Steven Berkoff Movies

This (13th) time around, 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) receives the usual call to come and visit M when another agent drops off a fake Faberge jeweled egg at the British embassy in East Berlin and is later killed at a traveling circus. Suspicions mount when the assistant manager of the circus Kamal (Louis Jourdan), outbids Bond for the real Faberge piece at Sotheby's. Bond follows Kamal to India where the superspy thwarts many an ingenious attack and encounters the antiheroine of the title (Maud Adams), an international smuggler who runs the circus as a cover for her illegal operations. It does not take long to figure out that Orlov (Steven Berkoff), a decidedly rank Russian general is planning to raise enough money with the fake Faberges to detonate a nuclear bomb in Europe and then defeat NATO forces once and for all in conventional warfare. John Glen returns again to handle directing duties, the second of five Bond films he lensed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

With ornate imagery reminiscent of paintings from the story's 18th century period, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel depicts the rise and fall of a sensitive rogue in the British aristocracy. Young Irishman Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) leaves home to seek his fortune after apparently killing an English officer in a duel. Through a series of mishaps and accidents, Barry winds up fighting with the Prussian army in the Seven Years' War under the command of Capt. Potzdorf (Hardy Kruger); at war's end, Potzdorf enlists Barry to spy on a shady Chevalier (Patrick Magee). Instead, Barry joins up with the Irish Chevalier to flee Prussia and live as gamblers among Europe's elite. Wishing to climb even higher, Barry soon meets the beautiful Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson), marrying her for her fortune after her older titled husband dies. Her son Lord Bullingdon (Leon Vitali), however, despises the upstart Barry, and, regardless of how his mother may feel, sees to it that the re-named Barry Lyndon will never be able to stake his claim to the entrenched aristocracy. Coming after Kubrick's esteemed hits 2001 (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971), Barry Lyndon opened with high expectations and met with decidedly mixed responses to its restrained tone. Even with Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director (and wins for Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Adapted Score), Barry Lyndon was a box office failure, as mid-'70s audiences increasingly turned away from such narrative challenges as its epic length and muffled emotions. Since then, Barry Lyndon has gained in stature, taking its place among the formidable artistic achievements of Kubrick's career. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

American tourist Frank (Johnny Depp) meets a mysterious beauty who drags him into a dangerous world of intrigue and espionage while traveling through Europe in director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's paranoid thriller. When Frank met Elise (Angelina Jolie) on the train, he thought it was a chance encounter. Little did Frank realize it was all part of a much bigger plan, one that would soon find him dodging bullets through both the historic streets of Paris and the winding canals of Venice. Now, the faster Frank and Elise run, the more intense their romance grows. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The rise of teen culture in 1950s Britain provides the backdrop for Julien Temple's unconventional rock musical Absolute Beginners. The film centers on Colin, an 18-year-old with a talent for photography and a fondness for the neon nightlife of British jazz clubs. He also is in love with Crepe Suzette, an impulsive, ambitious young beauty who abandons him after attracting the attention of a powerful fashion designer. Depressed and aimless, Colin turns for help to a flashy ad executive (David Bowie) who promises to make him a star photographer. The former lovers take parallel paths to success, capitalizing on the youth mania gripping the nation. The film's nostalgic yet gently satirical look at teen culture is tempered by a recognition of the era's social tension, particularly a disturbing rise in racism. Despite these serious undertones, however, the film tells its story with a colorful vibrancy reminiscent of both MTV and old Hollywood musicals, filled with such show-stopping numbers as a memorable sequence in which Bowie dances on a giant typewriter. Critical reception was mixed, with some hailing the film's spectacular cinematography and ambitious scope, while others found the mixture of tones and style too inconsistent. The film also drew lukewarm response at the box office, with the memorable soundtrack receiving more attention than the film itself. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

A discredited journalist (Daniel Craig) and a mysterious computer hacker discover that even the wealthiest families have skeletons in their closets while working to solve the mystery of a 40-year-old murder in this David Fincher-directed remake of the 2009 Swedish thriller of the same name. Inspired by late author Stieg Larsson's successful trilogy of books, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets under way as the two leads (Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara) are briefed in the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, whose uncle suspects she may have been killed by a member of their own family. The deeper they dig for the truth, however, the greater the risk of being buried alive by members of the family, who will go to great lengths to keep their secrets tightly sealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

First-time writer/director Scott Burns spins this suspenseful yarn about a nuclear technician who has a curious encounter with a notoriously violent Russian gangster (Nikolaj Lie Kaas). The year is 1995, and Timofey (Paddy Considine) is a nuclear power-plant worker in post-Soviet Russia. After being exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while working to avert a disaster, Timofey discovers that the authorities have deliberately misled him about the severity of his exposure, and that he will likely die in just a few days. Determined to provide for his wife (Radha Mitchell) and young son before he succumbs to the effects of radiation, Timofey absconds with a small amount of weapons grade plutonium, straps the vial to his body, and makes his way to Moscow in hopes of making a quick and profitable sale in the criminal underground. This is the "new Russia," where everything has its price, and Timofey is determined to secure his family's future even if he himself has none. Oscar Issac and Jason Flemyng co-star in a film produced by Section Eight and Beacon Pictures for HBO Films, and distributed by Picturehouse. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

British filmmaker Malcolm Needs writes and directs the gangster film Charlie, based on the real-life case of criminal gang boss Charlie Richardson. During the early '60s, brothers Charlie (Luke Goss) and Eddy (Langley Kirkwood) ruled the criminal underworld of South London. As he rises in power, Charlie finds himself connected with wealthy white South African businessman Richard Waldeck (Leslie Grantham). Charlie eventually starts to get involved with political crimes involving the ANC and gets caught. While on trial in 1966, his gang resorts to the horrific torturing of his enemies. The witnesses who testify against him are cruelly and unusually punished by Charlie's terror gang, leading to Judge Lawton (Antony Carrick) sentencing him to 25 years. Steven Berkoff and Anita Dobson appear as Charlie's parents. Charlie premiered in the U.K. in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

In this gangster farce from first-time writer/director Ky Mo Lab, a pair of Irish pals become embroiled in a murder mystery upon their move to London. When Kenny (Glen Mulhern) arrives in the big city, he's dismayed to find his mate, Byron (Brendan Mackey), on the dole and boozing it up. But he's even more horrified to learn how Byron supplements his dole checks: by working as a rent boy in a gay pub. Despite his trepidation, Kenny soon embarks on a parallel career. But when a rich couple named The Queen (Michael Praed) and Golders Green (Simon Godley) turn up dead, Kenny and Byron think they've found the solution to their financial woes. Rumor has it that Golders Green kept a wad of cash squirreled away in his mattress. Unfortunately, several other colorful low-lives have their eyes on the prize, from The Desperate Dwarf (Raymond Griffiths) to The Iron Lady (Karen Sharman). As the queer corpses continue to pile up, Kenny and Byron wonder whether they'll ever locate the loot -- and whether their newfound occupation has deeper implications. Screened at the Palm Springs Film Festival, Nine Dead Gay Guys marked the feature debut for both Mulhern and Mackey. The character Golders Green is named after the neighborhood where he lives, a historically Jewish area of London. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Joseph Fiennes and Rhys Ifans star in this wacky British comedy-thriller. Hard luck case Pete (Ifans), who is unable to impregnate his hot-to-trot wife Sarah (Sadie Frost), learns that his father's business, which he recently inherited, is saddled with a huge tax debt. At his wits' end, he consults his coke-snorting buddy Sean (Fiennes), who recommends a monetary infusion from local Russian loan shark Mr. Kant (Steven Berkoff) and his over-sexed daughter Masha (Tara Fitzgerald). When Pete and the mobster meet, Masha starts aggressively seducing him. Meanwhile, Sean double-crosses everyone while Sarah just whines. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Mickey Rourke once again climbs the slippery slope of the erotically extreme in this sequel to 1986's 9 1/2 Weeks. It's been several years since John (Mickey Rourke) parted company with Elizabeth (the character played by Kim Basinger in the original film, although she doesn't appear in this sequel), but he's still obsessed by their passionate encounters. In hopes of finding her, John flies to Paris, where he instead discovers Lea (Angie Everhart), a close friend of Elizabeth's who designs high fashion clothing, and her assistant Claire (Agathe de la Fontaine). Lea is strongly attracted to John, but John is not able to let go of his obsession with Elizabeth so easily; when Lea tells John that Elizabeth has remarried, John begins to responds to her advances and they indulge in a variety of erotic games. However, in time, John learns that Lea can't always be trusted, and he realizes that their affair is not destined to last very long. Another 9 1/2 Weeks was also screened under the title Love in Paris. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Peter Medak directed this fact-based drama, chronicling the lives of the infamous Kray Brothers, notorious celebrities in 60s London. The Krays were twin gangsters who ruled London's stylish East End club scene, staking out their territory by committing the most violent crimes imaginable, preferring to perform the most torturous acts themselves. The film stars Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp, founding members of the pop group Spandau Ballet, as Ronald and Reginald Kray. The film opens as their mother Violet Kray (Billie Whitelaw) recalls a dream in which she is a swan from which two beautiful babies have hatched. She can't tell if the swans are angels or demons, but the film soon answers that question for her. Brought up in London's East End in the 1930s, Ronald and Reginald Kray are raised in the resentful world of Violet, who is hateful of her lot in life and bitter at the control men have in running the world ("Housework is a lethal business," she says). The twins react to each other almost telepathically and they take out their anger by clogging the nose of their sleeping father (Alfred Lynch), pushing around fellow schoolboys, and even beating each other to pulp at a boxing match. When her mother chastises them for their fight in a fairground boxing ring ("You fight them up, but you don't fight each other"), the twins veer into the London underworld. In their self-contained world of Us-Against-Them, the Krays rapidly rise to the height of power, first taking over the territory of a petty mobster by violent means and then putting together an underworld empire of posh clubs, cars, and fancy suits. But at the height of their fame, the twins begin to break from each other. Reginald falls in love with Frances (Kate Hardie), while Ronald gets involved in a homosexual relationship with one of his underlings. Ronald, in a jealous rage over Frances stealing his brother away from him, becomes even more brutal in his crimes and while the brothers' backs are turned, a group of older mobsters challenge the Krays' authority, invoking a horrible bloodbath that effects not only the two brothers but Frances and Violet as well. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This is a standard sci-fi horror-thriller that mixes romance together with lumpy underground mutants and a pivotal mad scientist doing dirty deals with a gangland boss. The boss's former fair maiden ("maiden" only in the vaguest of definitions), happens to have been kidnapped from a brothel and is held hostage by the underground lumpies. It seems the unbalanced Dr. Savary (the late Denholm Elliott) has concocted a potion that will make dreams come true -- and leave ugly physical distortions in the process. When a former hitman is hired to save the kidnappee before the boss goon blasts away the mutant-dreamers, the end results are not what the drug lord expects. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi