Stephen Frears

A well-known French prostitute (Kathy Bates) sets up her son (Rupert Friend) with a fellow courtesan (Michelle Pfeiffer) to learn the ways of love, not expecting the two to continue their affair years down the road, when the chance for the man to marry into wealth threatens to destroy their romance. Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons) helms the 1920s period Pathe Pictures/Miramax co-production based on the Colette novella. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A recently widowed eccentric with money to burn and no intentions of settling down enlists the aide of a showbiz professional to transform a run-down theater in Soho into London's most innovative entertainment hot spot in director Stephen Frears' cinematic account of the groundbreaking Windmill Theater. The year is 1937 and, despite having recently lost her husband, 69-year-old Laura Henderson (Judy Dench) remains as ambitious and vital as ever. Aghast at her friend Lady Conway's (Thelma Barlow) suggestion that she take up a mundane hobby such as diamond collecting to pass the time, Mrs. Henderson instead shocks her well-to-do social circle by purchasing the ramshackle Windmill Theater in the heart of downtown Soho. Unafraid to take a risk in the venture, yet lacking the experience needed to run the theater, Mrs. Henderson brings in showbiz veteran Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to line up an opening act that will set the stage ablaze. When the ever-curious Mrs. Henderson's intrusive spying begins to impede on Mr. Van Damm's creative progress, the frustrated theater manager has her banished from rehearsals. Though Van Damm's innovative idea to stage an unending stream of entertainment dubbed "Revudeville" proves a wild and profitable success, the Windmill begins to suffer when other local theaters quickly follow suit. Now faced with the prospect of seeing her once-lucrative endeavor fall by the wayside due to the unoriginality of the copycats who surround her, Mrs. Henderson decides to show audiences something they've never seen before by making the Windmill the first theater to feature nude female entertainers live on-stage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Stephen Frears returns to the grittier themes of his earlier films for the urban thriller Dirty Pretty Things. Residing in London, the medically trained Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Nigerian immigrant working as a taxi driver and a hotel concierge, but he still lives on the edge of poverty. He shares a room with Senay (Amélie's Audrey Tautou making her English-language debut), a Turkish refugee who works as a maid at the hotel. As illegal immigrants, Okwe and Senay live in fear of being deported. One night, working at the front desk, Okwe receives a call from prostitute Juliette (Sophie Okonedo) to check a broken toilet, where he makes a horrifying discovery. He reports it to the manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez), who blackmails Okwe into staying quiet about it. Okwe soon discovers the presence of a shady business operation that sends him into the seedy London underworld. Senay becomes lured in with hopes of being able to fund her escape to America. Dirty Pretty Things marks the screenwriting debut of Steve Knight, co-creator of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A seemingly-minor electronic error sets the world on the verge of nuclear annihilation in this made-for-TV adaptation of the novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler (which was previously filmed in 1964). Due to the burn-out of a piece of circuitry, a computer orders a U.S. Air Force jet on a strategic bombing raid, destroying targets in Russia with nuclear weapons. As Generals Bogan (Brian Dennehy) and Black (Harvey Keitel) desperately search for a way to recall the planes once the mistake has been discovered, the bomber's commander, Col. Grady (George Clooney) sets out on his mission with grim determination, while the President (Richard Dreyfuss) and his translator (Noah Wyle) stay in contact with the Soviet premier, trying to convince him that this was all a terrible mistake. Fail Safe was first presented as a live television broadcast which aired on CBS on April 9, 2000. The supporting cast includes Hank Azaria, Don Cheadle, James Cromwell, and Sam Elliott. Star George Clooney spearheaded the unique project and served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cowboys live again in this 20th century Western about two World War II veterans living on the lush, open New Mexico countryside. Based on the classic American novel by Max Evans about those struggling to continue living the Old West lifestyle in the early Cold War days, the film stars Woody Harrelson and Billy Crudup as two lifelong friends who fall for the same woman. Returning from war is Peter (Crudup), a cattleman who just wants a simple life on the farm, and Big Boy Matson (Harrelson), a big-drinking hellraiser always looking for a fight. Enter married Mona (Patricia Arquette), who turns both their heads and forces these two cowboys to put their friendship to the ultimate test. The film, like Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, is about freedom in wide-open spaces, so British director Stephen Frears is really out of his element in tackling this type of material. But he focuses the film on the relationships rather than the action, asking questions like "Is the girl more important than their friendship?" In the end, this film is more love story than Western. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Valerie Martin, this gothic suspense story offers a fresh perspective on Robert Louis Stevenson's classic horror tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by presenting the material from a different viewpoint -- that of Mary Reilly (Julia Roberts), an Irish servant girl who has come to work for esteemed surgeon Dr. Henry Jekyll (John Malkovich). Mary is fascinated but also intimidated by her new employer, while the doctor seems to take a personal interest in her that goes beyond mere professional courtesy, much to the annoyance of Mr. Poole (George Cole), Jekyll's brutish manservant who also appears to have his eye on her. Jekyll's interest in Mary increases when he learns that she was abused as a child by her violent and repressive father. The doctor seems to take a keen interest in the violent and uncontrollable side of human nature. One day, he announces to his housekeeping staff that his new colleague, Edward Hyde, may be dropping by unexpectedly and not to be alarmed at his presence. Just as she's become attracted to the studious Dr. Jekyll, Mary is fascinated by the brash and impulsive Mr. Hyde, though he carries an air of danger with him at all times -- and Mary doesn't realize at first that he is merely a manifestation of the darker side of Jekyll's personality. Mary Reilly also features Glenn Close as the Madame Mrs. Farraday. Stephen Frears -- who previously worked with Close, Malkovich and screenwriter Christopher Hampton on 1988's Dangerous Liaisons -- directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This documentary from British director Stephen Frears represents England's entry in the British Film Institute commissioned series, "Century of Cinema," designed to be a collection of the personal opinions of renowned international filmmakers concerning the cinema of their native countries. Frears is joined by four other notable British directors who sit 'round a table sipping tea while discussing the past, present and future of English films. Included is Alexander Mackendrick, who died before this film was released. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Stephen Frears' Hero is a contemporary re-working of a Frank Capra-styled fable about a two-bit criminal named Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) who saves several passengers from a plane crash and leaves the scene without being identified, leaving only a lost shoe for identification. One of the passengers happens to be news-reporter Gale (Geena Davis) who is intent on finding her savior, and offers a million dollars to the "hero" of the crashed flight. Bernie has since given his remaining shoe to a homeless man named John (Andy Garcia) who decides to cash in on the offer. A handsome, charming man, John wins the hearts of the entire city. Soon, Bernie realizes that he's been cheated out of a million dollars, and he begins an effort to get his proper recognition--and his money. Hero manages to be quite funny and satirical while sticking to a story that is essentially a Hollywood fable. That is to the credit of director Frears and the cast, who turn in uniformly excellent performances. Nevertheless, Hoffman is superb as a bitterly comic and spiteful variation on his classic Ratso Rizzo character. By the way, be on the lookout for Chevy Chase in a very funny cameo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Adapted for stage and screen several times over the past century, French author Francois Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel Les Liasons Dangeureuses was the basis for this Academy Award-winning Stephen Frears film. The plot is motivated by a cruel wager between the beautiful but debauched Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and her misogynistic former lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovitch). The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal Cecile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) before the girl can be wed. Valmont offers a more difficult counter-challenge: He bets the Marquise that he will be able to bed the very moral and very married Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer). In the course of carrying out his plan, Valmont is stricken with a sudden case of honor and remorse, while the Marquise becomes all the more vicious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this alternately comic and grave reflection on the effects of Thatcherism on polyethnic England, middle-class liberals Rosie (Frances Barber) and Sammy (Ayub Khan Din) engage in an openly adulterous marriage while living in a lower-class neighborhood in London. When they're not hiding their troubled marriage behind a series of "enlightened" affairs, the couple associates with a social circle that ranges from leftist to radical and includes enigmatic street philosopher Victoria (Roland Gift). Sammy's long-lost father, Rafi (Shashi Kapoor), a South Asian politician, arrives for a visit just as rioting erupts in response to the killing of an innocent black woman by British police. Rafi decries not only the social upheaval that has transformed the country where he spent his halcyon university years, but also the lack of propriety on display in his son's marriage. Admitting that he's on the run for allegedly corrupt and violent political activities, the well-mannered yet manipulative Rafi uses his wealth to try to reign in what he sees as Sammy and Rosie's sexual and political excesses. Meanwhile, he tries to court Alice (Claire Bloom), the proper British lady he deserted decades earlier. The messy whirl of desire, resentment, and dogma that alternately throws these characters together and rips them apart ultimately reflects the confused and confusing society in which Sammy and Rosie live; soon even the unassailable Rafi must question his beliefs about life after empire. Sammy and Rosie Get Laid marked the second collaboration between director Stephen Frears and writer Hanif Kureishi; star Ayub Khan Din would go on to write another Anglo-Asian culture-clash comedy, 1998's East Is East. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

After the death of his wife and his subsequent descent into alcoholic near-agoraphobia, a crotchety Pakistani intellectual convinces his shady entrepreneur brother to provide work for his son in this multi-layered portrait of the immigrant experience in Great Britain. Young Londoner Omar (Gordon Warnecke) isn't sure what he wants out of life, but his uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey) provides a corrupt, capitalist role model as Omar graduates from washing cars for the old crook to running his run-down laundromat. After a chance meeting with Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an old school chum whose flirtation with fascism deeply wounded Omar's principled Papa (Roshan Seth), Omar hires the young thug to work for him. Soon, the pair begin a romantic relationship that remains as under-wraps as the illicit drug-running and enforcement work they perform for Nasser's associate, Salim (Derrick Branche). On the domestic front, Omar must balance his knowledge of Nasser's long-running affair with posh Brit Rachel (Shirley Ann Field) with his own loyalty and attraction to Nasser's Westernized daughter, Tania (Rita Wolf). After successfully transforming his laundrette into a vision of resplendent pastel suds and providing a bright spot in his otherwise sqalid London neighborhood, Omar seems to have a bright future in Nasser's organization. The spectre of Johnny's past, however, combines with Omar's conflicted immigrant loyalties to threaten the sense of identity the young man has managed to stake out for himself. British-born, half-Pakistani playwright and novelist Hanif Kureishi won an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for My Beautiful Laundrette, which was originally filmed for BBC television. Kureishi collaborated again with director Stephen Frears on Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

The "Bloody" in Bloody Kids is meant in both its scatological in literal sense. Two restless teens (Derrick O'Connor and Gary Holton) from the South End of London go on a Saturday-night spree. When girls and booze lose their appeal, the boys add murder to their itinerary. A surreal, high-energy film about life and death on the streets, the film has some intelligent social criticism, but its ultra-violent subject matter and unusual visual style caused controversy. The most noteworthy aspect of Bloody Kids may well be its treatment upon release. Considered too bloody for British theatrical exposure, the film went directly to television -- an intriguing reversal of the American procedure. Bloody Kids was director Stephen Frears' second feature, foreshadowing his later highly acclaimed The Grifters which also featured grim subject matter but with classic film-noir grace and sensibility, a sensibility lacking in Bloody Kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide