this made-for-TV production, Sherlock Holmes (Jonathan Pryce) is helping police Inspector Stirling (Michael Maloney) investigate the death of a policeman. Another officer is killed, and Holmes is put under house arrest for the murders after police find stolen jade spoons in his attic. Meanwhile, two members of the Baker Street Irregulars are kidnapped, and those street kids work with Holmes to free the kidnap victims, solve the murder Holmes is accused of committing, and prevent a heist in the process.
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 The Singing Detective 1986  TV, 415 min.
Genre: Drama / Fantasy
Director: Jon Amiel
Cast: Michael Gambon, Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley, Janet Suzman, Alison Steadman, Bill Paterson, Jim Carter, David Ryall, Gerard Horan, Leslie French, Lyndon Davies, Ron Cook, Imelda Staunton, George Rossi, Janet Henfrey
This near-classic tale by Dennis Potter combines music, film noir, mystery, fantasy, and autobiographical material in a successful British TV miniseries, originally airing in six episodes. Detective novelist Philip E. Marlow (Michael Gambon) suffers from a crippling skin/nerve disease (psoriatic arthropathy–a disease that Potter died of). In his hospital bed, he relives his latest novel, "The Singing Detective," with himself in the title role, often drifting into a surrealistic fantasy world as he relives his life.
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Smiley's People 1982 TV, 325 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Simon Langton
Cast: Alec Guinness, Eileen Atkins, Anthony Bate, Bernard Hepton, Michael Byrne, Barry Foster, Michael Lonsdale, Bill Paterson, Beryl Reid, Curt Jurgens, Vladek Sheybal, Patrick Stewart
George Smiley (Alec Guinness) comes out of retirement and rejoins the British Intelligence to investigate the death of an agent friend. Clues lead Smiley to Paris, Germany, and Switzwerland as he tracks down his old nemesis, the Soviet double-agent Karla (Patrick Stewart).
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Traffik 1989 TV, 325 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Alastair Reid
Cast: Bill Paterson, Julia Ormond, Linda Bassett, Lindsay Duncan, Fritz Muller-Scherz, Jamal Shah, Talat Hussain, George Kukura, Tilo Pruckner, Sharon Bower, Vincenzo Benestante, Peter Bourke, Ismat Shah Jahan, Roohi Raza, Ronan Vibert
This made-for-British TV miniseries was the basis for Steven Soderbergh's award-winning 2000 film "Traffic." The powerful story probes the heroin drug arena from the fields of Pakistan to the end users, highlighting the drug empire that supports it and the government that attempts to deal with it.
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Truly, Madly, Deeply 1991  PG, 106 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Anthony Minghella
Cast: Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Bill Paterson, Michael Maloney, Jenny Howe, Carolyn Choa, Christopher Rozycki, Keith Bartlett, David Ryall, Stella Maris
Nina (Juliet Stevenson) and Jamie (Alan Rickman) were devoted lovers and also enjoyed their musical life together. When Jamie dies, Nina can't get over it despite the attempts to cheer her up by friends and neighbors. Then Jamie's ghost shows up, and the couple takes up life again. An interesting little twist on the ghost theme. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | Beautiful, tender, nuanced, funny, poignant, original | Anonymous 03/11/2007 | | |
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Victory 1995 R, 99 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Mark Peploe
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Irene Jacob, Rufus Sewell, Jean Yanne, Ho Yi, Bill Paterson, Irm Hermann, Simon Callow, Graziano Marcelli
This is another remake of Joseph Conrad's novel. It is the story of Axel Heyst (Willem Dafoe)–who lives on an island in the Dutch East Indies in 1913–and the woman (Irene Jacob) he saved from servitude and has grown to love. When villains arrive on the scene, Axel must act.
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The Witches 1990 PG, 92 min.
Genre: Family
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson, Bill Paterson, Jane Horrocks, Jenny Runacre, Brenda Blethyn
In this story, Jim Henson's final feature film, nine-year-old Luke (Jasen Fisher) stumbles into a witches' convention and hears their plans to turn children into mice. With his grandmother's (Mai Zetterling) help, Luke sets out to foil the witches' evil plot.
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| 1. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)
2. Amazing Grace (2007)
3. Bright Young Things (2003)
4. Comfort and Joy (1984)
5. Crush (2001)
6. Defence of the Realm (1985)
7. Hard Times (1994)
8. Heart (1999)
9. Hilary and Jackie (1998)
10. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)
11. The Killing Fields (1984)
12. Miss Potter (2006)
13. The Object of Beauty (1991)
14. Othello (2001)
15. A Private Function (1985)
16. Richard III (1995)
17. Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars (2007)
aka: Baker Street Irregulars
18. The Singing Detective (1986)
19. Smiley's People (1982)
20. Traffik (1989)
21. Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991)
22. Victory (1995)
23. The Witches (1990)
In The News
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