Liam Neeson Movies
Standing a burly 6'4", Liam Neeson was once described by a theatre critic as a "towering sequoia of sex." To say that he has undeniable charisma is certainly accurate, but it is a charisma composed as much of impressive talent as of broken-nosed physical appeal. Bearing both versatility and quiet forcefulness, Neeson has been touted as one of the most compelling actors of the late 20th century.Born June 7, 1952, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, Neeson had an upbringing partially defined by his involvement in boxing. He became active in the sport as a teenager, earning his distinctive broken nose in the process; he stayed with boxing until he began experiencing black-outs from repeated blows to the head. Initially interested in a career as a teacher, Neeson attended Belfast's Queens College, but he aborted his studies after developing a desire to act. In 1976, he joined Belfast's Lyric Theatre, and two years later he began performing the classics at Dublin's famed Abbey Theatre. While he was with the Abbey, Neeson was discovered by director John Boorman, who cast him as Gawain in 1981's Excalibur. Following his part in that action fantasy, Neeson had supporting roles in such films as The Mission (1986), and he was featured in leads opposite Cher in Suspect (1987) and Diane Keaton in The Good Mother (1988).
He got his first starring vehicle in 1990 with Sam Raimi's Darkman; unfortunately, the film was a relative disappointment. Neeson continued to do starring work in such films as Big Man (1991), which featured him as a boxer, Ethan Frome (1992), and Under Suspicion (1992), but ironically, it was his work on the stage that led to his true screen breakthrough. In 1992, the actor was turning in a Tony-nominated performance in Anna Christie opposite Natasha Richardson (whom he would marry in 1994) on Broadway. His work attracted the notice of Steven Spielberg, who was so impressed with what he saw that he cast Neeson as Oskar Schindler in his landmark Holocaust drama Schindler's List (1993). Neeson received Best Actor Oscar and British Academy Award nominations for his performance, and he subsequently didn't have to worry about finding work in Hollywood, or elsewhere, again.
More high-profile work followed for Neeson, who went on to star in such films as Nell (1994), Rob Roy (1995), and Michael Collins (1996). However acclaimed his previous work had been, none of it received the hype of one of Neeson's 1999 projects, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Although the film, which starred Neeson as a Jedi master, ultimately earned a galaxy's worth of negative reviews, it mined box office millions. Its success further enhanced Neeson's status as one of the world's most visible actors, and it even helped to downplay the disappointment of The Haunting, his other film that year.
Neeson would enter the new millennium with a variety of projects on his to-do list, appearing in the Martin Scorsese period piece Gangs of New York in 2002, and the extremely popular romantic comedy Love Actually in 2003. The following year would find him tackling a meatier role, however, as he singed on to portray pioneering scientist and researcher on human sexuality Alfred Kinsey in the biopic Kinsey. The part would earn Neeson a Golden Globe nomination, and Neeson would follow its success with performances in Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven, as well as one in the blockbuster superhero reboot Batman Begins in 2005. He would also sign on to provide the voice of lion king Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia fantasy franchise.
In 2008, Neeson starred in the thriller Taken, portraying a former CIA officer who employs his brutal skills learned on the job to find his kidnapped daughter. Audiences weren't accustomed to seeing the actor hold down the lead in an action film, but Neeson succeeded and the film was a categorical success. Sadly, the following year, Liam's wife actress Natasha Richardson died suddenly after suffering a severe head injury during a skiing accident. Neeson was left in care of their two children, Michael and Daniel, but was later able to resume his career.
Neeson would find himself appearing in many action/adventure films over the coming years. He starred as the cigar-chomping ohn "Hannibal" Smith in the big-screen adaptation of The A-Team in 2010, and a man fleeing for his life and fighting for his identity in 2011's Unknown. The following year, Neeson played an oil driller stranded amid a pack of wolves in The Grey. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- 2000
- G
- Add The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition to Queue Add The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition to top of Queue
In 1914, explorer Ernest Shackleton set out to become the first man to cross the frozen wastes of the Antarctic continent on foot; however, a combination of treacherous conditions, unexpected changes in weather, and simple bad luck left Shackleton and his crew of 28 men stranded in one of the world's most unforgiving environments for nearly two years. Miraculously, Shackleton and his men not only survived, but brought back remarkable footage of their ordeal, thanks to cameraman Frank Hurley, who traveled with Shackleton to record the adventure on film. The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, adapted from the book by Caroline Alexander, combines Hurley's material with newly shot footage tracing the path of Shackleton's journey, presenting a remarkable true-life tale of courage and human survival against grim odds. Liam Neeson narrates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson
Through the use of extensive computer animation, this video offers an update on the construction of the International Space Station some 220 miles above the surface of the earth. The only major international program of its type, the implications of the station are immeasurably important to the viability of human habitation in space. This glance into the possible future of the human race is hosted by Liam Neeson. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 2000
- Add The Directors: Steven Spielberg to Queue Add The Directors: Steven Spielberg to top of Queue
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, Rovi
- 1999
This second episode of Greece: The Crucible of Civilization, directed and written by Cassian Harrison, opens in 490 B.C. when tiny Athens prepares to safeguard its growing economy and infant democracy against an invasion by Persian armies of Darius the Great. Like the previous episode, this episode, "Golden Age," features colorful maps, reenactments, paintings, and exquisite photography to tell its tale. When the Persians arrive for battle, the Greek courier Phidippides runs 140 miles to Sparta in two days to solicit help from its army, says narrator Liam Neeson, quoting the historian Herodotus. But Sparta, Athens' rival, refuses to participate. No matter. The outnumbered Athenians, fighting to uphold their life of freedom, defeat the Persians and send them in humiliation back to Asia. But one Athenian, Themistocles, realizes Athens has not seen the last of the proud Persians. He persuades city leaders to build a fleet of war ships. These ships, called triremes, are "floating missiles" with projecting bows designed specifically to ram enemy vessels. While the Athenians execute their plans, the Persian ruler Darius dies and his son Xerxes succeeds to the throne. Under pressure to take revenge against the Greeks, he assembles an army of two million men. When the terrified Greeks ask the Delphic Oracle for advice, she simply tells them to flee. But Themistocles refuses to panic. Instead, he again petitions the Delphic Oracle, and this time she predicts that a "wooden wall" will protect the Greeks. Neeson then tells how the wily Themistocles saves his city. First, he orders Athens abandoned, installs his fleet at the Aegean island of Salamis, and sends a "traitor" to the Persians to tell them that the Athenians are fleeing and are easy prey for the Persian fleet. When Persian ships move into the strait between Salamis and the Greek mainland, the triremes ram and sink 200 Persian vessels, and Athens wins the war. To protect Greece against future attacks, the Athenian leaders organize the Delian League, made up of 200 city-states. Feeling safe and secure, Athens then turns its attention back to its economy and to other domestic affairs. Soon, the democratic system unleashes the power of the human mind, and Greece enters a Golden Age in which every branch of learning advances and a new leader, Pericles, emerges to take Athens to the zenith of its power. As a fitting symbol of the now mighty city, he builds the aesthetically and architecturally perfect Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, and fosters development of education and the Greek theater of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
In the 1860's, industrialist Hugh Crain financed the construction of Hill House, a beautiful but forbidding mansion where Crain hoped to house a wife and children. However, Crain died an unexplained death at Hill House, and ever since tales have circulated that the mansion is haunted by evil spirits. 130 years later, Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson), long fascinated by the Hill House legend, brings three people there for what he tells them will be a study in sleep disorders. Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is outwardly brave, but it soon becomes evident that Hill House's sinister reputation has her on edge. Luke (Owen Wilson) quickly finds himself wondering: if this is really about studying sleep, why bring everyone to a haunted house? And Nell (Lili Taylor) finds herself inexplicably drawn to the mansion, with a fascination that soon bears terrifying fruit as the true story of Hill House is revealed. The Haunting was directed by Jan de Bont; the screenplay was written by David Self and based on Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting Of Hill House, which was also the basis for Robert Wise's 1963 film The Haunting, widely regarded as one of the screen's finest ghost stories. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
- 1999
This documentary makes history entertaining as well as educational. Beautifully photographed, it uses reenactments, paintings, maps, pottery, metalwork, and "living statues" to take the viewer on a vicarious journey through ancient Greece. Actor Liam Neeson narrates, and unobtrusive music inspires the imagination. Episode one, The Revolution, begins at the dawn of democracy in 508 B.C., with the revolution of the common people against aristocratic rule. The documentary, directed and written by Cassian Harrison, then travels further back in time to chronicle the key events leading up to the revolution. As the camera roams ancient ruins, the Greek countryside, and old stone roads, the viewer learns that the inhabitants of Greece once lived in mud houses with no sewage and frequently fell prey to disease and warfare. Unable to write, they memorized their works of literature -- more than one million lines, the documentary says -- in order to pass them on to the next generation. Over time, their hardship and learning whetted their appetite for freedom. After rule by tyrants of the aristocratic class and a struggle for power, Cleisthenes (570-507 B.C.), himself an aristocrat, sided with the common people of Athens and brought democracy into being. The camera shows how ordinary citizens, men only, enacted laws by voting with black or white pebbles. From this beginning, western democracy developed and flourished. An actor stands in as Cleisthenes, posing as a flesh-and-blood mannequin, and the viewer has the sense that at any moment he will come alive and repeat the successes, or blunders, of history. The documentary calls upon experts -- such as Josiah Ober, of Princeton University, and Paul Cartledge, of Cambridge University -- to explain and comment on momentous political and other events in Ancient Greece. One extremely important economic development was the exploitation of the olive tree. Narrator Neeson notes that its gift of oil stimulated seafaring trade with other Mediterranean countries so that Athens and other city-states could grow and prosper. All the while during their early maturation into a Mediterranean power, Athens and other city-states had to live with the threat of war from expansionist Sparta as well as the vast Persian Empire. But democracy had taken root, and it proved in the long run to be a greater force than the mightiest of armies. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
- 1999
This episode is part three of The Greeks: The Crucible of Civilization series, directed and written by Cassian Harrison. It opens in 399 B.C., after the great philosopher Socrates has been sentenced to death and Athens lies in ruins after a war with Sparta. This episode, entitled Empire of the Mind and narrated by actor Liam Neeson, goes back to 431 B.C., to an Athens at the height of its cultural, political, and economic power. Having taken great leaps forward in every field of learning, and with a strong economy that dominates Mediterranean trade, Athens and its 150,000 residents are the envy of their neighbors, in particular, bellicose Sparta. Jealous of Athenian success, the Spartans yearn to spill Athenian blood and dominate the region. Of course, Pericles knows what is coming, and he orders the citizens to abandon open areas and take refuge inside the walls of Athens. The mighty Athenian fleet will provide supplies for the citizens through the port of Piraeus and a walled corridor between that city and Athens. Over time, the navy will prevail, as it had against the Persians, and win yet another victory. Much is at stake -- democracy, freedom, the whole Athenian way of life. As expected, the Spartans invade and burn the open areas around the city. But it is the unexpected that deals the most devastating blow to Athens. Incoming ships with supplies for the walled-in Greeks carry plague-bearing rats feeding on grain. The disease ravages the Athenians, inflicting agony on them and killing one out of every three. The Spartans are of little concern; what matters is surviving until tomorrow. Pericles' esteem plummets even as he himself contracts the plague and eventually dies. Finally in 404 B.C., Athens surrenders. According to the documentary, the people link Socrates to the Athenian defeat and sentence him to death. However, other issues -- notably Socrates' questioning mind that led young people to reject old ideas in favor of new ones -- were of more concern to the jurors who found him guilty. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi
- 1999
- PG
- Add Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to Queue Add Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to top of Queue
In 1977, George Lucas released Star Wars, the ultimate sci-fi popcorn flick-turned-pop-culture myth machine. It quickly became the biggest money-making film of all time and changed the shape of the film industry. After two successful sequels (1980's The Empire Strikes Back and 1983's Return of the Jedi) that extended the story of the first film, Lucas took some time off to produce movies for others, with mixed success. In 1999, Lucas returned to the Star Wars saga with a new approach -- instead of picking up where Return of the Jedi left off, Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace would be the first of a trilogy of stories to trace what happened in the intergalactic saga before the first film began. Here, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) is a young apprentice Jedi knight under the tutelage of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson); Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), who will later father Luke Skywalker and become known as Darth Vader, is just a nine-year-old boy. When the Trade Federation cuts off all routes to the planet Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are assigned to settle the matter, but when they arrive on Naboo they are brought to Amidala (Natalie Portman), the Naboo queen, by a friendly but opportunistic Gungan named Jar Jar. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan plan to escort Amidala to a meeting of Republic leaders in Coruscant, but trouble with their spacecraft strands them on the planet Tatooine, where Qui-Gon meets Anakin, the slave of a scrap dealer. Qui-Gon is soon convinced that the boy could be the leader the Jedis have been searching for, and he begins bargaining for his freedom and teaching the boy the lessons of the Force. The supporting cast includes Pernilla August as Anakin's mother, Terence Stamp as Chancellor Valorum, and Samuel L. Jackson as Jedi master Mace Windu. Jackson told a reporter before The Phantom Menace's release that the best part about doing the film was that he got to say "May the Force be with you" onscreen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, (more)
Everest is the highest-grossing IMAX film ever released. This breathtaking and exhilarating program documents the deadly 1996 expedition which was the focus of Jon Krakauer's best-selling book Into Thin Air. The New York Times calls Everest "an amazing feat of filmmaking." Liam Neeson narrates and the music of George Harrison is featured. ~ Laura Mahnken, Rovi
Bille August directed this Rafael Yglesias adaptation of the 1862 classic by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) about the quest of Inspector Javert to capture escaped convict Jean Valjean, originally an honest man who was jailed for stealing a single loaf of bread to feed the family of his starving sister. This new interpretation of Hugo's epic begins with Valjean (Liam Neeson), released after 20 years of cruelties and hard labor, reporting for parole in Dijon. Stopping at a bishop's house, he's treated with respect, but even so, he steals silverware, flees, and is captured. However, the bishop says the silverware was a gift, proving Valjean's innocence by giving him two silver candlesticks. Valjean is free, but the bishop asks him to treat others with equal kindness. By 1822, Valjean has risen to mayor of the village of Vigau, where he also maintains a successful factory. Joining the local police, Inspector Javert (Geoffrey Rush) is suspicious of Valjean's identity and eventually recognizes him as a former convict, but Javert has no proof when he carries his accusations to Paris. Valjean develops a relationship with Fantine (Uma Thurman), who lost her factory job because of local attitudes about her illegitimate daughter. The starving Fantine turns to prostitution, is arrested and tortured by Javert, and becomes ill. As she dies, Valjean promises to raise her daughter Cosette. Focusing on Valjean's life with Cosette (Claire Danes), the story is set amid the action of the July 1832 Revolution, a time when Cosette falls in love with a militant student, Marius (Hans Matheson). On the banks of the Seine, Valjean and Javert have their final confrontation. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, (more)
Director Barbet Schroeder and screenwriter Ted Tally adapted the novel by Rosellen Brown into this intriguing drama that, while heavily criticized for a third-act revelation that is something of a cop-out, nevertheless features -- typically of Schroeder's work -- compelling performances, domestic discord, and a search for the truth. Meryl Streep stars as Carolyn Ryan, a rural Massachusetts pediatrician married to Ben (Liam Neeson), a handsome, rugged sculptor. Although theirs is not a picture-perfect marriage, the Ryans consider themselves happy, until police arrive at their home one morning to inform them that their son Jacob (Edward Furlong) was the last person seen the night before with a teenage girl who has been murdered. Jacob is missing, and the Ryans frantically search for him, but when the boy returns, it is obvious that he's not being completely truthful about the night's events. While Carolyn wants the truth, Ben is willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary to defend Jacob, hiring an expensive lawyer (Alfred Molina), destroying evidence, and encouraging Jacob to be deceitful. Carolyn and Ben's opposing views of their son's legal trouble cause serious turmoil in the Ryans' marriage, which may be irreparably harmed in spite of the 11th hour appearance of the truth. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, (more)
The rise and fall of one of the most important and controversial figures in Ireland's struggle for independence is chronicled in this biographical drama. In 1916, the British government ruled Ireland with a firm and cruel hand, as they had for 700 years. When a group of Irish rebels staged a six-day siege at Dublin's General Post Office, only one of the leaders was able to escape execution -- Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), an American citizen of Irish blood. A number of De Valera's followers are sent to prison, and one of them, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), walked out of jail convinced that a new approach was needed to free his homeland from British rule. With his compatriot Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), Collins formed the Irish Volunteers, who used a combination of terrorist violence and guerilla warfare to attack the British where their defenses were weakest, and employed espionage and a key inside informant (Stephen Rea) to learn what the British planned to do next -- and what they knew about Collins and his supporters. Collins' strategic skills and talent for warfare made a major impact on the British, and he became the hero of the new-born Republican Movement, which seemed to offer a real hope of freedom, despite the violent reprisals of the vicious paramilitary police, the Black and Tans. De Valera, however, was often in conflict with Collins in terms of the methods and approach of their struggle. Collins also found himself in a different sort of conflict with Boland when he fell in love with his girlfriend, a strong-willed advocate of Irish freedom named Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts). Eager to gain support for the Republican cause, De Valera sought economic and military support from the U.S.; when he returned, the Volunteers seemed to have finally won a real victory, as the British government announced that they were willing to formally negotiate with them. While Collins was once the radical and De Valera was the moderate, once negotiations began, Collins sought to end the violence that he saw killing so many young people and was willing to agree to a compromise that would create the Irish Free State. While the agreement would still leave final political control with the British, it would bring a greater self-determination to Ireland, and Collins believed that it was a crucial first step that could lead, in time, to true freedom for his people. De Valera, however, was strongly opposed to the treaty with Britian, and this led to violence among pro- and anti-treaty factions; soon Ireland's most loved leader was now branded a traitor by many of his countrymen. Michael Collins was voted Best Picture at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, and Liam Neeson was awarded the prize for Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, (more)
- 1996
In Northern Ireland, factionalism between Catholics and Protestants has been a subject of contention and violence (and an unfortunate way of life) for many years. The lines of cultural division are established early on -- children attend Catholic or Protestant schools, helping to insure that even in their youth, the two sides rarely meet on neutral ground and come to know each other as people. In 1993, a group of Belfast citizens decided that it was time to put prejudices aside in the interest of peace and bring together a new generation of children; they opened the Cranmore Integrated Primary School, which educates Protestant and Catholic youth side by side. Opening the school was an uphill battle, as the Irish government refuses to sanction integrated schools, and Cranmore faced opposition from leaders on both sides. However, with the announcement of the IRA's cease fire in 1994 and renewed negotiations to bring a lasting and workable peace to Northern Ireland, the school began to look less like a pipe dream and more like part of a practical long-term solution to the nation's problems. Irish-American filmmakers Jennifer McShane and Tricia Regan traveled to Belfast and documented the struggle to create Cranmore Integrated Primary School. A Leap of Faith is the record of the school's troubled first year. Liam Neeson narrates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The 18th century Scottish legend of Robert Roy MacGregor comes to life in this stylish adaptation of the swashbuckling novel by Sir Walter Scott. Liam Neeson stars as the title character, a cattle drover and proud head of a Highlands clan who takes a one thousand pound loan from the royal Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) in order to make a profit on some livestock that will keep his struggling people alive through the coming winter. One of the Marquis' henchmen, wily expert swordsman Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth) learns of the loan from the nobleman's factor, Killearn (Brian Cox), and steals the money by murdering Rob Roy's best friend MacDonald (Eric Stoltz). Unable to repay the loan and unwilling to give up his land, Rob Roy becomes a fugitive, hunted by none other than Cunningham, who rapes Rob Roy's wife Mary (Jessica Lange). Scotch-British politics come to a boil over the Rob Roy affair, leading to an officially sanctioned showdown between the stoic farmer and Cunningham. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, (more)
- 1994
- Add Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America to Queue Add Out of Ireland: The Story of Irish Emigration to America to top of Queue
This documentary chronicles the 200-year history and experiences of Irish-American immigrants. The film is comprised of a blend of still photographs, drawings, and on location re-creations. It also includes the personal stories of many famous Irish-Americans including modern actors Aidan Quinn and Liam Neeson. The film also includes interviews with historians and commentators. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Liam Neeson, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
- Add Nell to Queue Add Nell to top of Queue
A woman is brought to civilization after spending her life in the wilds in this drama. Dr. Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson) happens upon a shack deep in the woods, where he discovers a strange woman who appears to be about 30, speaking an incomprehensible language. The woman, named Nell (Jodie Foster), was raised in the cabin by her late mother, who was incapacitated by strokes (Nell speaks English, but distorted -- as it was by her mother's infirmities); with the exception of her twin sister, who died as a child, Nell has had contact with no other human being. Lovell brings in a psychiatrist, Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson) to help determine what, if anything, should be done for Nell; Olsen thinks that Nell should be committed to an institution, but Lovell demands a period of unobtrusive observation instead. When it becomes obvious that the courts will demand that Nell be hospitalized for psychiatric observation, Lovell and Olsen take it upon themselves to gently introduce Nell to the outside world. Jodie Foster's performance in Nell earned her an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, and she won the Screen Actor's Guild award in that category. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jodie Foster, Liam Neeson, (more)
Based on a true story, Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List stars Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler, a German businessman in Poland who sees an opportunity to make money from the Nazis' rise to power. He starts a company to make cookware and utensils, using flattery and bribes to win military contracts, and brings in accountant and financier Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) to help run the factory. By staffing his plant with Jews who've been herded into Krakow's ghetto by Nazi troops, Schindler has a dependable unpaid labor force. For Stern, a job in a war-related plant could mean survival for himself and the other Jews working for Schindler. However, in 1942, all of Krakow's Jews are assigned to the Plaszow Forced Labor Camp, overseen by Commandant Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), an embittered alcoholic who occasionally shoots prisoners from his balcony. Schindler arranges to continue using Polish Jews in his plant, but, as he sees what is happening to his employees, he begins to develop a conscience. He realizes that his factory (now refitted to manufacture ammunition) is the only thing preventing his staff from being shipped to the death camps. Soon Schindler demands more workers and starts bribing Nazi leaders to keep Jews on his employee lists and out of the camps. By the time Germany falls to the allies, Schindler has lost his entire fortune -- and saved 1,100 people from likely death. Schindler's List was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven, including Best Picture and a long-coveted Best Director for Spielberg, and it quickly gained praise as one of the finest American movies about the Holocaust. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, (more)
Ethan Frome is an adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1911 novella . Set in Massachusetts in the late-19th century, the film relates the sad story of reclusive farmer Ethan Frome (Liam Neeson). Considering himself too homely for romance, he enters into a loveless marriage with the wealthy but spiteful Zeena (Joan Allen). Things become nearly unendurable when Zeena becomes an invalid, imperiously demanding her husband's attentions day and night. Ethan seeks solace in an affair with Zeena's pretty cousin Mattie Silver (Patricia Arquette), who has arrived to act as housekeeper. Produced on behalf of PBS' American Playhouse, Ethan Frome was released theatrically in late 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Patricia Arquette, (more)
Kewpie-doll voiced Melanie Griffith does a sexed-up Nancy Drew turn in David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issacs' novel Shining Through. Set during World war II, Griffith plays Linda Voss, a spunky New York girl who applies for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas). Ed hires her immediately when he finds out that she speaks German fluently. The reason Ed is so interested in Linda's language skills is because Ed is an undercover OSS officer who needs a German translator. Their business relationship translates into love, but when America enters the war, Ed abandons his law practice to become a full-time spy. Utilizing Linda's charms, she travels to Berlin and infiltrates the Nazis as a domestic to try to discover information about "a bomb that can fly by itself." But Linda has personal as well as patriotic motives for agreeing to go undercover, since she has Jewish relatives in Berlin and wants to find out their whereabouts. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, (more)
Simon Moore's directorial debut (his also wrote the screenplay) is a brooding thriller that takes place in the melancholy British resort town of Brighton in the 1950s. Liam Neeson stars as Tony Aaron, a disreputable ex-cop who now makes a living as a sleazy private eye. With his wife Hazel (Maggie O'Neill) as bait, he arranges compromising photographs of errant husbands whose wives require proof of marital infidelities in order to obtain divorces. But one day, Aaron bursts into a hotel room to find Hazel and her client, a famed American painter, murdered; the painter's body has been mutilated, and his thumb, with which he signed his paintings, is cut off and missing. With an old crony of Aaron's, Frank (Kenneth Cranham), leading the investigation, two lead suspects are brought to the fore --Selina (Alphonsia Emmanuel), the painter's widow; and Angeline (Laura San Giacomo), the painter's mistress. And it is with Angeline, the person most likely to have killed the painter, that Aaron falls in love. But soon the tables are turned. When the victims were found to have been killed with Aaron's gunm and a neighbor leaves a suicide note claiming that Aaron is the killer, Aaron is arrested and found guilty of the killings. But right before Aaron's execution, a surprising piece of new evidence is discovered that changes everything. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, (more)
One of Woody Allen's most seemingly biographical films, Husbands and Wives opens with upper-middle class Manhattan couple Sally (Judy Davis) and Jack (Sydney Pollack) announcing to their best friends, the Roths, that they are splitting up. Gabe Roth (Allen) and his wife Judy (Mia Farrow) are taken aback by their casual revelation. Jack begins dating his dim, but sexy, aerobics instructor and Sally starts up a tentative romance with Michael (Liam Neeson). Gabe and Judy begin analyzing their marriage, discovering that they might not be meant to stay together. English professor Gabe begins a serious flirtation with a student of his named Rain (Juliette Lewis) and Judy begins to have feelings for Michael. Eventually, Sally and Jack reconcile, but have not improved their relationship. Gabe and Judy end up going their separate ways. Husbands and Wives was seemingly influenced by Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From a Marriage. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Judy Davis, (more)
The owner of an aircraft salvage company (Viggo Mortensen) is reported killed in a crash. However, his wife (Andie MacDowell) knows better, and she decides to find him and his secret bank accounts. She travels around the world, and winding up in Cairo, she meets Liam Neeson, who helps her uncover her husband's smuggling scheme. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Andie MacDowell, Liam Neeson, (more)
Steve Martin has one of his best roles in Leap Of Faith as Jonas Nightengale, a high-tech faith healer and revival preacher who takes pride in the money he squeezes out of people, convincing himself that he can't deliver hope, but "I give my people a good show." As the film begins, Nightengale's truck caravan breaks down and his troupe finds itself stranded in the backwater town of Rustwater, Kansas. Nightengale figures that as long as he's there, he might as well set up the rubes and put on a performance. With the aid of his assistant Jane (Debra Winger) (who talks to Nightengale through an earpiece, informing him of the physical problems of certain members of his audience), Nightengale puts on a glorious show and rakes in the money. But the local sheriff Will (Liam Neeson) wants to shut down the show because times are bad in Rustwater and he doesn't think folks should waste their money on a charlatan. Nightengale sends Jane to seduce Will, but the sheriff succeeds in getting Jane to fall in love with him. Nightengale also meets someone, Marva (Lolita Davidovich), a local waitress with a crippled brother. The boy thinks Nightengale can heal him. Nightengale tries to make the child understand that he can't help him, but it turns out that Nightengale knows very little about his own faith powers. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Debra Winger, (more)
Neglecting Julie (Frances McDormand), his lawyer lady friend, Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) works feverishly to perfect his latest invention -- artificial skin that could be used to treat burn victims. Peyton himself falls victim to an explosion when one of Julie's crooked clients sends his henchmen to sniff out an incriminating document that's been left in Westlake's lab. Hideously disfigured and left for dead, the good doctor receives an experimental medical treatment that renders him super-strong, impervious to pain and prone to heightened fits of rage. Rebuilding his lab into an underground hideout, Westlake begins using his synthetic skin to impersonate various characters and engineer his revenge against those who destroyed his life. Reconnecting with Julie, however, becomes the unsightly vigilante's biggest challenge. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, (more)
Filmmaker David Leland handled the directing chores on this British drama that stars Liam Neeson as an unemployed Scotsman whose inability to find a job threatens his family's wellbeing. Against his better judgement, Neeson is coerced into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Crossing the Line's supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Joanne Whaley-Kilmer, Cameron Mitchell, and Billy Connolly. Adapted from a novel by William McIvanney, the film has also been released under the title The Big Man. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley, (more)
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