Richard Clifford Movies

A pre-Ugly Betty America Ferrera appears in this episode as Charlee, a 17-year-old girl suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In danger of flunking out of high school because of her neurotic inability to finish an important assignment, Charlee can expect no help from her father Rolando (John Turturro), who is illiterate--and perversely proud of the fact. Posing as substitute special-ed teacher, Monica (Roma Downey) quickly figures out that Charlee is not her only assignment...but not before Rolando's inability to read or write nearly causes him to lose custody of his daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Joel Grey returns as eager, willing but woefully inexperienced angel Ronald, who aspires to bring hope into the life of teenager Alex Wilson (Robert Ri'chard), currently incarcerated for fatally shooting former jazz musician Henry Baldwin (Bill Cobbs) during a botched robbery. Making the youth's plight all the more painful is the fact that Henry had been his mentor and role model, and now Alex feels betrayed--not only by Henry, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but by the whole world. Visiting the juvenile detention center where Alex is being temporarily held, Ronald and Monica (Roma Downey) try to help the youngster via the roundabout method of organizing a singing group comprised of Alex's fellow inmates--played by the members of the real-life singing aggregation Plus One (Nate Cole, Gabe Combs, Jeremy Mhire, Jason Perry and Nathan Walters. Songs: "When Your Spirit Gets Weak" and "The Promise". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The long-missing Blake (Gareth Thomas) apparently resurfaces out of nowhere, issuing a coded message from afar to his former comrade-in-arms, Avon (Paul Darrow). Deciphering the code, Avon pilots the Liberator to Terminal, a synthetic planet. Unfortunately, the crew has been lured into a trap by their old enemy, Servalan (Jacqueline Pearce) -- and even worse, the Liberator is destroyed. This final episode of Blakes 7's third season adheres to tradition by concluding with a nail-biting cliffhanger. "Terminal" was originally broadcast on March 31, 1980. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Carrington is the true story of the peculiar love affair between two nonconformists in Victorian England: painter Dora Carrington (Emma Thompson) and author Lytton Strachey (Jonathan Pryce). Dora is a young English artist who is part of the Bloomsbury Group, an assemblage of British writers, painters, and eccentrics that includes the likes of Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster, when she meets Strachey. A confirmed homosexual before meeting Carrington, Strachey inquires who the "ravishing boy" is and discovers that it's a woman. Shocked to discover this, he finds himself captivated by her, and they begin an unusual 17-year love affair/friendship. Strachey (most famous for the groundbreaking book Eminent Victorians) and Dora eventually move in together and have a series of offbeat sexual experiences with other members of the group and sometimes even with the same man; at one juncture, Dora even marries another man. Yet their relationship endures until Strachey's death years later. Pryce was honored as Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Actor Kenneth Branagh made his directorial debut with a rousing screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V. Four years later, he returns to the bard's work with this lively version of one of Shakespeare's best comedies. Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), the Prince of Aragon, returns victorious from battle to the praises of the Governor of Messina, Leonato (Richard Briers). One of Don Pedro's bravest men, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), falls in love with Hero (Kate Beckinsale), Leonato's daughter, and they plan to marry. However, Don Pedro's devious half-brother Don John (Keanu Reeves) opposes the match, and he devises a plan to turn Hero against Claudio. Meanwhile, Benedict (Branagh), Don Pedro's second-in-command, detests Leonato's niece Beatrice (Emma Thompson), but Don Pedro cleverly brings them together by making each think that the other is secretly in love with them. Much Ado About Nothing also features Michael Keaton in a showy turn as Dogberry. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Kenneth Branagh tackles the works of William Shakespeare for the fifth time in his career as a filmmaker with this adaptation of one of The Bard's most accessible works. Rosalind is the daughter of a banished duke, and lives among a community of Westerners living in 19th century Japan. When her father, the duke, is suddenly banished, the frightened girl is forced to flee for the Forest of Arden lest she risk being executed by her malevolent uncle. Joining Rosalind on her flight to the forest is her sympathetic cousin Celia, who helps to pass her incognito kin off as a man in order to avoid detection. Later, Rosalind's clever ruse begins to serve a dual purpose when she determines to use the disguise to gauge the devotion of Orlando, yet another exile, while making her way to the Forest of Arden. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Actor/director Kenneth Branagh sets his screen version of Shakespeare's play in the 1930s, adding such classic songs as "They Can't Take That Away From Me," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "Let's Face the Music and Dance," and staging it in the manner of a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical. The King of Navarre (Allesandro Nivola) and three of his noblemen (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, and Adrien Lester) have decided that they're wasting their time chasing women. They swear a solemn oath to spend the next three years avoiding the pitfalls of romance and improving their minds. No sooner have they made this agreement than they meet a French princess (Alicia Silverstone) and her three handmaidens (Natascha McElhone, Carmen Ejogo, and Emily Mortimer). The pledge is forgotten and the chase is on. Love's Labour's Lost also features Nathan Lane, Timothy Spall, and Paul Whitehouse. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide