John Hurt Movies
Considered one of Great Britain's most consistently brilliant players, John Hurt is at his best when playing victims forced to suffer mental, physical, or spiritual anguish. A small man with a slightly sinister countenance and a tenor voice that never completed the transition between early adolescence and manhood, Hurt is generally cast in supporting or leading roles as eccentric characters in offbeat films. The son of a clergyman, Hurt was training to be a painter at St. Martin's School of the Arts when he became enamored with acting and enrolled in London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art instead. He made his theatrical and film debuts in 1962 (The Wild and the Willing). Though he frequently appears on-stage, Hurt, unlike his many colleagues, is primarily a film and television actor. He gave one of his strongest early performances playing Richard Rich in Fred Zinnemann's A Man for All Seasons (1966). His subsequent work remained high quality through the '70s. On television, Hurt made his name in the telemovie The Naked Civil Servant and furthered his growing reputation as the twisted Caligula on the internationally acclaimed BBC miniseries I, Claudius (1976). He received his first Oscar nomination for playing a supporting role in the harrowing Midnight Express and a second nomination for his sensitive portrayal of the horribly deformed John Merrick -- but for his voice, Hurt was unrecognizable beneath pounds of latex and makeup. In 1984, Hurt was the definitive Winston Smith in Michael Radford's version of Orwell's 1984. Other memorable roles include a man who finds himself hosting a terrifying critter in Alien (1979), his parody of that role in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), an Irish idiot in The Field (1990), and in Rob Roy (1995). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The search for life outside our solar system becomes a personal and spiritual quest for a young researcher. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) is a scientist who lost her faith in God after her parents died when she was a child. However, Ellie has learned to develop a different sort of faith in the seemingly unknowable: working with a group that monitors radio waves from space, Ellie hopes that some day she will receive a coherent message from another world that will prove that there is a world beyond our own. Ellie's hard work is rewarded when her team picks up a signal that does not appear to be of earthly origin. Ellie decodes the message, which turns out to be plans for a space craft, which she takes as an invitation for a meeting with the aliens. Ellie and her fellow researchers soon run into interference from a White House scientific advisor, David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), who cuts off their funding and tries to take credit for their achievements. However, Ellie receives moral support from Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a spiritual teacher who advises President Clinton and tries to persuade her to accept the existence of a higher power, and financial backing from S.R. Hadden (John Hurt), a multi-millionaire willing to fund her attempts to contact the source of the message. Contact was based on a novel by Carl Sagan, who advised director Robert Zemeckis during the film's production until his death in 1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, (more)
A dark, bitter commentary on modern American life cloaked in the form of a surrealist western, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man stars Johnny Depp as William Blake, a newly-orphaned accountant who leaves his home in Cleveland to accept a job in the frontier town of Machine. Upon his arrival, Blake is told by the factory owner Dickinson (Robert Mitchum) that the job has already been filled. Dejectedly, he enters a nearby tavern, ultimately spending the night with a former prostitute. A violent altercation with the woman's lover (Gabriel Byrne), also Dickinson's son, leaves Blake a murderer as well as mortally wounded, a bullet lodged dangerously close to his heart. He flees into the wilderness, where a Native American named Nobody (Gary Farmer) mistakes Blake for the English poet William Blake and determines that he will be Blake's guide in his protracted passage into the spirit world. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, (more)
Maverick writer-director Walter Hill's version of the famous Wild Bill Hickok legend is a dreamscape western that is told entirely in flashback. Hickok's friend Charley Prince (John Hurt) narrates the events of Wild Bill's life while sitting at Bill's graveside. Hickok is played by Jeff Bridges as a mean, high-spirited, but gallant outlaw. He wanders the West, adding to his reputation with some well-chosen gunfights, and he meets up with characters such as Calamity Jane (Ellen Barkin), who becomes his sidekick for a time. After becoming a legend, Hickok signs up for a stint with Buffalo Bill Cody's traveling variety show. Eventually, he falls in love with Susannah Moore (Diane Lane), and his love leads him to tragedy in the town of Deadwood, SD. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Bridges, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 1995
A wealthy British couple living in Bangkok are so desperate to have a child they consider buying one on the Asian black market. This British drama chronicles their attempts. They tried adopting in England, but because they frequently travel about, were denied. Unfortunately, their first attempt to buy a baby is discovered and they are nearly arrested by the Thai government. Still the wife, Kate is terribly obsessed and so goes to cagey Jack Lee, who for $20,000 promises to bring her a child. He does, but then the couple learn that they cannot take it out of Thailand and they must give it back. She and Lee then conspire to purchase a Vietnamese orphan and smuggle it to Bangkok and then to England. She decides not to tell Michael, her husband, and she sneaks off to Saigon pretending to be Lee's wife. But once they get the baby, will she be able to keep it after all? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
This sprightly British drama speculates upon the origins of the anonymous painting, Two Nudes Bathing, which hangs in the Louvre. The painting depicts two beautiful, naked young women engaged in a tender act. The tale begins as a portrait painter makes his way to the home of the parsimonious Comte who wants his daughters painted au naturel without the usual frills and frippery. One of the women is preparing to marry. Comte wants to remember them as they are, pure, beautiful, and unsullied by the touch of a man. For years he has been obsessed with guarding their virginity, and even though he commissions the painter to depict them, the artist is not allowed to talk to, or make eye-contact with the lovelies. While they pose, the young women are guarded by a tongueless old woman. Still, these precautions do not prevent the curious maidens from asking the artist about sex at every opportunity. At first the artist hesitates, but soon he tells them what they want to know. Though the painter involves himself with a lusty servant girl, he cannot help but spy on the maidens while they bathe. The result is the notorious painting in which the nude girls are depicted with one of them daintily holding the nipple of the other. Naturally, the finished work causes quite a stir in Comte's prudish household. The American version has been edited down to 35 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The 18th century Scottish legend of Robert Roy MacGregor comes to life in this stylish adaptation of the swashbuckling novel by Sir Walter Scott. Liam Neeson stars as the title character, a cattle drover and proud head of a Highlands clan who takes a one thousand pound loan from the royal Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to make a profit on some livestock that will keep his struggling people alive through the coming winter. One of the Marquis' henchmen, wily expert swordsman Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) learns of the loan from the nobleman's factor, Killearn (Brian Cox), and steals the money by murdering Rob Roy's best friend MacDonald (Eric Stoltz). Unable to repay the loan and unwilling to give up his land, Rob Roy becomes a fugitive, hunted by none other than Cunningham, who rapes Rob Roy's wife Mary (Jessica Lange). Scotch-British politics come to a boil over the Rob Roy affair, leading to an officially sanctioned showdown between the stoic farmer and Cunningham. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
Actor William Hurt delivers one of his most acclaimed performances in this drama from Oscar-winning cinematographer-turned-director Chris Menges. Hurt stars as Graham Holt, a repressed Welsh postmaster who lives a reclusive bachelor's existence with his suicidal father (Alfred Lynch), who is in failing health and is still grieving from the recent death of Graham's mother. Knowing that he'll soon be alone, Graham applies to adopt a troubled ten-year-old boy, James (Chris Cleary Miles), whose own painful history mirrors Graham's. Throughout the long adoption process, supervised by wisecracking social worker Debbie (Jane Horrocks), Graham struggles to win James' affection and respect during weekend visits, while the boy dreams of reconciliation with his father, John (Keith Allen), who is currently serving prison time. Graham's father dies, drawing Graham and James closer, and Graham begins to feel like a real father to James. But when John is released, he appears in town with the shocking news that he is afflicted with AIDS -- and cannot care for his son. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Chris Cleary Miles, (more)
This British romantic comedy follows the exploits of a young woman determined to become an aviator in the 1950's. The story begins in the West Indies as plucky Gabriel Angel prepares to board a ship home to England to achieve her dreams of flying. Due to a reservations glitch, Gabriel must share her cabin with Duncan Stewart, a Scottish fellow. The two are attracted to each other. Obstacles are presented by the sleazy Rex Goodyear, an art historian who claims "Stewart" is the art thief who swiped one of his paintings after murdering his wife. Two lesbian missionaries also returning to England round out the cast. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, John Hurt, (more)
Writer/director Gus Van Sant's early bid for big-time commercial success -- a success he didn't manage to achieve until Good Will Hunting -- is based on Tom Robbins' 1976 feminist bestseller. Uma Thurman plays Sissy Hankshaw, a woman born with very large thumbs. After her parents (Grace Zabriskie and Ken Kesey) take her to a doctor (Buck Henry), who offers her parents no remedy for their daughter's condition, the film races ahead to the 1970s. Sissy is now a popular feminine hygiene spray model for a product called Yoni Yum, the product of a company owned by The Countess (John Hurt in drag). Sissy travels to the Rubber Rose beauty ranch, also owned by The Countess, to shoot a Yoni Yum commercial. At the ranch, she makes the acquaintance of the inscrutable Chink (Pat Morita) and Bonanza Jellybean (Rain Phoenix). But under the nose of The Countess, the cowgirls on the ranch are talking mutiny, with the women trying to liberate the Rubber Rose Ranch from the chains of patriarchal oppression. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, John Hurt, (more)
The voices of Carol Channing, John Hurt, Jodi Benson and Gilbert Gottfried help bring this wonderful Hans Christian Andersen story to life. Barry Manilow contributed heavily to the film's music. Children still seem to enjoy this story about a young girl who was the size of a human thumb. She was kidnapped by a toad, just when she hoped to continue her life with Cornelius the Fairy Prince. This is a good "family film" with few, if any, parts that might be considered questionable for children. Kids are likely to enjoy how Gilbert Gottfried does the voice of a strange beetle and how Carol Channing breathes life into Ms. Fieldmouse. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jodi Benson, Carol Channing, (more)
- 1994
In this intriguing European documentary filmmaker Bjorn Cederberg, a former friend of East German underground radical Sascha Anderson, interviews those who surrounded him for 20 years to get their insight and feelings after it is discovered that the man they looked up to as "a fearless and magnetic figure in the illegal underground" was in fact an informant and spy for Stasi, the East German secret police organization that contains more holdings than the Pentagon and FBI combined. The film, narrated by British actor, John Hurt, chronicles Anderson's past up through the revelation. As a fascinating conclusion, Cederberg follows Conny, former friend of Anderson as she reads her Stasi file, compiled by Anderson. She is then taken to Italy where she is able to confront Anderson on camera. Anderson denies his actions and involvement with Stasi. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
An entertaining, modern animated version features Aladdin and the genie as they try to be way-cool dudes. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
If you've seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, you know what a "monolith" is. What it is not is exclusively an extraterrestrial entity, as was apparently assumed by the producers of the 1993 melodrama Monolith. The story concerns two eternally bickering cops (Bill Paxton and Lindsay Frost), who stumble onto a government secret. It seems that a huge, malevolent monolith has come hurtling to Earth-and it's growing bigger and nastier with each passing day. Making matters worse, the evil being is invisible (thereby saving a fortune in special effects). Along with stars Bill Paxton and Lindsay Frost, Monolith fails to fully utilize the talents of supporting actors John Hurt and Louis Gossett Jr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Lindsay Frost, (more)
- 1992
In this mystical comedy, Felicien has traveled to Portugal from France soon after the end of the First World War. It seems that his recently deceased father had invested a lot of money in a factory located in a remote village, and he has come to evaluate that investment. He gets some clues to the real situation in the town when the man driving his coach refuses to go any further and leaves him on a section of road which is practically paved with abandoned crutches. After a short trek, he meets up with the local dignitary who is to show him around, and he meets a priest and an artist. The priest gives a further clue to the events taking place in the village when he indicates that he's completely exasperated with the endless miracles that seem to be taking place. From that point onward, amazing coincidences, visions and miracles take place in great numbers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Didier Bourdon, (more)
- 1991
Filmmaker John Boorman pulls an "8 1/2"-and a good one-in I Dreamt I Woke Up. In this rambling reflection on Boorman's life and career, the director appears as himself, while John Hurt shows up as his alter ego. Boorman's son Charley plays "The Green Man," a far-from-veiled reference to his starring appearance in his dad's The Emerald Forest. And Janet McTeer rounds out the cast as an "everywoman", essaying all sorts of hallucinatory roles. Short (1944) and bittersweet, I Dreamt I Woke Up was filmed in County Wicklow, Ireland; it was first shown in the US at the Telluride Film Festival, in tandem with Susan Seidelman's 26-minute comedy Dutch Master. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Boorman, John Hurt, (more)
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)
Richard Harris was nominated for several awards (including the Oscar and Golden Globe) for his performance in The Field. The time is the mid-1930s; the place, western Ireland. For many years rugged individualist Bull McCabe (Harris) has been cultivating a small plot of rented land, nurturing it from barren rock into a fertile field. Now, however, the widow who owns the land plans to sell it at auction. The infuriated Bull shows up at the bidding, secure in his belief that none of his neighbors will dare bid against him. But Bull has not taken into consideration a wealthy Irish-American (Tom Berenger), who intends to pave over the land and bring new industry to the area. "This is deep, very deep, deeper than you think" warns Bull, as he sends his grown son (Sean Bean) to "persuade" the American to withdraw his bid. Armed with the foreknowledge that Bull's tenacity has caused heartbreak and tragedy in the past, the audience steels itself for the awful consequences still to come. Punctuating the storyline are the periodic appearances of the toothless village idiot, played by John Hurt. Originally produced for British television, The Field was based on the landmark play by John B. Keane, and directed by My Left Foot's Jim Sheridan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harris, John Hurt, (more)
