Paul Rhys Movies

Dougray Scott, Linus Roache, Omar Sharif, and Naveen Andrews headline this epic mini-series from director Robert Dornhelm, and following the Prince of Egypt as he discovers his true identity and sets out on a mission from God. An oracle has prophesized that a child will grow up to become the Prince of Egypt, and in order to prevent this from happening The Egyptian Pharaoh (Paul Rhys) orders the immediate slaughter of all newborn males. No child in the entire kingdom is spared except for one. His name was Moses, the son of a Hebrew slave. Set adrift on the Nile immediately after he was born, Moses escapes certain death and enjoys a lavish upbringing in a royal Egyptian household. Moses has no memory of his past, and soon rises to the rank of prince. After Moses receives a fiery message from God and learns of his true heritage, he vows to reclaim his destiny by delivering his people from persecution and realizing his fate as the liberator of the Hebrews. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

British director Stephen Frears' political docudrama The Deal was originally broadcast on Channel 4. The film is based on the real-life events that elevated Tony Blair to the seat of Prime Minister. The film shows how the hard-working, but not head-turning, Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) and the flashy Blair (Michael Sheen), two very opposite personalities, forged a working relationship while opposing Margaret Thatcher's government. When the Labor leader, John Smith, dies of a heart attack, on May 13, 1994, everyone believes Brown will ascend to the top of the party. But that isn't what happens.
The film supposes what happened at a historic dinner meeting between Brown and Blair, at Islington, that led directly to Blair's appointment. This film is loosely based on The Rivals, written by James Naughtie. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In the summer of 1937, wealthy timber importer William Cazalet (Frederick Treves) and his wife, Kitty (Ursula Howells), host their children -- Hugh, Edward, Rupert, and Rachel -- and grandchildren for an extended holiday at William's idyllic Sussex estate. At dinner, William invites Rupert (Paul Rhys), a struggling artist, to join his other two sons, Hugh and Edward, in his thriving firm. Idealistic Rupert declines the offer. While attempting to justify his decision to his self-centered wife, Zoe (Joanna Page), whom he married after his first wife died, Rupert also must cope with his adolescent daughter's resentment of her stepmother. Meanwhile, rumors of war with Germany unsettle the family, and they monitor radio broadcasts closely. Hugh (Hugh Bonneville) knows well the perils of soldiery. In the Great War, he lost the use of his left hand and suffered a head injury that causes recurring headaches. His wife, Sybil (Anastasia Hille), worries about him, and he in turn worries about her, especially when her health mysteriously declines. Edward (Stephen Dillane), on the other hand, worries only about getting caught cheating on his wife, Villy (Lesley Manville), who is pregnant. His lustful behavior becomes truly detestable when he gropes his own daughter. His sister, spinster Rachel (Catherine Russell), is his opposite: reserved, always thinking of others. But a secret longing distresses her, and she vies with it in silence. Meanwhile, Villy, Zoe, and Edward's mistress all become pregnant; Sybil develops cancer; Rupert enlists when the Nazis go on the march; and a nephew comes to the Cazalet estate to escape his autocratic father. The war, familial conflict, and Sybil's illness test the family as never before. The final two hours of the six-hour saga reveal whether the Cazalets have the mettle to choose selflessness over self. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Previously and brilliantly filmed by director Jack Clayton as The Innocents in 1961, Henry James' classic psychological-horror novel The Turn of the Screw was remade 34 years later in the form of this TV movie, which changes the original locale and several character names. American governess Helen Walker (Valerie Bertinelli) arrives at an ornate English country estate, there to take charge of two orphaned siblings, Flora (Florence Hoath) and Mile (Aled Roberts). That the children are rude and ill-mannered does not unduly rattle Helen, who expects this sort of behavior in children of privilege. What is disturbing is that the youngsters' game-playing often takes on an unsavory sexual subtext far beyond their tender years. This, and a few strange "sightings", leads Helen to the startling conclusion that the children are under the power of the ghosts of their former caregivers--a sadistic handyman and an evil governess who died despising one another, and intend to "resolve" their kinky carnal issues using the youngsters as their pawns! Though handled with surprising subtlety and austerity, The Haunting of Helen Walker somehow falls short of the eerie brilliance of the 1961 The Innocents, and without being unduly cruel, it can be said that Valerie Bertinelli is no Deborah Kerr. Filmed on location near Readling, England, the TV movie premiered December 3, 1995 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Danny Huston's Becoming Colette purports to be an account of the early formative years of French author Gabrielle Colette (Mathilda May) and her evolution from naive country bumpkin to a Parisian socialite in a George Sand suit. The film turns up the heat with Colette as a teen with a crush on her father. This desire is then transferred to the suave and cosmopolitan Villars (Klaus Maria Brandauer) -- a fatherly twenty-five years her senior. The two start their hanky-panky on her father's country estate, resulting in a whirlwind courtship and marriage. Their honeymoon night is a succession of passionate unbuttonings. Colette writes in detail about it the next day in her diary. Villars then takes Colette to the Moulin Rouge to meet his mistress, the bisexual Polaire (Virginia Madsen). Polaire and Colette hit it off and soon are taking it off in a lesbian embrace. Meanwhile, Villars has taken to publishing Colette's diaries and is making money hand over fist. But finally Colette catches on after realizing that while she is toiling away at home cranking out Claudine books, Villars is busy taking her earnings and spending the cash on a succession of frilly mistresses. Making her stand in pants, she decides to abandon Villars and go out on her own. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Partly based on Charlie Chaplin's My Autobiography, this humorous and dramatic biopic features an all-star cast including Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr., Dan Aykroyd, Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, and Chaplin's real-life daughter, Geraldine Chaplin, who portrays his mentally ill mother. With the use of flashback, an elderly Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor (Hopkins), who urges him to be more vulnerable and emotionally honest with his memoirs while journeying through his poverty-stricken childhood, closest friendships, many marriages, merciless pursuit by J. Edgar Hoover (Kevin Dunn), and ingenious invention of "The Little Tramp." Highlighted works such as The Gold Rush (1925) and The Great Dictator (1940) illustrate significant turning points in Chaplin's prolific filmography. Director Richard Attenborough's film also explores the circumstances surrounding Chaplin's exile from America and his eventual return to receive an honorary Academy Award. ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, Rovi

The relationship between the obsessive, brilliant painter Vincent Van Gogh and his more practical brother Theo is at the center of director Robert Altman's well-received biography, originally produced as a miniseries for European television. Now universally acknowledged as masterpieces, Vincent Van Gogh's works were ignored in his lifetime, despite the best efforts of Theo, a struggling gallery owner. When he fails to make a profit from his brother's work, Theo finds himself torn between art and commerce, a conflict deepened by Vincent's increasing emotional neediness. Soon, the situation worsens, and both brothers are forced to struggle with depression and madness. Altman's distinctive directorial approach avoids clichés, allowing his leads to create contradictory and sometimes unlikable characters. Tim Roth captures Vincent's devotion to his art, his difficult personality, and his descent into mental illness without resorting to histrionics, while Paul Rhys provides equally proficient work as the more repressed Theo. The cinematography by Jean Lepine illuminates the links between Altman's trademark wandering camera and Van Gogh's impressionistic painting style. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

This Australian-British co-production was based on the historical novel by Ronald McKie. In the last months of WWII, a group of 14 intrepid British and Aussie soldiers combined forces for a daring and dangerous mission. "Operation Jaywick" was designed to cripple the Japanese naval fleet in Singapore harbor. With only a few rickety wooden boats, a handful of weapons, and a surplus of guts at their disposal, the title characters set about to complete their mission and return home in one piece. A collaboration between TVS and Ten Network, the four 60-minute episodes of The Heroes aired in England in 1989. Three years later, many of the same cast and crew members were reassembled for a sequel, the redundantly titled Heroes II: The Return. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A novice knight and his unlikely allies lead a crusade against evil in this adventure set in 12th century France. Robert Nerra (Eric Stoltz) is a young knight who, after the death of his older brother, abandons the struggle to defend his father's property in a skirmish over land rights and instead sets out to offer his services to King Richard the Lionhearted. As Nerra makes his way through a France racked with poverty and sickness, he encounters a group of orphans who are trying to flee from the Black Prince (Gabriel Byrne), a dark-clad rogue knight who steals children and sells them to Arab slave merchants. At first thinking him to be King Richard himself, the children follow Nerra, and he tries to protect and organize them as best he can. As they march through France, the orphans' numbers grow, and soon Nerra finds himself leading a crusade of children as he at once leads them to safety and fights off the Black Prince's forces. Lionheart was one of the final films from veteran director Franklin J. Schaffner; the film received an unfortunately short-lived theatrical release and went largely unseen until it was released on home video in 1990, a year after Schaffner's death. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi