Lyn Farleigh Movies
Perhaps inspired by the success of PBS' Shakespeare Plays series, Bard Productions Ltd. Came out with this diverting if not very cinematic adaptation of the Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. Timothy Dalton plays Marc Antony, while Lynn Redgrave is uncharacteristically alluring as Queen Cleopatra. The all-TV cast includes Nichelle Nichols, Anthony Geary, Walter Koenig, and Brian Kerwin. Also making a cameo appearance is John Carradine, giving his all to the brief part of the Soothsayer. At three hours, Antony and Cleopatra has some trouble getting bookings outside the "art" houses. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Jane Lapotaire, (more)
- 1988
A group of young adults tries to escape from Czechoslovakia in 1952 in this historical drama. The communist regime sets up what appears to be a western zone in order to trap the escapees and trick them into speaking out against the oppressive regime. Only when it is too late do the people discover that they have been tricked and that the lucky ones will head to prison. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shaun Scott, Edita Brychta, (more)
- 1981
Made for British television, Fothergill is based on a true story. Robert Hardy portrays Fothergill, a scholar who renounces academia to become a innkeeper. Throughout the 1920s, Fothergill's establishment is the place to be for London's smart set, with the genial host pulling all the proper social strings. Fothergill received its first US showing in 1984 on cable's Arts Network (now known as Arts and Entertainment). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
An emotive drama in which a dairy farmer (Anthony Hopkins) is faced with ruin, brought on by the vagaries of European law and takes extreme measures to combat what he feels to be the injustice of a system which no longer supports the traditions and ideals of the past. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Tom Bell starred in this six-part British miniseries as Frank Ross, a nasty career criminal freshly released from prison. Hardly the better for his experience, Ross was consumed with the desire to get even with the person responsible for his incarceration. The "hero" was surrounded by such equally odious characters as his unhinged wife Anne (Lynn Farleigh) and his lowlife buddies Chris (Brian Croucher) and Ralph (John Junkin). Out was broadcast by Thames Television from July 24 to August 28, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Bell
- 1969
- R
American actor Rod Steiger adopts a British accent to keep apace with his co-stars in Three into Two Won't Go. Steiger plays a prosperous salesman, married to Claire Bloom (Steiger's real-life wife at the time). While on a business trip, the salesman falls for a sexy 19-year-old hitchhiker (Judy Geeson). He thinks he's in control of his philanderous situation -- until the teenager insists upon moving in with him and his wife. Dame Peggy Ashcroft also stars as Claire Bloom's mother, whose neurotic interference only makes things messier. Three into Two Won't Go was based on a novel by Andrea Newman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rod Steiger, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1999
Originally telecast by the BBC in 1999, Trial by Fire served as the unofficial pilot film for the Helen West mystery series, based on the novels by Frances Fyfield. Moving from London to the supposed tranquility of the suburbs, prosecutor Helen West (Juliet Stevenson) and her police-chief boyfriend, Geoffrey Bailey (Jim Carter), don't find very much peace and quiet. In fact, things are almost as bad as in the big city, what with spousal abuse, kleptomania, and murder running amok. Much against her will, Helen is drawn into the intrigues of her new murder -- and by extension, so is Geoffrey, who totally disagrees with Helen's deductions. Trial by Fire aired in the U.S. as an episode of the PBS Mystery! anthology on February 24, 2000; in the subsequent Helen West series, the roles of Helen and Geoffrey were respectively played by Amanda Burton and Conor Mullen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliet Stevenson, Jim Carter, (more)
- 1973
Offscreen husband and wife David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt star in this average British shocker from director Kevin Billington. After their son drowns, the woman loses her mind and is committed to a mental hospital. Upon her release, the couple moves into a remote mansion in the country, where ghostly apparitions and terrifying visions threaten her fragile sanity. Billington's film (based on a Richard Lortz play) features a surprisingly effective ending, but its stately pace and drawing-room civility make it as uninspiring as most British horror films of the time. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
Unique in the annals of animated films, Watership Down is a serious, even grim tale that many will find relentless and depressing and others will find poetic and moving. It doesn't pull any punches. Death -- violent, disturbing death -- is ever present, portrayed in a manner that is astonishingly honest for a cartoon. As a result, it is that rare animated film that really aims for a mature audience, despite its superficial funny animal trappings. It has a brilliant opening, most likely created by UPA veteran John Hubley, which in a primitive and simplistic style relates a creation myth as told by rabbits. The style changes thereafter, with beautiful watercolor backgrounds and a more natural approach to character animation. Unfortunately, the animation suffers somewhat from this point, becoming a bit sloppy, although it continues to portray the characters' movements as realistically as possible. The character designs themselves are rather too similar, with the result that it is sometimes difficult to tell the various rabbits apart. The story is also sometimes told in too-broad strokes, leaving those unfamiliar with the novel confused as to exactly what has happened and, more importantly, why. However, these flaws are redeemed by some unforgettable sequences, including a chilling segment detailing the destruction of the rabbits' warren and a devastatingly sad end sequence in which the Black Rabbit of Death gently takes one of the heroes away with it. Voiced by a fine cast, with stellar work from John Hurt and Richard Briers, Watership Down is an imperfect film with some of the most powerful moments ever created for the genre. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Richard Briers, (more)
WWII was remembered from a distinctly feminist point of view in the long-running British drama series Wish Me Luck. Jane Asher was cast as Faith Ashley, London-based coordinator for a team of female resistance fighters, who journeyed behind enemy lines to confound the Nazis. Ashley's chief operatives (and virtually the only ones to survive all 23 episodes) were Liz Grainger (Kate Buffery) and Matty Firman (Suzanna Hamilton). Created by Jill Hyem and Lavinia Warner, whose earlier credits included the internationally syndicated POW-camp series Tenko, Wish Me Luck was telecast in England from 1988 to 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Buffery, Suzanna Hamilton, (more)
- 1994
Based on the novels of W.J. Bailey, the British drama series Wycliffe concerned itself with the exploits of an extremely thorough Cornish detective. Jack Shepherd starred as Det. Supt. Wycliffe, whose beat included virtually the length and breadth of the Cornwall coast. The series first aired August 7, 1993 with the 90-minute pilot episode "Wycliffe and the Circle of Death." Making its "official" debut on July 24, 1994, Wycliffe yielded 38 hour-long episodes over a four-year period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Shepherd, Jimmy Yuill, (more)
