Ben Kingsley Movies
Chameleon-like British actor Ben Kingsley has proven he can play just about anyone, from Nazi war criminals to Jewish Holocaust survivors to quiet British bookshop owners. For many viewers, however, he will always be inextricably linked with his title role in Gandhi, a film that won him an Oscar and the undying respect of critics and filmgoers alike.Of English, East Indian, and South African descent, Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943 in Snaiton, Yorkshire, England. The son of a general practitioner, Kingsley started out in amateur theatricals in Manchester before making his professional debut at age 23. In 1967 he made his first London appearance at the Aldwych theater and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, devoting himself almost exclusively to stage work for the next 15 years (with the exception of two obscure films, Fear Is the Key [1972] and Hard Labour [1973]). When asked about his favorite stage roles, he listed Hamlet, The Tempest's Ariel, and Volpone's Mosca.
American audiences first saw Kingsley in 1971, when he made his Broadway debut with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1982, actor and director Richard Attenborough selected Kingsley for the demanding title role in the epic Gandhi. The film swept the international awards that year, earning the 39-year-old actor overnight success. Among the several awards he was honored with, Kingsley won a Best Actor Oscar. Adamantly refusing to recycle the same roles, Kingsley spent the next decade playing a wide spectrum of characters. Among his more notable parts were an Arab potentate in Harem (1985), an introverted bibliophile and "social rebel" in Turtle Diary (also 1985), a spy of little import in Pascali's Island (1988), an incorruptible American vice president in Dave (1992), New York gangster Meyer Lansky in Bugsy (1992), a Jewish bookkeeper in Schindler's List (1993), and a suspected Nazi war criminal in Death and the Maiden (1994). So many of his characters have been either taciturn or downright villainous that, upon being cast in a good-guy role in the escapist sci-fier Species (1995), Kingsley publicly expressed his relief in several widely circulated magazine articles.
In the latter half of the 1990s, Kingsley continued to embrace a variety of eclectic roles, with turns as the Fool in Trevor Nunn's 1996 film adaptation of Twelfth Night, a media mogul in the 1997 made-for-HBO satire Weapons of Mass Distraction, and the barbarous barber Sweeney Todd in John Schlesinger's 1998 The Tale of Sweeney Todd. Kingsley also took Broadway by storm with his one-man show Edward Kean (later taped for cable), which was directed by his wife, Alison Sutcliffe.
Though Kingsley had retained the variety in his career that he had so diligently pursued, the ever-sharp actor remained as focused as ever heading into the new millennium. For his role as a manipulative criminal with a strong power for persuasion in Sexy Beast (2001), Kingsley earned both a Golden Globe nomination and a third Oscar nomination. His fourth Academy nod would come just 2 years later with his role as a proud Arab-American patriarch in The House of Sand and Fog. Along with the Best Actor Oscar nomination, the role also netted Kingsley Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild nominations. Kingsley lost his Oscar bid for House to Sean Penn, who collected the statue for his contribution to Clint Eastwood's Mystic River.
Over the next several years, Sir Ben Kingsley's acting choices often demonstrated the degree of difficulty that A-listers may encounter when seeking multilayered roles in respectable films, with solid scripts and direction; like many of his contemporaries, the magnificent thespian Kingsley turned up in more than one schlocky Hollywood stinker after House of Sand and Fog -- from Jonathan Frakes's ugly Thunderbirds revamp (2004) to Uwe Boll's horrendous, gothic fx-extravaganza BloodRayne (2006) (as evil ruler Lord Kagan). If anyone could ferret out the creme-de-la-creme of roles, however, Kingsley could, and he simultaneously proved it with contributions to the interesting 2005 biopic Mrs. Harris (as the ill-fated Scarsdale Diet Doctor) and the wondrous documentary I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Rosenthal (2007).
2007 marked a banner year for Kingsley - his most active in quite some time, with contributions to no less than seven key pictures. In the most prominent, the John Dahl-directed crime comedy You Kill Me, Kingsley plays Frank Falenczyk, an alcoholic hit man who travels to Los Angeles to dry out, takes a job in a morgue, and strikes up a relationship with a relative of one of his victims. That same year, Kingsley re-projected his innate ability to essay ethnic roles convincingly, with his turn as one of two Russian police offers investigating an espionage case on a train, in Brad Anderson's thriller Trans-Siberian.
Later that same year, Kingsley appeared opposite lead Dan Fogler in English director Chase Palmer's Number Thirteen - a period drama about Alfred Hitchcock's ill-fated attempt to realize one of his first movie projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio team up as a pair of U.S. Marshals who travel to a secluded island off the coast of Massachusetts to search for an escaped mental patient, uncovering a web of deception along the way as they battle the forces of nature and a prison riot in this Martin Scorsese-helmed period picture. Laeta Kalogridis adapts Dennis Lehane's novel of the same name, with Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures splitting production and distribution duties. Ben Kingsley co-stars as the head of the institution where the patient resided, while Michelle Williams portrays Leonardo DiCaprio's deceased wife, whose memory haunts him during the investigation. Max von Sydow, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, and Jackie Earle Haley round out the supporting cast. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
- 2007
First time feature filmmaker Chase Palmer gathers an impressive cast including Ewan McGregor, Ben Kingsley, and Emily Mortimer for this fictional thriller about a torrid murder mystery in which the prime suspect is director Alfred Hitchcock. As Hitchcock struggles to keep the production on his latest film "Number Thirteen" afloat, he becomes inexorably involved in a love triangle involving two key crew members. When the male lead of the film turns up dead and the editor suspects that the director was involved in the murder, the race is on to solve the crime before the killer can strike again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Fogler, Ewan McGregor, (more)
- 2007
Australian-born Jeeza Neumann presents a scathing indictment of perhaps the largest experiment in social engineering ever conducted with this undercover documentary investigation of China's notorious stolen-child black market. Narrated by Ben Kingsley, China's Stolen Children highlights the tragic consequences of China's controversial one-child policy. In 1979 the Chinese government implemented the one-child policy in an effort to curb the growing population boom. In the wake of this policy, baby boys are kidnapped and sold like valued commodities, and unborn girls are aborted before birth so that parents can ensure that they will have someone to care for them in old age. While such practices are indeed highly illegal, they are so uncontrollable that they have reached epidemic proportions. The Chinese government has worked tirelessly to ensure that the outside world remains totally unaware of the problem, and as a result the film crew was forced to pose as tourists in order to speak with a detective frequently hired to locate missing children as well as a human trafficker who was once forced to sell his own son. A conversation with one of the kidnapped children who was rescued offers unparalleled insight into the disturbing practice, and a look at the dilemma faced by a nineteen year-old expectant mother who is still too young to be legally married emphasizes some of the harrowing decisions often faced by many expectant parents in China. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The sensationalistic murder of diet guru Dr. Herman Tarnower is explored in this stylized take on the tabloid cover story from first-time director Phyllis Nagy. As the inventor of the popular "Scarsdale Diet," Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley) became an overnight success during the peak of the early '80s diet craze. Despite the popularity of the Dr. Tarnower's revolutionary "lose one pound per day" diet, the womanizing ways of the Casanova cardiologist would soon come to a brutal end at the hands of his jealous, prescription drug-addicted lover Jean Harris (Annette Bening). Driven to despair after their 14-year romance failed to result in marriage and enraged by Dr. Tarnower's shameless status as a ladies' man, Harris confronts her former lover in one violent, final act of desperation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley, (more)
- 2001
Originally aired on PBS, this last of three episodes in the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith covers the history of the expansionist Ottoman Empire and its ambitious sultans through the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. As Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley explains, a key successful aspect of the Ottoman method of expansion was to leave in place the clerks -- the bureaucracy -- of the conquered territories. The Sunni Ottoman regime had more trouble from their rival Safavid Dynasty of Shiite Muslims than from their vanquished Christian subjects. Highlights of this program include footage from old Constantinople and from Istanbul, marvelous Islamic architecture, and mosaics and paintings portraying historical events. Expert commentary is provided by such scholars as Esin Atil, historian of Islamic art, Walter B. Denny of the University of Massachusetts, Victoria Holbrook of Ohio State University, Ahmet Karamustafa of Washington University, Cornell Fleischer of the University of Chicago, and John Renard of St. Louis University. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 2001
As Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley notes in his narration, the European Renaissance had its beginning in the metropolis of Baghdad, a center of learning at a time when Europe was sunk in the Dark Ages. Originally aired on PBS, this second of three episodes in the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith recounts early Islam's thirst for knowledge. Muslims of the time saw "no insurmountable contradiction" between faith and natural laws. According to this program, the Islamic empire sent scholars throughout the world to gather all the knowledge of mankind, which was brought to Baghdad and studied by scholars. While Christians considered Aristotle and Plato blasphemous, Muslim scholars studied and admired the Greek philosophers. Islamic mathematicians devised the system of Arabic numerals we still use today, and medicine was so advanced that Muslim surgeons were performing cataract surgery a thousand years ago. Also covered is the beginning of the Crusades. Highlights of this episode include footage of the Alhambra and Cordoba, Spain, which was the western jewel of Islam. Expert commentary is provided by such scholars as Ahmet Karamustafa of Washington University, George Saliba of Columbia University, Sheila Blair of Boston College, and Carole Hillenbrand of Edinburgh University. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
Anne Frank was an ordinary girl forced by circumstances to bear witness to the most extraordinary tragedy of the 20th century, and the diary she left behind became one of the best known and most affecting documents of those who struggled to survive the Holocaust under Nazi occupation during World War II. Anne Frank is a four-hour television miniseries that retells the well-known story of the Frank family as they hid from Nazi occupation forces in an attic in Amsterdam between 1942 and 1944, but it also takes a look at the life Anne and her family led before the pogrom swept through Germany and Holland, as well as the harrowing details of the grim fate that awaited the Franks in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Hannah Taylor Gordon stars as Anne Frank, with Ben Kingsley as her father Otto, Jessica Manley as her sister Margot, Brenda Blethyn as Auguste Van Pels, and Lily Taylor as Miep Gies; the real-life Miep Gies, one of the Frank family's benefactors, served as a consultant to the producers of this project. Anne Frank (also advertised as Anne Frank: The Whole Story) was first aired by the ABC television network on May 20 and May 21, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, (more)
- 2001
Originally aired on PBS, this first of three episodes in the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith recounts the history of the religion of Islam, from its beginning in 622 A.D. as a small desert sect led by the prophet Muhammad, to its zenith hundreds of years later as an intellectual and artistic empire -- the largest the world had known -- that spanned three continents and exercised tolerance for other religions. Highlights include re-enactments of battles and commentary by numerous scholars, including Jonathan Bloom of Boston College, Islamic art historian Esin Atil, Michael Sells of Haverford College, John Renard of St. Louis University, and Walter B. Denny of the University of Massachusetts. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Director Steve York argues in this documentary that non-violent political movements have been the most formative tool to effect political change during the 20th century. The film opens with Mohandas Gandhi's colossal struggle against British colonialism. Using footage from old black and white newsreels, the film relays how Gandhi perfected his non-violent tactics in South Africa and used them with great effect in India. The second segment focuses on the American civil rights movement, focusing on Rev. James Lawson's struggle to reverse the segregation of Nashville's lunch counters using roughly the same methods as Gandhi. The final section outlines activist Mkhuseli Jack's non-violent attempts at ending apartheid in South Africa. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Alyque Padamsee, (more)
- 2000
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Two-time Best Director Oscar winner and easily one of America's most popular directors, Steven Spielberg and his films, such as E.T., Jurassic Park, and Jaws, redefined the term "Hollywood blockbuster." This video biography highlights his high-flying career, featuring interviews with Jeff Goldblum, Morgan Freeman, and Liam Neeson. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium 10-hour documentary, which explores global events of the past 1000 years, CNN Millennium, Part 3: Century of the Stirrup - The Thirteenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1200 and 1300. The program follows Ghengis Khan and his Mongol warriors as they mapped their course west. Viewers learn how the Inquisition empowered church government, how the Magna Carta came to be passed, and which important modern inventions Roger Bacon psychically foretold. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium 10-hour documentary, which explores global events of the past 1000 years, CNN Millennium, Part 2: Century of the Axe - The Twelfth Century outlines pivotal points between 1100 and 1200. The program describes a period of great innovation in architecture and education. In this century, the nautical compass found its way to the West. In Europe, amazing cathedrals were being constructed. Also in the 12th century, the idea of a university system came into being. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events of the past 1,000 years from a global perspective, CNN Millennium, Pt. 5: Century of the Sail -- The Fifteenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1500 and 1600, a century of self-improvement. In Europe, artists started a fresh movement called the Renaissance. Brilliant painter, architect, and engineer Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452. China became a maritime competitor in this century, and Christopher Columbus set off to discover new places. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events of the past 1,000 years, CNN Millennium, Pt. 4: Century of the Scythe -- The Fourteenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1300 and 1400. The program describes a century of passionate revolt, in which French and English peasants waged the Hundred Years War, demanding better treatment. In Turkey and India, relentless warriors claimed land for their own. Also, a horrendous plague, the Black Death, took the lives of millions. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium 10-hour documentary, which explores global events of the past 1000 years, CNN Millennium, Part 1: Century of the Sword - The Eleventh Century outlines pivotal points between 1000 and 1100. The program discusses explorer Leif Ericksson's important journey to North America and tracks the Christian crusaders who violently stormed the Holy Land. Viewers learn details about the historic Battle of Hastings, in which Harold, Earl of Essex was murdered and the Normans prevailed, as well as the dramatic fall of Byzantium, El Cid's brutal conquering of Valencia, and more. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events of the past 1,000 years, CNN Millennium, Pt. 10: Century of the Globe -- The Twentieth Century outlines pivotal points between 1900 and the year 2000. The program describes a period of turmoil and prosperity, in which two world wars wreaked havoc, technological advancements caused pollution, and America enjoyed an abundant economy and embraced the wonder of rock & roll. The episode remembers Charles Lindbergh's historic 33-and-a-half-hour flight from New York to Paris, and Neil Armstrong's moon touch-down. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events of the past 1,000 years, CNN Millennium, Pt. 6: Century of the Compass -- The Sixteenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1500 and 1600, a century of new beginnings. Seven empires cropped up during this period, while Spain suffered a decline. Flemish physician Andrea Vesalius revolutionized medicine by making dissections on cadavers. Also, the world began keeping time with a newly formatted and improved calendar. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events from the past 1,000 years, CNN Millennium, Pt. 7: Century of the Telescope -- The Seventeenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1600 and 1700, a period of scientific advancement, global commercialization, and New World settlement. During this century, both the telescope and the microscope were invented, and Galileo Galilei announced that the Earth and the planet Jupiter revolve around the sun. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Part of the CNN Millennium ten-hour documentary which explores global events of the past 1,000 years, CNN Millennium, Pt. 8: Century of the Furnace -- The Eighteenth Century outlines pivotal points between 1700 and 1800, a period of climactic action. In this century, the Moguls in India experienced their decline. Meanwhile, however, the British Empire was becoming a world power, and James Watt's steam engine sparked the all-important Industrial Revolution. Also, the small pox vaccine was discovered. Actor Ben Kingsley narrates. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Narrated by Ben Kingsley, each installment in the Religions of the World series offers an in-depth investigation into the practices and theology of a major world religion. Through interviews with experts, examination of artifacts, and dramatic reenactments, the major facets of these faiths are brought to light and explicated. In this particular video, the major tenets and practices of Judaism are examined. The importance of the two centers of Jewish life, the home and synagogue, are considered in some detail. Also examined are the importance of holy days and sacred texts. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Narrated by Ben Kingsley, each installment in the Religions of the World series offers an in-depth investigation into the practices and theology of a major world religion. Through interviews with experts, examination of artifacts, and dramatic reenactments, the major facets of these faiths are brought to light and explicated. In this particular video, Islam, the world's fastest growing religion, is examined. The practices and beliefs of this theology are considered, as well as the effect the religion has had on the history of the Middle East. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Narrated by Ben Kingsley, each installment in the Religions of the World series offers an in-depth investigation into the practices and theology of a major world religion. Through interviews with experts, examination of artifacts, and dramatic reenactments, the major facets of these faiths are brought to light and explicated. In this particular video, the movement spawned by Martin Luther is examined. The common ideas shared by the disparate groups that were spawned by the Reformation are considered as well as the differences in theology and practice that keep them apart. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
