Robert Bathurst Movies

Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, and Rufus Sewell headline this eight-part miniseries adapted from the best-selling novel by author Ken Follett. As England moves out of the Dark Ages, the tensions between ambitious mason Tom Builder (Sewell), Bishop Waleran Bigod (McShane), and the heirs of King Stephen (Toony Curran), King Henry (Clive Wood), and Queen Maud (Alison Pill) come to a head when Builder's plan to construct an opulent cathedral threaten to trudge up some damning secrets that the royal families would rather remain buried. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A thieving band of orphans who steal from the rich simply to survive encounter a supernatural merry-go-round with mysterious powers in this screen adaptation of award-winning author Cornelia Funke's popular series of children's books. Left in the care of their abusive aunt following the death of their mother, two young boys flee to Venice, Italy in hopes that life will be easier on their own. Times are tough in Venice though, and after meeting mysterious young thief Scipio the desperate runaways soon agree to join his band of pint-sized pickpockets. When a detective assigned the task of bringing the youngsters in becomes privy to their impoverished plight, he joins them in solving the mystery of a powerful merry-go-round that appears to have special powers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Originally telecast in the United Kingdom, the two-part miniseries White Teeth was based on Zadie Smith's 2000 bestseller about the perils of cultural assimilation in modern day North London. Taking place in the years 1974 to 1992 and set in the melting-pot community of Willesden Green, the story focuses on three different families. The Jamaican-English Archie Jones (Phil Davis) is a professional envelope-folder, while his wife, Clara (Naomie Harris), is a lapsed Jehovah's Witness. Archie's old army buddy Samad Iqbal (Om Puri) is a Bengalese waiter who hails from Bangladesh, also the home country of his sharp-tongued spouse, Alsana (Archie Panjabi). And the Malfen family, headed by Joyce and Marcus (Geraldine James, Robert Bathurst), are fiercely dedicated charter members of the Keepers of the Eternal and Victorious Islamic Nation (or KEVIN for short). Deftly combining comedy, drama, melodrama, and pathos, the Dickensian interactions and interrelationships among the three families manage to accommodate a variety of dizzying plot convolutions involving disenchanted youngsters, racial prejudice, social pretensions, cult worship, misguided animal activists, a genetically modified mouse, a Nazi war criminal, and a bizarre but brilliant kidnapping scheme. In the United States, White Teeth first aired May 11, 2003, as part of the PBS Masterpiece Theatre anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Season four of the British "dramedy" Cold Feet was originally telecast between November 18 and December 10, 2001. In this season's seven episodes, live-in couple Adam (James Nesbitt) and Rachel (Helen Baxendale) continue to have problems with their relationship, especially when their "dream home" is priced far out of their range; Peter (James Nesbitt) and Jenny have divorced, with Peter moving on to a fractious romance with new series regular Jo Ellison (Kimberly Joseph); and Karen is dismayed to learn that her husband, David (Robert Bathurst), is having an affair. Former series regular Fay Ripley (Jenny) does not appear this season, her character having moved to America after her divorce. ~ Rovi

Season two of the British "dramedy" Cold Feet was originally telecast between September 26 and October 31, 1999. In this season's six episodes, young live-in lovers Adam (James Nesbitt) and Rachel (Helen Baxendale) toy with the notion of dating other people; new parents Peter (John Thomson) and Jenny (Fay Ripley) start questioning the stability of their marriage; and older married couple David (Robert Bathurst) and Karen (Hermione Norris) undertake a variety of methods to keep their union intact. The principal complication during the series' second season is Peter's brief fling with a young woman named Amy (Rosie Cavaliero). ~ Rovi

Former Monty Python members Terry Jones, Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Michael Palin were reunited by director Jones for this live-action adaptation of the 1908 children's fantasy classic by Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932). The actors have only slight physical changes to suggest animal characteristics, plus tails protruding from their Edwardian-style costumes. In pre-WW I England, fascist Weasels prowl the countryside, forcing modest Mole (Steve Coogan) from his underground home after the Weasels acquire the meadow from wealthy, waddling Mr. Toad (Jones). Toad's inheritance is leaking away because of his fascination with the recently invented motorcar. After Mole takes shelter with refined Rat (Idle), the two set out for Toad's cavernous mansion. Toad crashes into another vehicle, but unfortunately, his attorney (Cleese) has nothing nice to say in Toad's defense. Toad's behavior in court prompts the judge (Stephen Fry) to give him a century-long jail sentence. Rat and Mole plan to spring Toad with the help of the hibernating Badger (Nicol Williamson), but Toad simultaneously puts his own escape plan into motion. Back at Toad Hall, the Weasels construct a dog-food factory and intend to destroy the main house by blowing it up-so the threatened animals make plans to retake Toad Hall.

Crew members who worked on past Python films include James Acheson (production/costume design) and John Du Prez (original music and songs). Lawrence Van Gelder (New York Times) reviewed, "The Wind in the Willows, brimming with verbal and visual wit and imagination, driven by high adventure, reveling in English eccentricity, enlivened by bursts of song, unafraid of ideas and filled with color and splendid performances, exposes most other movies intended to attract children as out-and-out pap." This film should not be confused with the 1996 animated adaptation which also has Michael Palin in the cast. Filmed at Burnham Beeches (in Buckinghamshire, England). Other earlier versions: the second half of Disney's animated The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949); live-action by the Minneapolis Children's Theatre (1983); stop-motion animation for British TV (1983); 1982 stop-motion animation by John Semper (Spider-Man); and Rankin-Bass animation for U.S. TV (1987). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Written by series star Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis, the pilot episode of the satirical British comedy series The Black Adder (aka Blackadder is substantially the same as the latter episode "Born to Be King," with the scurrilous Prince Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) being charged with the responsibility of arranging a birthday party for the Queen of England (Elspeth Gray) -- all the while planning the assassination of fraudulent Scottish war hero McAngus (Alex Norton) and casting doubts on the legitimacy of his brother (and heir to the throne) Prince Harry. All in all, Edmund lives up to his family motto "Veni Vidi Castratavi Illegitimos" ("I Came, I Saw, I Castrated the Bastards!") Major differences include the presence of Philip Fox in the role of Baldrick rather than Tony Robinson, John Savident instead of Brian Blessed as King Richard IV, and Robert Bathurst instead of Robert East as Prince Harry. This pilot episode was never aired, though it has been released to home video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi