Michael Pennington Movies
For 4,400 years after its completion as a monument to the "Pharoah du Jour," the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was the tallest structure in the world, dwarfed only when the Eiffel Tower went up in 1889. This ambitious, computer-generated cable documentary special meticulously recreated the conception and construction of the Pyramid, as seen through the eyes of Nakht, a young man from a tiny village along the Nile who, along with thousands of others in the region, was "conscripted" to work on the project. In addition to showing the remarkably sophisticated methods by which the workers built the monument from millions of tons of stone, the special also offered irresistible "humanizing" details, such as Nakh's amazement that the workers were considerately clothed, fed, and sheltered by the overseers. The computerized special effects were created by the same team responsible for "rebuilding" Rome in the 2000 theatrical feature Gladiator. Based on a book by Jonathan Stamp and Kevin Jackson, Building the Great Pyramid was seen in the U.S. courtesy of the Discovery Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omar Sharif
Adapted by John Mortimer from his own novel, the British miniseries Summer's Lease starred Susan Fleetwood as British housewife Molly Pargeter who, with her family, spent an eventful summer vacation at La Felicita, a villa in Tuscany. Molly had hoped to soak in the local color and revel in the artistic masterpieces all around her, but instead ended up trying to solve a couple of mysteries involving a dried-up water supply and a missing landlord (who turned out to have several shady "friends"). In the process, Molly took up with an old flame, all the while attempting to patch up her tottering marriage to the plodding Hugh Pargeter. Stealing the show (and winning several TV awards in the process) was John Gielgud as Molly's father, Haverford Downs, a libidinous and slightly daft author. First telecast by BBC2 in 1989, the four-part Summer's Lease was subsequently aired in America as part of PBS's Masterpiece Theatre anthology in the spring of 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Crosbie, Susan Fleetwood, (more)
- 1987
In this unique interpretation of the great detective, the body of Sherlock Holmes has been in suspended animation for over 85 years. It is brought back by one of Watson's descendants and no sooner does Holmes come to than he is out solving a mystery in Boston. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
In the final episode of the Star Wars saga, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) emerges intact from the carbonite casing in which he'd been sealed in The Empire Strikes Back. The bad news is that Solo, together with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), is prisoner to the grotesque Jabba the Hutt. But with the help of the charismatic Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), our heroes and our heroine manage to escape. The next task is to rid the galaxy of Darth Vader (body by David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) and the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), now in command of a new, under-construction Death Star. On the forest moon Endor, the good guys enlist the help of a feisty bunch of bear-like creatures called the Ewoks in their battle against the Empire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, (more)
- 1969
- G
Perhaps the reason there are so many filmed versions of Hamlet is that in each decade every great Shakespeareian actor, and almost any movie actor with a yen to prove his versatility wants to tilt at this particular thespian windmill. Aside from the much more difficult King Lear, it is also one of the few plays by the master that can serve as a star vehicle. This 1969 version of the Bard's great play features the ardent mumblings of the actor Nicol Williamson, who brought his non-Standard British to the role. Williamson's esoteric enunciations were all the rage at the time of this film's revision of Shakespearian tradition, and his vocal mannerisms were arguably more authentic than usual. Scholars tell us that the English of Londoners in Shakespeare's time sounded very much like that spoken by Highland Scots today. Despite his stage success in the role, the vastly capable actor's magnetism was insufficient to make a popular success of this particular version. All the same, it is worth viewing on its own merits, and for supporting performances by future stars Anthony Hopkins and Anjelica Huston. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicol Williamson, Gordon Jackson, (more)
