John Hurt Movies

When the teen-aged Canadian student Bruce (Mathew Mackay) discovers an old U.S. passport in some of his family's papers bearing a picture of him as a child -- a passport with an entirely different name -- he is intrigued. When his parents grow extremely nervous during a visit from a man they tell him is "an old friend of the family," he grows concerned and insists that they tell him what's going on. They decide to tell him, and it turns out that his father (John Hurt) was a journalist who testified in an important U.S. Mafia trial, and his family was relocated to Canada as part of a witness relocation program. Later, Bruce decides to write a fictionalized account of his family's saga, using his real birth name as a pen name. His girlfriend, thinking simply that it is a terrific story, steals a copy and submits it in a contest. The story wins the prize, and is published -- all without Bruce's knowledge or consent. When his family finds out that their cover has been blown in this way, they once again relocate to try and avoid their pursuers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A charming portrait of Quentin Crisp, who has (very deliberately) become the closest thing this century has to an Oscar Wilde. Crisp moved to New York City at the age of 73 and has many devoted friends and admirers who sing his praises. Indeed, pop star Sting literally "sings" of Quentin in his hit "Englishman in New York." Other fans who make appearances in the film include John Hurt, Fran Lebowitz and director Paul Morrissey. Of course, not everyone loves Quentin, as we learn primarily in a segment from the Sally Jesse Raphael show. He is not only a frequent target of homophobic attacks but is described by one homosexual as a "gay Stepin Fetchit." Overall, though, this is certainly a sympathetic documentary which may even provoke a grudging admiration from the viewer. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide

Legendary low-budget mogul Roger Corman made a somewhat inauspicious return to the director's chair for the first time in nearly twenty years (unless one counts his uncredited participation in "pickup" shoots for several New World Pictures productions) for this quaint sci-fi/horror outing, based on the popular novel by Brian Aldiss. Opening in the year 2031, the story begins with scientist Joseph Buchanan (John Hurt) working on a top-secret military project that creates a rift in time in space, hurtling him and his ultra-high-tech hotrod backwards through time to the early 19th century. Buchanan manages to adapt quite well to his new surroundings, particularly after making the acquaintance of fellow scientist Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia). Curiously, the Baron is presented here as an authentic historical figure, and his monster-making efforts the basis for the famed book by Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda), which was a work of fiction. After ruminating about his situation with Mary and her future husband Percy Shelley (late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) at the villa of mad poet Lord Byron (Jason Patric), Buchanan is approached by the Baron to help construct a mate for his intelligent but homicidal creature (Nick Brimble). Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, leading to an ironic denouement that finds Buchanan pondering the apocalyptic results of his life's work. The film boasts solid production values and some beautiful location photography (most of the film was shot in Italy); however, the classy look and high-profile casting can't disguise the overall feel of an early New World outing, albeit with a much larger budget. The script, adapted by Corman and writer F.X. Feeney, eliminates many of the novel's intellectual twists and turns; much of the remaining dialogue comes off as merely pretentious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In 1963, the conservative British government was shaken to its foundations by the Profumo Scandal. The central character in this disastrous affair was John Profumo, Britain's minister of war, who had become sexually involved with call-girl Christine Keeler, whose "sponsor" was high-priced osteopath Dr. Stephen Ward. Fancying himself a dashing international adventurer, Ward had also offered Christine to alleged Soviet spy Eugene Ivanov. Another of Ward's stable, Mandy Rice-Davies, allegedly had slept with numerous British and American luminaries. The whole sordid story, which ended with Ward's suicide and Profumo's public disgrace, was recounted with relish in director Michael Caton-Jones's Scandal, which featured John Hurt as Stephen Ward, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Christine Keeler, Ian McKellan as Profumo, Bridget Fonda as Mandy Rice-Davies, and Jeroen Krabbe as Ivanov. In its original form, the film was ripe enough to court an X-rating; post-production trimming enabled it to squeak by with an R. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A British engineer and a young Bengali woman feel the backlash of cultural divisiveness in this uneven romantic drama. Allan (Hugh Grant) falls in love with the Gayatri (Supriya Pathak), the beautiful teenage daughter of his hostess Indira Sen (Shabana Azmi) while he recovers from an illness. When the family learns of the affair, Allan is kicked out of the house and returns to a Calcutta boarding house a heartbroken man. Lucien Metz (John Hurt) is a photojournalist working for Life magazine who convinces his old friend Allan that his stay in India can only bring him further trouble and continued bad fortune. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Based on one of the most scandalous murders in British history, White Mischief transpires in Kenya at a time just before the beginning of World War II. Jock Broughton (Joss Ackland) is a wealthy rancher who becomes taken with a young gold-digger named Diana (Greta Scacchi). Even though he is fully aware of her reasons for doing so, the pair wed. Broughton falls on hard times and loses his fortune. The hedonistic Earl of Erroll (Charles Dance) realizes this change of fortune may make Diana more open to engaging in an affair. One evening, Erroll is found murdered. Broughton is tried for the crime. Michael Radford would not direct again for seven years, but returned with the international hit Il Postino in 1994. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Tumultuous Beirut provides the setting for this political drama that centers on a world-weary, lazy American reporter who has been reluctantly assigned to cover the latest war between the PLO and the Christian Phalangists. He could care less about the conflict and sends in stories stolen from other hard-working journalists until he begins getting more involved and interested after he humiliates himself by interviewing a bogus PLO leader. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A space bum helps rescue a princess from an evil overlord with the help of a benevolent elder in this Star Wars send-up written and directed by Mel Brooks. Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his half-man, half-dog co-pilot, Barf the Mawg (John Candy), are content to scour the galaxy living the easy life. But they reluctantly come to the rescue when Druish Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) is threatened by the evil Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), who wants to steal all of the air from her planet, Druidia. Trapped on a harsh desert world with Vespa and her robot chaperone, Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers), Lone Starr and Barf are helpless to prevent Helmet from kidnapping the girl. But assistance arrives in the form of Yogurt (Brooks), a wizard who turns Lone Starr on to a mysterious power known as The Schwartz. Catching up with Helmet just as he's transforming his spaceship into a giant vacuum cleaner in orbit around Druidia, the reluctant heroes stage a dramatic showdown. Although it borrows most of its plot from the Star Wars series, Spaceballs also pokes fun at Star Trek, Snow White, and Planet of the Apes -- as well as the entire videocassette and movie marketing industries. The large supporting cast includes Dick Van Patten, Jim J. Bullock, and the voice of Dom DeLuise. John Hurt makes a cameo in a parody of the exploding chest scene he played in Alien. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Ostensibly about the 1984 miners' strike in England, this rambling drama veers into a story about Bill (John Hurt) a rootless man who lives in a rundown movie theater and Jess (newcomer Maureen Douglass) who is intent on sabotaging the mining company. Bill creates his own reality in the theater by projecting images he likes on the screen but this lifestyle ends when the building is slated for demolition. Just as Bill is looking for another place to set up housekeeping Jess picks him up and offers him a ride. A computer and some curious-looking plans in the back of the vehicle peak his curiosity though after some adventures on the road, Bill gets dropped off. It does not take long for him to decide to pursue Jess, and the adventure continues. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

