Simon Dutton Movies
A relentless secret society known as "Pugnus Dei" attempts to recruit a former solder by any means necessary in this white-knuckle action thriller starring The Mummy's Arnold Vosloo. Their target has been traumatized, but nothing he can say or do will prevent the nefarious order from realizing their goal. Time is running out fast, and when the cornered soldier realizes that he has no choice but to fight, the stage is set for a rumble that will send shockwaves reverberating across the globe. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Vosloo, Mathis Landwehr, (more)
Marshall Herskovitz directed this look at life in 16th-century Venice, based on Margaret Rosenthal's 1994 book The Honest Courtesan. Positioned outside of the Venetian court, Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack) hopes to rise above her station, but her interest in nobleman's son Marco Venier (Rufus Sewell) is blocked since his parents forbid their marriage. Following the path taken by her mother, Paola (Jacqueline Bisset), Veronica becomes a courtesan, finding this gives her a niche in the male-dominated society. When Vatican emissaries accuse her of witchcraft, she lashes back, using the trial as a feminist forum to expose the hypocrisies of the period. Filmed in 1996 in Venice and Rome with a variety of working titles (Courtesan, Venice, and The Honest Courtesan). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, (more)
- 1996
In this Vietnam-set war drama, a cadre of soldiers embark upon a dangerous, doomed mission to a supposedly haunted mountain. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Wise, Simon Dutton, (more)
- 1990
In this documentary, director and screenwriter James Toback asks a wildly divergent group of people to ponder some basic philosophical questions for his camera -- How did the world begin? How did we get here? What's the purpose of life? What do we love, what do we fear, and how would we spend the rest of our lives if we could choose the circumstances ourselves? Toback's interview subjects range from a pair of ten-year-olds, a nun, a medical school student, and a holocaust survivor to basketball star Darryl Dawkins, movie producer Don Simpson, boxer and author Jose Torres, and classical violinist Eugene Fodor. Some of the responses are funny, some are moving, and most say a great deal about the people who give them, but ultimately most of Toback's subjects come to a similar conclusion -- we all have ideas, but no one really knows for sure. The Big Bang also includes, as a framing device, footage of Toback attempting to secure financing from a producer who sounds a bit dubious about the commercial prospects of a film in which a bunch of people discuss philosophy for 80 minutes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Toback, Don Simpson, (more)
- 1989
In this telemovie outing, from the late 1980s/early 1990s revival of the character known as The Saint, Simon Templar (Simon Dutton) teams up with a beautiful Russian-American woman (Pamela Sue Martin of Dynasty) to investigate the mysterious deaths of a number of scientists. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Based on a 1924 mystery novel by Agatha Christie, The Man in the Brown Suit was the eighth of Warner Bros. Television's Christie-inspired TV movies. Stephanie Zimbalist stars as an American tourist in Cairo (with Spain standing in for Egypt). She runs across a mysterious murder, and an odd encounter with a stranger; all this occurs even before she sets foot on a luxury liner with an all-suspect passenger manifest. It is established that the murderer, who is after a cache of valuable diamonds, is an internationally notorious criminal--but which one of the passengers is he (or she)? Maybe the villain romantic lead Simon Dutton, the "man in the brown suit" of the title...but don't discount such special guest suspects as Rue McClanahan and Tony Randall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In this telemovie installment of the popular British series The Saint, hero Simon Templar (Simon Dutton) agrees to assist an international agency in capturing a much-sought-after terrorist. The targeted individual is planning to obtain control over a cache of deadly missiles. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1989
In 1989, Simon Dutton brought back the long-running character of Simon Templar, AKA The Saint, with a series of six two-hour action films, produced for (and originally shown on) television in the UK. The second feature in the series, The Blue Dulac, sees Templar en route to Paris, the City of Lights, where he uses the titular blue gem - once the property of the Russian czars - as the bait to trap a murderer and thief who loves to mix and mingle with the French aristocracy. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1989
- R
Simon Dutton revived the character of, Simon Templar, AKA The Saint, in 1989, with a series of six two-hour action films, made for (and originally aired on) television in the UK. The first of these features, The Brazilian Connection, opens with the abduction of a baby from a pram in Knightsbridge, England. Beginning at the scene of the disappearance, Templar follows the trail to an underground, multicontinental ring of black market infant traders and attempts to shut them down. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1989
While in Australia, The Saint encounters a Hong Kong syndicate obsessed to own an abandoned amusement park. ~ All Movie Guide
Director Bruce Beresford has safely stayed within the domain of the Bible and not strayed into patches of Hollywood fiction in this routine version of the story of David (Richard Gere). For that reason, anyone unfamiliar with Biblical history might be puzzled by the episodic presentation of David's life. In the opening scenes, Samuel condemns Saul and anoints the young David as his heir, and in fairly quick succession David slays Goliath, incurs Saul's jealous wrath, leaves, and, much later, comes back to rule after Saul has died. Once David is on the throne, Bathsheba and then Absalom enter into the picture. Interspersed are brutal scenes of fighting, but not much in the way of motivation for David's complex behavior. Gaps in the narration or unclear motivation may be the result of trying to cover too many events in a 114-minute running time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Alice Krige, (more)
- 1983
This disappointing, pretentious farce by writer and director Peter Ustinov, who also stars as the incompetent but powerful Abki Aga, is based on a novel by Yashar Kemal about Memed (Simon Dutton) a man who escapes into the Turkish hills with the woman he loves (Leonie Mellinger), a woman already betrothed to the nephew of the region's governor (Aga). Even though Memed joins a band of brigands he is not successful when he first tries to kill Aga, who lords it over five different villages and has a sizeable army, and so he tries again. Unfortunately, Turkey is not only the setting, but an apt descriptive term for this 105-minute film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Herbert Lom, (more)
Like the Virginia Woolf novel which it interprets, this 1983 BBC production has three parts: "The Window," "Time Passes," and "The Lighthouse." The first focuses on one day in the life of the Ramsay family -- the father and mother, their eight children, and four guests -- while they vacation on the Cornwall peninsula in remote southwestern England. In conversations in the summer house, at the beach, during strolls, and at cricket and wrestling matches, the characters reveal their beliefs, their prejudices, and their longings in an era when old traditions are dying and new traditions are quickening. James, six -- a brat to his father but a dear to his mother -- repeatedly asserts his wish to visit a lighthouse on an island within easy rowing distance. His father Michael Gough refuses to go (and, thus, no one goes) because the weather isn't right. In a moment of dramatic irony, the self-centered father scolds the boy for always thinking only of himself. Self-effacing Mrs. Ramsay (Rosemary Harris) comforts the child. She also sees to the needs of other family members and guests, who have lighthouses of their own -- metaphorical ones -- to preoccupy them. Her daughter, Prue, for example, anticipates her coming marriage while visitor Lily Briscoe looks forward to her career as a painter. In defiance of social convention, Briscoe chooses to remain unmarried. The film depicts the second part of the novel, "Time Passes," with transitional scenes showing changes of season over ten years. During this period, Mrs. Ramsey dies, and Mr. Ramsey laments her death in a weeping spell, saying she never really understood that he loved her. In the final part, "The Lighthouse," James finally gets his wish when he, his father, and other members of the family row out to the towering beacon. On the shore, meanwhile, Lily Briscoe finishes a painting of Mrs. Ramsey. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
