Barry Hill Movies
- 1994
The second of five made-for-TV movies starring Kevin Sorbo as legendary muscleman Hercules, this one pits the title character against his most fearsome enemy--his own immortal stepmother, Hera. Using a number of disguises, the villainess does her best (or worst) to thwart Hercules in his search for the lost city of Troy. Before long, it is apparent that our hero is surrounded by nothing but enemies, save for the beautiful and mysterious Deineira (played by future Xena: Warrior Princess regular Renee O'Connor)--but can even she be trusted? Anthony Quinn is seen as Hercule's Olympian father Zeus. Hercules and the Lost Kingdom was syndicated in the US beginning in early May of 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1987
Dave (Jon Blake) and his buddy Peter (Mark Hembrow) are chased by a gang of thugs when they pick up the wrong box from a Melbourne warehouse in this comedy thriller. Instead of toys, the box contains a substantial amount of cash intended to be used in a money-laundering operation. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jon Blake, Mark Hembrow, (more)
- 1986
- R
Originally titled The Umbrella Woman, The Good Wife is set in an Australian lumber town in 1939. Marge Hills (Rachel Ward), the bored wife of kindly-but-dull Sonny Hills (Bryan Brown) begins dreaming of outside romances. She unexpectedly gets her wish in the form of Sonny's much-younger brother Sugar (Steven Vidler), whom Sonny cheerfully offers to his wife as a surrogate bedmate. Given this curious arrangement, one wonders why Marge is so upset when she is propositioned by handsome stranger Neville Gifford (Sam Neill). Eventually, Gifford sleeps with every other woman in town but Marge. Fed up with the unimaginative lovers in her own house, Marge finally gives in to Gifford, arousing the jealousy not of the cloddish Sonny, but of the immature Sugar. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rachel Ward, Bryan Brown, (more)
- 1985
- PG13
Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of Robert O'Hara Burke (Jack Thompson) and William John Wills (Nigel Havers), who in 1860 set forth to create the first accurate maps of the interior region of the Australian continent. To this end, Irish explorer Burke and British scientist Wills journeyed from the Southern coast of Carpenteria to the North. While they succeeded with the first part of their voyage, on the return trip they and their compatriots fell victim to intense heat and diminishing supplies of food; of the 19 men who began the expedition, only one survived to tell the tale. However, while fate was cruel to Burke and Wills, history was kind, and their story is still taught in every Australian classroom. Graeme Clifford's biopic was praised for its striking visuals and realistic portrayal of Burke and Wills' difficult journey. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Thompson, Nigel Havers, (more)
- 1980
In the late 1970s, Grendel by John Gardner was a highbrow best-seller that everyone with pretensions to intellectual sophistication was reading. In it, the author retold the epic Anglo-Saxon hero myth of Beowulf from the point of view of the monster the hero killed, rather than from the hero's vantage point. In so doing, he scored numerous points about the violence and intolerance of human beings and raised more profound philosophical issues. This animated feature was adapted from Gardner's book and never quite found its audience; too simplified for the literati, it was definitely not a children's feature and was not aimed at mainstream audiences. Taken on its own merits however, reviewers lamented that it deserved a better fate than the obscurity to which it was consigned. Peter Ustinov provides the voice for the beleaguered monster. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Keith Michell, (more)
