Judi Dench Movies
One of Britain's most respected and popular actresses, Judi Dench can claim a decades-old career encompassing the stage, screen, and television. A five-time winner of the British Academy Award, she was granted an Order of the British Empire in 1970 and made a Dame of the British Empire in 1988.Born in York, England, on December 9, 1934, Dench made her stage debut as a snail in a junior school production. After attending art school, she studied acting at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1957, she made her professional stage debut as Ophelia in the Old Vic's Liverpool production of Hamlet. A prolific stage career followed, with seasons spent performing with the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Dench broke into film in 1964 with a supporting role in The Third Secret. The following year, she won her first BAFTA, a Most Promising Newcomer honor for her work in Four in the Morning. Although she continued to work in film, Dench earned most of her recognition and acclaim for her stage work. Occasionally, she brought her stage roles to the screen in such film adaptations as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) and Macbeth (1978), in which she was Lady Macbeth to Ian McKellen's tormented king. It was not until the mid-'80s that Dench began to make her name known to an international film audience. In 1986, she had a memorable turn as a meddlesome romance author in A Room with a View, earning a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for her tart portrayal. Two years later, she won the same award for her work in another period drama, A Handful of Dust.
After her supporting role as Mistress Quickly in Kenneth Branagh's acclaimed 1989 adaptation of Henry V, Dench exchanged the past for the present with her thoroughly modern role as M in GoldenEye (1995), the first of the Pierce Brosnan series of James Bond films. She portrayed the character for the subsequent Brosnan 007 films, lending flinty elegance to what had traditionally been a male role. The part of M had the advantage of introducing Dench to an audience unfamiliar with her work, and in 1997 she earned further international recognition, as well as an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award, for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown.
While her screen career had taken on an increasingly high-profile nature, Dench continued to act on both television and the stage. In the former medium, she endeared herself to viewers with her work in such series as A Fine Romance (in which she starred opposite real-life husband Michael Williams) and As Time Goes By. On the stage, Dench made history in 1996, becoming the first performer to win two Olivier Awards for two different roles in the same year. In 1998, Dench won an Oscar, garnering Best Supporting Actress honors for her eight-minute appearance as Queen Elizabeth in the acclaimed Shakespeare in Love. Her win resulted in the kind of media adulation usually afforded to actresses one-third her age. Dench continued to reap both acclaim and new fans with her work in Tea with Mussolini and another Bond film, The World Is Not Enough. For her role as a talented British writer struggling with Alzheimer's disease in Iris (2001), Dench earned her third Oscar nomination. Sadly, that same year Dench's husband died of lung cancer at the age of 66.
The prophetic artist continued to act in several films a year, wowing audiences with contemporary dramas like 2001's The Shipping News and period pieces like 2002's Oscar Wilde comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. She reprised the role of M again that same year for Brosnan's last Bond film Die Another Day, before appearing in projects in 2004 and 2005 such as The Chronicles of Riddick, Pride & Prejudice, and an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated performance as a wealthy widow who shocks 1930s audiences by backing a burlesque show in Mrs. Henderson Presents. In 2006, she followed the Bond franchise into a new era, maintaining her hold on the role of M as Brosnan retired from playing the title character and Daniel Craig took over. Casino Royale was the first Bond movie to be based on an original Ian Fleming 007 novel in 30 years, and it was a great success.
Next, Dench shared the screen with Cate Blanchett for the critical smash Notes on a Scandal. The film's emotional themes ran the gamut from possession and desire to loathing and disgust, and Dench rose to the challenge with her usual strength and grace, earning her a sixth Oscar nomination and seventh Golden Globe nomination. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1964
TV commentator Stephen Boyd doesn't believe the official verdict of suicide in the death of a famed London psychiatrist. Boyd tries to get to the truth by studying a list of the shrink's patients. While interviewing three of these worthies (Jack Hawkins, Diane Cilento and Richard Attenborough), Boyd discover that each has a deep dark secret that the psychiatrist was privy to. The best-kept secret concerns the schizophrenia of the dead man's teenaged daughter (Pamela Franklin)--a fact that provides the key to mystery. The Third Secret originally featured Patricia Neal as one of the suspects, but her scenes were cut from the final release print. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, (more)
- 1965
The lives of two couples are examined through three vignettes in this episodic drama. A man (Brian Phelan) picks up his girlfriend (Ann Lynn) after she finishes her shift as a nightclub dancer. They go for a moonlight stroll along the river but soon begin playing petty games with each other's emotions. Meanwhile, a new mother (Judi Dench) is left at home with the baby after her uncaring husband (Norman Rodway) heads out for a night on the town with his best friend (Joe Melia). A tragic accident soon brings the couples together. This was the third film for actress Judi Dench and earned her a British Academy Award as Most Promising Newcomer of 1966. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Lynn, Brian Phelan, (more)
- 1966
Tom Bell stars in this tight little British thriller as a mercurial cat burglar. So long as things are going his way, Bell is calm and collected. Let anything upset his equilibrium, and he's an accident waiting to happen. Bell's one chance at redemption is his romance with pretty social-worker Judi Dench. When she rejects him, Bell returns to his crime spree, telling Dench to get lost when she offers to give him a second chance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Bell, Judi Dench, (more)
- 1966
In A Study in Terror the ever popular Sherlock Holmes and his companion Dr. Watson search for the Victorian serial killerJack the Ripper in this well-made and exciting mystery produced, written and directed by James Hill. In this adaptation of the popular character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Holmes (John Neville) aided by Dr. Watson (Donald Houston) and his brother Mycroft (Robert Morley) are called in to help catch the crazed killer of prostitutes. This film combines all the elements beloved by fans of Sherlock Holmes resulting in a satisfying and well-acted mystery. John Neville is good as the cool, logical Holmes and Robert Morley adds a nice dash of humor to liven up the story. A Study in Terror is highly recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes and should be enjoyed by any viewer who loves vintage mysteries. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Neville, Donald Houston, (more)
British director Peter Hall's 1968 filmization of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring the Royal Shakespeare Company, is faithful to the text and to the main plot, which involves the "bewitching" of several groups of mortals by a covey of mischievous invisible fairies. So why did critics complain? Hall's handling of Shakespeare's prose and iambic pentameter didn't bother the purists as much as the director's visual choices. Hall was criticized for staging the film in a typically rainy British winter rather than the mid-Summer alluded to in the play's title. The director responded by pointing out that the fairies, led by Oberon and Titania, were deliberately toying with the expectations and sensibilities of the Mortals -- thus, it made sense to confuse the "human" characters by playing havoc with the weather. Other stylistic alterations included updating the story to the 19th century, and the near-nudity of Judi Dench as Titania. Most of the film is shot in close-up (most effectively during the soliloquies of Diana Rigg, as Helena), not so much to hide budgetary deficiencies as to play better on television. Also featuring Ian Holm (as Puck) Barbara Jefford, Helen Mirren, Michael Jayston, Paul Rogers, Ian Richardson and David Warner, this Midsummer Night's Dream premiered in the U.S. on the CBS TV network on Sunday evening, February 9, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Derek Godfrey, Barbara Jefford, (more)
Based on a book by National Hunt jockey Dick Francis, the horseracing thriller Dead Cert was filmed in the village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K. When jockey Bill Davidson (Ian Hogg) is killed in a horseracing incident, his best friend Alan York (Scott B. Anthony) decides to investigate. He believes that Bill's death was not an accident, and he intends to expose the real killers. Judi Dench stars as Bill's wife, Laura Davidson, while her real-life husband Michael Williams appears as jockey Sandy Mason. Directed by Tony Richardson, Dead Cert received a U.K. theatrical release in 1974. In British slang, a "dead cert" means something that is definite. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Antony, Judi Dench, (more)
Adapted for the screen by Edward Anhalt from the play by John Osborne, Luther stars Stacy Keach as religious leader and "heretic" Martin Luther. In minimalist fashion, the film traces Luther's disillusionment with the Catholic Church, and his eventual spearheading of the Reformation movement. Over the course of the film, Keach ages from an ingenuous seminarian to a disgruntled, middle-aged firebrand. Director Guy Green does little to cinematize the material, instead favoring a theatrical approach and thus allowing the rich dialogue to be better appreciated. Luther was a production of the American Film Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Years before they became two of the most celebrated British actors of their generation, Jeremy Irons and Judi Dench were paired up for this dramatic tale of love and betrayal, produced for British television. Imogen Langrishe (Judi Dench) is a woman in her early thirties who lives with her sisters Helen (Annette Crosbie) and Lily (Susan Williamson) in a decaying mansion in rural Ireland as the men in her once-wealthy family are off at war. Struggling to keep herself and her siblings afloat, Imogen takes in a boarder, Otto Beck (Jeremy Irons), a moody graduate student working on his master's thesis. Spinster Imogen is quickly captivated with Otto's scruffy good looks, and he is more than willing to satisfy her sexual longings. It doesn't take long, however, for the relationship to turn sour, with dire consequences for Imogen, as well as her sisters. Langrishe, Go Down was adapted for the screen by Harold Pinter and was based on a novel by Aidan Higgins. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, (more)
This 1976 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth was originally broadcast on Thames Television in 1978. The company's artistic director Trevor Dunn directs the cast on a small bare stage with mostly black costumes and minimal props. After the witches (Susan Dury, Judith Harte, Marie Kean) announce the prophecy that Macbeth (Ian McKellen) will be the next king, the elderly King Duncan (Griffith Jones) proclaims that his son, Malcolm (Roger Rees), will be heir to the throne. Lady Macbeth (Judi Dench) learns about the witches' prophecy in a letter, prompting he to ask the gods to remove her femininity so she can make her weak husband kill the king. When Duncan comes to visit Macbeth's castle, he is murdered in his sleep. Macbeth kills the guards, claiming they were the murderers. In fear of their own lives, Duncan's sons flee the country and Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland. Riddled with guilt, Macbeth goes mad and sees horrible visions while the witches announce the prophecy of his downfall. Also starring John Woodvine as Banquo, Ian McDiarmid as the porter, and Bob Peck as Macduff. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, (more)
The British sitcom A Fine Romance aired for four seasons from 1981-1984 on London Weekend Television and has since been syndicated on PBS in the States. Judi Dench stars as Laura Dalton, a quirky independent woman who meets the equally eccentric Mike Selway, played by Dench's real-life husband Michael Williams. The mismatched pair is introduced by Laura's sister, Helen Dalton-Barker (Susan Penhaligon), and brother-in-law, Phil Barker (Richard Warwick). Laura and Mike humorously suffer through day-to-day turmoils, eventually finding romance. In 1984, Judi Dench won a BAFTA TV award for Best Light Entertainment Performance. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Saigon: Year of the Cat is a low-budget drama about the fall of Saigon. The film was made for the BBC in 1983. It was one of many television projects that director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity) worked on in the early part of his career. Playwright David Hare (Plenty) wrote the script. Judi Dench plays Barbara Dean, a depressed loan officer working for a British bank in Saigon in 1974. Barbara politely wards off the advances of her Scottish co-worker, Donald (Roger Rees), who does not share her respect for the Vietnamese people. She also avoids getting involved with Frank (Wallace Shawn), an American embassy employee with whom she plays bridge. When she meets Bob (Frederic Forrest), however, she's immediately attracted to him. She soon learns that while Bob poses as a cultural attaché, he actually works for the CIA. When Bob belatedly recognizes her attraction, he opens up to her, and they become lovers. Bob hears from a reliable intelligence source that the North Vietnamese are stepping up their aggression and plan to take Saigon soon. He tries to convince his boss, Jack Ockham (Josef Sommer), and the U.S. ambassador (E.G. Marshall) to prepare for the fall of the city by evacuating the South Vietnamese citizens who have worked most closely with the U.S. government. The ambassador does not want to appear to be abandoning President Thieu's regime. He refuses to credit Bob's report. Meanwhile, as the crisis looms, Barbara is growing despondent because Bob is not spending time with her, and because there's little she can do to help her South Vietnamese friends get out of the country. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Frederic Forrest, (more)
In a novel and intriguing approach to storytelling, director David Hare has created an engaging mystery and human drama that ostensibly focuses on an innocent dinner party but is really about something else. Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) is an old-maid schoolmarm who has lived in Wetherby, a small town in northeastern Yorkshire, all of her life. She is still haunted by memories of a passionate love affair with a young man who was later murdered while on military duty in Malaysia nearly 35 years ago in the '50s. One evening, Jean invites a group of friends over for dinner; the group is comprised of two couples, one of which spends the time sniping at each other. A young man, John Morgan (Tim McInnerny) is also in the dinner party. Jean thinks he was brought along by one of the couples; the couples, in turn, believe he was invited by Jean -- in short, he is a total stranger that everyone assumes is a friend of someone there. As the evening progresses, political topics of the moment are brought up and chewed over; Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, and other notables of the era are discussed, and various comments are made on the laziness of today's youth. The dinner party ends, and the next day John Morgan comes back to visit Jean. While she is in the midst of preparing tea for them both, he takes out a gun and kills himself. The shock waves from his senseless act later reverberate among the dinner-party guests, as the police investigator tries to piece together the man's background and the dinner party itself. Questions are raised about his motives, and viewers see the dinner party again, moment by moment, in an entirely new light. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, (more)
- 1985
Through a symbolic visual language that may be misunderstood by some, director and writer Derek Jarman has created an experimental film that at first appears to be the internal fantasy of one man. In reality, the story is about the love between two gay men (portrayed by Paul Reynolds and Philip Williamson), seen against a backdrop of bleak industrial cityscapes or abstract landscapes. The sound of a ticking clock, and the voiceover of 14 Shakespearean sonnets add poignancy and a sense of the brevity of life to the relationship of the two men. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Helene Hanff's book 84 Charing Cross Road had previously been a TV program and a stage play before it was converted into this 1986 film. The scene is New York, 1949: Anne Bancroft plays a struggling writer and passionate bibliophile, who answers an advertisement from a rare-volumes bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. Thus begins a two-decade romance by correspondence between Bancroft and Briton Anthony Hopkins, the man in charge of the overseas department of Marks and Company. Though several meetings are arranged, Bancroft and Hopkins never come face to face thanks to mitigating circumstances. But Anne finally makes it to London, and finds that much has changed. 84 Charing Cross Road was produced by Mel Brooks, the husband of star Anne Bancroft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by E.M. Forster, A Room with a View is a shining example of Merchant-Ivory's ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. Set during the Edwardian Era, the film stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, who like all proper young British ladies is compelled to tour Europe in the company of an older chaperone -- in this instance, her spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While in Italy, the ladies make the acquaintance of a wide variety of personalities; the most fascinating of their fellow tourists -- at least in Lucy's eyes -- is free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands). Aware that her cousin is becoming too familiar with Emerson, Charlotte demands that Lucy return to England posthaste. Lucy complacently settles for the tiresomely traditional courtship of nerdish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) -- and then Mr. Emerson moves into the neighborhood. Lucy now finds herself on the horns of a dilemma: Should she opt for a safe, proper marriage to Cecil, or the bohemian unpredictability of the charismatic Emerson? A winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the Merchant-Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, (more)
Based on a novel by Evelyn Waugh, Handful of Dust is set amongst Britain's aristocracy of the 1930s. At sumptuous Hetton Abbey, tradition-bound country squire James Wilby and his wife Kristin Scott Thomas open their doors to well-connected but impoverished Rupert Graves. Graves returns Wilby's hospitality by having an affair with Scott Thomas, while Wilby gamboles about his estate without a clue of what is going on. Wilby's cloistered world comes tumbling down when Scott Thomas coolly demands a divorce, shortly after the accidental death of their young son. Wilby discovers that his divorce settlement will cost him Hetton Abbey; he faces this circumstance by not facing it at all, preferring to escape to South America, stiff upper lip intact, in the company of a dotty explorer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Wilby, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
Based on a novel by Catherine Heath, the four-part British miniseries Behaving Badly starred Judi Dench as Bridget, a typically dutiful upper middle-class wife and mother. Upon learning that her husband is a philanderer, Bridget is shocked but willing to forgive. But when hubby walks out, she decides to kick over the traces and have some fun of her own, which -- in time-honored "double standard" fashion -- thoroughly scandalizes her family and friends. Behaving Badly first aired in 1988 over Britain's Channel 4. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Douglas Hodge, (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)
Made for British television, 1989's Look Back in Anger is the third film adaptation of John Osborne's legendary "kitchen sink" stage drama. Kenneth Branagh plays working-class roisterer Jimmy Porter, the archetypal "angry young man" whose college education has led nowhere. Stuck in a go-nowhere job at a candy store, Porter rebels against the establishment through his boorish treatment of his wife (Emma Thompson) and mistress (Siobhan Redmond). Branagh's forceful performance allows us to ignore the structural shortcomings inherent in the play (Osborne writes in fluent tract). Earlier filmizations of Look Back in Anger starred Richard Burton and Malcolm McDowell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Season one of As Time Goes By begins as acerbic author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) is unexpectedly reunited with implacable businesswoman Jean Parteger (Judi Dench), with whom he had an affair some 38 years earlier. Upon realizing who Jean is, Lionel would just as soon leave the past behind him, but he needs the help of Jean's secretarial service to finish his current book. As the two former lovers are brought together professionally, the old sparks begin to rekindle, despite the fact that so much has changed in the past four decades. Complicating matters is the fact that Lionel's publisher, Alistair (Philip Bretherton), also has designs on Jean. Fortunately, Alistair finds a more suitable companion in the form of Jean's daughter, Judy (Moira Brooker), but as the season comes to a close, the audience still isn't certain that Lionel and Jean, two golden-agers who are very, very set in their ways, will ever get together again. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Geoffrey Palmer, (more)
- 1993
In the second season of As Time Goes By, author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) and businesswoman Jean Parteger (Judi Dench) are still toying with the notion of resuming their romance which had been interrupted years earlier. In the course of the season's half-dozen episodes, Jean expresses surprise upon meeting Lionel's widowed father, Rocky (Frank Middlemass), who is as eccentric and boisterous as Lionel is persnickety and patronizing. Later on, the couple is put in a variety of situations wherein they must deny that they are still very much attracted to one another. At season's end, Lionel's latest book is published, whereupon he embarks on an autograph tour -- with Jean not far behind, despite her own professional duties. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, (more)
- 1994
Season three of As Time Goes By finds sixtyish author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) and like-vintage businesswoman Jean Parteger (Judi Dench) deciding to pick up their romance where they left off four decades earlier by moving in together, a decision that leads to a comedy of errors and innumerable delays. Elsewhere, Lionel's boisterous dad, Rocky (Frank Middlemass), finally weds his longtime sweetheart Madge (Joan Sims); Jean's daughter Judy (Moira Brooker) and her employee Sandy (Jenny Funnell) bicker over who will run the newest branch of Jean's secretarial service; and Lionel's publisher, Alistair (Philip Bretherton), arranges for Lionel's latest book to be transformed into an American TV miniseries. This last development sets the stage for the season's climactic episode, in which virtually the entire cast pays a memorable visit to L.A. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, (more)
The fourth season of As Time Goes By finds acerbic author Lionel Hardcastle (Geoffrey Palmer) upset over the fact that his sweetheart, Jean Parteger (Judi Dench), with whom he has moved in as a means of rekindling their romance from four decades earlier, has invited lovelorn employee Sandy (Jenny Funnell) to move in with the couple as well. Later on, Lionel and Jean are forced to play host to Jean's tiresome sister-in-law Daisy (Zoe Hilson). Publisher Alistair (Philip Bretherton) insists that Lionel "sex up" the TV-movie script based on Lionel's latest novel and to that end hires a troublesome secretary, Gwen Flack (Vivienne Martin). Despite innumerable quarrels and personal and professional travails, Lionel and Jean decide to get married. The wedding goes off as well as possible considering the amount of nervousness and family meddling surrounding it, but things do not bode well for the senior-citizen "newlyweds" when Jean refuses to retire, even though she'd implicitly promised Lionel that she would do so. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Palmer, Judi Dench, (more)
