Rupert Frazer Movies
- 1996
- Add Elgar's Tenth Muse: The Life of an English Composer to QueueAdd Elgar's Tenth Muse: The Life of an English Composer to top of Queue
The hour-long feature Elgar's Tenth Muse: The Life of an English Composer hearkens back to early 20th century Great Britain. Within the framework of that time and place, the film dramatizes the affections that blossomed between English Romantic composer Edward Elgar (James Fox) and the tenth woman who functioned as his muse, his depthless well of creative inspiration - the lithe and sensual young Hungarian violinist called Jelly d'Aranyi (Faith Brook). Selma Alispahic and Rupert Frazer co-star; the film features classical performances by violinists Maxim Vengerov and Natalie Clein. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Fox, Faith Brook, (more)
- 1994
This biography profiles the life and times of early 20th century Swedish painter Anders Zorn who gained notoriety for his nudes. His works are currently worth millions. The film is set in the time when Zorn, already respected for his art, was commissioned to paint a portrait of the Swedish king. Though an excellent painter, Zorn's personal life is dreadful. A boozer and a womanizer who frequently cheats on his wife, Zorn constantly seeks approval for his art. When he travels to the U.S. for a tour he meets Emilie Bartlett the wife of sculptor Paul W. Bartlett with whom he begins a sporadic affair. After Paul commits suicide, Zorn and Emilie move to Sweden. Zorn disregards his wife's feelings and openly displays his affections for Emilie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gunnar Hellstrom, Linda Kozlowski, (more)
- 1990
Produced for the Disney Cable TV service, Back Home stars one of the great names of Disney's golden years, Hayley Mills. Mills plays the mother of a British teenager (Hayley Carr), evacuated to the US during World War II. When hostilities cease, everyone looks forward to a tender reunion with the young girl. But the road back is not a smooth one, and there's many a tearful moment before a happy ending can even be considered. Filmed on location in England, Back Home is an unabashed three-handkerchief production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Hayley Carr, (more)
- 1990
Created by Phil Redmond, the British cop drama Waterfront Beat was set along the docks of Liverpool. John Ashton starred as DCI Don Henderson, head man of the Inner City and Waterfront Division. Henderson's subordinates were well suited to their responsibilities, though the unrelenting grimness of their surroundings and the nastiness of the crooks with whom they came in contact exacted a daunting toll on the protagonists. The 16 50-minute episodes of Waterfront Beat originally aired from January 6, 1990 to February 20, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ashton, Rupert Frazer, (more)
- 1988
- R
The Girl on a Swing, a haunting, mystery thriller with a supernatural twist, is the story of a desperate woman, who will do anything to be with the man she loves. Karin Foster (Meg Tilly), a lonely German secretary, falls in love with and marries Alan (Rupert Frazier) and moves with him to England. There her strange behavior and fears strain the marriage and lead Alan to mistrust his wife and begin to delve into her past. Based on the novel by Richard Adams, the film is not entirely successful due to the leisurely direction of Gordon Hessler and the lack of pace needed to create genuine suspense. But despite this flaw, the sensitive performance of Meg Tilly makes the film well worth watching and is a haunting psychological exploration of obsession, passion and guilt. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Tilly, Rupert Frazer, (more)
- 1988
As indicated by the title, The Woman He Loved is the story of the romance between Britain's King Edward VII (Anthony Andrews) and American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson (Jane Seymour). Forbidden by the Church of England and Royal Protocol to wed Mrs. Simpson, Edward abdicates in 1936, spending the rest of his life with his beloved Wallis as the world's most visible non-paying guest. Told in flashback (Wallis, preparing for Edward's funeral in 1972, reflects on their life together), this made-for-TV movie manages to sidestep the pricklier aspects of Edward's post-monarch existence, notably his heavy drinking, his flirtation with Nazism his attempts to avoid military service during World War II. Olivia De Havilland, Julie Harris, Robert Hardy, Lucy Gutteridge and Phyllis Calvert are among the familiar faces dotting the supporting cast. The Woman He Loved was first telecast April 3, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Beryl Markham: Shadow on the Sun was a two-part TV movie originally telecast in May of 1988. Stefanie Powers is right in her element as the real-life Beryl Markham, an Englishwoman living in Kenya with her family. Bucking the male-dominated Kenyan social structure, Beryl becomes the first woman in Africa to train horses on a professional level. And in 1936, she thrills the world by being the first aviatrix to fly from England to the US across the Atlantic. With four hours to fill, the film is obligated to trace Beryl's love life, which (according to the script) was not always as rewarding as her public accomplishments. Inasmuch as Beryl was a contemporary (and friendly rival) of author Karen Blixen--better known as Isaak Dinesen--Beryl Markham: Shadow on the Sun contrives to include several characters introduced in Out of Africa. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefanie Powers
