John Mellor Movies
- 1998
Kazankis (Barry Duffield), a Hercules imitator, dies while performing an act of heroism. Establishing a tradition that will be followed in the Modern Age by anti-TV and anti-movie zealots, pompous government prosecutor Spencius (John Sumner) puts Hercules on trial for Kazankis' murder. It is Spencius' argument that Hercules represents a poor role model for the populace and should be held responsible for his imitators' rash acts. But common sense prevails in the climactic scene that should elicit a chuckle from anyone who remembers the 1960 movie epic Spartacus. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1995
Queen Camilla (Ilona Rodgers) summons Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) to tell him of her premonition that dire calamity will befall the annual festival of Dionysus. Reunited with the Seer (Norman Forsey) from the previous episode, "The Road to Calydon," Hercules is warned that the festival will be safe from harm only if Dionysus approves of the reigning king (Noel Trevarthen); if not, woe betide the hapless revellers. To make certain that the festival proceeds smoothly, Hercules must tangle with royal intrigue, the treachery of a certain warlike god, a deadly eel...and ten gorgeous virgins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Norman Forsey, (more)
- 1995
The main attraction in the lurid "pleasure palace" of Enola is the tragic Lucina (Maria Therese Rangel), who now regrets having run away from her loyal farmer husband Atticus (Bruce Phillips). Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) promises Atticus that he will try to save Lucina from her evil master, Pilot (Carl Bland), and bring her home unharmed. But if Pilot cannot have Lucina, no one can; he vows that no one will even survive the effort to rescue her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Michael Hurst, (more)
- 1994
In the last of five made-for-TV movies starring Kevin Sorbo as legendary superhero Hercules, the title character has settled down in a peaceful existence as a farmer with his beloved mortal family. Though Hercules tries hard to teach his children nonviolence, his mighty strength must come back into play when a disgruntled Minotaur begins kidnapping the local citizenry. In his efforts to defeat the monster, Hercules is reunited with his old friends Iolaus (Michael Hurst) and Deianeira (Tawny Kitaen). It ultimately falls to Hercules' Olympian father, Zeus (Anthony Quinn), to prove that the misunderstood Minotaur is not so much a villain as a victim of low self esteem. Many of the action highlights are lifted from Sorbo's four previous Hercules films. Syndicated in the U.S. beginning in late November, 1994, Hercules in the Maze of the Minotaur served as the pilot for the weekly series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Sorbo, Anthony Quinn, (more)
- 1987
- PG
This imported period drama from New Zealand plays like a Down Under version of Paper Moon (1973). During the Great Depression, Kate (Greer Robson) is a 13-year-old girl living on New Zealand's South Island. When her mother dies and her father is offered a job in Wellington on North Island, Kate is sent to live with an aunt. The girl runs away to find her father, hopping onto a boxcar and befriending a fellow fugitive, Patrick (Peter Phelps), an emotionally battle-scarred WWI veteran fleeing the authorities after injuring a repo man. Pretending to be father and daughter, Patrick and Kate use each other for cover as they make their way across New Zealand, sleeping under the stars (hence the film's title) and championing the rights of destitute farmers and homeless squatters whose fortunes have been wiped out by economic hardship. Starlight Hotel (1987) was the second directorial effort of New Zealand native Sam Pillsbury and his follow-up to the offbeat horror film The Scarecrow (1982). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Phelps, Greer Robson, (more)
