Peter Firth Movies

The true story of an upset victory that helped change the sport of golf forever provides the basis for this period drama. Francis Ouimet (played by Shia LaBeouf) was born in 1893 to a working-class family in Massachusetts, and grew up fascinated by golf. However, at that time golf was considered a pastime of the wealthy and privileged, and British and Scottish players dominated the professional game. Ouimet's familial home was near the Brookline, MA, Country Club, and over the stern objections of his father, Francis got a job there as a caddy. Honing his skill in his spare time, Francis displayed a tremendous natural talent for the game and an understanding of its strategies, and 1913 he became the first amateur to play in the U.S. Open, held at the Brookline Country Club. Ouimet's presence was considered little more than a novelty at the time; Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane), a British champion with six tournament victories under his belt, was considered a shoo-in to win, with Ted Ray (Stephen Marcus) his only serious competition. However, Vardon, a fellow working-class boy who had overcome tuberculosis to become Britain's premier professional golfer, had more in common with Ouimet than anyone expected, and the tournament unexpectedly became a hard-fought competition between an established star and a promising unknown. Directed by Bill Paxton in his second directorial effort, The Greatest Game Ever Played also stars Elias Koteas as Francis' father, Josh Flitter as the ten-year-old boy who becomes Francis' caddy, and Peyton List as Sarah Wallis, Francis' sweetheart. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Though its title is lifted from the popular 1970s song, the British drama Me & Mrs. Jones is eminently up-to-date in its tone and content. Robson Green stars as tabloid journalist Liam Marple, who at the behest of his boss (and ex-wife), Jane (Keeley Hawes), sets about to dig up dirt on Laura Bowden (Caroline Goodall), the new British Prime Minister. Posing as a political fundraiser, Liam gains entrance into Number 10 Downing, where he promptly wins the confidence of the idealistic PM. A thorough professional, Liam had never counted on falling in love with Laura, but that is precisely what happens -- and neither Jane nor Laura's husband, Richard (Philip Quast), is all that pleased over this particular "scoop." Originally telecast in the U.K. in 2002, Me & Mrs. Jones was seen in America as part of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre anthology on January 26, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this action thriller, the only things standing in the way of world destruction are two guys in an ice cream truck. On a remote island in the South Pacific, a secret weapons project (code name "Elvis") goes wrong, and a new chemical weapon, safe when frozen but deadly when thawed, is allowed to escape. Eighteen soldiers are killed, leaving behind only the scientist who created the formula and the officer in charge of the project, who is saddled with most of the blame. Ten years later, Tim Mason (Skeet Ulrich) is working at a diner in Montana when an old friend, Dr. Richard Long (David Paymer), is seriously wounded by Maj. Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth). It seems that Dr. Long helped create Elvis and Maj. Brynner was the officer who took the fall for the disaster ten years ago. Near death, Long gives Elvis to Mason and tells him that it has to be kept solidly frozen and delivered to Fort Magruder, 90 miles away. But how to keep it at zero degrees until then? A logical solution presents itself when Arlo (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who drives an ice cream truck, makes a delivery to the diner. Mason drafts Arlo into helping him transport Elvis to safety, and before long Brynner's men are hot on the trail of the icy chemical weapon. First-time director Hugh Johnson learned his craft in part through his work as a cameraman for Ridley Scott: he was the cinematographer for White Squall and G.I. Jane. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This wartime drama concerns a Catholic priest who finds his beliefs tested by his desire to defeat fascism and his love for a woman. Don Paolo (Anthony LaPaglia) is a priest in a small Italian village during World War II. While he espouses pacifism and non-violence, his words fall on increasingly less receptive ears as the anti-fascist Partisans, led by Capt. Zito (Dan Hedaya), become a greater force in the community. When an American solider parachutes into the village to encourage the Partisans to keep up their fight until Allied troops can liberate Italy, Zito's men step up their activities, leading fascist troops to capture, torture, and execute Zito's right hand man, Aldo (Jorge Sanz). After Aldo's death, one of Don Paolo's associates, Don Sebastiano (David Neal), decides that he can no longer stand idly by and watch his people be butchered; he joins the underground forces and helps ambush a group of Nazi soldiers, which leads to his death. After Don Sebastiano's passing, Don Paolo finally agrees to help Zito's forces by delivering a schedule of bridge bombings to American operatives in a neighboring town, though his nerve begins to fail him en route. Amidst the village's political turmoil, Don Paolo has become acquainted with Adriana (Embeth Davidtz), a beautiful woman working with the Partisans; he has developed a romantic attraction to her which she obviously shares, and as he struggles to keep his emotions in check and stay true to his vows, he is forced to call upon her for help in order to complete his mission for Zito. Based on a short story by Anthony DiFranco, The Garden of Redemption was intended to be the first in a series of films based on stories about World War II, produced for cable television. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A misleading title and a different type of performance from Hugh Grant are two of the offbeat features of An Awfully Big Adventure. Virginal theatre fanatic Stella (Georgina Cates), who speaks with her dead mother by phone, joins a theatrical troupe in 1947 England headed by manipulative director Meredith Potter (Grant). Stella quickly falls for Potter, but he doesn't return her affections, driving her into the arms of the troupe's arrogant star, P.L. O'Hara (Alan Rickman). O'Hara eventually takes Stella's virginity, although she secretly remains devoted to Potter. More secrets of the troupe are revealed at the story's climax, although nothing is really resolved to any of the characters' satisfaction. Not quite a satire and not quite a drama, An Awfully Big Adventure is occasionally mean-spirited and frequently dour, which may just be a result of its subject matter. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

