John Hurt Movies

Reclusive Britisher Jack Blake (John Hurt) comes to the rescue when motorists Pam Raeburn (Sheila Hancock) and her daughter, Stephanie (Rachael Stirling), are stranded on a lonely road during a heavy rain. Offering the ladies shelter in his stately but rather gloomy mansion, Jack cannot help but notice that Stephanie bears a remarkable resemblance to his own daughter, who had been brutally murdered by an unknown assailant several years earlier. Then and there, Jack decides to use Stephanie as bait to trap the man whom he thinks is his daughter's killer. Made for television, Bait was originally presented on Britain's ITV1 on December 27, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling (titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in England, as was this film adaptation) becomes this hotly anticipated fantasy adventure from Chris Columbus, the winner of a high-stakes search for a director to bring the first in a hoped-for franchise of Potter films to the screen by Warner Bros. Upon his 11th birthday, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who lives in misery with an aunt and uncle that don't want him, learns from a giant named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) that he is the orphaned son of powerful wizards. Harry is offered a place at prestigious Hogwarts, a boarding school for wizards that exists in a realm of magic and fantasy outside the dreary existence of normal humans or "Muggles." At Hogwarts, Harry quickly makes new friends and begins piecing together the mystery of his parents' deaths, which appear not to have been accidental after all. The film features alternate-version scenes for every mention of the titular rock. Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, John Cleese, and Fiona Shaw co-star. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Louis de Bernières' best-selling novel of love during wartime is brought to the screen in this story that blends comedy, action, and romance. In 1940, war rages throughout Europe, but the fighting has yet to arrive on the Greek island of Cephallonia, where life continues to follow its own slow, deliberate path until word arrives that Italian troops have invaded neighboring Albania. A wave of anti-Axis patriotism sweeps the island, and Mandras (Christian Bale), a local fisherman, is one of a handful of men who volunteer for the army, leaving behind his aging mother (Irene Papas) and the woman he loves, Pelagia (Penélope Cruz), the daughter of the island's physician, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt). The timing of Mandras and his compatriots proves less than fortuitous, as Italian troops invade Greece in their absence, but the remaining leaders of the island issue an ultimatum -- the people of Cephallonia will surrender, but only to a ranking German officer. Since none of the available German officers can speak a word of Greek, an Italian soldier fluent in the language, Capt. Antonio Corelli (Nicholas Cage), is sent in to serve as translator. Corelli stays on with the Greek occupation forces, and he soon finds himself falling in love with beautiful Pelagia, who believes that Mandras was killed in the fighting in Albania. But as romance slowly blooms between the Italian soldier and the Greek girl, Mandras and a handful of surviving soldiers have joined a guerilla resistance faction, and they join up with Allied forces in a bid to retake Greece; soon, Pelagia must choose between the two men she loves, as the Greeks battle both the Italian occupation troops and German soldiers who have been sent in to replace them. Captain Corelli's Mandolin was directed by John Madden; the project originally began shooting with Roger Michell, but Michell was forced to resign from the film after he suffered a heart attack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this animated story for the whole family, Disney brings A.A. Milne's classic characters from the Winnie the Pooh stories back to the big screen. Tigger is having a hard time finding anyone to play with him, so he decides to track down his family tree and find other Tiggers. Concerned that their friend feels sad, Winnie and his friends dress up like Tiggers so he won't feel so alone. But once Tigger finds out who they really are, it makes him even more determined to find his real family. As Tigger heads out in search of others like himself, he accidentally makes his way into a snowstorm, and Winnie and friends must find him before he gets lost in the cold. The Tigger Movie was originally produced for home video and then upgraded to a theatrical release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Atom Egoyan directed this film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's single-character play, in which Krapp (John Hurt), an elderly man, sits at a desk and looks back at the events of his life. Every year, Krapp has made a point of recalling the most remarkable events of the past 12 months and reciting them into a tape recorder; as he plays back the tapes and remembers his few pleasures and many regrets, he tries to wipe out his past life and begin again. Krapp's Last Tape was produced as part of the "Beckett on Film" project, an ambitious attempt to bring Samuel Beckett's entire body of work to the screen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Family ties and violent crime make strange bedfellows in the thriller New Blood. Alan White (John Hurt) is a British businessman who is the father of a pair of twins. Alan's son Danny (Nick Moran) has fallen into a life of crime, while his daughter is in the hospital, in desperate need of a heart transplant. One day, Danny appears at Alan's doorstep, bleeding severely, with an unusual proposition. Danny will volunteer his heart for his sister's transplant if Alan will participate in a very dangerous con. Danny and his friends are working for a crime boss named Mr. Ryan (Eugene Robert Glazer), who has arranged the kidnapping of Williams (Rob Freeman), a wealthy but reclusive man. Danny and his boys are not told that Williams is under armed guard, and the attempted kidnapping is a disaster, with Williams accidentally killed. Danny is seriously injured and does not expect to survive, but rather than risk the wrath Ryan would inflict on his friends, Danny asks Alan to take Williams' place -- Ryan doesn't know what the man looks like, so while the scam is very dangerous, it could be pulled off. New Blood is the feature debut from writer-director Michael Hurst. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on the classic novel of the same name, 1978's Watership Down is one of the most beloved animated films of all time and receives a sequel in this 1999 release featuring the voices of John Hurt and Richard Briers. Journey to Watership Down centers on a group of rabbits and their adventures as they search for a new place to call home. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Based on the best selling novel by author Richard Adams, Escape to Watership Down chronicles the adventures of a band of rebellious rabbits who have left their endangered dwelling in hopes of finding a new home across the English countryside. The composer for the 1978 feature film has returned in order to provide music for this animated series, as has the original voice talents of John Hurt and Richard Briers. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

George Sluizer (The Vanishing) directed this German-British-Belgian thriller about politico James Morton (John Hurt) who relocates in Brussels as the British commissioner to the Euro parliament, leaving his wife Isabelle (Alice Krige) behind. As British and German chemical outfits are about to merge, Metro Chemical researcher Hans Konig (Armin Mueller-Stahl) tips him that his company is creating weapons and is run by a former Nazi. Morton stops the merger, but information leaks trigger Konig's arrest for industrial espionage and the bombing of Morton's apartment, followed by more corporate intrigue. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Part suspense story and part video game, Tender Loving Care is a feature-length interactive DVD presentation that is created to react differently to each viewer's individual response to the events. John Hurt plays Dr. Turner, who involves the viewer as he explores the histories of the films other principal characters -- his lovely but disturbed patient, her short-tempered husband and a sensual but devious nurse. The answers each viewer gives to Dr. Turner's questions will altar the shape the ongoing story in a different way and add up to a special psychological profile he assembles for each participant. Tender Loving Care was created by the same team that designed The Eleventh Hour and Guest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An ex-con finds that going straight isn't easy -- especially when it means going against your family. Johnny Cooper (Matthew Modine) is a petty criminal who has just gotten out of jail after doing time for armed robbery. While Johnny's brother James (Kevin J. O'Connor) and father Sean (John Hurt) are both involved in lives of crime, Johnny is determined to stay on the straight and narrow, despite his dad's objections, and has taken a job fixing cars for McGurdy (Bruce Dern). One day James stumbles back into Johnny's life, and while Johnny wants to welcome his little brother, James throws his brother's life into jeopardy when he attacks Gilmore (David Keith), Johnny's parole officer and a friend since high school. On the run from the police again, Johnny and James head for Mexico, where James tries to talk Johnny into joining him for one big score -- robbing the day's receipts from a bullfight arena. If... Dog... Rabbit was the first feature film written and directed by actor Matthew Modine; the supporting cast also features Lisa Blount, Lisa Marie, and Julie Newmar. It was released on home video as One Last Score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Can a stodgy intellectual who regards the 20th century as a waste of time find happiness with an American teen idol who doesn't really know him? That's the question posed in this gentle satiric comedy. Giles De'ath (John Hurt), who takes great pains to remind people that his surname is pronounced "Day-ath," is a well-regarded British author whose wife passed away a decade ago. Since then, Giles has retreated into a world of his own; he is thoroughly disinterested in contemporary culture and lives in the 20th century only to the degree that it is absolutely necessary. However, one night Giles accidentally locks himself out of his apartment just as a rainstorm has begun to open up the sky. Soaked to the skin, he takes refuge in a nearby movie theater, since he's heard that the works of E.M. Forster have lately become popular screen fodder. However, once inside the multiplex, Giles discovers to his disgust that he's accidentally bought a ticket for a low-brow teen flick called Hot Pants College II. Just as he's about to register his repugnance with the management, actor Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley) appears on screen, and immediately Giles is entranced. In Ronnie, Giles discovers an unexpected sort of beauty that he's never considered before, and he's eager to learn more about the young actor. However, Giles soon discerns that reading up on his new obsession means buying teen-oriented fanzines (whose covers proclaim him "Snoggable!"), where he learns that Ronnie's own cultural signposts include Axl Rose and Stephen King, whose names could just as well be Sanskrit to Giles. He also discovers that to view the rest of Ronnie's screen work, he must visit a video rental store, which means he must first purchase a VCR, and that he'll also require a (gulp!) television in order for the VCR to work. Eventually, Giles finds out that Ronnie lives in a small town on Long Island, and decides to fly there, hatching a scheme to meet Ronnie by first making the acquaintance of Audrey (Fionna Loewi), Ronnie's fashion model girlfriend. Based on the acclaimed short novel by Gilbert Adair, Love and Death on Long Island was adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Kwietniowski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide