Philip King Movies
- 2007
Gabriel Byrne is one of the best-respected actors of his generation. Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1950, Byrne didn't begin acting until he was in late twenties, after studying archeology and linguistics in college, but after making his mark on the Dublin stage, he was cast in a popular Irish television serial, The Riordans, which gave him his first taste of fame and critical acclaim. Since then, Byrne has worked with some of the world's leading filmmakers, including Joel and Ethan Coen (Miller's Crossing), Wim Wenders (The End Of Violence), David Cronenberg (Spider), Jim Jarmush (Dead Man) and John Boorman (Excalibur), and earned a Golden Globe award for his work on the innovative HBO series In Treatment. Filmmaker Pat Collins profiles Byrne in the documentary Gabriel Byrne: Stories From Home, in which Byrne talks about his work, his personal life, and how his celebrity has had an impact on his art and his life off stage. Originally produced for Irish television, Gabriel Byrne: Stories From Home was also screened at a number of international film festivals, including the 2009 Doku-Arts International Festival For Films On Art. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2007
This concert video features the band Moving Hearts performing an umber of their songs including "The Lark," "Lake of Shadows," "The Storm," and "May Morning Dew." ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moving Hearts
The many emotional scars left by South Africa's history of institutionalized racism come under the microscope in this drama. As South Africa comes to terms with the legacy of apartheid, their government has created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which the perpetrators of racial violence and injustice must come face to face with their victims if they are to be forgiven for their crimes. Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is an African-American journalist who is assigned to cover these hearings by The Washington Post; Whitfield doubts the efficacy of this process, and sets out to interview Col. De Jager (Brendan Gleeson), a notorious former officer of the South African police who was famous for his violence against blacks in order to put this method to the test. While in South Africa, Whitfield meets Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), an Afrikaner poet who is covering the hearing for a radio station and is both appalled and disturbed by the details of the violence inflicted against her countrymen. After striking up a friendship, Whitfield and Malan become romantically involved as they try to come to terms with their feelings about what they've learned. Also screened under the title Country of My Skull, In My Country was adapted from a book by South African author Antjie Krog. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, (more)
Paul Quinn scripted and made his directorial debut with this period drama about middle-aged schoolteacher Kieran Johnson (James Caan), who finds evidence indicating that his real father was an Irish farmer and not a French seaman as he had been told. Since his mute and paralyzed mother offers no answers, he investigates by traveling to an Irish village with his teenage nephew (Jacob Tierney). After this prologue, the film flashes back to the family roots: Kieran's mother Fiona Flynn (Moya Farrelly) back home from convent school, catches the eye of dirt tenant farmer Kieran O'Day (Aidan Quinn). Their romance gets underway despite disapprovals from family and friends. Shown at 1998 film fests (Montreal, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, James Caan, (more)
- 1998
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The home video release East Meets West with Donal Lunny paints a documentary-style portrait of an extraordinary series of events. In the late 1990s, two musical acts of vastly different cultural backgrounds met and pooled forces: The Kodo Drummers of Sado Island, Japan invited Irish group Donal Lunny and Coolfin to play with them in two concerts at the 1996 and 1997 Earth Day celebrations. Lunny and co. eventually followed suit by reciprocally inviting the Kodo Drummers for a sequence of concerts in Dublin, commencing in July 1998. East Meets Westwitnesses the various experiences had by the performers, on and off stage, during this unprecedented union of musical cultures and genres. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donal Lunny, Coolfin, (more)
- 1996
This musical program captures numerous and varied Gaelic inspired performances, recorded at the Music Center in Dublin's Temple Bar. Bringing together both the traditional and the progressive faces of Gaelic music, the release features a diverse selection of songs including Van Morrison's St Dominic's Preview, Emmylou Harris's Waltz Across Texas Tonight, and Elvis Costello's Little Palaces. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Perhaps meant as an experimental film with a dash of politics and two shakes of comedy, this ultimately unpalatable mix by noted director Alexandro Jodorowsky might have had too many cooks. Three people are cited as having had a hand in the story, written and rewritten three times. The tale itself follows the life of a young British colonial woman in India around 1900 or so and is based on a novel by Reginald Campbell. Rather than simply focus on the woman (Cyrielle Clair), the tale juxtaposes her life with that of an elephant named Tusk (convincingly played by Tusk, the elephant). The results are beautiful shots of the landscape unmatched by the mix of characters ranging from a Maharaja to a reverend to a few idiotic merchants and various types in-between. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cyrielle Claire, Anton Diffring, (more)
- 1961
Able-bodied seaman Albert Tufnell (John Meillon) plans to marry Shirley Hornett (Vera Day), and the ceremony is about to take place -- when a telegram arrives from an officer aboard his ship, advising that marriage is impossible for Tufnell at that moment. Shirley's battle-ax of a mother (Marjorie Rhodes) doesn't know the facts behind the telegram but assumes the worst, and won't even discuss what to do about the wedding, even as she tries to live down the humiliation of a ceremony stopped midway through. Albert and his best friend, Carnoustie Bligh (Graham Stark), try to sort it all out, but even the arrival of an officer from their ship (Dennis Price) with an explanation only makes matters more complicated. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- 1959
A false accusation divides a town and destroys a clergyman's career in this adaptation of the Philip King stage play of the same name. Anthony Quayle stars as Reverend Howard Phillips, a new arrival in a small town that's become overrun with punk kids. Trying to make a difference and improve the town's fortunes, Phillips earns the respect and love of Hester Peters (Sarah Churchill), a spinster and the daughter of the previous vicar. Unfortunately, Phillips runs afoul of Larry Thompson (Andrew Ray), leader of the delinquents running roughshod over the town. A nasty piece of work, Thompson has murdered one person and doesn't hesitate to concoct a false story that Phillips made an unwelcome homosexual advance toward him that turned into an assault. Instead of rallying to his defense, the narrow-minded town elders simply backbite and gossip. Director Terence Young went on to direct three of the first four James Bond films, Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Quayle, Sarah Churchill, (more)
- 1956
Sailor Beware was originally released in England as Panic in the Parlour. The panic begins when a sailor named Albert (Ronald Lewis) plans to get married to a gal named Shirley (Shirley Eaton). On the day of the ceremony, Albert gets cold feet when he discovers that Shirley's gorgonlike mother Emma (Peggy Mount) has bought a house just three doors away from their honeymoon cottage. The question now is: how long will it be before the worm turns and Emma is put in her place by both her prospective son-in-law and her henpecked husband? Based on a popular stage comedy, Sailor Beware is worth watching today to spot an unbilled Michael Caine in a bit part as one of Albert's fellow seamen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Mount, Cyril Smith, (more)
- 1955
In this crazy British comedy, a Cockney corporal dreams of getting promoted so that he can finally receive his inheritance. To facilitate the raise in status, he masquerades as a priest and goes out one night with the vicar's glamorous, blond wife. His action starts a trend and soon he runs into a number of men in priestly garb. The trouble is, he cannot discern the real ones from the fakes until the end when he finds a fugitive convict and gets him arrested. Soon after, the plucky corporal gets his promotion. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1952
The world of provincial British theatre is given a gentle going over in Curtain Up. Short of funds, a small-town repertory troupe is forced to bow to the whims of wealthy Catherine (Margaret Rutherford), the aunt of the theatre's manager. When Catherine writes a perfectly dreadful play, the actors are compelled to stage the "masterpiece," with hilarious results. Matching Margaret Rutherford scowl for scowl and double-take for double-take is Robert Morley as the troupe's pompous director. The delectable Kay Kendall provides a few sublime moments as the velvet-voiced leading lady. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford, (more)