In this crime thriller, Leslie Steckler (Peter Firth) is an inoffensive, polite and very quiet man. He does, however, have a particular animus against blondes wearing white. In fact, among that small group of women, he is a cold-blooded serial killer, instead of the meek dentist he usually appears to be. He is looking for someone to tell his story to, and when he discovers that the (brunette) writer Ellen Carter (Harriet Robinson) has murdered her husband, he feels that he has found a perfect person. It helps, of course, that her novelistic specialty is serial killers. However, Inspector Taylor (Don Henderson) of Scotland Yard is on Ellen's case, and will soon be on Leslie's. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This international co-production is loosely based on the works of Dostoyevsky (most notably The Eternal Husband) but it is set and lensed in Prague. Musician and incorrigible duellist Milan (Tim Roth) seduces Teresa (Ana Belen), the wife of his unsuspecting friend Franz (Peter Firth). Many years later, after Teresa's death, Franz comes to Milan with a little daughter. Milan suspects that Franz knows about his longtime affair with Teresa and that the daughter might be Milan's own. When the girl dies from a grave illness, Milan challenges Franz, but the latter refuses to shoot him at the duel. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

Married to Murder stars Amanda Donohoe and Peter Firth as a ostensibly happy British married couple. This sunny veneer hides a sordid history of infidelity, mistrust and emotional abuse. Amanda would like nothing better than to murder Peter. But she'll have to move swiftly, since Peter has plans for doing in Amanda. Married to Murder was filmed for British television, then shown in the U.S. over the Arts and Entertainment cable network; it premiered on November 10, 1991--a particularly bloodthirsty night for American TV, in that two other murder-in-the-family TV movies (My Son Johnny and Wife, Mother, Murderer) were being shown on CBS and ABC, while NBC was offering The Return of Elliot Ness! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Innocent Victim is a psychological thriller based on the Ruth Rendell novel Tree of Hands. London based, best-selling author, Benet (Helen Shaver), who has just written a controversial novel, lives alone with her young son. Benet's mother, Marsha (Lauren Becall), visiting from the United States, is a manic-depressive who has psychotic episodes. When Benet's young son dies, Marsha kidnaps a local child to serve as a substitute. Benet believes she should return the child but upon investigation she finds out that the child has been severely abused by his parents. After the child's disappearance, the parents are charged with the murder. A more skillful filmmaker might have dealt, as the novel does, with the moral issues of guilt and responsibility and the terrible moral dilemma faced by Benet. Instead, director Giles Foster presents the film in a rather straightforward, nonjudgmental fashion which allows for little character growth and diminishes the impact of what should be an ironic and disturbing ending. Innocent Victim, while at times compelling, and based on an interesting premise, would have been a memorable film if Foster had taken more chances and pushed his actors to give the performances that they are capable of but here are only hinted at. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

The first of several films based on Tom Clancy's "Jack Ryan" technothrillers, Hunt for Red October stars Alec Baldwin as eccentric CIA analyst Ryan and Sean Connery as Soviet submarine commander Marko Ramius. Ramius sets the plot in motion when he murders his political adviser, burns his orders, and steers his sub Red October towards American waters, hoping to defect. The CIA, aware that the Red October was about to embark on an evasive mission to demonstrate its ability to avoid detection and fire its nuclear missiles upon U.S. installations, believes that Ramius is insane, and that he plans to start World War III. To cover their own behinds, the Russians back up the CIA's suspicion. Only Jack Ryan believes that Ramius' mission is not as apocalyptic as it seems -- and it is Ryan who is assigned to infiltrate the Red October to prove his theory. The sort of film that in an earlier era would have been called a "thinking man's thriller," The Hunt for Red October ushered in a new series of Hollywood-produced post-Cold War adventure films, including 1995's Crimson Tide. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This thriller has a strong anti-nuclear message. It is set in Thorpeville, a Southern town that has an abandoned nuclear-power plant and chronicles a bizarre series of rapes and murders. What is most puzzling is that each of the female victims are found to be radioactive. Investigating the strange killings are sheriff Jake Stern, pathologist Doc Roberts, slightly crazed Vietnam vet Freddie, and a clever reporter Patti Smart. They eventually deduce that the killer is some sort of nuclear mutant and their prime suspect is James Manners, the man who designed the faulty reactor. All of the investigators soon find themselves entangled in a complex conspiracy/cover-up that culminates in an explosive finale. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi