Roy Dotrice Movies

A former World War II submarine captain and his friend turn to smuggling when a former crew member lays out a plan to retrieve some hidden diamonds. Geoffrey (Richard Johnson) and his sidekick David (Roy Dotrice) listen to Riker (Jeremy Kemp) as he tells of the hidden treasure near the Skeleton Coast of Africa. Julie (Honor Blackman) is the passenger whose late husband supposedly hid the diamonds. With a dim-witted German named Johann (Peter Vaughan) as their guide, the crew battle fierce storms and underwater danger as they make the treacherous trek to collect the missing diamonds in this action adventure. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

For this film adaptation of Peter Shaffer's Broadway hit, director Milos Forman returned to the city of Prague that he'd left behind during the Czech political crises of 1968, bringing along his usual cinematographer and fellow Czech expatriate, Miroslav Ondricek. Amadeus is an expansion of a Viennese "urban legend" concerning the death of 18th-century musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. From the vantage point of an insane asylum, aging royal composer Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) recalls the events of three decades earlier, when the young Mozart (Tom Hulce) first gained favor in the court of Austrian emperor Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones). Salieri was incensed that God would bless so vulgar and obnoxious a young snipe as Mozart with divine genius. Why was Salieri--so disciplined, so devoted to his art, and so willing to toady to his superiors--not touched by God? Unable to match Mozart's talent, Salieri uses his influence in court to sabotage the young upstart's career. Disguising himself as a mysterious benefactor, Salieri commissions the backbreaking "Requiem," which eventually costs Mozart his health, wealth, and life. Among the film's many pearls of dialogue, the best line goes to the Emperor, who rejects a Mozart composition on the grounds that it has "too many notes." Amadeus won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for F. Murray Abraham. In 2002, the film received a theatrical re-release as "Amadeus: The Director's Cut," a version that includes 20 minutes of additional footage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location "Somewhere in France", this umpteenth version of Dumas' The Corsican Brothers stars the zoned-out comedy team of Cheech and Chong. Perhaps inspired by the Ritz Bros.' spin on The Three Musketeers, the duo retains enough of the original story (about twin brothers who feel one another's pain) to keep the plot going, but try to inject their own peculiar brand of humor throughout. The film's highlight is a duel with two loaves of stale bread. Yes, that's the highlight. Just as the 1930s comedy team of Wheeler and Woolsey lost their audience when they dropped their risque humor and Prohibition gags, so too do Cheech and Chong falter when not indulging in the drug-oriented comedy which made them famous in the early 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Charles Dickens' life sounds like a story that could have come from one of his novels -- his father was imprisoned when Charles was a child, forcing him to find work in a factory to support himself and his family, and it was only after many years of struggle that he began to earn his living as a reporter. In time, Dickens began writing comic short stories, and eventually he became one of the most popular and acclaimed novelists in the world. Dickens of London is a miniseries produced for British television which recounts the remarkable story of Dickens's life and career. Roy Dotrice stars as Charles Dickens, Gene Foad plays Dickens as a young man, and Simon Bell portrays Dickens as a child. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Written for television by Allan Sloane, Family Reunion stars Bette Davis as an ageing New England schoolteacher who is given an "unlimited" bus ticket as a retirement present. She uses this gift to visit the farthest-flung members of her long-estranged family. In her absence, Davis' small town falls prey to corruptive influences, but with the help of her more honest relatives (four generations' worth, including Bette's real-life grandson J. Ashley Hyman), everything is resolved at the annual Founder's Day gathering. Family Reunion originally aired in two parts, on October 11 and 12, 1981; the preponderance of Davis' family members and unresolved plot strands would seem to suggest that this 4-hour film was intended as a series pilot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The young girl who witnessed the auto plant manager's hit-and-run accident doesn't quite blackmail him into giving her a good job, and she also doesn't quite blackmail him into spending time with her and her young friends. Her threat is implied, rather than explicit, and what she wants isn't made entirely clear. The manager doesn't want to break up his marriage or make the young woman his mistress, which might be her objective, and he can't promote her any further in the company. If she talks, his life is ruined. What can he do? When the Japanese owners of his factory ask him to come with an assistant to Japan to test-drive a new car, he has an opportunity to find out. This Danish-made English-language thriller doesn't end quite the way one might expect it to. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this follow-up to the previous episode "Top God," Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) accepts the offer of his father, Zeus (Roy Dotrice), to serve as a full god on Mount Olympus. The honor tarnishes when Hercules finds out the real reason Zeus' offer was extended: As his first assignment, Hercules is expected to thwart a power play spearheaded by the evil Ares (Kevin Smith) and Hera (Meg Foster). Along the way, Hera blackmails Zeus into relinquishing his throne, affording him a rare and tantalizing opportunity to experience life as mortal. In the climax of this, the fourth-season finale of Hercules the Legendary Journeys, Hercules engages in a violent, winner-take-all battle with Hera and his half-brother, Apollo (Scott Michaelsen), in the Dark Side of Olympus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As his mother Alcmerne (Liddy Holloway) lies dying, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) mournfully recalls his first taste of war. In a lengthy flashback, Young Hercules (Ian Bohen) and his equally youthful friends, Iolaus (Dean O'Gorman) and Jason (Chris Conrad), eagerly align themselves with King Eteocles (Ray Woolf) to ward off King Stavros' (Martin Baynton) Parthenon invaders. Can it be that all this bloodshed has no purpose, or will something good emerge from the carnage after all? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide