Robert Powell Movies
While a student at Manchester University, Robert Powell began his professional theatrical career in 1964. The best-known of Powell's hundreds of stage roles was Tristan Tzara in the long-running Travesties. In films from 1967, Powell played the title role in Ken Russell's Mahler (1974), and later essayed the lengthy cameo part of the ill-fated Captain Walker in Russell's Tommy (1975). Powell was a prolific performer on British television in the 1970s, notably as star of the popular series Doomwatch). Still, he was a relatively unknown quantity in the states, thus was billboarded as an "unknown" and "newcomer" by some when he starred as the Son of God in the expensive, internationally produced miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977). This Zeffirelli-directed effort was controversial enough without Powell making the smoking-fuse public statement "I hope Jesus Christ will be the last in my line of sensitive young men for quite a while." The furor eventually died down, and Powell continued playing such important film roles as reluctant-spy Hannay in the 1979 remake of 39 Steps (later spun off into a British miniseries) In 1982, Robert Powell won the Venice Film Festival "Best Actor" award for his performance in Interactive. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1990
Despite the use in this film of voices dubbed by greats of English theater, the casting of long-haired cats to play the roles of Romeo and Juliet seems somewhat perverse. Nonetheless, the lines are well read, and the movie contains some fine original musical compositions. Among the voices: Maggie Smith, Ben Kingsley, Vanessa Redgrave, and John Hurt. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Robert Powell, (more)
- 1987
During his lifetime, the noted Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio was considered to be a genius, a daring adventurer, and a major Italian nationalist. During the Mussolini era, he was still considered to be a major figure in Italian literature, and many schoolchildren were required to study his tamer books. Several movies based on his life were made prior to this one, and they focused on his association with the Mussolini regime. Since then, his reputation has declined considerably, and this biographical drama certainly reflects his new status as a historically important but repugnant and artistically insignificant figure. In this story, the journalist-turned-author is a foolish-looking dandy who is just beginning to make his mark as a central figure in Italy's art-world. His little group would win the descriptive title of "the decadents." Here, he is shown as being the sort of man who would exploit the women he has affairs with to further his career. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Stefania Sandrelli, (more)
Originally aired as a British mini-series, Shaka Zulu follows the rise of Shaka (Henry Cele) to the king of the Zulus during the early 19th century when the British were beginning to gain control of Africa. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1985
- PG
Secrets of the Phantom Caverns is a goofy fantasy filmed on the cheap by the ever-canny Don Sharp. The story involves a team of anthropologists and military men who busy themselves exploring a serpentine system of subterranean caves. They discover of lost race of Albinos, which wreaks havoc upon the surface dwelling humans. The British actor Robert Powell and Timothy Bottoms star. According to some sources, Sharp and co. approached the production with extreme carelessness; thanks to an unfortunate accident, a large percentage of the cast and crew were almost fatally poisoned by carbon monoxide in the caves where the movie was filmed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Timothy Bottoms, (more)
- 1985
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This performance video from Kultur is a collection of highlights from famous dance partners Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. Clips include Le Corsaire, Les Sylphides, and Romeo and Juliet. Narrated by Robert Powell. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell
- 1984
- PG
This spy film purports to be inspired by the true story of Kim Philby (1912-1988), a British intelligence officer and Soviet spy during the 1940s and '50s who gained international notoriety when he blew his cover and defected to the USSR in 1963. But this fictional, unsophisticated, if not naive docudrama portrays a world of espionage in a cross between Nancy Drew and Sam Spade, and Philby's real story is buried in the process. The film opens with British double agent Philip Kimberly (Michael Caine) undergoing complete plastic surgery by order of his Soviet bosses, while his death is announced in the world press. With a different name and face, Kimberly -- now Kuzminsky -- is sent back to England in the guise of a Soviet citizen to retrieve a secret list of names he supposedly hid several years ago. Kusminsky/Kimberly defects at the British passport control, and later escapes his British guards -- leading to a manhunt by both British and Soviet agents. His chief nemesis is Admiral Scaith (Laurence Olivier) and the man he assigns to the case, Jaime Fraser (Robert Powell) -- who just happens to be living with Kimberly's daughter. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, (more)
While most people are familiar only with the Lon Chaney Sr. and Charles Laughton versions of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, this 1982 TV adaptation was the fourteenth filmization of the Hugo novel. Anthony Hopkins, barely recognizable under mounds of disfiguring body makeup, plays Quasimodo, the deformed 15th-century bellringer of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Leslie-Anne Down plays Esmerelda, the gypsy girl who wins Quasimodo's unswerving loyalty when she offers him water after he is publicly flogged. And Derek Jacobi plays Dom Claude Frollo, the hypocritically pious archdeacon of Notre Dame, who'll do anything to claim Esmerelda for himself. Produced by Norman Rosemont, The Hunchback of Notre Dame originally aired February 4, 1982, as a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, (more)
- 1982
Made for British television, this adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is doggedly faithful to its source. Dr. Frankenstein's synthetic monster speaks, aspires to intellectual achievements, and begins descending into insanity and murder against his will. As in the Shelley original, both Frankenstein and his creation are left to die on an Arctic ice flow, a fitting punishment for dabbling in God's domain. Robert Powell, Carrie Fisher, David Warner, and Sir John Gielgud are seen in the principal roles. Originally telecast in 1982, Frankenstein made the American cable-TV circuit two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi once more explores the dilemma of intellectualism at the expense of humanity in 1982's Imperative. The story concerns math professor Robert Powell, who feels that there is something lacking in his ever-so-precise life. What is missing is truth, specifically philosophical truth. Thus he philosophizes at great length, allowing director Zanussi plenty of room for didactic but little room for warmth. Leading ladies Brigette Fossey and Leslie Caron occasionally melt through the cold logic of Imperative. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
Harlequin is directed by Simon Wincer and tells a tale with echoes in 20th-century Russian history. Nick and Sandra Rast (David Hemmings and Carmen Duncan) have a little boy, Alex (Mark Spain), who is suffering from leukemia. Like normal parents they will do anything to help their son, especially Sandra. So when Gregory Wolfe (Robert Powell) comes along with his faith-healing techniques to treat Alex, Sandra is particularly impressed. What complicates matters is that Alex's father Nick will soon be running the government and his career depends a lot on Doc Wheelan (Broderick Crawford), his mentor. Trouble starts when Wheelan cannot abide the faith healer, causing the mysterious Wolfe to react in a most unexpected way. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Carmen Duncan, (more)
The Ismail Merchant-James Ivory team generated this account of a pair of teachers battling for the rights to produce an unpublished Jane Austen play. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Baxter, Robert Powell, (more)
- 1980
A mid-air jet disaster leaves the one survivor to avenge the deaths of the others. This supernatural thriller follows him on his search for the bomber that caused the disaster. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Jenny Agutter, (more)
- 1978
Word is about the newly discovered text that is allegedly written by the younger brother of Jesus Christ. It the document is genuine, it would throw the world's theological community into chaos. David Janssen plays an archaeologist who travels to Italy to verify the document's origins. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1978
- PG
This 1978 re-remake of The 39 Steps adheres more closely to the source novel by John Buchan than Alfred Hitchcock's better-known original, restoring the pre-World War I time frame of the Buchan story. Hannay (Robert Powell) is an innocent bystander, suspected by enemy agents of having intercepted their secret war plans. Pursued by both the spies and the police, Hannay runs for his life in the company of Alex (Karen Dotrice). The Thirty-Nine Steps ends with a "high and dizzy" sequence on the face of Big Ben, borrowed from the 1942 Will Hay comedy My Learned Friend. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, David Warner, (more)
Because director Franco Zeffirelli noted publicly that he intended to depict Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a religious icon, his expensive made-for-TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth fell victim to protestors long before its April 3, 1977, debut. Despite the pullout of several sponsors, Jesus of Nazareth was aired as scheduled, sweeping the ratings in the process. In avoiding the usual overproduced Hollywood approach to the Gospels, Zeffirelli offers one of the most sensitive and reverent portrayals of Jesus ever seen on film. In the title role, Robert Powell heads a huge international cast, which includes Olivia Hussey as Mary, Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great, Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas, Michael York as John the Baptist, James Farentino as Simon Peter, Donald Pleasence as Melchior, James Earl Jones as Balthazar, Ian McShane as Judas, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate, James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea, Anthony Quinn as Caiaphas, Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus, Ernest Borgnine as the Centurion, and Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress. Filmed in England, Tunisia, and Morocco, Jesus of Nazareth was scripted by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi D'Amico. It originally aired in two three-hour segments, telecast Palm and Easter Sunday of 1977 as part of NBC's Big Event anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, (more)
This fifth film version of A.E.W. Mason's "Sun Never Sets" adventure novel The Four Feathers was adapted for television by Gerald DiPego. Following the death of British general "Chinese" Gordon at Khartoum, 19th-century gentleman officer Harry Favershem (Beau Bridges) is summoned to active duty in the Sudan. Though not a coward, Favershem fears that he'll turn coward in the heat of battle, thereby costing the lives of his comrades; thus, he opts to stay in England. Three of his disgruntled fellow officers each send Favershem a white feather, the symbol of cowardice. When a fourth feather is handed to Favershem by his fiancee (Jane Seymour), Favershem vows to prove himself in battle--and to personally hand back the four feathers to his accusers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
A misguided attempt to dramatize the psychological triad formed by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (Erland Josephson), his Jewish friend Paul Rees (Robert Powell), and a Russian girl named Lou Von Salome (Dominique Sanda), this overbearing drama fails mightily. Nietzsche is portrayed as a jealous sociopath who drives Rees to suicide, and director Liliana Cavani cannot resist including a drug-hallucination ballet about Good and Evil which approaches the excesses of her controversial Il Portiere di Notte in its melodramatic sexual hysteria. Cavani's film is feverish where it should have been calculating and lurid where it should have been provocative. The result may be the first exploitation film aimed at philosophy students, and even deft supporting turns by Virna Lisi and Philippe Leroy cannot make the dialogue -- drawn hamfistedly from Nietzsche's own writings -- any less ridiculous. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Sanda, Erland Josephson, (more)
Tommy (Roger Daltrey) is a "deaf, dumb and blind kid" who retreats into himself after the death of his father. His mother, Nora (Ann-Margret), and stepfather Frank (Oliver Reed) take him to see a specialist (Jack Nicholson) but Tommy is apparently a hopeless case. That is, until Tommy discovers that "he sure plays a mean pinball." Tommy gains fame when he defeats the Pinball Wizard (Elton John) for the world championship. As a result, Tommy becomes such a celebrity that he even founds his own religious cult. But his fans begin to commercialize his fame, while Tommy wants to stick to the straight and narrow. When Tommy wants to end the commercialization of his message, his supporters accuse him of being hypocritical and turn on him. Ann-Margret, with a slinky red dress slit way up the side, was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, losing out to Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, (more)
- 1974
Sister Mary is a fictional character in a popular British soap opera. When Sister Mary is killed off by the scriptwriters, a mentally unbalanced fan objects. The fan insinuates himself (or herself?) on the set of the program and begins bumping off the other actors. Jennie Linden plays the title character in this predictable thriller, while top-billed George Maharis tries to prevent further carnage. Videotaped in London, Death to Sister Mary debuted in America on May 21, 1974, as part of the late-night anthology ABC Wide World Mystery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Director Ken Russell made a number of biographical films of composers' lives including The Music Lovers, (about Tchaikovsky) and Lisztomania. Russell embellished the other films with certain characteristic flourishes, which include a focus on the composers' sexual obsessions, poetically telling anachronisms, and scenes which show Richard Wagner in a bad light. The story of Mahler is recounted in a much less complex and flamboyant manner and is a relatively reverent study of the life and work of Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, here played by Robert Powell. The film tackles the touchy dilemma of Mahler's Jewishness in the anti-Semitic atmosphere of 19th-century Vienna. He converts to Christianity, which has no effect on his brilliant musical output but which eats away at his physical and mental well-being. Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was a conductor and composer of the late Romantic era and specialized in huge symphonic works. Though his works were performed widely during his lifetime, they were less and less-often played until Leonard Bernstein's active campaign on their behalf brought him renewed recognition as a composer of the first rank, every bit the peer of Brahms or Stravinsky. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Georgina Hale, (more)
