Brian Trenchard-Smith Movies

Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two women are unwittingly thrown into the fight of their lives in an effort to protect one of America's most powerful men in this action thriller. The vice president of the United States (David Keith) is returning from a visit overseas when his private jet, Air Force Two, crash-lands on a remote South American island. It's the veep's poor fortune that he's stranded in a place dominated by insurgent forces at odds with U.S. policies, and a group of revolutionaries seize their opportunity and kidnap the vice president. While American Special Forces swing into action, the rebels intend to make the most of their opportunity, but a secret service agent (Mariel Hemingway) and the president's no-nonsense press secretary (Jill Bennett) realize there's no time to waste and devise their own plan to save America's second in command. Making matters more complicated is the powerful emotional relationship between the two women. In Her Line of Fire was produced in cooperation with here!, a premium cable service specializing in programming for gay and lesbian viewers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When an American Navy fast-attack submarine is sunken off the coast of North Korea and the vessel's executive and engineering officers are killed, the commander of the submarine is forced to choose between returning to the dangerous waters to tap a North Korean underwater communications cable or facing court martial in this deep-sea thriller starring Adrian Paul and Mathew St. Patrick. As the Naval Board of Inquiry begins investigating the strange fate of the sunken submarine, Commander Burt Habley's (Paul) fate looks increasingly grim. Given the opportunity for redemption by returning to North Korean waters with a fleet of U.S. submarines and executing a mission of great importance to American intelligence forces, Habley attempts to keep his crew out of harm's way and complete the mission while avoiding confrontation with the ship's strict executive officer, Steven Barker (St. Patrick). Upon sensing that their submarine is being followed, Habley attempts to lead their pursuer away from the U.S. fleet by changing course much to the chagrin of the rule-bound Barker. When Barker assumes command of the submarine and attempts to continue the mission, a surprise attack prompts Habley to unite the divided crew in a desperate bid to take on the unseen enemy and ensure the safety of his crew and the U.S. fleet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Filmed under the title The Big Dance, this tense, made-for-cable docudrama recreates the events following the devastating terrorist attack on New York City and Washington, D.C., on September 11, 2001. The focus is on President George W. Bush, here played by Timothy Bottoms. Inasmuch as the film was assembled by a man avowedly sympathetic to Bush (Hollywood veteran Lionel Chetwynd), there are few ambiguities here: The president acts swiftly, decisively, and dispassionately, and there's no time to raise any questions about judgment, discretion, or diplomatic missteps, past, present, or future. Chetwynd's teleplay utilizes several well-known factoids (the president wanted to return to Washington immediately after the attack, but his advisors wouldn't let him) along with a number of newly unearthed information bites (the crew of Air Force One had to use cell phones to contact the DC airport, out of concern that their radio would alert terrorists to their location). Also dramatized are the efforts by the government to gather evidence against al-Qaida, and the president's inspiring address to the nation ten days after the tragedy. DC 9/11: Time of Crisis debuted September 7, 2003, on the Showtime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this combination sequel and prequel to the surprise box-office success The Omega Code, one man becomes the leader of an evil empire that could destroy the world, and his brother must rise against him in the defense of good. Stone Alexander (played as a child by Gavin Fink) is a moody, dark-tempered child whose parents died shortly after he was born. The mother who adopted Stone died several years later while giving birth to another son, David, and Stone is unable to forgive his brother for unwittingly taking his mother from him. Stone goes so far as to attempt to murder David, and their father, prominent businessman Daniel Alexander (David Hedison), responds by shipping Stone off to military school. There, Stone falls under the tutelage of The Guardian (Udo Kier), an instructor at the school who is actually an emissary of Satan. While the enmity between Stone (played as a teenager by Noah Huntley) and David (played by Chad Michael Murray) cools a bit with time, Stone once again finds himself in a bitter rivalry with his brother when they both fall in love with the same woman, Gabriella (played as a teenager by Elisa Scialpi). Stone eventually wins Gabriella's hand and they marry, as Stone (played as an adult by Michael York) rises to power as the ruthless leader of the military arm of the European Union; David (played as an adult by Michael Biehn), meanwhile, becomes a powerful figure