Celia Imrie Movies
- 1996
Previously adapted for German television as Operation Schmetterling, the four-part British miniseries The Writing on the Wall starred Bill Paterson in the central role of Bull. A government agent working on behalf of NATO, Bull found himself up to his neck in conspiracies and double-crosses as he tried to solve a political kidnapping. American actor Dennis Haysbert, best known for his recurring appearances as the imperiled presidential candidate in the Fox Network series 24, was seen as Sullivan. The Writing on the Wall made its first British TV appearance in 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paterson, Celia Imrie, (more)
- 1995
At a posh public-relations awards show, Edina (Jennifer Saunders) guzzles champagne with Patsy (Joanna Lumley), bosses Bubble (Jane Horrocks) around, chats up supermodel Naomi Campbell, and prepares to take home a prize. She's beaten to the punch, however, by Claudia (Celia Imrie), her pretentious, politically correct professional arch nemesis. Commiserating later at home with Saffy (Julia Sawalha), Mother (June Whitfield), and Pats, Eddy reveals that she had rigged the awards in her own favor, thus rendering her defeat even more ignominious. Terrified that she'll lose her tenuous hold on her career, Edina creeps into Claudia's celebrity liposuction-a-thon in hopes of bagging Campbell for one of her own celebrity events. Later, at an industry luncheon, she loses her prepared remarks but gives a drunken speech anyway, slagging off the PR industry's parasitical piggy-backing on noble causes such as environmentalism. Eddy's rallying cry against doom-and-gloom marketing -- "Cheer up, because it might not bloody happen!" -- becomes a sensation, and soon she's bagging new clients right and left. Meanwhile, Saffy gets hot and heavy -- for her, anyway -- with Gerard (Simon Stokes), her college psychology lecturer. Originally broadcast on BBC 1 on April 27, 1995, Absolutely Fabulous: Jealous marked series three, episode four of this popular Brit-com. Campbell guest-stars as herself in a send-up of the inane schemes to which hangers-on constantly subject the supermodel elite. Although she doesn't appear on camera, real-life singer Lulu, who is supposedly Edina's biggest client, can be heard announcing one of the PR awards. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- R
When his professional career hits a lull, an actor attempts to revitalize his career by staging a production of Hamlet, directed by and starring himself. Director and star Kenneth Branagh would in fact release his own film version of Shakespeare's classic play a year later, but this comedy provides his fictional counterpart with far less in terms of production value. Lacking money and time, he recruits a rather motley group of drunks, incompetents, and oddballs, including a middle-aged female impersonator in the crucial role of Queen Gertrude. Given only three weeks of rehearsal, and an abandoned church in a remote town in the English countryside, this unlikely group nevertheless struggles valiantly to make theatrical magic. The film attempts to pay loving tribute to the madness that surrounds the staging of a play, with all of the backstage dramas, inevitable disasters, and unexpected triumphs, but the end result is often less amusing than it ought to be. The film was released in the United States under the title A Midwinter's Tale. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, (more)
- 1994
Based on author Ruth Rendell's novel of the same name, A Dark Adapted Eye follows the jealous and arguably insane path of the domineering Vera Hillyard (Celia Imrie), whose obsessive need to control her sons (the older is prone to demonstrating decidedly aggressive behavior, the younger may or may not be legitimate) and daughter plays a prominent role in her own undoing. Meanwhile, her manipulative sister, Eden (Sophie Ward), ultimately provokes Vera into what the community believes to be the deliberate murder of a child. Directed by Tim Fywell, the film also features Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Durr, Guy Witcher, and Robin Ellis. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Celia Imrie, (more)
- 1994
- PG
Unlike the barren and forbidding moors elsewhere in England, Return of the Native's Egdon Heath attires itself in vibrant wildflowers, mossy hillsides, winding streams, arching footbridges, and undulant meadows. An enchantress would be at home in this place, but not Eustacia Vye, portrayed by Zeta-Jones. Though coveted by every man in Egdon Heath -- and every boy old enough to stare -- the beautiful Eustacia longs for the smoking chimneys and broad stone buildings of Paris. When a native of Egdon Heath, Clym Yeobright Ray Stevenson, returns from his job in Paris as a jeweler, Vye stuns him with her beauty and marries him in hopes of persuading him to take her to Paris. But, alas, Clym is a clod at heart. He vows to remain in Egdon Heath to teach and edify. After his eyesight deteriorates, Eustacia turns her attentions to rakish Damon Wildeve Clive Owen, and the plot begins to churn and curdle. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Zeta-Jones, Clive Owen, (more)
Director Kenneth Branagh's interpretation of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel stars Robert DeNiro as a terrifying monster created in an obsessive attempt to defeat death and stretch the limits of medicine in the early 19th century. With the use of flashback, a dying Dr. Viktor Frankenstein (Kenneth Branagh) divulges a tale of gruesome terror to a sea captain (Aidan Quinn): As a medical student, the rebellious Frankenstein elaborates on the work of a brilliant scientist (John Cleese), successfully bringing to life a "man" assembled from the body parts of corpses. Upon realizing the destructive consequences of his experiment, Dr. Frankenstein abandons the creature and attempts to return to a normal life with his medical partner, Henry (Tom Hulce), and his fiancée (and adopted sister), Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter). In the meantime, the nameless creature struggles with loneliness and rejection from society until he sets out to track down his creator in search of one of two things: a bride to keep him company or revenge. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) was produced by Francis Ford Coppola, who previously directed and produced monster-drama Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). ~ Lisa Kropiewnicki, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, (more)
- 1992
In this film, Barbara, a middle-aged woman living in Edinburgh in the present, is overwhelmed by memories of Greta, her long-dead mother from the 1930s to the 1950s. Flashbacks show the girl with her poetess mother in Edinburgh and the Orkney Isles. Her mother was fascinated by the sea which would later claim her life. In the present, one of her long-time friends is a well-known artist, and Barbara begins to rekindle strong ties with him when they meet at a gallery showing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Shepherd, Celia Imrie, (more)
