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
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)
- 2006
- PG
- Add Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker to QueueAdd Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker to top of Queue
An outwardly ordinary teenager finds himself suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances upon discovering that his entire youth was part of an elaborate plan to create the perfect super spy in director Geoffrey Sax's action-packed adaptation of author Anthony Horowitz's best-selling series of novels featuring an adolescent secret agent. Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) always though that his kindly uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) was your average, everyday nondescript bank manager, but when Ian was murdered by notorious assassin Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), everything young Alex thought he knew would be forever changed by one simple bullet. A deadly martial artist, skilled linguist, steady-handed mountaineer, and deadeye marksman, Alex realizes that his uncle has been secretly training him in the art of espionage when he is recruited by MI6 Special Operations agents Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo). It seems that billionaire Darius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) has generously offered to donate a complimentary Stormbreaker supercomputer to every school in Britain, but while his philanthropic offer is welcomed with open arms by the struggling school system, MI6 fears that something nefarious is afoot. Assigned the task of infiltrating Sayle's impenetrable lair by posing as the winner of a computer magazine contest, Alex makes the acquaintance of shady Sayle sidekicks Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) before getting a special sneak preview of the remarkable Stormbreaker's true powers. His cover subsequently blown, Alex is given a key piece of information regarding the remarkable computer before being thrown to a giant jellyfish by Sayle and his henchmen and left to die just as the prime minister is about to push the button that will activate Stormbreaker computers all across Britain. With no time to spare and the fate of a nation hanging in the balance, Alex must now enlist the help of his trusted housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and faithful classmate Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger) in ensuring that the Stormbreaker system is not activated and revealing Sayle for the true villain that he is before the young super spy's breathless first mission becomes his fatal last. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Bolger, Alex Pettyfer, (more)
Originally produced for NBC television, this adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic features an impressive cast, including Miranda Richardson, Martin Short, Ben Kingsley, Whoopi Goldberg, Gene Wilder, Peter Ustinov, and George Wendt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Made for British television, Alive and Kicking is the bleak but compelling story of two druggies. Smudgen (Lenny Henry) is not only a user but a dealer; his wife Marie (Annabelle Apsion) is in what seems to be a perpetually strung-out state. When Marie has a baby, the authorities take the child away from her because neither she nor Smudgeon show any signs of straightening out. Enter social worker Liam Kane, played by the formidable Robbie Coltrane. Kane's violent, abrasive "cold turkey" technique has a positive effect on the couple, though one wonders if it is truly going to last. In contrast to Smudgeon and Marie, Jane Horrocks appears as Gail, an addict who is perfectly satisfied with her life...or what's left of it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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)
- 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 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)
A lot of people like to say that their pets think they're human, but Trudy Lintz (Rene Russo) has taken this notion to a new level: she likes to treat her pets as if they were human. A wealthy New Yorker, Trudy has a menagerie of animals living in her apartment, including dogs, horses, ducks, and four chimpanzees whom she dresses in human clothing and treats as if they were her own children. Trudy's husband (Robbie Coltrane) is fully aware of his wife's eccentricities but has learned to live with them. However, this gets a bit more difficult when Trudy is persuaded to adopt Buddy, an infant gorilla. Buddy is a tiny creature in poor health when Trudy first meets him, but with love and care she nurses the gorilla back to health. However, the rejuvenated Buddy starts growing into adulthood, and while the chimps are small and docile enough to wear human clothing and obey Trudy's instructions, Buddy becomes a several-hundred-pound adult who hears the call of the wild too clearly to do what Trudy wants, which becomes painfully obvious during a trip to the World's Fair. Jim Henson's Creature Shop helped create the special-effects animals used in the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rene Russo, Robbie Coltrane, (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)
- 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)
- 1993
Of all the characters in TV's "unlikely detective" genre, the leading character of the British cop series Cracker may well have been the unlikeliest. Robbie Coltrane starred as Dr. Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, a brilliant psychologist -- not to mention a chronic gambler, alcoholic, chain smoker, overeater, and serial philanderer. Despite these shortcomings (and others too numerous to mention), Fitz was much revered by the local constabulary for his talent as a "cracker," using his professional skills to solve crimes so complex that they invariably left the official police totally baffled. Others in the cast included Barbara Flynn as Fitz's long-suffering wife, Judith, Geraldine Somerville as Fitz's police contact and sometimes lover Det. Sgt. Jane Penhaligon, and his other colleagues DCI Charlie Wise (Ricky Tomlinson) and Det. Sgt. Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch). When Beck was murdered at the outset of season two, he was replaced by DCI David Bilborough (Christopher Eccleston). Debuting September 27, 1993, on ITV1, Cracker originally aired in a weekly, one-hour format, with its storylines taking up two to three consecutive episodes. These were re-edited as "TV movies" when Cracker was subsequently rebroadcast in the United States. The series ended after three seasons and a one-off special, "White Ghost," which first aired on October 28, 1996. An American TV version of Cracker, starring Robert Pastorelli in the old Robbie Coltrane role (rechristened Gerry Fitzgerald) was briefly telecast by ABC in 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Lorcan Cranitch, (more)
Robbie Coltrane returns as the mentally unsettled criminal psychologist Edward Fitzgerald in Cracker: A New Terror. Fitz returns to his home country after a decade in Australia, taking up the case of a psychologically disturbed veteran of the battles with the IRA who killed a man after the events of September 11, 2001. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
The two-part opening episode "The Woman in the Attic" couldn't have been more typical for the hard-bitten British cop series Cracker. Severely hung over after losing all his money on the horses, making an ass of himself at a dinner party, and compelling his wife to walk out on him, bleary-eyed psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane) awakens to find that things can get even worse: one of his students has been murdered, and the police are nowhere near solving the case. Offering his services as a "cracker" to use his professional skills in tracking down the culprit, Fitz thereby launches the off-and-on police career that will sustain him through three seasons on Britain's ITV1 network. Subsequent episodes during Cracker's inaugural season include another two-parter, "One Day a Lemming Will Fly," featuring Tess Thomson as Fitz's troubled daughter, Katie; and the three-part "To Say I Love You," in which Fitz tries to clean up his act to impress his attractive police contact Sgt. Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville) -- and along the way, he chases down a British version of Bonnie and Clyde. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Lorcan Cranitch, (more)
Season two of the gloomy, cynical British cop drama Cracker opens with the three-part mystery "To Be a Somebody," in which abrasive, self-destructive psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane), working in concert with the local police, manages to collar a demented middle-aged "political activist" -- this despite the fact that Fitz has suffered a mild heart attack. In the course of events, Fitz's police officer colleague Det. Sgt. Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch) is murdered, and is replaced by DCI Charlie Wise (Ricky Tomlinson). The season winds up with another three-parter, "Men Should Weep," which focuses on Fitz's efforts to trap a serial rapist. Things get personal for Fitz when his casual lover, Det. Sgt. Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville), is herself raped -- though the most likely suspect may not be the culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Barbara Flynn, (more)
- 1995
Season three of of the hard-boiled British cop drama Cracker is technically the "longest" of the series' seasons, comprised of three different stories rather than the standard two. First on the docket is the two-part "Brotherly Love," in which self-abusing, self-loathing psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Robbie Coltrane) gets his act together long enough to help the police locate a serial killer of prostitutes. As a bonus, Fitz learns the identity of the man who raped his police contact and sometimes lover Det. Sgt. Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville) in the previous season's "Men Should Weep." The second of the season's two-parters, "Best Boys," pits Fitz against a gay murderer who may have been motivated by a hopeless romance. Cracker concludes with its final two-part mystery, "True Romance," in which Fitz is saddled with a mysterious admirer -- who turns out to be an extremely methodical homicidal maniac. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Barbara Flynn, (more)
- 1994
Part of the U.K. detective series Cracker, "The Big Crunch" originally aired in three parts during 1994. Jim Carter plays Kenneth Trant, a religious schoolmaster who is discovered having an affair with young Joanne Barnes (Samantha Morton). The girl is drugged, scarified, and ordered to be killed, but the religious Dean Saunders (Darren Tighe) lets her go. When Joanne dies in a hospital, the Trant family frames Dean. After getting captured by Det. Sgt. Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch) and interrogated by Fitz (Robbie Coltrane), Dean hangs himself. The Trant family is eventually taken into custody when Kenneth's infidelity is revealed. Meanwhile, Fitz gets a divorce from Judith (Barbara Flynn) and sleeps with Det. Sgt. Jane Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Part of the U.K. detective series Cracker, "To Be a Somebody" originally aired in three parts in October of 1994. Robert Carlyle plays Albie Kinsella, an average guy who goes crazy after he loses his father, wife, and child. He attempts to kill a Pakistani store clerk, a university professor, and a news reporter. D.C.I. David Bilborough (Christopher Eccleston) tries to track him down, but ends up meeting his own fate. Albie continues his ruthless killing spree, leading up to a bomb threat at the police station. After a violent run-in with DS Jimmy Beck (Lorcan Cranitch), Albie is finally interrogated by Fitz (Robbie Coltrane). Meanwhile, Fitz loses money gambling, suffers from a heart attack, and carries on his marital problems with Judith (Barbara Flynn). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 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
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)
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)
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)
- 2003
- Add French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years to QueueAdd French & Saunders: The Ingenue Years to top of Queue
This collection of material from the BBC sketch comedy program French & Saunders focuses on the show's earliest episodes, from the late '80s. The duo's signature film and TV parodies are in short supply, although Dawn French does essay the role of Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie the Cat in a send-up of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Jennifer Saunders, meanwhile, performs a parodic show tune in the guise of Doris Day. Much of the rest of the material focuses on music and dance, from a deadpan Pet Shop Boys impersonation to a mock awards show in which a decrepit Ginger Rogers is forced to dance, despite her wheelchair, with a phalanx of Solid Gold-style dancers. As a framing device, French and Saunders parody girl groups of the ages, from flappers to hippies. The comedians also get their digs in at conceptual art, safer sex, Liza Minnelli, and the foibles of British schoolgirls. Additional performers include comedy duo Raw Sex. Those with sharp ears will also notice a joke about June Whitfield, the British actress who would go on to appear with Saunders in Absolutely Fabulous. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, (more)
- 1998
- R
This "neo-noir comic thriller" from director Amos Poe focuses on struggling actress Eva (Barbara Hershey), a waitress who moonlights by making collections for her ex-husband, loan shark Al (Robbie Coltrane). Her day job is at a Lower Manhattan diner owned by Quint (Ian Hart). Others on the scene are Eva's new boyfriend Zip (John Leguizamo), aspiring actress Myrna (Lisa Marie), Al's girlfriend Simone (Debi Mazar), tough thug Gascone (Ron Perlman), and Al's driver U.B. (David Deblinger). Eva is ready to drop both collecting and acting, dreaming of a picket-fence lifestyle with her son Augie (Zak Kerkoulas), but Al needs her for just one more job -- locating the missing $600,000 stolen from him by Flav (Justin Theroux). Al also plans to stage a production of David Mamet's American Buffalo, and he offers a role to U.B. -- if he will kill Zip. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hershey, Robbie Coltrane, (more)
The true-life horror story of Jack the Ripper gets a new spin in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell. In 1888, a ruthless and cold-blooded killer begins hunting prostitutes in East London, and while the murderer's work is savage, the mutilation of his victims suggests the fiend has an extensive medical background. Amidst a background of political unrest and barely contained scandal among the royal family, the murderer's grisly exploits shock and frighten all of England, and one of Scotland Yard's top inspectors, Fred Abberline (Johnny Depp), is put on the case, along with his partner, Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane). Abberline, depending on one's viewpoint, is either blessed or cursed with second sight, and while he blurs his ability to see future events with opium and other drugs, he still has an uncanny ability to ferret out dangerous criminals, which is put to the test as he and Godley search for the Ripper. As Abberline and Godley investigate the neighborhood where the crimes occur, they become acquainted with the prostitutes and street people who were friends and compatriots of the victims, and Abberline finds himself falling in love with Mary Kelly (Heather Graham), a beautiful Irish streetwalker. As Abberline tries to identify the killer before Mary Kelly can become the next victim, he and Godley have to contend with Sir Charles Warren (Ian Richardson), their superior who is keen to pin the murders on a culprit who isn't British, and Sir William Gull (Ian Holm), a respected physician who has his own ideas about the murders and the benefits of psychosurgery. From Hell marked a change of pace for Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes, the sibling directorial team best known for their gritty depictions of America's urban underground in such films as Menace II Society and Dead Presidents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, (more)
