Michael Mundell Movies

In the fourth episode of the six-part story "The Invasion of Time," the bizarre and eccentric behavior of the Doctor (Tom Baker) causes Leela (Louise Jameson) to seriously question his ability to rule Gallifrey as Lord President. For one thing, the Doctor seems determined to allow the telepathic Vardans to invade and conquer Gallifrey. But despite all outward appearances, there is a method in the Doctor's "madness." First telecast February 25, 1978, "The Invasion of Time, Episode 4" was written by Graham Williams and Anthony Read, under the joint pen name of David Agnew. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sam Peckinpah examines the instinctual capacity for violence in his controversial 1971 film, loosely based on the novel The Siege of Trencher's Farm. To avoid the Vietnam-era social chaos in the U.S., American mathematician David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) moves with his British wife, Amy (Susan George), to the isolated Cornish town where she grew up, but their presence provokes antagonism among the village's men. As the hostilities escalate from routine bullying to the gang rape of his wife, David finds his pacifistic self backed into a corner. When the hooligans attack his house, David finally resorts to the gruesome violence that he abhors. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

In the future, an oppressive government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers known as "firemen" to perform the necessary book burnings. This is the premise of Ray Bradbury's acclaimed science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, which became the source material for French director François Truffaut's English-language debut. While some liberties are taken with the description of the world, the narrative remains the same, as fireman Montag (Oskar Werner) begins to question the morality of his vocation. Curious about the world of books, he soon falls in love with a beautiful young member of a pro-literature underground -- and with literature itself. Critics were divided on the effectiveness of the result; some praised the unique design and eerie color cinematography by Nicolas Roeg, while others found the film's stylized approach overly distancing and attacked the central performances as unnatural. In any case, however, the film inarguably succeeds in making Truffaut's reverence for the written word abundantly clear, especially during the film's justifiably famous finale. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi