Charles Wood Movies

Rainmark and Gotham Films present this tale of a scorned husband who seeks out the man he thinks is involved with his wife in Richard Eyre's adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's novel The Other Man. Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Antonio Banderas, and Romola Garai star in the joint U.K./U.S.A. production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Created by Russell Lewis, the four-episode British miniseries Monsignor Renard was set in the French town of St-Josse-des-Bois during the Nazi occupation of the 1940s. The title character, played by John Thaw of Inspector Morse fame, initially tried to keep himself above politics. Ultimately, however, Monsignor Renard became intimately involved with the French Resistance movement, rallying his fellow townsmen against their Nazi "hosts." Monsignor Renard was presented by Carlton Television from March 27 to April 17, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British biopic attempts to chronicle the life of 17th-century tunesmith Henry Purcell. The filmmakers have had to do much speculating about Britain's first great composer, as little is known about his life back then. It is known that Purcell had been a chorister as a child and then became the court composer for three kings: Charles, James and William. Before his death at age 37, Purcell penned over 1,000 songs and sired a few children, most of whom died at birth. While little is actually known of Purcell, the film successfully recreates the tumultuous era in which he lived. Also running parallel to Purcell's story is a set in the 1960s when English society and values seemed to be rapidly eroding, just as they were in the composer's time. The story concerns a playwright's attempts to research the life of Purcell for his next play. In the last part of the film, several lavish musical numbers from Purcell's vast repertoire are presented. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Tony Palmer explores the mysterious life of English composer Henry Purcell in this award-winning film. Recognizing that little is known about the secretive Purcell, a group of 1960s-era actors travel back to the 16th Century in search of clues to the composer's mystery shrouded past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe was the umbrella title for a collection of two-hour British historical dramas, telecast annually in two- to three-episode clusters from May 5, 1993 to May 21, 1997. Sean Bean starred as Richard Sharpe, a fearless and enterprising Yorkshire-born military officer who saw his duty and did it throughout the Napoleonic Wars. Abigail Cruttenden was eventually added to the cast as Sharpe's wife Jane. Individual episode titles included "Sharpe's Rifles" (the first program), "Sharpe's Eagle," "Sharpe's Company," "Sharpe's Gold," "Sharpe's Sword," "Sharpe's Siege," "Sharpe's Justice," "Sharpe's Revenge," and the inevitable finale, "Sharpe's Waterloo." Virtually all the episodes were filmed on location in Crimea and Portugal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The acclaimed Tony Palmer helmed this 1984 biopic on 19th and early 20th century Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, here portrayed by Robert Stephens. Palmer opts to focus not on the whole gestalt of Puccini's life, but on a devastating scandal that transpired in 1909, when Giacomo's wife, Elvira Puccini, accused maid Doria Manfredi of bedding her husband. The unfounded allegations prompted a massive lawsuit from the maid's family, and nearly toppled Giacomo's illustrious career. Judith Howarth co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Presented in a series of ostensibly farcical or irreverent episodes without any particular connection to each other, and based on short stories written by Yuri Krotkov's own personal knowledge of Stalin, the Red Monarch sketches the infamous Russian dictator as something of a buffoon suffering under the responsibilities of total power. Stalin's many purges of "undesirables" that amounted to millions dead by the end of his reign are not mentioned, and Beria, the chief of the Secret Police (NKVD) responsible for those deaths, is presented in his other notorious persona, that of a vulgar skirt-chasing lecher. Episodes cover a meeting of the Politburo to go over the USSR's loss at a major basketball tournament, and an arm-wrestling context with Mao Zedong. No matter how well Colin Blakely portrays Stalin, he cannot overcome the aspects of the script that trivialize Stalin's criminal record in this failed attempt at a Mel Brooks-style comedy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The specter of atomic warfare raises its head once again in this bizarre 1969 black comedy, directed by Richard Lester and hatched from the mind of twisted British comic Spike Milligan. England lays in ruins after World War III, and a number of dazed survivors try to carry on as if nothing is wrong, even when one woman (Rita Tushingham) announces that she is seventeen months pregnant, and others begin to mutate into parrots, wardrobes, and bed-sitting rooms. The often slapstick comedy provides a surreal foreground for the bleak, devastated settings, portions of which were filmed in actual, environmentally blasted industrial areas in Wales. The comedy duo of Dudley Moore and Peter Cook appear as hapless government officials, while Marty Feldman makes his screen debut in a film that could best be described as England's answer to Dr. Strangelove. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In this somber drama set during WWII, John (David Hemmings), Cliff (Tony Beckley), and Tom (Tom Bell) are three British soldiers trapped in German territory while waiting for their commanding officer to rescue them. John detests war, Cliff revels in it with a perverse enthusiasm, and Tom is simply weary of the whole business. While trying to avoid capture, the three find a German officer, Helmut (Alan Dobie), and take him prisoner. While they consider executing him on the spot, Helmut pleads with the Britons that if they'll let him live, he'll guide them to his commanders. They agree, but while Helmut proves good to his word, they're too late -- to the shock of all four, they discover that the German general has been murdered, leaving the Englishmen and their captive to find their own way behind enemy lines. The Long Day's Dying won awards at the 1968 Cannes and San Sebastian International Film Festivals for its director, Peter Collinson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Among the first of the late 60s anti-war films that reflected growing concern over the Vietnam War, How I Won the War takes a cold, dark look at the Good War, World War II. In adapting Patrick Ryan's 1963 novel, screenwriter Charles Wood and director Richard Lester offered a narrative fractured by characters making side comments to the camera, stylized cinematography, inserts of newsreel war footage, and plenty of absurdist humor and slapstick. Ernest Goodbody (Michael Crawford) is a bumbling British officer who manages to get most of his small company of musketeers killed while on a mission in North Africa to set up a cricket pitch behind enemy lines for officers of the advancing British army. The rest of the company dies in an ensuing campaign in Europe near the war's end, but all of the men continue to march along, appearing as monochromatic ghosts. (Original prints of the film intercut real battle footage tinted to match the color of the soon-to-be ghost soldier. Some prints of the film, including one shown on Turner Classic Movies, present the newsreel shots in black and white, undercutting the stylized touch.) The story is framed as a flashback, with Goodbody relating his version of events to a German officer (Karl Michael Vogler), while the real version of events, demonstrating Goodbody's ineptitude, plays out on screen. Among the supporting players are John Lennon, who had worked with Lester on A Hard Day's Night and Help; Roy Kinnear, a Lester regular, as a fat soldier who is certain his wife is cheating on him; Jack MacGowran as the troop's designated fool, and Michael Hordern as a general almost as oblivious to his suffering men as Goodbody. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

In their second feature with director Richard Lester, who oversaw the massive hit A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles again aim for a mix of goofy comedy and sterling pop music. There is slightly more of a plot this time, though it is a patently ridiculous one: a sacred ruby ring comes into Ringo's possession, attracting the unwelcome attention of an exotic religious cult and forcing the boys to go on the run. This chase narrative is thankfully never taken too seriously, serving mainly as an excuse for colorful excursions to international locations from Europe to the Bahamas. The musical numbers include such classic tunes as "Ticket to Ride," "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and, of course, "Help!". ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Rachel Cade (Angie Dickinson), a dedicated American nurse working in the Belgian Congo, meets administrator Henri Derode (Peter Finch) during a native fertility dance. Guess what he tries to do? He doesn't, though, because Rachel falls in love with handsome downed RAF pilot Paul Wilton (Roger Moore). As Paul's wounds heal in the jungle hospital, he and Rachel manage to find quality time together. After he leaves, a pregnant Rachel turns to the previously rejected Henri for aid and comfort. After an hour or so of further melodramatic complications (including a native uprising), Rachel realizes that it was Henri she loved all along. A standard-issue soap opera from the Warner Bros. factory, The Sins of Rachel Cade was unobtrusively directed by the ubiquitous Gordon M. Douglas. Edward Anhalt adapted the screenplay from a novel by Charles E. Mercer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide