James Cosmo Movies
As the grizzled warrior Campbell in Braveheart, James Cosmo impressed filmgoers worldwide. His impassioned performance made it seem possible that such a man as Campbell really existed 700 years ago, a man who cared so much about his beloved Scotland that he could endure the bite of an English arrow, break it off, and go on fighting with Achillean fury. But it was not only Cosmo's formidable acting skills -- honed in scores of film and television productions dating back to the '60s -- that animated his performance. It was also his real-life love of Scotland. He believes his native country, small as it is, has a thousand and one other stories to tell just as exciting as Braveheart, and he has enlisted himself as actor, producer, and financier to bring them to the movie screen. For example, he singlehandedly engineered a project to construct Scotland's first film studio on a 40-acre site near Inverness. Both novice and experienced filmmakers will be welcome to reserve any of its sound stages. A nearby William Wallace Theme Park, named after the rebel leader depicted in Braveheart, will present reenactments of Wallace's rebellion against England between 1297 and 1305. Cosmo also was the brainchild of a major film project about Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), a national hero who attracted 30,000 mourners to his funeral. Cosmo selected Edinburgh as the setting, Scottish writer Alan Sharp to pen the script, and Scottish composer Derek William Dick to write an overture. The film, entitled Clarinda, centers on the love affair between Burns and an Edinburgh woman, Agnes Maclehose. Another Scottish writer, the great historical novelist Sir Walter Scott, provided the material for a triumphal Cosmo performance in the TV miniseries Ivanhoe, shown worldwide. Cosmo portrayed Ivanhoe's estranged father, Lord Cedric, with the same fiery spleen of Campbell in Braveheart. However, Cosmo does not perform only in films about the age of the horse and sword. In the critically acclaimed Trainspotting, he played the father of an Edinburgh heroin addict. Cosmo also portrayed a World War II POW in the heralded 2001 film To End All Wars, Mr. Weston in the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow version of Jane Austen's Emma, and an oil-rig worker in the 1994 TV series Roughnecks. In addition, he was the voice of Thelonius, an orangutan, in Babe: Pig in the City. Cosmo grew up in Clydebank in west central Scotland, where he received an education in a stalwart brick-and-mortar high school while the smell of the sea invaded classrooms and beckoned aspiring young adventurers to set sail for exotic climes. Clydebank was a shipbuilding city; there, craftsmen puzzled together great Cunard liners, including the Queen Elizabeth II. Although Cosmo did not go to sea, he did set sail for a journey through the world of drama. For his outstanding work onscreen and his charitable work off, he received the lifetime achievement award of the Sunday Mail/McEwan's People's Film Festival. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
David Jason, Tim Curry, Nigel Planer, and Sean Astin star in writer/director Vadim Jean's imaginative adaptation of The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic -- the first two books in author Terry Pratchett's popular Discworld series of fantasy adventure novels. Naïve tourist Twoflower (Astin) is on holiday in Ankh-Morpork when a terrible fire breaks out, forcing him to flee from the city alongside an incompetent wizard named Rincewind (Jason). Now, as the clueless pair set out on a magical journey across the disc, neither realizes that they are merely pawns in an elaborate board game being played by the gods. After encountering a pair of barbarians on their way out of Morpork, Twoflower and Rincewind take a trip to an inverted mountain housing dragons that only exist in imagination, survive a fall off the edge of the disc during a perilous visit to the country Krull, and attempt to beat Rincewind's former classmate Trymon (Curry) to a collection of eight spells that could save Discworld from total destruction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Jason, Sean Astin, (more)
- 2007
- PG
- Add The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising to QueueAdd The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising to top of Queue
Producer Marc E. Platt brings author Susan Cooper's popular series of children's fantasy books to the big screen with this tale of a young boy (Alexander Ludwig) who discovers that he is the latest in a long line of immortal warriors. When the forces of darkness, led by the villainous Rider (Christopher Eccleston), threaten to overpower the forces of light, the young chosen one must venture out into the world to realize his destiny and ensure that evil is defeated. Ian McShane and Frances Conroy round out the cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, (more)
Co-adapted by Tom Butterworth and Jez Butterworth from Valerio Massimo Manfredi's best-selling historical adventure novel, Doug Lefler's period epic The Last Legion unfurls in 470 A.D., just prior to the fall of the colossal Roman Empire. As the most recent in a long line of caesars, a young Roman child, Romulus (Thomas Sangster), is poised to inherit the throne -- until Germanic forces invade, lay siege to the city, and brutally murder his parents. At the last second, with his life hanging by a thread, Romulus receives the protection of military commander Aurelius (Colin Firth), who assembles a cadre of rebels, including Romulus, the boy's magician instructor, Ambrosinus (Sir Ben Kingsley), and the Indian female warrior Mira (Aishwarya Rai). After Romulus discovers an enchanted sword once claimed by Julius Caesar, the troupe heads out to the province of Britannia and Hadrian's Wall. There, the men will regroup with the Ninth Legion and plan one final triumphant stand against the barbarian invaders of Rome. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, (more)
- 2006
A drug-addled elephant is on the run from people who either want to help him or kill him in this dark computer-animated comedy that is decidedly not for children. Jimmy is a performing elephant who travels with a third-rate Russian circus run by ringmaster Stromowski (voice of Jim Broadbent). Jimmy's minder is a sleazy American expatriate, Roy Arnie (voice of Woody Harrelson), who keeps the nervous beast pacified with regular doses of heroin. Roy has also hidden a large stash of the drug under Jimmy's skin, but Roy's decided he wants out of circus life and plans to sell the dope and go his own way. However, in order to do that he has to put Jimmy out of his misery, and he recruits three stoner buddies -- Odd (voice of Simon Pegg), Gaz (voice of Phil Daniels) and Flea (voice of Jim Simpson) -- to help whack the elephant. However, it seems Roy is also in debt to some gangsters (voices of Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and Steve Pemberton) who happen to know that he's hidden the drugs in the elephant, and they're aiming to grab Jimmy before Roy and his pals can. As it happens, they're both beaten to the punch by a group of dim-witted animal rights activists led by Marius (voice of Kyle MacLachlan), who liberate Jimmy and the other circus animals, not realizing they've just sent a junkie pachyderm into the wilds as it's going cold turkey, with only a friendly moose for help. Free Jimmy also features the voice talents of Samantha Morton, Emilla Fox and Lisa Maxwell. Though it was produced in Norway, two versions exist, one with a mostly English-cast (referenced above) and one with a mostly Norwegian cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan Saelid, Woody Harrelson, (more)
- 2006
The Lives of the Saints embodies the first cinematic collaboration between the acclaimed, London-based still photographer-turned-director Rankin, co-helmer Chris Cottam, and veteran scenarist Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). This parable, heavily laden with doses of magic realism and dark humor, unfurls on the gritty streets of North London, where kingpin Mr. Karva (James Cosmo) runs a series of rackets with the assistance of a lightning-paced courier known as Roadrunner (Daon Broni). In time, Karva is due for replacement, and either his stepson, Othello (David Leon), or his not-too-bright partner, Emilio (Bronson Webb), will usurp the throne. Meanwhile, Roadrunner happens upon a Wild Child-like character in the park (Sam MacLintock) who somehow wills him to stop moving for the first occasion in his life. This animal-like boy manages to actualize the wishes of everyone he encounters, but some object to his innate magical abilities, and eventually, tragedy materializes -- which unveils the potential casualties inherent in receiving everything we ask for. Gillian Kearney and Marc Warren co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Cosmo, David Leon, (more)
A successful mystery writer retreats to a remote fishing village following the tragic death of her son, only to become caught up in a bizarre supernatural murder mystery in this tale of terror directed by Craig Rosenberg and starring Demi Moore. Rachel Carson's (Moore) five-year-old son has drowned, and as a result her life appears to be falling apart at the seams. When a sympathetic friend rents Rachel a secluded cottage in hopes that a little peace and quiet will help the grieving mother recover from her loss, the quiet retreat is violently shattered by a series of bizarre and unexplained murders. Now with a community in fear and her sanity slowly slipping, Rachel must use her instincts to unmask the killer before it's too late and she too falls prey to the murderous rage that threatens to consume the once tranquil town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Hans Matheson, (more)
- 2005
- PG
- Add The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to QueueAdd The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to top of Queue
Four siblings -- Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley), and Susan (Anna Popplewell) -- are sent from their London home to the country estate of an eccentric professor in order to ensure their safety during World War II. The house is very dull, except for a large, ornate wardrobe discovered by young Lucy during a game of hide-and-seek. Venturing inside of it in the hopes of finding a hiding place, Lucy is transported to a snowy alternate universe: a magical world called Narnia. The land is populated by talking animals and ruled over by the benevolent lion god Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), but sadly, the world is also in a state of perpetual winter. The white witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton), lustful for power and governed by narcissism, has cursed Narnia with a tyrannical decree that it will always be winter but never Christmas. Now, the children must fight alongside Aslan for the salvation of Narnia, but one of them, seduced by the charisma of the white witch, may choose to fight on the wrong side. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, (more)
Homer's sprawling tale of love and war in ancient Greece comes to the screen in all its grandeur in this epic-scale adventure. In 1193 B.C., Paris, Prince of Troy (Orlando Bloom), has fallen in love; however, the beautiful woman who has beguiled him is Helen, Queen of Sparta (Diane Kruger), who is wed to King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson). While Helen is hardly immune to Paris' charms, this doesn't blunt Menelaus' fury when Paris steals her away from him. Menelaus' brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox), the power-hungry king of the Mycenaeans, is eager to expand his empire through Troy to the lands of the Aegean Sea, and he uses Paris' romantic slight against Menelaus as an excuse to wage an all-out war against the great walled city. Priam, King of Troy (Peter O'Toole), summons his armies, led by Prince Hector (Eric Bana), to meet the onslaught of Agamemnon's forces, but while the great city has yet to yield in a battle, Agamemnon has a formidable ally -- Achilles (Brad Pitt), a mighty and seemingly unstoppable warrior whose presence could tip the scales in Agamemnon's favor. Sean Bean, Julie Christie, Saffron Burrows, and Rose Byrne highlight the film's supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Two female drifters search for their next short-term jobs and for the reasons their lives have been filled with such wanderlust in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's modern-day romantic fable Skagerrak. Best friends Marie (Iben Hjejle) and Sophie (Bronagh Gallagher) land on the Scottish mainland after a stint working on an oil rig, eager to move on to their next adventure. Just as Sophie decides to head to Glasgow to track down her mechanic boyfriend, the pair are set back after a one-night stand leaves Sophie severely beaten and robbed. While tending to Sophie at the hospital, Marie encounters a strange older man (James Cosmo) who later invites her to his estate while proclaiming to have an irresistible proposition for her. The old man, Sir Robert Lumley, offers to pay several thousands of pounds to Marie if she will agree to become a surrogate mother for his childless son and daughter-in-law. Initially disgusted, Marie reluctantly consents but struggles with the decision throughout her pregnancy. When a worse tragedy strikes the wanderers, Marie is forced to confront a number of issues in her life as she also finds both an unexpected love interest and an unexpected ally from the Scottish estate she has grown to hate. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bronagh Gallagher, Martin Henderson, (more)
- 2002
- R
- Add Once Upon a Time in the Midlands to QueueAdd Once Upon a Time in the Midlands to top of Queue
Shane Meadows directed this film, which is the third and final chapter in his Nottingham Trilogy which also includes 1999's A Room for Romeo Brass and 1997's Twentyfourseven. Starring The Full Monty's Robert Carlyle, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a twist on the traditional Western film, transplanting the action to modern-day Nottingham, England. Jimmy (Carlyle) is a small-time criminal who comes back into town after seeing his old girlfriend turn down a marriage proposal on television. Rhys Ifan (Notting Hill) co-stars as Dek, the jilted proposer who looks to stop Jimmy from rekindling the relationship. Once Upon a Time in the Midlands screened as part of the Director's Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, (more)
A few good men are sent on a secret mission as a few good women in this comic tale of wartime espionage, loosely based upon a true story. Steven O'Rourke (Matt LeBlanc) is an American intelligence agent who, during World War II, has been assigned to obtain an Enigma machine, a special encoding-and-decoding device that Axis forces have developed to transmit their most sensitive secret information. A working Enigma machine would be invaluable to the Allied cause; O'Rourke is able to obtain a machine, but Col. Aiken (Edward Fox), a British officer whose stiff upper lip sometimes overwhelms his common sense, mistakes O'Rourke for a plunderer and destroys the previous gadget, which is hidden in a typewriter. An altercation with Aiken lands O'Rourke in military prison, but he's released in time to carry out a new plan to obtain an Enigma for Allied use. A small factory has been set up in rural Germany to build the machines, which is entirely staffed by women, so O'Rourke, communications expert Johnno (David Birkin), and veteran intelligence man Archie (James Cosmo) are to infiltrate the plant disguised as women, with Tony (Eddie Izzard), an agent who moonlights as a drag performer, giving the men a crash course in looking and acting like women. All the Queen's Men also features Nicolette Krebitz as Romy, a double agent working at the Enigma plant, and Udo Kier as Lansdorf, a Nazi general. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt LeBlanc, Eddie Izzard, (more)
David L. Cunningham follows up on his acclaimed Beyond Paradise with this Bridge Over the River Kwai-like POW drama. Following Japan's surprise invasion of Singapore during the waning days of 1941, a small British battalion headed by Lieutenant Colonel McLean (James Cosmo), Major Campbell (Robert Carlyle), Captain Gordon (Ciaran McMenamin), and Lieutenant Tom Ridgen (Kiefer Sutherland) are captured and imprisoned in a camp deep in the Burmese jungle. Soon after arriving, Major Campbell starts to an uprising. Worn down by an exhausting march through the woods, brutal daily beatings, and a lack of food, the troops are in no mood for a coup and the scheme collapses. Captain Gordon copes with the camp's extreme conditions in a polar opposite manner -- by forgiving his captors and seeking spiritual salvation. Soon a split occurs within the camp between those who follow Campbell's tireless efforts for physical freedom and those who follow Gordon's more transcendent pursues. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ciarán McMenamin, Robert Carlyle, (more)
- 2000
- Add The Last of the Blonde Bombshells to QueueAdd The Last of the Blonde Bombshells to top of Queue
A group of trailblazing female musicians try to take another shot at success in this musical comedy-drama produced for the premium cable network HBO. In the 1940s, the Blonde Bombshells were the finest all-female jazz band in the U.K., playing hot swing music that helped raise England's spirits during the dark days of WWII. Fifty years later, Elizabeth (Judi Dench), one of the band's sax players, is trying to decide what to do with herself after the death of her husband. Pulling her axe out of mothballs, Elizabeth starts playing again, and after meeting Patrick (Ian Holm), the group's former manager (and drummer-in-drag), they decide to put the group back together for a reunion tour. But they soon discover that putting the band back on the road after over fifty years is no easy task. The Last of the Blonde Bombshells also stars Leslie Caron, Olympia Dukakis, and jazz vocalist Cleo Laine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Ian Holm, (more)
- 2000
- R
Composer, songwriter, and half of the pop band Eurythmics, Dave Stewart makes his directorial debut with this wacky caper comedy set in the heart of 1960s-era swinging London. Starring three members from British girl band All Saints, the film focuses on a trio of sisters -- cocky Gerry (Nicole Appleton), horny Mandy (Natalie Appleton), and amiable kid sister Jo (Melanie Blatt) -- who tape down their breasts, don facial hair, and crack safes in order to help their depressed widowed dad. Local crime lord Duggie Ord (Corin Redgrave) believes that Gerry knows who the thieving lads are, but he has no idea that the real culprits are right in front of his face. While casing a gem dealer on Carnaby Street, Gerry gets herself hired in alternative magazine Zero, which is housed in the same building. There she meets the decadent publisher, Andrew (Jonathan Cake), an upper-class fop, and American Rhode scholar turned draft-dodger Daniel (Peter Facinelli), who takes an immediate liking to Gerry. While Daniel works late, the larcenous trio break into the building and steal a fortune in jewels. On the way out, Daniel runs into Gerry in male garb and the two duke it out until mid-tussle he realizes that his opponent is actually the same young lass he has fallen for. This film was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
