Gareth Forwood Movies
For the fourth installment of the BBC crime series Prime Suspect, the producers experimented with the show's format. Instead of following police detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) through a single murder investigation over the course of four hours, Prime Suspect 4 includes three 90-minute, stand-alone mysteries. In "The Lost Child," Tennison investigates the disappearance of a child whose mother is unwittingly dating a convicted sex offender. In "Inner Circles," she traces the connection between the residents of a brutal housing development and the well-heeled denizens of an exclusive country club whose manager is brutally murdered. And "The Scent of Darkness" returns to the serial-killer investigation that made Tennison's career (in Prime Suspect 1) as additional murders with the same modus operandi bring up the possibility that she apprehended the wrong man. In addition to its new format, Prime Suspect 4 also depicts, in "The Lost Child," the first non-murder investigation of Tennison's career. Prime Suspect 4 originally aired April 30, May 7, and May 15, 1995, in the United Kingdom. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Beatie Edney, (more)
- 1992
For those who have been there, India can be a bureaucratic nightmare, where odd and arbitrary rules are capriciously enforced by a whimsical and occasionally quite greedy series of authorities, some of them self-appointed. The situation can be considerably worsened when an honest official comes into office, a man who believes that all that country's many rules and laws should be enforced all the time. In this story, the main business of a group of former aristocrats living in central India is leading tours into a national park and re-enacting the lifestyles of colonial India. However, this has only been possible because the park's officials applied its rules with some sense of perspective. In this wry and leisurely comedy, the worst possible disaster has struck: a small-minded and very honest official has just gotten posted to the position of park director, and he is bent on following the letter of the law. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roshan Seth
Sometimes a family title, among the nobility of England, goes to the "collateral" heirs -- people not in the direct line of decent, like cousins, great-nephews and the like. On rare occasions, these people are not even aware that they are about to be elevated to the House of Lords, and they have been living more-or-less ordinary lives. In this comedy, the family which lacks direct heirs is the Royal Family of England -- as all of the likely heirs have died one after the other in swift succession. In this comedy, the "collateral heir" is an exuberant, fence-busting All-American slob (and pretty good rock n' roll musician) by the name of Ralph (John Goodman). Unknown to him, his grandmother had an affair with a royal prince. Ralph's a good guy, and eager to please. He recognizes the importance of the royal hoopla to England and works very hard to fit in as its new designated king. He is assisted by the ever-unctuous, very serious family factotum Willingham (Peter O'Toole). The trouble is, he doesn't have instincts for politics English-style, and he is constantly "putting a foot wrong," as they might say. The most difficult situation for him is when he develops a new love interest, and she's not "acceptable" to the upper crust. In addition to being hounded by the tabloids, he finds that "the good of the state" requires that he drop his new girlfriend. Things really come to a head just before Ralph's coronation as king. Reviewers generally loathed this feel-good comedy, but audiences seem to have enjoyed it tremendously, and it has done well in video and TV airings. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Peter O'Toole, (more)
It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. In the horrendous "slaughter" sequence, more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as photographer Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day-Lewis. Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, (more)
- 1981
- R
The later years of the life of author D.H. Lawrence are dramatized in this screen biography. Following the controversial reception of his novel The Rainbow, David Herbert Lawrence (Ian McKellen) and his wife Frieda (Janet Suzman) leave England for the U.S., where they hope that Lawrence's bold themes will be received in a more tolerant climate. Such is not the case, and the Lawrences travel first to Mexico, and then to Italy while David attempts to complete and then publish his best known (and most controversial) work, Lady Chatterley's Lover. However, as the furor over the book taxes David's well being, tuberculosis saps his physical health. The supporting cast includes John Gielgud as censorship crusader Herbert G. Muskett and Ava Gardner as Mabel Dodge Luhan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, (more)
- 1979
British director Richard Marquand graduated from BBC documentaries to dramatized features with 1979's Birth of the Beatles. This chronicle of the Fab Four begins when the group consisted of five musicians: John Lennon (Stephen MacKenna), Paul McCartney (Rod Culbertson), George Harrison (John Altman), Stu Sutcliffe (David Wilkinson), and Pete Best (Ryan Michael). The group begins its career in the dregs of a Hamburg, Germany nightclub (most of the film was made on location). Under the tutelage of manager Brian Epstein (Brian Jameson), the group sheds its rough-hewn image in favor of choirboy haircuts and Eton collars; along the way, Sutcliffe dies and drummer Best is replaced by Richard Starkey, (aka Ringo Starr, played here by Ray Ashcroft). First aired in the U.S. on November 23, 1979, Birth of the Beatles is significant as the only Beatle biopic made while John Lennon was still alive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen MacKenna, Rod Culbertson, (more)
- 1968
John McGrath's television play The Bofors Gun was expanded (if not improved) by this film adaptation. The time is 1954: a weak-willed British corporal (David Warner) desperately wants to improve his lot in the National Service by taking the officer's entrance course. A rebellious, sociopathic Irish private (Nicol Williamson) takes a dislike to the corporal. He hopes to humiliate the would-be officer and to this end commits suicide while the corporal is guarding him. The character motivations in The Bofors Gun might be lost on anyone who lacks intimate knowledge of the turbulent Irish/British relationships of the era, but the characters themselves are easily recognizable types. One problem: Who is there to root for in this squalid tale? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicol Williamson, Ian Holm, (more)