- 1991
In this futuristic sci-fi political drama, the minerals of the moon are being exploited by both Russian and American mining companies. When a terrorist threatens an American mining company, a KGB agent teams up with a NASA investigator to stop them. The two agents are attracted to each other and this nearly derails their assignment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Having previously headlined a series of short TV skits and monologues, British comedienne-composer Victoria Wood graduated to the anthology format in this six-episode offering. Individual episode titles included "Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah," "The Library," "Over to Pam," "We'd Quite Like to Apologize," "Val De Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha)," and "Staying In." All playlets were written by the star, as was the piano music heard between scenes. Appearing in support of Wood was an impressive coterie of British guest stars and comedy "regulars," including her old professional cronies Julie Walters, Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, and Susie Blake. Victoria Wood originally aired from November 16 to December 21, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Wood, Celia Imrie, (more)
With the ultimate throw-down, "There can be only one," Highlander captured the imaginations of fantasy fans seeking a well-executed swordplay epic, becoming a cult classic in the process. Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) is one of a waning few survivors of a clan of immortals. The breed have been dueling each other for centuries in the quest to be the last one remaining, and hence achieve a supreme enlightenment that would be dangerous in the wrong hands. The immortals can only die by decapitation, so they hunt each other through time and across continents to meet for each decisive duel, which will bring one of them a step closer to ultimate power. In present-day America, the troubled hero MacLeod lives a brooding and lonely existence, having lost his true love centuries ago. The evil Kurgan (Clancy Brown), an immortal who plans to use his power toward unspeakable ends, has fought MacLeod before but is still trying to finish him off. After emerging victorious from a parking garage skirmish with the third-to-last immortal, MacLeod knows that only Kurgan is left, and the two are on a collision path toward the inevitable. In the film's numerous flashbacks to the past, Sean Connery plays Ramirez, the immortal who first tutors MacLeod after the hero survives a mortal battle wound, prompting his fearful village to banish him. Roxanne Hart plays MacLeod's modern-day love interest, who tries to help him while struggling to believe his incredible story. The director's cut runs four minutes shorter. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Roxanne Hart, (more)
- 1985
This weekly British sketch-comedy series represented the first major TV vehicle for that irrepressible comedienne, monologist, playwright, and singer-pianist Victoria Wood. Regular features included Shakespearean versions of popular British television programs, and the ongoing soap opera lampoon "Acorn Antiques." Also in the cast were several of Wood's favorite supporting players, including Julie Walters, Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, and Susie Blake. Debuting January 11, 1985, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV yielded 12 35-minute episodes and one 60-minute special before its final broadcast on December 18, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Duncan Preston
- 1983
Faye Dunaway stars in Michael Winner's labored re-make of the 1945 swashbuckler, which was co-scripted by Leslie Arliss, the original director of the 1945 film. Dunaway is Lady Barbara Skelton, a lady of the royal class, who becomes a highway robber, taking up with Captain Jerry Jackson (Alan Bates), a highwayman and her lover. Because of a notorious whiping scene in which Lady Barbara and Jackson's girlfriend (Marina Sirtis) take horsewhips to one another, tearing their clothing to strategically-placed ribbons, the film was held back from release because Winner refused to cut the salacious footage. After corralling author Kingsley Amis, and directors John Schlesinger, Karel Reisz, and Lindsay Anderson to attest to the redeeming social value of the scene, the scene stayed in the film. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Alan Bates, (more)
In this British exploitation film, an elderly husband and wife begin torturing young women whose behavior offends their puritan sensibilities. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- Add Upstairs, Downstairs: Series 04 to QueueAdd Upstairs, Downstairs: Series 04 to top of Queue
The fourth season of the British drama series Upstairs, Downstairs takes place during the war years of 1914 through 1918, a time of great anxiety and upheaval for England in general and the Bellamy household at 165 Eaton Place in particular. The season begins as Hazel Bellamy (Meg Wynn Owen), wife of James Bellamy (Simon Williams), agrees to take in a family of Belgian refugees. Not so politely inclined towards foreigners is the surprisingly emotional head butler Hudson (Gordon Jackson), whose anti-German hysteria all but tears the Bellamy's servant staff apart in the episode "The Beastly Hun" (for which actor Jackson won an Emmy). Maid Daisy (Jacqueline Tong) weds footman Edward (Christopher Beeny) just before he marches off to war; he will return a shellshocked shadow of his former self. Georgina (Leslie Anne-Down), the ward of James Bellamy's father Richard (David Langton), takes nursing training, while scullery maid Ruby (Jenny Tomasin), heretofore dismissed as a dimwit, demonstrates her patriotism and resilience by going to work at a munitions factory. Also, head maid Rose (Jean Marsh) is unexpectedly reunited with her erstwhile Australian sweetheart Gregory (Keith Barron), who is ultimately killed in battle. While James is serving his country in France, Hazel begins a platonic friendship with young airman Jack Dyson (Andrew Ray), and later agonizes when James is reported missing in action. The war comes home in spectacular fashion when 165 Eaton is damaged by a German bomb. And in the episode "Another Year", Hannah Gordon is introduced in the role of Virginia Hamilton, the widow of a Naval officer. The season finale is a riveting combination of happiness and heartbreak: Though seriously injured in the war, James manages to return to the arms of his wife Hazel--who, unfortunately, has become one of the victims of the deadly international influenza epidemic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gordon Jackson, Jean Marsh, (more)
