Ian Richardson Movies
Similar to British countrymen and great thespians John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, although a generation later, Ian Richardson has made more of an enduring career in classical theater and BBC television than in films, although in later years he has gravitated toward the latter. Little did he expect it, but his most memorable (and frequently parodied) role may have been as the limousine occupant who asks, "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" in that popular television ad. His dignified countenance and locutions have brought him frequent casting as men of education and refinement.Richardson was born on April 7, 1934, in Edinburgh, Scotland, and studied at the College of Dramatic Art in Glasgow. He first made a name for himself playing Hamlet at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1960, before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he began a stint of several years as the leading artist, appearing in a variety of roles. At the RSC, he created the role of Jean Paul Marat in Marat/Sade, reprising it for the much-heralded 1966 film version. Stage success in Stratford, Ontario, and New York would soon follow.
His first roles on both the big and small screen were in continuing with his Shakespearean roots. Richardson appeared as Oberon in Peter Hall's well-liked 1968 rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream, then as Don John in the BBC Much Ado About Nothing in 1978. The actor spent the early '80s in British television movies and series, most notably appearing twice as Sherlock Homes in The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of Four (both 1983). Richardson began gaining more worldwide recognition with his role as an officious bureaucrat in the dystopian universe of Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985).
Soon after Brazil Richardson began garnering regular film work, first appearing in such British films as Cry Freedom and The Fourth Protocol (both 1987), and eventually shifting over to Hollywood. He put a twist on his Shakespearean experience by appearing as Polonius in the 1990 film version of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.
Richardson traveled through the 1990s without a universally distinguishing role to his credit, assuming a variety of supporting roles in bigger budget fare, while also continuing as a mainstay in British television. He had the misfortune of appearing in several notorious duds, including The Year of the Comet (1992) and Robert Townsend's widely detested B.A.P.S. (1997), in which he and Martin Landau jockeyed for the dubious honor of seeming more out of place. However, Richardson was credited with helping establish the haunting atmosphere of Alex Proyas' Dark City (1998) as Mr. Book, one of the eerie cloaked figures who floats through the landscape. Richardson then appeared as Mr. Torte in 102 Dalmations (2000) and Sir Charles Warren in From Hell (2001).
Richardson died of unspecified causes, at age 72, on February 9, 2007. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- 1994
The ghosts of Jonathan Swift and friends pay a visit to two Dublin spiritualists in this Irish drama, adapted from Yeat's one-act play. In 1928, Miss McKenna, an aging spinster and the head of the Dublin Spiritual Society invites a visiting medium, Mrs. Henderson over to try to contact Jonathan Swift. He comes with his two women in tow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geraldine Chaplin, Geraldine James, (more)
This two-part British miniseries, a sequel to 1990's House of Cards, finds the shrewd but scheming conservative politician Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson) has risen to the position of Prime Minister. Urquhart soon pits himself in a battle of wits with England's newly crowned King (Michael Kitchen) in a struggle for political control of the nation. The PM finds his Majesty to be a fierce adversary, but with the help of his top advisor and mistress, Sarah Harding (Kitty Aldridge), Urquhart discovers information about the Royal Family that could prove disastrous to the monarch's public image. But does he dare to reveal it, and run the risk of bringing the British Monarchy to a crashing halt? Ian Richardson's performance earned him a Best Actor nomination in the 1994 BAFTA Television Awards. This series was later followed by The Final Cut. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson
In this frothy outing, a helpful twin temporarily leaves college to pretend to be a fashion model in order to help keep her sister out of trouble. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Springfield, Andrea Roth, (more)
- 1993
Michael Winner directs a curious amalgam of his own Death Wish and Abel Ferrara's Ms. 45, in this intense, post-feminist serial-killer movie, based on the bestseller by Helen Zahavi. After an explosive love affair crashes and burns, Bella (Lia Williams) leaves London for Brighton, where she begins to receive a series of obscene telephone calls from her deranged neighbor. Soon her neighbor also begins to stalk her. When the local police refuse to help her, Bella determines to take the matter into her own hands. Finally, at the urging of a loony Asian clairvoyant (Ian Richardson), Bella sneaks into the stalker's apartment in the dead of night and beats him to death with a claw-hammer. And to Bella's surprise, she finds that she likes it. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lia Williams, David McCallum, (more)
- 1993
Foreign Affairs was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alison Lurie. Joanne Woodward plays Vinnie Miner, a college professor on sabbatical in England. While still on the plane, Vinnie makes the acquaintance of hard-hat tourist Chuck Mumpson (Brian Dennehy). Though she isn't too fond of Chuck's coarse, vulgar behavior, she finds him somehow fascinating. Likewise, Chuck is turned off by Vinnie's nose-in-the-air sophistication, but he's turned on by her. By the time the two of them have hit London, their mutual attraction has blossomed into love--much to the horror of their respective friends and family. Eric Stolz, Stephanie Beacham and Ian Richardson co-star in this made-for-cable confection, which first aired March 17, 1993, over the TNT channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Woodward, Brian Dennehy, (more)
- 1993
This romantic mystery is based on a novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford and chronicles a journalist's investigation of his bride-to-be's disappearance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donna Mills, Stephen Collins, (more)
David Cronenberg's cinematic intensity eviscerates this adaptation of David Henry Hwang's passionate stage production. Based on a true incident involving a French diplomat who carried on an affair for 18 years with a man the diplomat thought was a woman, M. Butterfly begins in 1964 Beijing when French foreign service employee Rene Gallimard (Jeremy Irons) becomes smitten with Chinese opera performer Song Liling (John Lone). Before long, Gallimard is enamored with Song, and they begin an inflamed affair -- bracketed by the stipulation that Gallimard will never be allowed to look upon her in a state of complete undress. Gallimard agrees to the rules, but, as he climbs up the diplomatic ladder, the communist government gets involved, corralling Song to become an informer for the government. When, at last, Gallimard's passion demands nudity, Song flees the relationship. Gallimard, pining for his lost love, then becomes a physical and mental wreck. He leaves China and accepts a two-bit diplomatic position, but then Song appears once again to Gallimard. At that point, Gallimard is arrested and, during the subsequent sensational trial for treason, his affair is exposed for the sham that it is. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, John Lone, (more)
Stuart Urban's war film An Ungentlemanly Act transpires during the first few hours and days of the Falkland Islands War. Ian Richardson portrays the political head of the Falklands, who, surprised by the invasion by Argentineans, focuses on getting his wife to a secure location just as much as he does on protecting his citizens. Major Mike Norman (Bob Peck) leads an elite group of soldiers in combat against the enemy. Meanwhile, the citizens of the islands discover how their previously placid lives have been altered by the beginning of the war. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG13
In this film, young, headstrong Margaret Harwood (Penelope Ann Miller) is entrusted with a business assignment by her wine merchant father. While taking an inventory of the contents of the wine cellar of a Scottish estate, Margaret discovers an almost-priceless bottle of wine from the "year of the comet." When Margaret alerts her father to the find, he sends his crude assistant, Oliver Plexico (Timothy Daly) to fetch it. Although Oliver and Margaret initially have no great love for one another, they discover that they are forced to work together to keep the wine out of harm's way. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penelope Ann Miller, Tim Daly, (more)
Bear witness to the rise of the most corrupt and ruthless ruler ever to preside over the Roman Empire as filmmaker Paul Marcus tells the tale of Nero's unlikely ascent to the throne, and his historical fall at the hands of his own vengeful kingdom. After murdering his sister's husband on grounds of conspiracy, the increasingly incoherent Caligula exiles his grieving sibling and sets into motion a devious plan that will one-day find her son Lucius presiding over all of Rome. Beset on all sides by tyranny and bloodlust, Lucius rises to power as Nero while facing the constant wrath of all who oppose his legacy. His paranoia soon reaching a fever pitch, Nero struggles to maintain power as his army, his people, and his own mother, ultimately turn against him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Castellitto, Chiara Caselli, (more)
- 1991
This four-part, four-hour British miniseries was a sequel to Malcolm Bradbury's 1990 TV effort The Gravy Train. Christoph Waltz returned to the role of Dorfman, a terminally idealistic member of the European Economic Council. This time around, the teeny-tiny Balkan state of Slaka hoped to join the Council in hopes of supping from the same public-fund trough as the rest of the European nations. It was up to Dorfman to cast the deciding "yea" or "nay" vote. The Gravy Train Goes West was seen over Britain's Channel Four from October 28 to November 18, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christoph Waltz, Ian Richardson, (more)
- 1991
Based on a novel by Graham Greene, Alec Guinness stars as the title character, a descendent of Don Quixote. After he is appointed monsignor, he sets off with a leftist politician (played by Leo McKern) on an adventure reminiscent of the Cervantes novel. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG
This family adventure movie, based on the novel by Marguerite Henry, is about a mute Arab boy and his constant companion, a beautiful stallion, who have to overcome all manner of hazards and setbacks and later get to meet the King and Queen of England. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide
- 1990
This adaptation of Gaston Leroux's indefatigable "grand guignol" piece The Phantom of the Opera stars British actor Charles Dance as Erik the Phantom. This adaptation by playwright Arthur Kopit soft-pedals the horrific elements of the story to concentrate on the love the tragic Erik bears toward innocent chorus singer Teri Polo. The film boasts a stronger supporting cast than was usual for a TV movie, including Burt Lancaster (as the masked phantom's father), Ian Richardson and Jean-Pierre Cassel. The 1990 Phantom of the Opera reunited director Tony Richardson and composer John Addison, who'd both won Oscar for Tom Jones. Filmed on location in France, Phantom was originally telecast in two two-hour installments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Teri Polo, (more)
- 1990
Based on a novel by Michael Dobbs, the British miniseries House of Cards was the first entry in a darkly satirical trilogy about ruthless, unscrupulous Conservative MP Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson). Determined to advance himself politically, socially, and financially, Urquhart would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, and was eager and willing to sell out his friends and loved ones whenever the price was right. Although he managed to cover his tracks so far as the public was concerned, Urquhart was threatened with exposure by investigative reporter Mattie Storin (Susannah Harker). The battle of wits and wills between Urquhart and Storin provided the bulk of the drama and intrigue in this four-part saga, which originally aired over the BBC1 from November 18 to December 9, 1990. House of Cards was followed by two additional miniseries, To Play the King and The Final Cut, all starring Ian Richardson as the "hero." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson
- 1990
The Gravy Train was the first of two British miniseries focusing on the seriocomic misadventures of Dorfman (Christoph Waltz), a new member of the European Economic Council. Embarking upon his diplomatic career with stars in his eyes, Dorfman was quickly disillusioned by the infighting, pettiness, and flat-out greed indigenous to the Council's headquarters in Brussels. Written by Malcolm Bradbury, The Gravy Train yielded four hour-long episodes, which aired over Britain's Channel Four from June 27 to July 8, 1990. The series proved successful enough to warrant a 1991 sequel, The Gravy Train Goes East. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christoph Waltz, Ian Richardson, (more)
- 1990
- PG
- Add Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to QueueAdd Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to top of Queue
Much as he would later do with Shakespeare in Love (1998), writer Tom Stoppard delivered a tale of Shakespearean origin from a skewed and unexpected perspective. In this case, it's the perspective of two relatively minor characters from Hamlet, Rosencrantz (Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (Tim Roth), courtiers who, in the original play, were dispatched offstage before the narrative's conclusion. In Stoppard's script (which he also directed), the two supporting players take center stage as the events unfold in Elsinore Castle. Unable to determine the source of the prince's tortured despair, the duo ponders the question of fate as their predetermined roles are played out. Meanwhile, they dabble in a little verbal tennis and some ill-advised science experiments, and endure the puzzling attentions of mysterious wandering thespians led by (Richard Dreyfuss). Ordered to accompany Hamlet (Iain Glen) to England, the pair learn that the letter they carry instructs that nation's king to decapitate their mentally unbalanced and irksome charge, a revelation that Hamlet overhears. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, (more)
Inspired suave aristocrat Col. Claus von Stauffenberg's ingenious plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler during the waning days of World War II, director Lawrence Schiller's historical war drama traces the remarkable events that unfolded as the Third Reich's Operation Valkyrie emergency plan was implemented on July 20, 1944. Could World War II have been stopped before the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? A group of senior army officials have decided to turn on their führer, but is their plan doomed from the very moment of conception? A strategy meeting is set to take place at Hitler's Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair). There, the tyrannical German leader will be completely vulnerable to attack by the very people he trusts most - his own officers. In order to succeed, von Stauffenberg and his men will need to make some serious sacrifices. Later, as the plot gets underway, fighting continues raging all across Europe, and the men wait patiently for the perfect moment to strike. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Davis, Madolyn Smith, (more)
- 1989
The four-part British miniseries Pursuit, based upon Robert L. Fish's novel of the same name, was first telecast in the United States as the two-part "movie special" Twist of Fate. Bruce Greenwood essayed the leading role of Helmut Von Schraeder, an ex-S.S. officer on the run after conspiring to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Undergoing plastic surgery, Von Schraeder assumed the new identity of Jewish concentration camp survivor Daniel Grossman. And as if that wasn't unbelievable enough, "Grossman" went on to a colorful career as an Israeli freedom fighter. The huge multinational cast included British film and TV stalwart Ben Cross and American leading lady Sarah Jessica Parker. Though made for British television, Pursuit did not air in that country until 1990, a full year after its American debut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Veronica Hamel, (more)
Ireland's long history of political turmoil is put under the spotlight in director Chris Morahan's film Trouble, which centers around the shell-shocked Major Archer (Ian Charleson), who, despite his engagement to another, finds himself falling for Sarah (Emer Gillepsie), a pationate Irish nationalist. Meanwhile, his fiance's father wants to renovate the hotel they live in from its current state of decay into the splendor it used to be--he belives that this will subdue the nationalist forces that threaten his own elite societal status. This film also features Susannah Harker, Ian Richardson, and Martin Dempsey. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
Set in the years just after World War I at an upper-class winter spa, this period drama concerns the sickly son, Edmund (David Eberts), of American diplomat Mr. Tuchman (Ian Richardson). Edmund is accompanied to the spa with his ice-boned mother Sonya (Faye Dunaway) to recuperate from an asthmatic condition. At the spa, Edmund meets a dashing baron (Klaus Maria Brandauer), who regales Edmund with tales of his wartime exploits and takes him on long trips in his car and into the woods to explore a decaying tower. The Baron suffers from a hidden depression. Sonya, too, suffers from a depression exacerbated by years of a passionless marriage. Inevitably, these two manic souls find each other and have an affair. But now Edmund becomes jealous, and even his well-placed asthma attacks can't break Sonya and The Baron apart. So Edmund, his innocent boyhood shattered forever, takes off to Vienna to expose the affair to his father. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Klaus Maria Brandauer, (more)
Richard Attenborough directed this dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko (Denzel Washington), a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist. Woods and his wife Wendy (Penelope Wilton) get to know Biko, and they become friends, until Biko is brutally murdered at the hands of government troops in 1977 for his activities against the country's repression of the black majority population. Donald is shocked and appalled by Biko's murder and determined that the truth about Biko will become known to the world; eventually, Donald and Wendy Woods and their children must leave South Africa (and nearly everything they have) as they spread the word about Biko's life and death to ensure that he did not die in vain. Washington received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Biko. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilton, (more)
- 1987
- R
Scripted by Frederick Forsyth from his own novel, The Fourth Protocol is a fact-based spy thriller. The titular protocol is a secret agreement between America, Britain and Russia to cease smuggling nuclear weapons into their respective countries. This figures into the schemes of several rogue spies, who hope to destroy NATO by embarking on just such a smuggling endeavor. Russian agent Valeri Petrofsky (Pierce Brosnan) is ordered to stage a nuclear accident in England, then arrange the evidence to point to the Americans. British intelligence agent John Preston (Michael Caine) begins wondering why such nuclear-weapon components like lithium are showing up in the unlikeliest places. Ignored by his superiors, who figure that Preston is merely an old-line anti-Commie paranoic, Preston gathers the clues that will enable him to find out who's behind the potential breaking of The Fourth Protocol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, (more)
- 1987
Author Tom Sharpe's outrageous best-seller about the power struggle that emerges when the dean of a Cambridge University dies before naming his successor gets the big screen treatment in director Robert Knights' four-part comedy. Porterhouse College is an institute of higher education steeped in five hundred-years of tradition, so when the Head Master passes away and his reform-minded replacement Sir Godber Evans (Ian Richardson) arrives to take his place the staff is outraged. Head Porter Skullion (David Jason) in particular seems hell-bent on subverting Sir Evans' every decree. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Jason, Ian Richardson, (more)
- 1986
Tipping the scales on the Monty Python-esque side of broad comedy, this outrageous and classically British farce is a series of episodes involving the U.S., a small Caribbean nation, the British government, and the military. The American president is a former clown who dies after asking someone to punch him in the stomach to prove how strong he is. The vice-president (Loretta Swit) takes over and heads for trouble right away. A British island has been invaded by a Caribbean dictatorship and the gay British admiral sent to command naval operations takes a warm-hearted, 1940s-style leave of his "spouse." A Princess working as a nurse overdoes it when asked to shave a sailor for an operation. The British Prime Minister decides that if the unemployment situation could be easily solves if the employed would only jump off a cliff. And so it goes on and on, with some of the skits delving into more violent and sacrilegious themes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Loretta Swit, Peter Cook, (more)
