Robbie Coltrane Movies
Stocky Scottish comic actor Robbie Coltrane was trained as an artist in Glasgow. During the 1970s, he rose to prominence as an improvisational nightclub comedian, usually working in ensemble groups (one of his partners was actress Emma Thompson). During the '80s, he was in a number of British features and made-for-TV movies. A regular at London's Comic Strip comedy club, he had a habit of appearing as himself in comedy specials like Secret Policeman's Third Ball. He also showed up in small comedic cameos in National Lampoon's European Vacation and Kenneth Branagh's Henry V. Though he was popular in the U.K. on TV shows like Alfresco, Tutti Fruitti, Black Adder, and The Young Ones, he wasn't widely known in the U.S. until his antic performance in Nuns on the Run with Eric Idle. He then starred as the title character in the satiric comedy The Pope Must Die (released in the U.S. as The Pope Must Diet). In 1993, he starred in the British TV detective series Cracker as Fitz, a nervous forensic psychologist who helps crack cases. He won a BAFTA TV award for the role, and he won a Cable ACE award when it was rebroadcast in the U.S. on A&E. When the show ended, he briefly joined up with the James Bond film series as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky in GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough. In the late '90s, he starred in a few independent films (Montana, Frogs for Snakes) and played Sgt. Peter Goldy in the Hughes brothers' thriller From Hell. However, he's been most successful in the area of family entertainment. He was delightful as the con man in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Elijah Wood; he was Tweedledum to George Wendt's Tweedledee in Alice in Wonderland; and he found a fine place for himself as Hagrid the Giant in the Harry Potter film series. In 2002, he earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the British Academy for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In 2003, he returned to British TV to play lawyer Jack Lennox in The Planman. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Heroic earthling Flash Gordon saves the world from the nefarious Ming the Merciless in this lavish, intentionally campy adaptation of the famous sci-fi comic strip. The story is as basic as space operas get: Ming (Max von Sydow) has developed a plan to destroy the Earth, and Flash (Sam J. Jones) and his attractive companion, Dale Arden (Melody Anderson), are called upon to stop him. Along the way, Flash must battle Ming's goons and the temptations of a luscious space princess. Previously the basis for a more straight-faced 1930s adventure serial, Flash's story is mined here for exaggerated, cartoon humor by screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr., a central figure in the similarly campy '60s Batman television series. The simplistic plot mainly serves as an excuse for spectacular sets and cartoonish action sequences, all set to an appropriately over-the-top rock score by Queen. Certainly not a film to turn to for serious excitement, fine performances, or character development, Flash Gordon has nevertheless developed an appreciative cult of fans who admire the film's humorous approach and the detailed, colorful production design. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Jones, Melody Anderson, (more)
- 1980
- R
Director Bertrand Tavernier provides an unexpected feminist slant to the otherwise standard sci-fi trappings of Death Watch. Harvey Keitel plays a man of the future who has had a camera implanted in his brain. The mechanism, which is endowed with special X-ray properties, is activated by the user's eyes. Keitel is assigned by ruthless TV producer Harry Dean Stanton to secretly probe the subconscious of a dying woman, played by Romy Schneider. Stanton is only interested in the grim spectacle of what goes on inside the brain of someone who knows she's doomed. Keitel, on the other hand, becomes increasingly compassionate--and disgusted by the tawdriness of his assignment--as he stares into Schneider's tortured psyche. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Romy Schneider, Harvey Keitel, (more)
- 1981
This detective drama was shot on location in New York City and chronicles the bloody wake of terror left by a murderous street saxophone player who hides out on the subway. The bizarre string of murders is investigated by a hard-bitten detective. Along the way he meets assorted New Wave scumbags. The mood of the film is heightened by an avant garde musical score. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, John Lurie, (more)
- 1982
- R
A grim British reform school for girls provides the backdrop for this gritty drama that focuses on two young inmates. One is hoping to find security in the prison while the other is desperate to be reunited with her baby. While in the prison, they must cope with many different women, but in the end learn to survive and how to fight the system. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda York, Chrissie Cotterill, (more)
Meant to be a whimsical sword-and-sorcery film about a prince out to save his princess from the jaws of the Beast, Krull has enough scenes borrowed from blockbuster predecessors (Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Robin Hood, Star Wars) and is gentle enough to be rather derivative, ordinary fare. Prince Colwyn (Ken Marshall) has inherited a kingdom under siege by the evil Beast, and not only has to rid the land of the monster, but he has to rescue his bride Lyssa (Lysette Anthony) from the Beast's clutches as well. In his magical land, horses can sometimes fly, medieval castles can harbor weapons that light up, and before he can defeat the Beast, the prince has to get his hands on the glaive (French for "double-edged sword"), a razor-sharp, magical weapon capable of killing the monster. One of the more notable aspects of Krull is that a 30-year old Liam Neeson plays the bit part of Kegan, in only his third full-length feature film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, (more)
- 1983
Two strangers with almost no common ground are stuck travelling across Europe together in this British comedy. Sally (Lindsay Duncan) is an ardent feminist from London who, with the help of two of her closest friends, builds her own car. Sally and her comrades are to attend a conference on women's rights in Germany, and they intend to drive the new vehicle there as a symbolic gesture. However, when the time for the symposium rolls around, her friends are unable to attend, and Sally doesn't care to drive that far on her own. Searching for a travelling companion, at the last minute she settles on Harry (Stephen Rea), whom she's told is a leftist gay man. However, Harry is not the person Sally thought he was; he turns out to be a bullheaded and thoroughly heterosexual football supporter who regards the women's movement as little more than a joke. Will these two make it all the way to Germany without killing each other? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Lindsay Duncan, (more)
- 1983
This talky avant-garde film about a pair of women looking for answers to unformulated questions is a journey through dense, non-stop verbosity partially balanced by good photography and music, a leavening sense of humor, good characterizations by Robbie Coltrane and Dominique Pinon, and a cameo appearance by French philosopher Jacques Derrida (the deconstructionist). Leonie (Leonie Mellinger) and Pascale (Pascale Ogier) travel aimlessly between London and Paris, searching for the origins of ghosts that populate their psyches: from Karl Marx to Franz Kafka, from psychoanalysis to dream analysis, and even the cinema itself, no apparition is left unturned. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Ogier, Robbie Coltrane, (more)
- 1984
Per its title, Chinese Boxes plays the riddle-wrapped-in-a-mystery-wrapped-in-an-enigma angle to the hilt. Will Patton plays an innocent American who finds himself in the middle of international intrigue. With West Berlin as backdrop, the story takes so many twists and turns that one may well need a book of directions by fadeout time. Robbie Coltraine and Gottfried John are among the supporting actors who are not what they seem and never say what they mean. Chinese Boxes was a fairly smooth German/British collaboration, with little indication of any on-set communication breakdowns (surely somebody understood what was going on). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Patton, Gottfried John, (more)
- 1985
- R
In this romantic comedy that wobbles along on a shaky plot -- the first full-length feature of a Brit TV show -- Dennis (Adrian Edmondson) is on vacation with his mother when he invents a tall tale of his involvement with a drug cartel in order to impress a woman he likes. Sure enough, his story accidentally tallies with what the police already know, and before he can cry "wolf," Dennis is sent off to the coast with two undercover cops. One cop is a woman (Jennifer Saunders) and the other her former boyfriend (Harvey Duncan) -- but the woman has to pretend to be Dennis' lover. Then along comes a string of several unique policemen and a few real drug smugglers, one in drag, adding their eccentricity to the growing group of comic characters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, (more)
This fast-paced thriller examines the amorality of a nation's secret services and the responsibility of journalistic investigations in an era of nuclear tensions and bureaucratic deceit. The film examines an unspooling series of events occurring after a near crash of a nuclear bomber at an American Air Force base in the English countryside. When Dennis Markham (Ian Bannen), a well-respected member of Parliament, is reported by a London paper to have been seen leaving a woman's home, and the woman is found to also be familiar with a dignitary from East Germany, his loyalty to his country is questioned, and he is forced to resign. The author of the newspaper exposé, Nick Mullen (Gabriel Byrne), continues his investigation with his colleague Vernon Bayliss (Denholm Elliott). But when Vernon dies from a mysterious heart attack, Mullen suspects something deeper at work and finds evidence of a complex web of deceit concerning a secret Air Force base. With the help of Vernon's secretary, Nina Beckman (Greta Scacchi), Nick fights the dark forces in order to bring the truth to light. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, (more)
- 1985
- PG13
- Add National Lampoon's European Vacation to QueueAdd National Lampoon's European Vacation to top of Queue
Despite the many adventures they suffered in National Lampoon's Vacation, the Griswold family decides to take another crack at having fun. This time, the doltish clan heads across the Atlantic for a whirlwind vacation after winning a game show. Will the monuments of Europe survive? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, (more)
- 1985
- PG
This period drama about the American Revolution has an overlay of rhetoric that thwarts the action, flattening out the story about a man and his loved ones caught up in the events of the time. Tom Dobb (Al Pacino) falls in love with Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski), an aristocrat who deserts her class to fight alongside the rebels. Tom teaches his son Ned (Dexter Fletcher) everything he needs to learn, though the growing rebellion consumes most of his attention. Eventually, the Redcoats are mowed down in large battle scenes, as the ragtag Colonialists go to war. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, (more)
The rise of teen culture in 1950s Britain provides the backdrop for Julien Temple's unconventional rock musical Absolute Beginners. The film centers on Colin, an 18-year-old with a talent for photography and a fondness for the neon nightlife of British jazz clubs. He also is in love with Crepe Suzette, an impulsive, ambitious young beauty who abandons him after attracting the attention of a powerful fashion designer. Depressed and aimless, Colin turns for help to a flashy ad executive (David Bowie) who promises to make him a star photographer. The former lovers take parallel paths to success, capitalizing on the youth mania gripping the nation. The film's nostalgic yet gently satirical look at teen culture is tempered by a recognition of the era's social tension, particularly a disturbing rise in racism. Despite these serious undertones, however, the film tells its story with a colorful vibrancy reminiscent of both MTV and old Hollywood musicals, filled with such show-stopping numbers as a memorable sequence in which Bowie dances on a giant typewriter. Critical reception was mixed, with some hailing the film's spectacular cinematography and ambitious scope, while others found the mixture of tones and style too inconsistent. The film also drew lukewarm response at the box office, with the memorable soundtrack receiving more attention than the film itself. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie O'Connell, Patsy Kensit, (more)
- 1986
- R
Writer/director Derek Jarman injects his patented iconoclasm in this biography of Renaissance artist Michelangelo Merisa da Caravaggio. Nigel Terry plays the title role, whom (according to Jarman) essentially told his own life story in his paintings. Caravaggio travelled among thieves and prostitutes, many of whom were his models. He once killed a man, kept a deaf/mute child as a virtual slave, and squandered every penny he ever made. That we should care anything about so miserable and obscure a personality is a tribute to Jarman's filmmaking savvy--and the number of elements from his own well-publicized life that he injects into the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nigel Terry, Sean Bean, (more)
Bob Hoskins plays George, a tough but basically goodhearted British mob flunky, recently released from prison, where he'd served a term to cover up for his gangster boss (Michael Caine). Still willing to be everyone's doormat, George agrees to act as chauffeur for Simone (Cathy Tyson), a haughty, high-priced call girl. They don't like each other at first, but George begins to fall for her and take a protective interest. She implores him to help her find her only truly friend, a prostitute named Cathy (Kate Hardie). Touched by this devotion, George locates the girl, only to be chagrined to learn that Simone and Cathy are lovers. Hoskins is used and abused by so many people in Mona Lisa that when the worm finally does turn, you feel like cheering--even though it doesn't make him any happier. Director Neil Jordan cowrote this study of underworld mores with David Leland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, (more)
- 1987
Music and comedy share the stage in this performance film, which records a four-night variety show presented in 1987 as a benefit for the human rights organization Amnesty International. A handful of top British comedians were on hand for the revue, including Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie, Lenny Henry, Ben Elton and Phil Cool, with special appearances by John Cleese of Monty Python and the puppet troupe Spitting Image. (American comic Emo Phillips also performs his standup act.) Several leading musical stars of the day also contributed their talents to the event, including Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran, Kate Bush with David Gilmour, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne with Paul Brady, Mark Knopfler with Chet Atkins, Bob Geldoff, Youssou N'Dour and Nik Kershaw. As the title suggests, The Secret Policeman's Third Ball was preceded by two other Amnesty International benefit shows coordinated by John Cleese, with several more to follow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Joan Armatrading, (more)
A restaurant worker (Lanah Pellay) is fired from a posh London eatery, so the man returns with a band of terrorists, who have their own ideas about how to run a restaurant, and they begin feeding new customers with old customers. Motorhead provides the music. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lanah Pellay, Nosher Powell, (more)
- 1987
The Prince Regent (Hugh Laurie) agrees to act as patron for the "fat dictionary" being written by Dr. Samuel Johnson (Robbie Coltrane). Unfortunately, the boneheaded Baldrick (Tony Richardson) accidentally uses Dr. Johnson's manuscript for firewood. Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) is faced with the daunting task of recopying the dictionary -- within a 48-hour period. Other characters crucial to the action are a trio of "romantic junkie poets" named Shelley, Byron, and Coleridge. "Ink and Incapability" originally aired on September 24, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, (more)
- 1988
The bluntly titled The Fruit Machine stars Emile Charles and Tony Forsyth as a pair of homosexual Liverpool teenagers. Though their sexual orientation may be the same, Charles and Forsyth hold diametrically opposed outlooks on life. Gradually, a romance develops between the two -- but before things progress much farther, the film suddenly switches emotional gears. Witnessing a gangland execution, Charles and Forsyth are forced to defend their lives against an onslaught of villains. The Fruit Machine seems unsure of what sort of movie it would like to be, though many of its individual components are handled with utmost confidence by director Philip Saville. The film was originally titled Wonderland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Charles, Tony Forsyth, (more)
- 1988
The cast and crew of the satirical British comedy series Blackadder reunited for this perverse one-hour spin on Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Rowan Atkinson stars as Ebeneezer Blackadder, a kindly and beloved London businessman. Alas, Ebeneezer is too warm-hearted and generous to suit his greedy, grasping ancestors, who on Christmas Eve appear in spectral form to force their descendant to live down to Blackadder family tradition. Also appearing are Tony Robinson as Baldrick, Robbie Coltrane as The Spirit of Christmas, Miriam Margoyles as Queen Victoria, Jim Broadbent as Prince Albert, and Miranda Richardson in the dual role of Elizabeth I and Asphyxia XIX. A Blackadder's Christmas Carol made its British TV bow on December 22, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, (more)
- 1989
- R
Tony award-winning British musical comedy star Robert Lindsay makes his first important American film appearance in Bert Rigby, You're a Fool. Lindsay, of course, plays the title character, a coal miner who dreams of becoming a big showbiz star. Only problem is, there's very little demand for Bert Rigby's impersonations of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly. Undaunted, Bert heads to Hollywood, where, while working as a butler in the household of movie mogul Jim Shirley (Corbin Bernsen), he must fend off the advances of Shirley's hot-to-trot wife, Meredith (Anne Bancroft). Befitting the old-fashioned nature of Bert Rigby's behavior and tastes in entertainment, director Carl Reiner adopts a "retro" approach to his material; at times, the film looks as though it was made in 1939 rather than 1989, despite its R-rated sex, profanity, and body-function jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lindsay, Cathryn Bradshaw, (more)
Kenneth Branagh makes his feature film directorial debut with this adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V. After the Chorus (Derek Jacobi) introduces the play, young king of England Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) begins an angry dialogue with King Charles of France (Paul Scofield). The king's son, Dauphin (Michael Maloney), insults Henry and the argument escalates into war. In flashback, Henry is seen as a young man drinking in a tavern with Falstaff (Robbie Coltrane), Bardolph (Richard Briers), Nym (Geoffery Hutchings), Pistol (Robert Stephens), and Mistress Quickly (Judi Dench). Meanwhile, Henry and his captain, Fluellen (Ian Holm), assemble an army and invade France. The French greatly outnumber the British troops, yet Henry leads them to victory in the Battle of Agincourt after delivering his famous St. Crispin's Day Speech. Throughout this struggle, Henry also courts Katherine (Emma Thompson) and eventually wins her over. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, (more)
- 1989
Danny, the Champion of the World is set in rural England. Nasty country squire Robbie Coltrane, who owns half the land, covets the other half. His principal opponents are a father-and-son team of farmers. The warm relationship between the two "good guys" hardly needs to be forced, since the roles are played by Jeremy Irons and his real-life son Samuel. Cyril Cusack and Jean Marsh also appear in this colorful comedy-drama. Produced for British television, Danny, the Champion of the World was based on a story by Roald Dahl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Joe Pytka's comedy stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter, a cab driver who gets a hot tip on a horse race and soon finds himself on the gambling hot streak of his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, (more)
In a post-apocalyptic world, a fugitive named Byron (Bob Peck) is captured by cop Will Tasker (Mark Hamill) and his beautiful partner Belitski (Kitty Aldridge). But when bounty hunter Matt Owens (Bill Paxton) learns that there is a price on Byron's head, he tricks the police and absconds with the prisoner. In order to escape detection, Matt flies off into the slipstream --an environmental curiosity of high and harsh winds treated by a local religious cult as a god. The religious cult captures them and holds them captive. Byron has healing powers and the cult decides to bind him up to a giant kite in order to determine whether he is a good or bad spirit. Tasker and Belitiski re-appear and they free Matt after he agrees to help them get the kite-born Byron back down to earth. Matt flies upward to free Byron, but Belitski, not trusting Matt, flies upward herself. A violent wind tosses all three into parts unknown, while Tasker is almost killed by the kite. Matt is found to have been poisoned by Tasker and seeks to accompany a cave dweller named Ariel (Eleanor David) to her homeland, where he can get an antidote to the poison in his veins. Meanwhile, Byron is revealed to be an android. The three journey to a settlement dedicated to sensual pleasure. While they partake of the services, Tasker and Belitski shoot their way into the settlement, looking for Byron. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Hamill, Bob Peck, (more)