This ten-hour mini-series extravaganza originally aired on February 26, 2000 on NBC, and concerns the fate of a janitor, Tony (John Larroquette), and his lovely daughter Virginia (Kimberly Williams), who mysteriously find themselves in a land where fairies, trolls, and elves live. Their attempts to return home are thwarted by an evil witch (Diane Wiest). Appearing in supporting roles are Rutger Hauer, Warwick Davis, and Camryn Manheim as Snow White. The 10th Kingdom was rebroadcast on August, 2000, with a substantially trimmed running time of eight hours, which was shortened even further to six hours for the video release, after all commercials had been removed. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, (more)
The epic saga of the Queen of Egypt gets yet another retelling in Cleopatra, a four-hour, two-part spectacular produced for television. Leonor Varela plays Cleopatra, the Egyptian monarch who uses her wisdom, charm, ruthlessness, and seductive powers to work her way into the heart (and bed) of Roman leader Julius Caesar (Timothy Dalton). But Cleopatra shifts her romantic alliances to Marc Anthony (Billy Zane) just in time for Caesar's death and Anthony's rise to the throne. When Rome goes to war, however, Cleopatra realizes that she can only remain in power for so long, eventually making a late date with an asp when things get especially grim. This is at least the 12th film based on Cleopatra's life (the best-known being the infamously expensive 1962 version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Produced by Hallmark for NBC television, this version first aired as a two-part miniseries in May 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton, (more)
Vadim Jean directs this strikingly photographed tale about Sarah (Valerie Edmond), a 30-year woman coming to terms with both her life and her terminal cancer. The film opens with her contemplating suicide on top of a New York skyscraper. Cut to northern England, where she returns to her widower father Frank (James Cosmo) and her now married ex-boyfriend Sam (Gerry Butler), whom she previously dumped to pursue a career in the States. Frank has settled into a melancholy housebound rut and is disconcerted by her sudden appearance. Sam still has some feelings for his ex, but his wife Charlotte is none too pleased with her presence. Told with humor and brevity, the film offers well-drawn characters who interact until the inevitable yet dignified end. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerry Butler, James Cosmo, (more)
- 1998
- PG13
The first film by Mick Davis), The Match is a contemporary romantic comedy set in the idyllic village of Inverdoune nestling in the Scottish Highlands. Wullie Smith is the shy milkman who carries the physical and emotional scars of a childhood tragedy and who is in love with Rosemary, the beautiful daughter of Bill Bailey, a local farmer with a curious affection for cows. Rosemary has returned briefly to Inverdoune after five years away at a university and intends to leave again to pursue her career in the big city. Wullie's impossible dreams are fueled by his friend Buffalo, a semi-alcoholic American who was left behind when his USAF unit moved on. The village has only one street, but two pubs: Benny's Bar, owned by Big Tam, meeting place of the eccentric clientele, and L'Bistro, a place of sterile modernity owned by narcissistic Gorgeous Gus. The soccer teams of each bar have been carrying on a feud for 99 years and Benny's Bar has been losing all the games. But it is the result of the centenary game that determines the future of Benny's Bar. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Beesley, Isla Blair, (more)
