William Morgan Sheppard Movies
Richard Attenborough directed this dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko (Denzel Washington), a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist. Woods and his wife Wendy (Penelope Wilton) get to know Biko, and they become friends, until Biko is brutally murdered at the hands of government troops in 1977 for his activities against the country's repression of the black majority population. Donald is shocked and appalled by Biko's murder and determined that the truth about Biko will become known to the world; eventually, Donald and Wendy Woods and their children must leave South Africa (and nearly everything they have) as they spread the word about Biko's life and death to ensure that he did not die in vain. Washington received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Biko. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, (more)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara becomes this sprawling historical epic. As in Shaara's novel, director Ronald Maxwell focuses on a handful of major players to dramatize the events of July 1863, when the armies of the Union and Confederacy clash at the small Pennsylvania town of the title. Among them are Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, who disagrees with his top advisor, General James Longstreet (Tom Berenger) over battle strategy, and Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a college professor whose unorthodox techniques save the day (and possibly the war) for his beleaguered army. Other cast standouts include Richard Jordan in his final film appearance as the ill-fated General Lewis Armistead, and cameo roles for Civil War buff Ken Burns and media mogul producer Ted Turner. Filmed on-location at Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg was shot as a television miniseries for Turner's TNT cable channel, but earned a limited theatrical release. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels, (more)
- 1994
Virtue battles treachery in this made-for-TV peroid drama. Prince Wenceslas (Jonathan Brandis) is the seventeen-year-old heir to the Czech crown, who has been pledged to marry the lovely Johanna (Charlotte Chatton), whose father, Duke Phillip (Leo McKern), is a man of no small power and wealth. However, Wenceslas's humorless stepmother, The Queen (Stefanie Powers), is determined to see her son Boleslav (Oliver Milburn) usurp Wenceslas as the nation's future leader. While the Prince's grandmother, Queen Ludmilla (Joan Fontaine) rallies the support of the church and the people behind Wenceslas, The Queen and her partner Lord Tunna (Perry King) will use any means necessary to achieve their dishonest ends. Good King Wenceslas first aired on the Family Channel cable television network on November 26, 1994. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
James Arness returns to the role of US marshal Matt Dillon after a twelve-year absence in the made-for-TV Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. Amanda Blake is also back as Miss Kitty, "hostess" of Dodge City's Long Branch saloon. The plot involves Dillon's reunion with Kitty in a Dodge City festooned with bad guys, chief among them a plugugly named Mannon (Steve Forrest), who has sworn to kill Matt. For those who weren't around for the original Gunsmoke TV series (which ran from 1955 through 1975), this film provides us with several clips from the old series, presented as flashbacks. Vincent McEveety, director of many an old Gunsmoke installment, calls the shots on this reunion special. Filmed not in the wilds of Kansas but in Alberta, Canada, Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge premiered on September 26, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Arness, Amanda Blake, (more)
Hawk the Slayer will appeal most to undiscriminating fans of the sword-and-sorcery genre. The title character, played by John Terry, is on a lifelong quest for "The Power", an enchanted flying sword. Alas, Hawk's evil brother Voltan (Jack Palance) likewise covets The Power. A plethora of violence ensues, culminating in a slow-motion duel to the death between hero and villain. Among Hawk's comrades are a dwarf and an elf, who are "R2D2 and C3PO" in everything except name and appearance. Hardly the best of its kind, Hawk the Slayer is redeemed by the unbridled hamminess of Jack Palance, who seems to be the only one who realizes that the whole affair is to silly to be taken seriously. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Palance, John Terry, (more)
Lady Jane Grey, the 16-year-old girl who for nine days in the 16th century was Queen of England, is here portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. Lady Jane Grey's sickly cousin, who becomes Edward VI upon the death of Henry VIII, is on the threshold of death himself. The Protestant powers-that-be, fearing that England will fall under Catholic rule, contrive to marry off Edward VI's most likely successor Lady Jane to the wastrelly Guilford Dudley (Cary Elwes), the future Duke of Suffolk. The dying Edward is coerced into naming Jane as his successor. Jane is forced to assume the throne, attempting to impose reforms on the corrupt Protestant government during her brief reign. A coup led by Jane's cousin Princess Mary (Jane Lapotaire) results in the ouster, and eventual execution, of Queen Jane and her consort. The story is told through anti-establishment themes; teen-agers Lady Jane and Guilford Dudley are seen as the only hope for a brighter future, making their deaths all the more tragic. An earlier version of the same story, Tudor Rose, was filmed in 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Cary Elwes, (more)
In this black comedy about cannibalism, an overweight man (Joe Alaskey) is thrilled when a beautiful woman (Donna Dixon) invites him to her family's home for Christmas dinner. Little does he know that he's slated to be the main course. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Donna Dixon, Joe Alaskey, (more)
A celebrated Broadway director finds his life turned upside down while attempting to raise funding for his big comeback in this contemporary screwball comedy starring Jeffrey Tambor. Harris Chappell (Tambor) wasn't made for Hollywood. When his movie career hits the skids, he hightails it right back to Manhattan. Harris is convinced that he can recapture his status as one of Broadway's leading directors, and heads straight for Frankie & Johnnie's for a meeting with his ex Didi (Melinda McGraw) and a talented young actor named Spencer (Jesse Plemons). All Harris needs is one unqualified hit to re-launch his career, but as the night wears on nothing goes as planned, both his resolve and his sanity gradually begin to erode. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Tambor, Melinda McGraw, (more)
Satan opens an antique shop in a small town and lures the residents into evil actions in this supernatural chiller. Based on a novel by the prolific Stephen King, the film bears many of the author's trademarks, such as the New England setting and the focus on regular people tempted by the forces of supernatural evil. Here, the enticements toward bad behavior comes from the "Needful Things" shop, owned by new resident Leland Gaunt (Max von Sydow). Gaunt's shop offers an odd collection of goods, each of which happens to be the object of desire of a local resident. Instead of money, however, Gaunt demands that townspeople perform a series of simple pranks. He has a plan, and these actions escalate until the town is at violent war with itself. The residents are brought to life by a talented cast, led by von Sydow's suave devil and including Ed Harris as the local sheriff, J.T. Walsh as a corrupt politician, and Amanda Plummer as a seemingly innocent baker. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, (more)
- 1991
- PG
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The plot involves a peace conference between the Federation of Planets and the troublesome Klingons. The Klingons are hoping to perform a little damage control after triggering a mining disaster on one of their moons; their spokesman is the seemingly contrite General Chang (Christopher Plummer). All negotiations abruptly cease when a Klingon vessel is attacked, and Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) are accused of the crime. As they stand trial for murder, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Vulcanian trainee Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall) try to locate the real culprits. It turns out that Kirk and McCoy are victims of a conspiracy to foment further hostilities between the Good Guys and the Klingons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, (more)
John Hurt stars as John Merrick, the hideously deformed 19th century Londoner known as "The Elephant Man". Treated as a sideshow freak, Merrick is assumed to be retarded as well as misshapen because of his inability to speak coherently. In fact, he is highly intelligent and sensitive, a fact made public when one Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) rescues Merrick from a carnival and brings him to a hospital for analysis. Alas, even after being recognized as a man of advanced intellect, Merrick is still treated like a freak; no matter his station in life, he will forever be a prisoner of his own malformed body. Unable to secure rights for the famous stage play The Elephant Man, producer Mel Brooks based his film on the memoirs of Frederick Treves and a much later account of Merrick's life by Ashley Montagu. The film is lensed in black and white by British master cinematographer Freddie Francis. Though nominated for eight Academy Awards, the film was ultimately shut out in every category. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, (more)
- 1983
- R
The Keep is an ambitious visual feast from director Michael Mann, whose previous effort was the moody, stylish Thief, and who would soon produce the quintessential pastel-colored '80s TV series Miami Vice. Adapted from the novel by F. Paul Wilson and set in German-occupied Romania of 1943, the film introduces the invaders to the dark presence lurking within the walls of an ancient fortress in the Carpathian Alps -- a presence which doesn't take well to unwanted guests. When soldiers under the command of Captain Woermann (Jurgen Prochnow) begin to die horribly, he receives the unwanted assistance of Nazi Major Kampffer (Gabriel Byrne), who immediately assumes command and forcibly enlists the aid of the local expert on ancient languages, the Jewish Doctor Theodore Cuza (Ian McKellen), in the translation of the cryptic writings left near a murdered soldier's body. When Cuza comes face-to-face with the Keep's ancient resident -- an ethereal creature which gains strength by draining the life-force from its enemies -- he forms a pact with the creature in the hope that it will escape and destroy Hitler's armies. When a mysterious stranger (Scott Glenn) arrives at the nearby village and befriends Cuza's daughter Eva (Alberta Watson), he reveals the true nature of the beast within the Keep, as well as his intent to destroy it before Cuza can release it -- a task which, if failed, will spell doom for all mankind. The film's fever-dream-logic casts a hypnotic spell -- ably assisted by Tangerine Dream's pulsating, ethereal music (including electronic variations on a theme by Thomas Tallis) -- with a story that seems to play by the Keep's own eerie supernatural rules. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
Avarice is the motivation behind the zany deeds in this comedy. It all begins when a dying prisoner whispers the location of his loot to the facility's psychiatrist who heads to Cherry Hill, New Jersey to find it. Unbeknownst to him, he is followed by two fugitive convicts who overheard the confession. More trouble erupts when the shrink accidently goes to the wrong house to dig up the treasure. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Catherine O'Hara, (more)
Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern play a pair of lovers on the run in David Lynch's surrealist road movie Wild at Heart. Cage's Sailor Ripley is a violent ex-convict with an Elvis Presley fixation who falls in love with Dern's Lula Pace Fortune, the daughter of a rich, but mentally unstable, Southern belle named Marietta (Diane Ladd, Dern's real-life mother). Just after Sailor is released from prison, where he was jailed for brutally killing one of Marietta's thugs, he and Lula take off on a wild cross-country trip, pursued by his parole officer, her mother, criminals, bounty hunters, and detectives. Along the way, Sailor and Lula have a lot of sex, share their pasts, share their respective obsessions for Elvis and The Wizard of Oz, and meet a lot of bizarre characters, including a seedy ex-marine (Willem Dafoe) who persuades Sailor to participate in a bank robbery. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern, (more)
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