Donald Pleasence

Master animator Richard Williams (best known for his work on Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) created this visually dazzling full-length cartoon. Tack (voice of Matthew Broderick) is a shy and humble cobbler in love with the beautiful Princess Yum Yum (voice of Jennifer Beals). Tack gets his chance to impress the Princess when he's pressed into service to help defeat a wicked sorcerer, Zigzag (voice of Vincent Price); Tack also runs afoul of a charming but duplicitous thief (voice of Jonathan Winters). Arabian Knight (also shown as The Thief and the Cobbler) was reportedly long in production and held back from release for a time because the distributors were afraid that many Americans would not be inclined to see a family film set in the Middle East in the wake of the Gulf War; by the time it finally opened, two members of the voice cast, Vincent Price and Donald Pleasence, had passed on. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In France in 1452, the dark superstition of the Medieval era was beginning to give way to the more enlightened attitudes of the Renaissance. But the changes were slow in coming, as Richard Courtois (Colin Firth) learns when he moves to the country village of Abbeville, owned and ruled by the Seigneur (Nicol Williamson). Courtois is a lawyer, or an "advocate" as they were called in those days, and the Seigneur has hired him to act as a public defender for those who cannot provide their own legal counsel. One odd remnant of the dark ages that Abbeville has not purged from its legal system is the practice of prosecuting animals as well as humans for crimes; as Courtois arrives, he nearly witnesses the execution of both a man and a donkey who were found guilty of bestiality (the donkey was spared at the last minute because it could not be proved that she consented to the act). So Courtois is not exactly surprised when one of his first cases finds him defending a pig against charges of murdering a small child. Courtois soon discovers that the pig belongs to Samira (Amina Annabi), a beautiful gypsy woman he finds himself falling in love with. Losing the pig would mean losing many meals down the road, so to win Samira's good tidings, Courtois must prove the pig innocent -- which means finding the real killer. However, since the Seigneur is eager to see Courtois (or anyone, for that matter) marry his daughter Filette (Lysette Anthony), his affection for Samira may not be good for his future employment prospects. This period comedy/drama also features Donald Pleasance, Ian Holm, and Michael Gough. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Former Olympic star Mitch Gaylord heads the cast of American Tiger. Gaylord plays a squeaky-clean college student who is framed for murder. While trying to clear his name, he becomes involved with a procession of martial-arts specialists. Everything comes to a head in symbolic fashion on a football field. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Woody Allen's black-and-white curiosity piece is a mixture of influences -- from German silent film expressionism to Franz Kafka's nightmare worlds to the contemporary fables of Wim Wenders. Woody Allen plays the nebbish clerk Kleinman (in a throwback to his characters from Sleeper and Love and Death), who is awakened in the middle of the night by a vigilante group who want him to help capture a serial killer on the loose. Kleinman reluctantly agrees, but when he gets to the street, the vigilantes are gone and Kleinmen spends most of the film wandering the shadowy back alleys in search of the citizen's brigade. Meanwhile, a circus is in town. When sword-swallower Irmy (Mia Farrow) catches her creepy clown husband (John Malkovich) getting familiar with trapeze artist Marie (Madonna), she packs her bags and heads for town, where she meets up with Kleinman. This meeting sets up a number of plot lines that has Irmy befriending a trio of prostitutes (Jodie Foster, Lily Tomlin and Kathy Bates) at the local brothel and accepting $700 from a university student (John Cusack) who wants to sleep with her. She finally meets up with her husband, and they then find an abandoned baby which they decide to raise as their own. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

One of the heirs to a family fortune is willing to do anything to possess it, but finds his beautiful sister-in-law and cousin in the way. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

In Halloween 5, one of the less successful of the series of sequels to the original Halloween, the infamous Michael Myers (Donald Shanks), returns to stalk his niece and kill her. Jamie (Danielle Harris) is hospitalized and unable to speak because of her trauma during Michael's last killing spree. She has visions of where Michael will appear and kill again and he intends to stop her. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is working with Jamie to help her find Michael and lock him away. But, there is also another mysterious stranger following Michael. Halloween 5 is a routine slasher film and adds little that hasn't been done before in this series. But, it has its moments and has a gory, flashy ending that will be remembered. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

Although this bloody, relentlessly weird South African production purports to be a modern-day treatment of the works of Edgar Allan Poe (most promotional materials list the author's name above the title), it actually bears so little relation to Poe's writing that it makes Roger Corman's Poe "adaptations" seem meticulously loyal by comparison. The story involves a young psychologist whose arrival at the creepy Ravenscroft Institute for troubled girls is followed by the disappearance of several students. Tormented by a series of grotesque nightmares involving a deranged killer, the heroine eventually learns of the bizarre goings-on within the school's hallowed halls. Some oddball touches and outlandish performances from Robert Vaughn and Donald Pleasence (in a bad wig) make this film just campy enough to be entertaining. Alert viewers can spot John Carradine in his final role. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Without a doubt the weirdest adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe tale in recent memory, this lurid production features a raging, leering Oliver Reed as Roderick Usher, who treats his nephew (Rufus Swart) and the man's bride-to-be (Romy Windsor) to some genuine family hospitality by raping her and burying him alive. It seems Roderick intends to sire a child with the poor girl in order to continue the Usher bloodline -- apparently oblivious to the fact that her marriage to his nephew would have accomplished the same thing. As if Reed's lecherous advances weren't enough, we are presented with a one-armed Donald Pleasence, who likes to threaten our heroine with a power drill attached to his stump! This film is not only an abomination to the memory of the great author, but a sick joke by comparison with Roger Corman's excellent 1960 adaptation. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

And still they come? This fourth entry in the Halloween franchise focuses on Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris), the niece of ubiquitous masked-killer Michael Myers (George P. Wilbur). Jamie tries to lead a normal life, but she can't escape the vengeance of her "funny uncle," who once more escapes from the looney bin. The only echo of the original Halloween -- and a faint one at that -- is the casting of Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis, who manages to get through his "We must stop him!" scenes as if mouthing the words for the first time. Though as predictable as they come, Halloween 4 etc. is at least well acted, directed and photographed. For the record, the German version of the film had to be shorn of practically all its gore before the censors would permit a general release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally shown on television in two parts, the second of which takes place after WWII. Surviving escapee Major John Dodge (Christopher Reeve) is sent back to Germany by Winston Churchill to capture the Gestapo officer who ordered the machine-gunning of 50 of the captured escapees, in direct defiance of the Geneva convention. Donald Pleasance, one of the "good guys" in the original, plays the Nazi villain in the new version. Filmed in Yugoslavia, Great Escape II: The Untold Story was originally telecast November 6 and 7, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-television adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's satiric novel has been given an elegant rendition for its North American DVD release. Scoop has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio is in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with no multiple language options included. Bonus materials include text biographies of author Evelyn Waugh and cast members Denholm Elliott and Michael Maloney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide