Ian Harrop Movies
- 1998
This episode flashes back to the days of the younger Hercules, Iolaus, and Jason, played respectively by Ian Bohen, Dean O'Gorman and Chris Conrad. The three youthful Argonauts embark upon a mission to fight the Ghidra, the fearsome two-headed "pet" of Hera. Friction develops amongst the trio when the beauteous Medea (Jacinda Barrett) comes along for the ride; Jason is smitten by Medea, but her heart belongs to Hercules. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1996
A treasure chest containing the most powerful weapon in the world has been stolen. The weapon is set to be auctioned off at a remote island fortress, prompting Xena (Lucy Lawless) to join forces with Autolycus (Bruce Campbell), the self-styled King of Thieves, to retrieve the weapon before any damage can be done. There's only two problems: The auctioneer has been mysteriously murdered -- and good old Autolycus can't be trusted as far as he can be thrown. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Lawless, Renee O'Connor, (more)
- 1995
Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) crosses over from This World to the Other Side, there to rescue Persephone (Andrea Croton), daughter of the goddess Demeter (Sarah Wilson), from her abductor Hades (Erik Thompson). Upon his arrival in the land of the dead (where he is briefly united with his long-gone wife and children), Hercules discovers that Persephone is in love with Hades and has no intention of leaving. This does not rest well with Demeter, who threatens to rend the upperworld asunder with foul weather unless her daughter is immediately returned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1995
Now fighting side by side as allies rather than enemies, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Xena (Lucy Lawless) do battle against mutual enemy Darphus (Matthew Chamberlain), who has risen from the dead to wreak more havoc. As usual, this resurrection is the handiwork of war god Ares, who is using Darphus to harvest meat for Ares' vicious man-eating dog, Graegus. Hercules' friend, Iolaus (Michael Hurst), wants to join the fight against the villain, but he has no good reason to trust Xena. Things come to a head when Darphus kidnaps Salmoneus (Robert Trebor) to lure Hercules into a trap. This final episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' first season neatly sets the stage for episode one of the spinoff series Xena: Warrior Princess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, (more)
- 1989
Based on a novel by David Morrell, the made-for-TV Brotherhood of the Rose is unabashedly old-fashioned escapist espionage fare. Peter Strauss and David Morse play polar-opposite CIA agents, code names Romulus and Remus. Their superior-and father figure-is crusty CIA official Robert Mitchum. Though Romulus and Remus are devoted to Mitchum, he is only concerned with the greater good of the service-a philosophy that has become despotic over the years. Now Mitchum has determined that Romulus is expendable. Escaping from CIA assassins, Romulus and Remus stumble into a vast rule-the-world conspiracy called The Brotherhood of the Rose. Filmed in New Zealand, this was originally a long miniseries broadcast in two parts, on January 22 and 23, 1989 - and then edited down to feature length. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This psychodrama is set in New Zealand during the 1880s and is based on the true story of an orphaned 18-year-old who marries a cruel, much-older man. He constantly abuses her and keeps her under his thumb until she snaps and using hypnotism, kills him. Later she is tried in court. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, John Lithgow, (more)
- 1985
- R
In this tale of sleazy romance that turns deadly, novice Kiwi director Denis Lewiston has created an unevenly paced story with several gripping (and groping) scenes. Christine (Simone Griffeth) is an American married to a rich but crass businessman, and unknown to them both, Greg Sandford (Steve Marchuk) is planning to break into their opulent digs and rob them blind. Right in the middle of carrying out his preparations, he arranges for an "accidental" meeting between himself and Christine -- and the sparks of sexual attraction ignite a blaze that not only lands them in bed, but burns up whatever morals Christine may have left. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simone Griffeth
- 1985
- PG
New Zealand educator Sylvia Ashton-Warner (played by Eleanor David) is the subject of this informative and slightly uneven biography, based on the events in Ashton-Warner's adult life. During the 1930s Ashton-Warner moves to a remote village with her husband who has been appointed to be the headmaster in the school there. She tries to teach the Maori children but is having absolutely no luck at all -- that is especially discouraging considering that she is also fighting off culture shock and the effects of a recent emotional breakdown. Driven to find some solace in music, painting, and sculpting, she one day realizes she can use these types of creative activities as teaching tools -- and begins to develop an innovative way to reach her students. She is surprisingly successful, a fact which does not interest the all-male administrators at the school who insist she teach using traditional methods. The stand-off is severe enough that the men burn the manuscript for a new primer Ashton-Warner wrote, insisting later that this was an accident. No one seems to have come out a winner in Sylvia Ashton-Warner's battle with the provincial educators, least of all the students. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eleanor David, Nigel Terry, (more)