Based on J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun stars Christian Bale as a spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, Bale is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune John Malkovich, Bale learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time Malkovich and Bale are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, the boy has picked up enough street-smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Bale will never again be the pampered, privileged brat whom we met in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, John Malkovich, (more)
Roy Marsden returns as ace detective Commander Adam Dalgliesh in this made-for-TV mystery based on the novel by P.D. James. It comes as no great surprise when a notorious drug dealer is found murdered, but more than a few eyebrows are raised when his body is discovered in an exclusive London book club. Dalgliesh is brought in to investigate, and discovers the only witness is a servant who many already believe is guilty of the crime. Cover Her Face also features Rupert Frazer and Mel Martin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
This British Merchant-Ivory look-alike was adapted from a novel by Isabel Colgate. In the summer before World War I, British nobleman James Mason invites an assorted group of acquaintances for a weekend shooting party on his huge estate. Among the participants are longtime rivals Edward Fox and Rupert Frazer, Fox's occasionally unfaithful wife Cheryl Campbell, and staunch anti-hunting advocate John Gielgud. The film unfolds in a carefully calculated but seemingly spontaneous fashion, in the manner of its 1938 ancestor Rules of the Game. Also like the earlier film, The Shooting Party casts a jaundiced eye towards class consciousness--and ends with a sudden, senseless but not altogether unexpected tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Fox, Cheryl Campbell, (more)
- 1983
Set in the years before World War I, this film is about Robert, a young man growing up in a wealthy family in Toronto who is burdened by a distant, cool mother and a father dedicated to duty, both highly conservative people. When Robert loses his beloved invalid sister in a car accident he is further tormented by the family's decision to kill her pet rabbits - and quarrels with them so intensely that he enlists in the army and goes off to war. Once "over there," he discovers brothels and romance, and in a climactic scene, decides to free a barn full of horses from certain death - in spite of contrary orders from his superiors. The juxtaposition of Robert's internal conflict and the external horrors of combat may have been intended to illustrate the nature of "war," although that is difficult to surmise since the evidence in the film is not that strong. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brent Carver, Martha Henry, (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)
Having already been seen spying for the Nazis in 1979's The Eagle Has Landed, Donald Sutherland once more infiltrates wartime England on behalf of Der Fuhrer in Eye of the Needle. Willing to kill even the most innocent of bystanders to complete his task, Sutherland manages to remain in Britain until the eve of D-Day in 1944. Discovering that the invasion is to take place on Normandy, Sutherland scurries to rendezvous with a U-boat off the treacherous Isle of Storms. His mission is thwarted by Kate Nelligan, the frustrated wife of paralyzed RAF commander Christopher Cazenove. Though having fallen in love with Sutherland, Nelligan nonetheless prepares to turn the man in when he kills her husband. Tension mounts in the closing scene as Sutherland races against time to (a) make contact with the U-boat and (b) stop Nelligan before she blows the whistle on him. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Kate Nelligan, (more)
- 1981
Premiering on American television on December 29, 1981, From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II was originally an Italian/British coproduction, made in cooperation with Film Polski. Actually, we see very little of the Pope -- in fact, John Paul II (played by Cezary Morawski) is not yet in his papal robes when we first meet him as a Polish youth of the 1930s named Karol Wojtyla. Director Krzysztof Zanussi adopts a liquid style that is part Ashes and Diamonds, part Citizen Kane. The maturation of Karol during the Nazi occupation is for the most part relayed through the reminiscences of his friends and family (played by an international cast). For its American TV showing, 40 of the film's original 140 minutes were trimmed. Through an unforeseeable coincidence, From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II was first telecast the same week in 1981 that a major political crisis broke out in Poland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Christopher Cazenove, (more)
Matthew Chapman wrote and directed this hackneyed love story with Helen Mirren as Beaty, a nightclub hostess who turns tricks. Emory (John Shea) is an expatriate American who works the lights at Beaty's nightclub and is in love with her. But Beaty cannot deal in flowery sentiment, especially since she needs money, not romance, to support her young son. But Emory sees a way to attain money and romance -- he plans to execute a drug deal with his low-life partner and use the proceeds to take Beaty and her son away from the degenerate surroundings and into the light-of-day in the English countryside. But unfortunately, things do not go as planned. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, John Shea, (more)
- 1980
Originally made for television, the film centers on an Egyptian archaeological expedition, and the discovery of the tomb of the famed Pharaoh. After it is opened, disturbing events mark the trip. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
