George Innes

A charmingly naïve boy from the English village of Wall travels to a magical, mythical world in search of the falling star that will help him win the heart of his true love in this fantasy adventure starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ricky Gervais, and Sienna Miller. For hundreds of years the massive cobblestone barrier that surrounds the sleepy English hamlet of Wall has kept the citizens of the village safe and secure from the malevolent supernatural forces that stir just outside its perimeter. When dashing Tristan Thorne (Cox) promises the fairest girl in the village, Victoria (Miller), that he will prove his love by bestowing her with a genuine falling star, his daring mission sends him on an adventure far outside the comfortable confines of Wall. In order to find the fallen star, Tristan will have to ascend the wall and venture deep into the forbidden heart of the fantastical realm known as Stormhold. Upon discovering that the meteorite he sought was in fact a beautiful girl named Yvaine (Danes), who has stumbled though space and is now being pursued by the King of Stormhold's (Peter O'Toole) sons (who long to use her cosmic powers to lay claim to the throne), Tristan vows to protect the otherworldly visitor at all costs. But the king's sons aren't the only ones in search of the luminous Yvaine; fearsome witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) has become convinced that the young girl's power can help her to achieve eternal youth and beauty. As Tristan makes his way through Stormhold on a mission to bring the star back to Wall, he will encounter a series of spectacular characters and creatures that will lead him to a fate he never imagined. Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn serves as director and co-screenwriter for this tale of witches and pirates adapted from the novel by fantasy icon Neil Gaiman, who also produces. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Peter Weir's first turn behind the camera since 1998's critically acclaimed The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on two Napoleanic War-era adventure novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World. Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, a high-seas adventurer who maintains a strong bond with ship-surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). After conquering much of Europe already, Napoleon's forces have set their sights on taking Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, take to the Pacific to intercept any attacking ships from the French fleet. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to an adrenaline-charged chase through the distant reaches of the sea. Edward Woodall, James D'Arcy, and Lee Ingleby also star as members of the Surprise's crew. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This informative look at T.E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence. ~ All Movie Guide

In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Agatha Christie and set in the late 1950s, this unevenly told film starts when Dr. Arthur Calgary (Donald Sutherland) comes back to England after two years on an Antarctic expedition and discovers that the man he is searching for has been executed for murder. At the beginning of his expedition he had given a ride one night to a hitchhiker and accidentally ended up with his address book. To his horror, the hitchhiker's mother was killed on that night, and he had been the alibi that would have saved him from execution. Spurred on by his sense of shock and guilt, Calgary makes contact with the family and is put off by their disinterest in finding the real killer. It seems that the mother had many enemies among her close family members: her husband was having an affair, there was a blackmail scheme in the works, and many felt that she had already excluded them from any inheritance. Although the acting is uneven and the plot may seem predictable or contrived to non-Christie readers, the story retains interest, and Dave Brubeck's jazz score adds a special dimension to the proceedings. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A United Nations delegation, comprised of a Swede (Dennis Holahan), a Briton (George Innes) and a Hindu (Kavi Raz), arrives at the 4077th for an inspection tour. Each of the delegates leaves a distinct and profound impression upon a separate member of the MASH unit. This was the final series episode directed by Harry Morgan, who also plays Colonel Potter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This edition in the British serial finds the professor acting as a spy in World War I-era London. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

The plan was to develop a Star Wars type TV series with heavy injections of Sword N Sorcery. The title of the pilot was Archer: Fugitive From the Empire (the Archer part was lopped off when the film went into syndication). Soap opera refugee Lane Caudell plays a prince on a faraway planet who has been accused of murdering his father. The deed was actually perpetrated by the king's nephew and an evil warrior, but the Prince can prove this only if he goes on a quest (naturally) to find a beneficent sorcerer. Belinda Bauer, wearing next to nothing, is the "Princess Leia/Red Sonja" of this saga. Archer: Fugitive From the Empire resulted in a very short-lived (and presumably very costly) series, which ran for about half a minute in mid-1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The 13-part Danger UXB was the third presentation in the 1980-81 season of PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. Based upon the memoirs of Major A. B. "Bill" Hartley, this British production stars Anthony Andrews as engineer Brian Ash. In the early days of World War II, Brian volunteers for the Royal Engineers' UXB, or "Unexploded Bomb", division. Making his already dangerous job doubly perilous is the fact that many of the "dead" bombs that have fallen in the London vicinity have been booby-trapped by German technicians; they can go off without warning at any time, so it's not surprising that the ranks of the UXB unit diminishes on a near-daily basis. The storyline traces Ash's rise through the ranks to Lieutenant, as well as his romance with Susan Mount (Judy Geeson). Danger UXB's American TV run extended from January 4 through March 30, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film version of the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia makes a few tentative stabs at "explaining" the alienation of 1960s British working-class youth, but its major selling point is its nonstop rock-and-R&B musical score, including the hit single "Love Reign O'er Me." Phil Daniels (replacing the original opera's Roger Daltrey) plays Jimmy, a member of a well-dressed, drugged-up teenaged gang called the Mods, forever duking it out with the cycle-punk Rockers. The rivalry between the two gangs comes to a head during three tempestuous days in the seaside town of Brighton. Here Jimmy makes love to lovely local Steph (Leslie Ash), and forges a strong friendship with unofficial Mod leader Ace Face (Sting). A series of disappointments and setbacks in his own London neighborhood convinces Jimmy to return to Brighton to pick up the pieces. If you aren't fascinated by the visual pyrotechnics of Quadrophenia, just close your eyes and revel to the soundtrack music of the Who, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Chiffons, Manfred Man, and many others. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Sweeney started out as a British TV detective program all about Scotland Yard's Flying Squad. Its popularity spawned a reasonably satisfying 1976 feature film, starring the TV series' Tom Thaw. In Sweeney 2, Thaw is called upon to solve a series of carefully orchestrated bank robberies, which turn out to be the handiwork of an elite team of crooks headquartered in a posh Maltese apartment complex. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win the World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart (Sean Connery) and American brigadier general James Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany, with paratroops led by Lieutenant Col. John Frost (Sir Anthony Hopkins) holding the most critical bridge at a small town called Arnhem. Over this road shall pass combined forces led by British Lieutenant Gen. Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox) and British Lieutenant Col. Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine). The plan requires precise timing, so much so that one planner tells Lieutenant Gen. Frederick Browning (Dirk Bogarde), "Sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far." The plan also has one critical flaw: Instead of a smattering of German soldiers, the area around Arnhem is loaded with crack SS troops. Disaster ensues. Based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far is reminiscent of another movie based on a Ryan book, The Longest Day. Like that movie, it is loaded with more than 15 international stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Hardy Krueger, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullman. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

Liv Ullman portrays a female pope -- based on a long-held rumor that the papacy was held by a woman between the reigns of Leo IV and Benedict III -- in this rambling saga directed by Michael Anderson. The British version of the film has been cut, not only removing twenty-one minutes of the film but also an entire contemporary framing story. In the full version, a modern-day woman evangelist, played by Ullman, who feels an affinity to the legendary Pope Joan, pays a visit to her psychiatrist (Keir Dullea). Searching through her past lives to see whether she is the reincarnation of Pope Joan, the film then flashbacks 1000 years to pick up Joan (Ullman in an earlier incarnation of her character) undergoing a succession of trials and tribulations. Joan then meets up with and becomes the mistress of Adrian (Maximilian Schell), a monk with an artistic bent. After the death of Charlemagne when roving bands of Saxons are raping women and ransacking the countryside, Joan flees the country by cutting her hair short and dressing like a man. Together Joan and Adrian escape to Greece. In Greece, Joan's street-corner preaching draws the attention of Pope Leo IV (Trevor Howard), who is impressed by her impassioned rendering of the Gospel. Still disguised as a man, Pope Leo, clueless as to her true sex, hires her as his secretary. From there, she rises up the ladder of the Roman Catholic Church, becoming a cardinal and then Pope Leo's successor. But then she becomes pregnant by a lover from her past (Franco Nero) and Joan must hide her delicate condition from the papal authorities and the rowdy masses. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide