Jenny Runacre Movies

In Nicolas Roeg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel The Witches, a young boy is vacationing at the seaside with his grandmother when he discovers that the hotel he is staying at is hosting a convention of witches. Eavesdropping on the witches, he learns that the Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) has devised a plan to turn all of the children in England into mice. With creature-effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop, The Witches was the last film Henson worked on before passing away in 1990. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Matthew Chapman wrote and directed this hackneyed love story with Helen Mirren as Beaty, a nightclub hostess who turns tricks. Emory (John Shea) is an expatriate American who works the lights at Beaty's nightclub and is in love with her. But Beaty cannot deal in flowery sentiment, especially since she needs money, not romance, to support her young son. But Emory sees a way to attain money and romance -- he plans to execute a drug deal with his low-life partner and use the proceeds to take Beaty and her son away from the degenerate surroundings and into the light-of-day in the English countryside. But unfortunately, things do not go as planned. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Steeped in the nihilistic philosophy and rebellious fashions of the British punk movement, this early feature by experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman presents an unusual look at late 1970s London. The bulk of Jubilee focuses on a loosely connected group of female outcasts, united by a hatred of convention that at times extends into dark violence. Providing contrast is the film's framing story, in which Queen Elizabeth I travels forward in time to view the future of England and finds unexpected sympathy with the female rebels. The film references both William Shakespeare and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and it alternates scenes of transgressive violence with heady discussions of English history. The film's casting alone makes it an intriguing artifact of its time, showcasing subcultural icons from musician Adam Ant to several cast members of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

The Duellists is based on a story by Joseph Conrad, variously titled The Duel and The Point of Honour. Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel play officers in Napoleon's army -- D'Hubert and Feraud, respectively -- who spend their off-hours challenging each other to bloody duels. This goes on for nearly 16 years, with neither man showing any inclination of calling a truce. The final clash finds the gentlemanly D'Hubert getting the upper hand of the obsessed Feraud -- but that's not quite the end of the story. The Duellists was the debut feature for director Ridley Scott; it won the Cannes Film Festival prize for Best First Film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In exchange for providing valuable information to the government, a convict is set free. But no sooner has the prisoner set foot on the "outside" than he is mowed down by enemy gunfire. The New Avengers try to find out what he was going to tell, and why he was killed--with a tattered paperback copy of a Western novel as their only clue. Ingredients essential to the outcome of this story are a marathon cross-country chase and a deadly game of cards. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This feature-length dramatization of James Herriot's best-seller was issued by EMI as a big-screen theatrical release in England, but debuted on NBC as a telemovie in the United States, February 4, 1975. It stars Simon Ward as Herriot in his early days as a veterinarian. The story picks up in 1937, with Herriot's first assignment as assistant to eccentric Yorkshire vet Siegfried Farnon (Anthony Hopkins). The film's highlight is the strenuous delivery of a newborn colt; its most poignant moment is the mercy killing of a seriously ill dog. In between "cases," Herriot courts pretty farmer's daughter Helen (Lisa Farrow). The film eventually spawned a television series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jon Finch stars as Jerry Cornelius, swinging London's leading scientific genius, in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. As the world teeters on the brink of collapse following a nuclear war, Jerry discovers that a batch of microfilm containing "the final programme" -- the plan for an ideal, self-replicating human being, which was designed by his father -- has fallen into the wrong hands. With the assistance of Miss Brunner (Jenny Runacre), a voracious and bisexual computer expert, Jerry discovers the programme has been taken by his unscrupulous brother Frank (Derrick O'Connor), and Jerry and Miss Brunner must recover it and put the system to work, leading to the creation of a new messiah (which isn't quite what one would expect). The distinguished supporting cast for this thoughtful bit of satire includes Patrick Magee, Sterling Hayden, and George Coulouris. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This award-winning quasi-documentary places the relationship of striptease to the overall London entertainment community under its microscope. The relationship between strippers and their audiences is closely examined. This film is not pornographic, nor is it intended to be, but it does closely and sympathetically examine this popular form of erotomania. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

John Cassavetes wrote and directed this look at three middle-aged men thrown into a midlife crisis when one of their mutual friends dies. Harry (Ben Gazzara), Archie (Peter Falk) and Gus (John Cassavetes) attend the funeral of their buddy David Rowlands (Stuart Jackson); all three are starting to feel the pressures of their advancing years, while Harry is having serious problems with his marriage. After the funeral, the three men decide that they need to get away from it all for a while, and they spend the next two days getting drunk, shooting hoops, playing cards, sleeping on the subway, and pretending that they're teenagers again. After 48 hours of irresponsibility, Archie and Gus decide that fun is fun but it's time to go home. But when Harry goes back to his wife, they have a huge argument; Harry storms out and decides to fly to England, persuading Archie and Gus to tag along. They get dressed up, visit a casino, and pick up beautiful women, but while Archie and Gus, as before, look at this as a brief vacation from their lives as loyal husbands and fathers, Harry doesn't want to go home, even though he seems more troubled by his infidelity than do his two friends. Cassavetes' first directorial project after his critical breakthrough with Faces, featuring intense, largely improvised performances by two of his most consistent collaborators, Ben Gazzara and Peter Falk, Husbands was originally released in a cut running 154 minutes, but was trimmed to 138 minutes for general release. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide