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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Bait 2002  TV, 100 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Nicholas Renton
Cast: John Hurt, Sheila Hancock, Rachael Stirling, Angeline Ball, Jonathan Firth, Nicholas Farrell, Matthew Scurfield
Jack (John Hurt) picks up Pam (Sheila Hancock) and her daughter, Stephanie (Rachael Stirling), after their car has broken down and offers them shelter in his mansion. Noting that Stephanie bears a striking resemblance to his daughter who had been murdered, Jack decides to use Stephanie as bait to bring out the killer. Made for British TV.
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Beautiful People 1999 R, 109 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Jasmin Dizdar
Cast: Charlotte Coleman, Charles Kay, Rosalind Ayres, Roger Sloman, Edin Dzandzanovic, Heather Tobias, Danny Nussbaum, Nicholas Farrell, Gilbert Martin, Siobhan Redmond
Bosnian filmmaker Dizdar came to London to make this film, which is largely about relocated Bosnians. Several stories intersect from time to time as important issues are tackled, usually in a (very dark) comedic manner. For example, a heroin addict falls asleep on a pallet at an airport and awakens on a battlefield in Bosnia. His heroin helps during a surgery and he returns home a hero.
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Bloody Sunday 2002 R, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Gerard McSorley, Kathy Keira Clarke, Allan Gildea, Gerard Crossan, Mary Moulds, Declan Duddy, Carmel McCallion, Christopher Villiers, James Hewitt
This one-sided version of the January 30, 1972 massacre of unarmed Irish Catholics is brought to the screen in a documentary style that gives the impression of archival footage. It should come as no surprise that the film's release was followed by controversy in England.
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 Chariots of Fire 1981  PG, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Hugh Hudson
Cast: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Ian Holm, Patrick Magee, Alice Krige, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Havers, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Peter Egan, Nicholas Farrell, Cheryl Campbell, Dennis Christopher, Struan Rodger, David Yelland
This is an inspiring story based on the 1924 Olympic games. Two British runners Harold Abrahams and Sam Mussabini (Ben Cross and Ian Holm) practice their sport while working out personal concerns with anti-Semitism and Christian missionary work, respectively. The film won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Writing, Costume Design, and Musical Score. Nominations were received for Best Supporting Actor (Holm) and Director.
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Driving Lessons 2006  PG-13, 98 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Jeremy Brock
Cast: Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney, Nicholas Farrell, Oliver Milburn, Michelle Duncan, Jim Norton, Tamsin Egerton, Rose Keegan, Rupert Holiday
Shy teenager Ben Marshall (Rupert Grint) has been raised by his domineering mother (Laura Linney) and wants to get out from under her thumb. His chance comes when he finds a summer job working for retired actress Evie Walton (Julie Walters) who tricks Ben into a trip to Edinburgh where Ben's eyes are opened–for good and for bad–to a new world.
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 Hamlet 1996   PG-13, 238 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance / Thriller
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Charlton Heston, Robin Williams, Jack Lemmon, Billy Crystal, Gerard Depardieu, John Gielgud, Richard Briers, Nicholas Farrell, Michael Maloney, Brian Blessed, Judi Dench
"Hamlet," the melancholy Dane, is directed by and stars Kenneth Branagh in this–indeed unique–innovative presentation of Shakespeare's classic. Branagh uses Shakespeare's entire text to uncover the layers behind the Bard of Avon's words in his play about Hamlet (Branagh) seeking revenge for his father the king's murder. Julie Christie plays Gertrude, Hamlet's mother who marries her brother-in-law Claudius (Derek Jacobi) soon after her husband's murder. His father's ghost (Brian Blessed) appears and tells Hamlet to be kind to Gertrude but to kill Claudius who had murdered him. Now, insanity takes over resulting in homicide and suicide.
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Legionnaire 1998 R, 95 min.
Genre: Action
Director: Peter MacDonald
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jim Carter, Steven Berkoff, Ana Sofrenovic, Nicholas Farrell, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Daniel Caltagirone
In this direct-to-video offering, a French legionnaire, Alain Lefevre (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and his cohorts defend a desert fort. So–it isn't Shakespeare, but it does have an interesting plot and is entertaining.
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Othello 1995 R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Oliver Parker
Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Nathaniel Parker, Kenneth Branagh, Irene Jacob, Michael Maloney, Anna Patrick, Nicholas Farrell, Indra Ove
Shakespeare's famous play is again brought to the screen; this time Laurence Fishburne plays the title role of the Moor who is manipulated by the evil Iago (Kenneth Branagh) until he believes that his new wife, Desdemona (Irene Jacob), has been unfaithful.
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Twelfth Night: Or What You Will 1996 PG-13, 125 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
aka: Twelfth Night
Director: Trevor Nunn
Cast: Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Richard E. Grant, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Kingsley, Toby Stephens, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Steven Mackintosh, Nicholas Farrell, Sydney Livingstone, James Walker, Alan Mitchell, Peter Gunn, Tim Bentinck
When Viola's (Imogen Stubbs) ship is capsized by a storm, she is washed ashore in the kingdom of Ilyria. She disguises herself as her own brother and enters the court of Count Orsino (Toby Stephens) who loves the fair Lady Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter). Viola falls in love with Orsino, but he believes that Viola is a man and asks her to help him gain the love of Lady Olivia. Matters worsen when Viola finds that Lady Olivia has fallen in love with her. Misadventures follow with the entire household involved in their own mischievous plots.
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| 1. Amazing Grace (2007)
2. Bait (2002)
3. Beautiful People (1999)
4. Bloody Sunday (2002)
5. Chariots of Fire (1981)
6. Driving Lessons (2006)
7. Hamlet (1996)
8. Legionnaire (1998)
9. Othello (1995)
10. Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996)
aka: Twelfth Night
In The News
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