The 1995 Academy award-winning film Babe was Australian-made and featured the latest in talking animal anima-tronics. It told the heart-warming story of a sheepherding pig named Babe and his rise to community fame. The film was a tremendous hit, both financially and critically. Babe: Pig in the City is the higher budgeted American-made sequel that picks up where the original left off. It was directed by George Miller (Mad Max trilogy) who produced the original Babe film, and received a lot of criticism for being much darker than the original. The story owes more to George Orwell's Animal Farm or Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist than the original film. Having triumphed at the National Sheepdog trials, Babe returns home a hero. But after farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell) suffers from a farming accident, Mrs. Hoggett, a naive portly woman, is left to work the ranch alone. It's not long before the bank comes knocking. Desperate to save her farm from foreclosure, she accepts an offer for Babe to perform his sheepherding abilities at an overseas state fair. Babe, Mrs. Hoggett, Ferdinand the duck, and the singing mice travel across the ocean to a surreal metropolis, where they suddenly become stranded and separated. Soon Babe is performing with circus apes, being chased by wild strays (sounding a lot like Marlon Brando in The Godfather), and making a new wheelchair-bound canine friend (voiced by Adam Goldberg). He also is anointed leader of the animal community. What Babe lacks in street smarts he makes up for in honest goodness as he teaches audiences yet again that "an unprejudiced heart can mend a broken world." ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Magda Szubanski, James Cromwell, (more)
Genevieve Jolliffe directed this British supernatural drama set in Glasgow. A joyride car crash almost leads to the death of 12-year-old Lizzie (Heather Ann Foster) who lives with her mother Kate (Stephanie Buttle) and with her brother and younger sister in a seedy apartment building. When Lizzie returns home, she begins experiencing strange and unexplained phenomena in the apartment With police and a social worker (Siri O'Neal) ill-equipped to deal with poltergeist activity, Kate turns for help to journalist John Fox (Jason Connery) who sees it as a hoax and types it as a tabloid tale. However, after university parapsychologists arrive on the scene, scientific tests indicate that mother and daughter deserve serious scrutiny. Filmed with a blow-up from Super-16 and shot at southeast England locations with interiors at Ealing Film Studios. Shown at the Edinburgh Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Connery, Stephanie Buttle, (more)
A century after the Normans conquer England, evil Prince John (Ralph Brown) seizes control of the realm in the absence of the rightful ruler, his brother Richard the Lion-Hearted (Rory Edwards), who has been crusading in the Holy Land. John means to replace Richard as king. John, a Norman, governs with cruelty and force of arms, and the Saxon natives despise him. Siding with John are fearsome warrior priests known as Templars. All seems lost for the Saxons. Then the Saxon hero Ivanhoe returns from the Crusades in disguise. Not far behind is Richard. Meanwhile, Ivanhoe's father, Cedric (James Cosmo), a Saxon lord who has disowned his son in the mistaken belief that he has betrayed Richard, betroths his beautiful ward, Rowena (Victoria Smurfit), Ivanhoe's beloved, to Saxon lord Athelstane (Chris Walker). If right is to prevail, the Saxons must unseat John, and Ivanhoe must restore his good name and win Rowena. John decides to sponsor a tournament between his Templar champions and Saxon knights. On the first day of the tournament, the disguised Ivanhoe heartens the Saxons by defeating the best of the Templars in a jousting match. On the second day, during sword-to-sword combat, he turns apparent defeat into victory with the help of a mysterious Black Knight (Rory Edwards). Ivanhoe suffers a wound, however, and Rebecca (Susan Lynch), a Jew, nurses him back to health. Ivanhoe had saved the life of her father, Isaac. The Templars capture Ivanhoe and other Saxons, as well as Rebecca and her father, and hold them in a castle. Then, Saxon men-at-arms led by Robin Hood (Aden Gillett) and the Black Knight storm the castle and free the prisoners. However, a Templar knight rides off with Rebecca, and his superior condemns her as a witch and sentences her to be burned at the stake. The film builds to its climax as Ivanhoe rides to save Rebecca, and viewers wonder about the ultimate fate of John, the identity of the Black Knight, and the future course of English history. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Waddington, Victoria Smurfit, (more)
Robson Green and Jerome Flynn headline this musical comedy drama set during the 1940 Blitz of London, and following the exploits of unlikely friends Eddie Wallis (Flynn) and Eric Trapp (Green). Principled RAF pilot Eddie Wallis has been discharged from the military on medical grounds following a spectacular crash-landing on a Blenheim bomber. He prided himself on his prowess in the sky, and the fact that he'll never fly for the RAF again is devastating. Wallis' luck takes a turn for the better, however, when he boards a train bound for London and meets the beautiful Dolly Nightingale (Julia Sawalha). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robson Green, Jerome Flynn, (more)