in American politics, and is elected to the office of Vice President. What neither David nor Gabriella (played as an adult by Diane Venora) fully understand is that, under the influence of The Guardian, Stone has taken on the role of the Antichrist, and he attempts to curry his brother's favor (and arrange events that will make David president) in a bid for world domination. When it becomes clear to David that the goal of his brother's campaign is to put the world in the power of Satan, David realizes America and its allies must join forces against Stone's troops in a battle in Megiddo, Israel -- predicted in the Book of Revelations as the place of the final battle of good versus evil. Megiddo: Omega Code 2 also features Franco Nero, R. Lee Ermey, and Gil Colon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

H.M.S. Britannic was the sister ship of the Titanic, and like its more famous sibling, the ship was fated to be lost while at sea. This drama imagines what might have led up to the ship's sinking on its final voyage. Vera Campbell (Amanda Ryan) is an attractive young woman who is an undercover agent for the British government. She is ordered to cross the sea aboard the Britannic in hopes of learning more about German spies who may attempt to sabotage the great ship. During the course of the voyage, Vera becomes infatuated with Reynolds (Edward Atterton), the Britannic's chaplain; he also finds himself attracted to her, but while his status as a man of the cloth presents an obstacle in their romance, it's nothing compared to Vera's discovery that Reynolds is one of the German agents she's been assigned to ferret out. Britannic also stars Jacqueline Bisset, Bruce Payne, and John Rhys-Davies. Incidentally, while in real life the Britannic did indeed sink off the Greek coast, it's conceded to have fallen prey to a torpedo -- rather than any sabotage on board. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Originally aired as an epic mini-series, Doomsday Rock was the first revival of "what-if-an-enormous-(insert appropriate astral body)-hit-the-Earth" movies. Essentially a sub-genre of the disaster movie, the story centers on the struggle of one main character to save the planet while simultaneously presenting on-going vignettes following the predicaments of secondary characters. Famed astronomer Dr. Paul Sorenson has been studying the ancient paths of comets for most of his career; he knows that comets and large meteorites have hit our planet before and believes such impacts caused the mass extinctions of the past. According to his latest calculations, a large comet is due to collide with our planet very soon. Unfortunately, nobody but his daughter, also a respected researcher and astronomer, believes him. Desperate to save humanity from mass extinction, Sorenson and his few followers commandeer an nuclear silo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the grisly little green man's saga, the Leprechaun heads for outer space to steal the gold from a mining planet and to marry the girl of his dreams. When she is rescued by a unit of intergalactic commandos, the leprechaun sets off to get gory revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This desert war adventure is set during WWII and is a remake of Zoltan Korda's 1943 version. The tale chronicles the courage of an American sergeant and his few men who attempt to escape approaching German forces in their tank. As they cruise southward, they pick up a stranded British medical officer and band of ragged fighters that include an Australian, a Frenchman and a Sudanese officer. Eventually, water becomes a major issue and they end up at a lonely oasis where they decide to make one final brave stand against the Nazi invaders. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The plot of the made-for-cable Official Denial is only partially summed up by the title. Parker Stevenson plays Paul Corliss, a hapless gent who is abducted by extraterrestrials. With no tangible proof, Corliss can't get anyone to believe his story. Even his wife Annie (Erin Gray) thinks he's hallucinating. But when the government can't cover up a second alien landing, Corliss is pressed into service to communicate with the space visitors. Someone really did their homework when putting together Official Denial; the film is both convincing and compelling. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Preempted by the World Series on October 19, 1989, Mission: Impossible returned on October 26 with the nail-biting episode "Countdown." The IMF heads to Central Asia to disarm a nuclear device that is timed to explode in less than 48 hours. The problem lies in locating the bomb, which has been planted in an unknown location by Su Lin (Julie Ow), a religious fanatic bent on restoring exiled ruler General Vang Kai (Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa) to power. "Countdown" was written by Chip Hayes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the true story, this film follows the struggle of a group of brave marines as they attempt to defend Firebase Gloria during the Tet Offensive, even though they are greatly outnumbered. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide