Charles Dance Movies

Two women from different worlds are brought together by strange circumstances and forbidden desires in this period-drama. Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins) was left on her own as a young child when her parents died, and she was forced to fend for herself, living on the street in the company of thieves and confidence men. Sue is given a chance to reform when she's taken in by Mrs. Sucksby (Imelda Staunton), who wants to keep her off the streets, but Sucksby's friend Richard Rivers (Rupert Evans) is familiar with Sue's old circle and lures her into an elaborate criminal scheme. Sue is to get a job as a maid to Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy), a young woman who lives with her uncle (Charles Dance) and will claim a large family inheritance when she marries. Sue's role is to act as confidante to Maud, so when Richard attempts to court her, Sue will help convince the young heiress that marrying Richard is the right thing to do. Richard's scheme is to marry Maud, have her sanity called into question, and then take possession of her fortune after she's committed to an asylum, but as Sue becomes close friends with Maud, she begins to wonder if she has the nerve to go through with the plan, especially when her feelings for Maud begin to extend beyond just friendship. As Sue's choice becomes nearly unbearable, fate steps in and she discovers all is not as she'd been led to believe. Fingersmith was produced for the BBC, where it first aired in the spring of 2005. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The life of one of Great Britain's most influential and feared monarchs is dramatized in this lavish production, originally produced for British television. King Henry VIII (Ray Winstone) is a shrewd but ruthless ruler who is determined to sire a male heir who will succeed him on the throne. However, his wife, Catherine of Aragon (Assumpta Serna), after numerous attempts, is only able to bear him a daughter, so the king takes a mistress, Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter), in hopes she will give him a son. Anne Boleyn cleverly insists that she must wed the king if they are to have a child, and when the Catholic Church forbids Henry's request for a divorce, the king responds by forming his own denomination, the Church of England, which he will oversee himself. One of the king's most trusted advisers, Cardinal Wolsey (David Suchet) attempts to convince Henry that this is folly; Henry sentences him to death, and sends him to the Tower of London to await his sentence. Despite these machinations, Anne Boleyn is unable to give Henry the son he wants, and the king decides she will pay with her life for this failing. As Henry becomes increasingly ruthless in his dealings with those close to him -- as well as other nations -- he leaves a bloody wake as he uses beheading as his favored means of dealing with troublesome wives and untrustworthy allies. The cast also includes Sean Bean, Charles Dance, Emilia Fox, and Emily Blunt; Henry VIII first aired in the United States as part of PBS's award-winning anthology series Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Britain's satirist-of-all-trades Ali G (aka Sacha Baron Cohen) makes his feature-film debut with this gross-out comedy set against the backdrop of the House of Parliament. Where his British and U.S. TV shows had him conducting absurd interviews with real-life politicians and lawmakers, Ali G Indahouse casts him against Charles Dance as Carlton, an unscrupulous member of the House who's intent on upsetting the current Prime Minister (Michael Gambon) in the next election. Hoping to attract negative attention to the leader, Ali G is promoted as a running mate of sorts -- a tactic that backfires in Carlton's face as the clueless rapper quickly ascends the political ladder. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

This 2000 TV miniseries is based on an 1839 Charles Dickens novel, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. The film begins with the burial of Mr. Nickleby beneath snow-covered earth. Attending are Nickleby's wife and teenage children, Nicholas (James D'Arcy) and Kate (Sophia Myles). Because Mr. Nickleby died broke after speculating on stocks, Nicholas needs money fast to provide for his mother and sister. When he seeks help from his uncle, Ralph Nickleby (Charles Dance) -- a cold-hearted businessman -- Ralph refuses cash and instead arranges for Nicholas to assist at a boarding school operated by Wackford Squeers (Gregor Fisher), a sadistic overlord who whips and starves his students. Soon, Nicholas rebels against the inhumane conditions at the school, thrashes Squeers, and flees. A pitiful and sickly student named Smike (Lee Ingleby) joins Nicholas and becomes a family friend. After working as an actor, Nicholas gets a good job at a counting house operated by the kindly Cheeryble brothers. Meanwhile, Ralph Nickleby tricks Kate into meeting his friend, Sir Mulberry Hawk (Dominic West), who wants to defile her. When Hawk strongarms her onto a billiard table, Kate escapes. Enraged, Nicholas and Ralph become thoroughgoing enemies. When Ralph uses his financial leverage to force an innocent young woman, Madeleine Bray (Katherine Holme), to marry one of his cronies, Nicholas foils the plot -- then falls in love with Madeleine himself. Ralph tries to strike back at his nephew through Smike, but fails -- although poor Smike dies. As the production reaches its climax, Ralph learns a startling secret when he and Nicholas confront each other. The final scenes of the film reveal the fates of the principal characters. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Former National Lampoon editor Ted Mann, who scripted this $27 million science-fiction comedy, calls it "the first outer-space road movie." According to Mann, the film has "no scientists, no techies, none of the usual polished, sanitary environments we're used to in our space films. Space is like anywhere else -- the people who are there are underpaid and poorly regarded." In the year 2196, freight pilot John Canyon (Dennis Hopper), one of the last of the independent truckers competing against the huge mega-corporations, is hassled by high-tech interference plus corrupt bosses. After Canyon delivers a cargo of pigs, genetically engineered to be square and stackable for more efficient shipping, he finds his profits siphoned off by a crooked labor boss (George Wendt). When Canyon heads for Earth with a secret cargo, he's accompanied by young apprentice trucker Mike Pucci (Stephen Dorff) and waitress Cindy (Debi Mazar), who plans to marry Canyon if he gets her safely to Earth. The trio goes through the asteroid belt and are captured by pirates, led by engineering wiz Captain Macanudo (Charles Dance), who discovers the secret cargo of the army androids stolen from him by capitalist corp chief E.J. Saggs (Shane Rimmer) -- who's plotting an android takeover of Earth. Filmed at Ireland's Ardmore Studios, Space Truckers was shown at several 1997 film festivals (Sundance, Sitges, Vancouver). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A psychopathic building super wreaks havoc upon his tenants in this Spanish-Puerto Rican psychodrama that was entirely filmed in Puerto Rico. A killer on the run. To hide from the authorities he kills the newly hired superintendent of the seedy Paradise Condominiums and assumes his identity. When he meets the condo's lonely manager, he calls himself Quinn. She becomes his first victim after she discovers his true identity. Quinn, though a cold-blooded murderer, has a certain charm and soon everyone is fooled, except for Gus a young attendant at a gas station. When Quinn sets his sights upon Gus' best friend Sara and her mother, who trust their super, a battle ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Years after the fact, a surveyor tells a story to his friends over dinner about an experience he had while surveying a remote mountain site: The terrain there is forbidding, and a storm comes up, so the surveyor seeks shelter in the first place he can find it. This turns out to be the home of a poor, hard-working and very honest old priest. The surveyor shares a very spartan dinner with the welcoming old man, and the two strike up quite a bond of friendship. He discovers just one incongruity in this frugal setting: all the old man's bedding is of the highest quality. Time passes, and during an illness, the priest explains that the unusually elegant bedding comes from his having grown up in a wealthy family which has long since grown bankrupt. As failings go, if that is what this is, it seems minor enough. Realizing that he is dying, the priest entrusts the surveyor with his will. Later, when the will is read, it comes out that the priest wanted all his savings to go to the building of a school for the poor children of the region. In fact, the priest didn't have any monetary savings: his coin was of another kind. In an auction, the rich people of the area purchase each of the kindly priest's belongings for quite large sums of money, thus endowing the school. This moving story is based on a well-loved novel by the Austrian author Adalbert Stifter. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the book Garry O'Connor, the two-part Australian TV movie Darlings of the Gods tells the story of the benighted romance between stage and film stars Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Anthony Higgins and Mel Martin look and sound so much like the very famous characters they're playing that the effect is somewhat eerie. This highly fictionalized account charts one year in the stormy Oliver-Leigh marriage. Also appearing are Jerome Ehlers as Peter Finch, Rhys McConnochie as Ralph Richardson, and Shane Briant as Cecil Beaton. Filmed in 1989, part one of Darlings of the Gods was first presented in the US over the A&E cable service on February 21, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This British TV movie was first telecast as Golden Eye: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming. While it should not be confused with either the 1996 James Bond epic Goldeneye or the 1989 made-for-cable The Secret Life of Ian Fleming, there are certain story elements common to all three properties. Novelist Ian Fleming (Charles Dance) wanders between fantasy and reality during his formative experiences with gambling, womanizing and espionage. Every so often, Fleming's creation James Bond materializes to pick up where his creator leaves off. Secret Agent 007 is played by Reg Gadney, who also wrote the screenplay. Golden Eye is based on the novel by John Pearson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Richards is an ordinary middle-class man living a very comfortable and orderly life in London, working as a statistician. In this drama, he discovers that his safe and cozy world is rife with hidden corners and unimagined dangers. He first discovers that things are not as they seem when, through a client, he learns of a special film that has been suppressed by the British government. His search for that film leads him into the labyrinth of underground tunnels and offices which were built under the city during World War II, and he is pitted against an organized government conspiracy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this standard suspense thriller, Paul Hatcher (Charles Dance) has a habit of spying on the neighbors across the way, something that gets him into deep trouble. Hatcher is a movie critic, and for awhile it looks like his main problem is keeping reality and the silver screen separate. But then a double murder occurs across the street after some mobsters cannot find an incriminating negative. After Hatcher discovers where the negative is hidden, he is bumped to the top on the assassins' hit list. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Trevor Howard, Claire Bloom and Charles Dance are featured in this British suspense/mystery that was made-for-TV. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide