 1984 1984  R, 123 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama / Romance / Thriller
aka: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Director: Michael Radford
Cast: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack, Gregor Fisher, James Walker, Peter Frye, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Andrew Wilde, Phyllis Logan, David Trevena, David Cann, Anthony Benson, Corinna Seddon, Rupert Baderman
"Big Brother is watching you." That is the theme of George Orwell's story of life in a totalitarian society. The lack of incentive for improving the quality of life is vividly depicted in this thought-provoking story in which Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a Party official in the Ministry of Propaganda. He meets and falls in love with Party member Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), and they engage in a sexual affair. Sex is forbidden in this society, and when they are caught, Winston is beaten and starved under the orders of his former friend O'Brien (Richard Burton). Later, Winston is exposed to rats that gnaw at his face, and Winston admits to his affair with Julia. Meanwhile, Julia, has also confessed and turns against Winston. Previously made in 1956.
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Brimstone & Treacle 1982  R, 85 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Richard Loncraine
Cast: Sting, Denholm Elliott, Joan Plowright, Suzanna Hamilton, Mary MacLeod, Dudley Sutton, Benjamin Whitrow, Tim Preece, Hugh Walters, Christopher Fairbanks, Elizabeth Bradley
A drifter, Martin Taylor (Sting,) talks his way into Tom and Norma Bates' (Denholm Elliott and Joan Plowright) home. The Bates have a disabled daughter Patricia (Suzanna Hamilton), and Martin becomes her unofficial caretaker. It is only then that Martin's plot is revealed, and molesting Patricia is only part of the horrors in store for the Bates family in this strange, yet intriguing, tale.
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Hold the Dream 1986  TV, 190 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Don Sharp
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Jenny Seagrove, Stephen Collins, John Mills, Liam Neeson, James Brolin, Claire Bloom, Suzanna Hamilton, Nigel Havers, Fiona Fullerton
This TV miniseries is a follow-up to "A Woman of Substance" as Emma Harte (Deborah Kerr), now 80 years old, turns over her lucrative business to granddaughter Paula (Jenny Seagrove). The greedy relatives are not at all happy about that decision. Not nearly as good as the original.
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Out of Africa 1985  PG, 161 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Sydney Pollack
Cast: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Malick Bowens, Michael Gough, Rachel Kempson, Graham Crowden, Leslie Phillips, Suzanna Hamilton, Joseph Thiaka, Stephen Kinyanjui, Mike Bugara, Shane Rimmer, Job Seda
As the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, this film deserves its accolades. Meryl Streep plays Kenya resident Karen who is married to Baron Bor Blixen-Flexe (Klaus Maria Brandauer), but her husband has been cheating on her and is often away on business leaving Karen alone on their plantation. Karen falls in love with British hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford) who is too independent for marriage, which suits Karen because she prefers a no-strings relationship. Denys and Karen go on safari together in the badlands of Africa and gain a new respect for African culture. Sydney Pollack won an Academy Award for Best Director. In all, the film won seven Academy Awards and had four other nominations, including Best Actress (Streep) and Supporting Actor (Klaus Maria Brandauer).
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Tess 1979  PG, 192 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Roman Polanski
Cast: Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, John Collin, Tony Church, Rosemary Martin, David Markham, Richard Pearson, Arielle Dombasle, Carolyn Pickles, Leigh Lawson, Pascale de Boysson, Suzanna Hamilton, Caroline Embling, Lesley Dunlop, Sylvia Coleridge
Set in 19th-century England, this is a fine adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles." Beautiful peasant Tess (Nastassja Kinski) is sent to live with her relatives, the D'Urbervilles. It turns out that the family living there is not her family; they have bought the family's name. "Cousin" Alec (Leigh Lawson) becomes Tess' lover, and Tess becomes pregnant but loses the baby. Now, Tess goes to work on a dairy farm where she falls in love with Angel Clare (Peter Firth), but more problems lie ahead. This film was nominated for Best Picture, Director, and Musical Score Oscars–and it won for Best Art Direction, Costume Design, and Cinematography.
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Wetherby 1985 R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Director: David Hare
Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, Judi Dench, Marjorie Yates, Tim McInnerny, Suzanna Hamilton, Tom Wilkinson, Stuart Wilson, Paula Tilbrook, Joely Richardson, Christopher Fulford, Howard Crossley, Mike Kelly, Robert Hines, Matthew Guinness
Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) is a schoolteacher in the small Yorkshire town of Wetherby. She leads a quiet life and has never accepted the death of her boyfriend many years ago. She has a small dinner party for two couples who are friends. There is also another dinner guest who was uninvited, but all assumed that he was with one of the couples or with Jean. The next day, the stranger comes to Jean's house, and during a visit with her he puts a gun in his mouth and kills himself. The resulting investigation of who he was and what was meant by the events makes for good mystery and drama. As the party of the prior evening is again shown, the viewer sees the dinner in a completely different way.
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| 1. 1984 (1984)
aka: Nineteen Eighty-Four
2. Brimstone & Treacle (1982)
3. Hold the Dream (1986)
4. Johnny Bull (1986)
5. Out of Africa (1985)
6. Tess (1979)
7. Wetherby (1985)
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