An adventure tale for movie buffs, Jake Speed deftly lifts scenes from detective films of the '40s through the '70s to bring an added dimension to its spoof of the detective and adventure genres. When a family gets word that their daughter has been kidnapped in Paris, her father comments that they should get "Jake Speed" to find her. However, Jake is a comic strip character, and the reaction is that he might as well ask for Batman. But lo-and-behold, the other daughter Margaret (Karen Kopins) gets a message to meet Speed (Wayne Crawford) and his author, Remo (Dennis Christopher), and the men tell her they must go to Africa, where her sister is being held. After a certain amount of trial and error, they eventually find the nation where she's being held -- which happens to be in the middle of a revolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Walt Disney Pictures produced this ambitious, animated tale of sorcery and swordfighting. Taran (voice of Grant Bardsley), is an assistant to Dallben (voice of Freddie Jones), a pigkeeper in the mythical land of Prydain. Taran longs to be a knight, and he's given his chance to live out his dream when he is sent out in search of a magical black cauldron which can either be a powerful instrument of good or a bottomless fount of evil, depending entirely upon who should find it. However, Taran is not the only one in search of this talisman -- the Horned King (voice of John Hurt) wants the cauldron to shore up his sinister powers and raise an army of the dead, and with the help of the all-seeing pig Hen-Wren, the wicked one may make his hideous plans a reality. The Black Cauldron had the distinction of being the first animated feature from Disney to receive a PG rating from the MPAA, due to some frightening scenes of black magic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Shakespeare's tragedy, made for British television, is given a full-blooded rendition here with the great Laurence Olivier in the title role and a stellar cast to support him, in the tale of a king torn apart by the ambition and treachery within his family and by his own pride. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

Directed by British filmmaker Michael Radford, Nineteen Eighty-Four is the second film adaptation of the George Orwell novel. The film is set during April of 1984 in post-atomic war London, the capital city of the repressive totalitarian state of Oceania. Winston Smith (John Hurt) is a government bureaucrat whose job is rewriting history and erasing people from existence. While his co-worker Parsons (Gregor Fisher) seems content to follow the state's laws, Winston starts to write in a secret diary despite the fact the "Big Brother" is watching everyone at all times by way of monitors. He silently suffers and tries to comprehend his oppression, which forbids individual human behaviors such as free thinking and sex. He meets Julia (Suzanna Hamilton), who works for the Ministry of Truth, and they engage in a stoic love affair. They are soon found out, and Winston is interrogated and tortured by his former friend O'Brien (Richard Burton in his final film appearance). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide