Martyn Sanderson Movies

One family's search for a better life leads them away from the land of their birth to a new and different place in this made-for-TV drama. The Darcy family -- father Hughie (Martyn Sanderson); his wife, Mumma (Anne Plelan); and daughters, Dolour (Kaarin Fairfax) and Rosie (Anna Hruby) -- are, like many working-class households, struggling to make ends meet in the face of crushing poverty in Ireland after the end of World War II. Believing that pastures are greener elsewhere, Hughie strikes upon the idea of moving the family to Australia, but the Darcys quickly learn that life isn't much easier for them down under, and as the family struggles to keep body and soul together, they learn they can rely on little but one another. Originally aired as a miniseries, Harp in the South was popular enough to spawn a sequel, Poor Man's Orange. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After five made-for-TV feature films designed to establish the principal character and his surroundings, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) was awarded his own weekly, syndicated series, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In the opening episode, Hercules' wife and children are consumed in a ball of flame -- and it is all the handiwork of his treacherous stepmother, the goddess Hera. Renouncing his father Zeus for allowing such a tragedy to occur, the embittered Hercules embarks upon a campaign of destruction and vengeance. He is ultimately restored to his proper path in life after rescuing the lovely Aegina (Clare Carey) from a human sacrifice -- and after endeavoring to save his friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst), who had been turned to stone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' second season, Hercules' friend Iolaus (Michael Hurst) rescues Autolycus (Bruce Campbell in his first series appearance) from a band of ruffians. As a "reward" for his courage, poor Iolaus is left holding the bag -- actually the box containing the jewels swiped from King Menelaus (Martyn Sanderson) by Autolycus, a former sideshow escape artist and self-professed "King of Thieves." To save Iolaus from prison -- and to retrieve the king's still-missing Dragon's Eye ruby -- Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) teams with Dirce (Lisa Chapell), Menelaus' daughter (and Iolaus' lawyer), to capture the slippery Autolycus. The episode's final includes a tense tangle with some subterranean serpents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Taking place in 19th-century New Zealand, this over-the-top melodrama stars Kevin Smith as Lawrence Hayes, who is spotted by the beautiful but reserved Dorothea Brook (Jennifer Ward-Lealand). She asks Lawrence to do her a favor and marry her sister Rose in order to keep Rose away from her drug-dealing boyfriend, Fraser (Cliff Curtis). In return, Dorothea agrees to remunerate Lawrence for his time by giving him a tract of land of his own. But, along with the land, Lawrence also desires Dorothea. Unfortunately, Dorothea refuses to let go of her girlfriend Anne (Lisa Chappell). The plot further thickens when it turns out that Dorothea is also engaged to marry political boss William Poyser (Michael Hurst).To solve all these problematic relationships, desperate remedies are indeed required, and Lawrence is ready to provide the solution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

While it is really helpful to know something about the game of rugby to fully appreciate this film, and it would be even better if the viewer was familiar with the competitions between Wales and New Zealand in the mid-1960s, the fundamental premise is something almost any former athlete can appreciate. In the story, in 1966, New Zealand and Wales were in finals competition for an important rugby title, and the score was really close. In fact, the outcome hinged on a decision by a "sideline judge" (something like a referee). Now it is almost fifteen years later, and the judge is on his deathbed, making an urgent confession about something that has worried him all these years: he knowingly made an unfair call. Their victory tarnished, the movers and shakers in Welsh rugby are incensed, as are their counterparts in New Zealand. They insist that the match be replayed -- with the original players. The only problems is, they have for the most part all become out-of-shape middle-class men with beer bellies. Fans of the game should note that among the actors playing on these teams are quite a few former rugby greats from the 1960s. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

New Zealand poet Janet Frame is the subject of Jane Campion's biographical drama, which presents a poetically evocative look at the authoress' turbulent life. The film begins with a look at Frame's childhood, showing her as a bright but odd-looking, emotionally fragile young girl with a knack for writing. Frame faces great difficulty in adapting to the conventional rural life around her, and her social awkwardness only worsens as she grows older. After she fails in her attempt to become a schoolteacher due to an intense panic attack, she is subject to a psychiatric evaluation and shamefully misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic. Frame is subsequently committed to a mental institution, where she suffers years of unnecessary shock treatments and other horrors. Her salvation comes through her writings, however, which attract the attention of a renowned author who arranges her release. While the nightmare of Frame's institutionalization is presented with great sensitivity and power, Campion and screenwriter Laura Jones, to their credit, refuse to simplify her story to this one pivotal event. Instead, they pay equal attention to Frame's subsequent life, as she slowly adjusts life in the outside world, experiencing literary success and her first romance. Expressive visuals add immeasurably to the total effect, while Kerry Fox's superb performance creates a truly affecting portrait of Frame. Impressively, the film was originally made as a mini-series for New Zealand television, and slightly reedited for a later theatrical release. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

For people born into non-Western cultures, even if they have been "modern" for many generations, finding one's inner ground can be a difficult process. In this story by first-time director Martyn Sanderson (better known for his acting in Australian and New Zealand action/adventure movies), a young man comes to grips with his Samoan background in the context of the demands placed on him by modern life. The story is based on the novel Flying Fox In A Freedom Tree by Albert Wendt. Pepe (Faifua Amiga, Jr.) is interested in the old culture, and his place in it. His father is purely concerned that he should adapt to the present day, and Pepe is forced to look elsewhere for guidance and inspiration. One of his role-models is an unlikely half-breed, the dwarf Tagata (Richard von Surmer), who, like the flying fox, seeks opportunity where he finds it. Another inspiration is the high chief Toasa, who teaches Pepe the genealogical lists he needs to know in order to assume his full place in Samoan society. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The year is 1933. Ruby Rose (Melita Jurisic) is an Australian woman living with her Welsh immigrant husband Henry (Chris Haywood) in the Tasmanian highlands. Cut off from her superjudgmental family, for whom Henry had once worked as a humble farm hand, Ruby remains isolated in her tiny house. Superstitiously terrified of the dark, she begins developing her own folklore about the inky blackness that surrounds her each night; this folklore eventually develops into Ruby's own personal religion, created to ward off the evils that she imagines lurk in every corner. Only by venturing out of her house and rekindling her relationship with her embittered father is Ruby able to exorcise her fears. Almost hypnotic in its stark beauty, Tale of Ruby Rose is proof enough that writer/director Roger Scholes deserves to be far better known. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dramatically set against New Zealand's North Island scenery, this uneven but well-acted story is about Cathy (Mary Regan) -- a woman trapped in an incestual relationship with her father (Terence Cooper) on a remote sheep farm -- and a drifter named Daley (Bruno Lawrence) who arrives there looking for work. Daley soon develops an interest in Cathy, who is aloof and remote, and he does not understand why. When he does realize what is wrong, he and Cathy make a crucial decision that is bound to end in violence. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this suspense thriller, a missing anthropologist is given up for lost by his wife (Darien Takle) and twin brother Edward (John Bach), but his daughter (Emma Takle) is convinced something odd is involved in her father's disappearance. Events conspire to put the three people together on a manhunt for the anthropologist -- among a "lost" tribe in the southern part of New Zealand that is not going to cooperate in the trio's search. If the wife, daughter, and uncle are extremely lucky, everyone will be able to escape intact. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This gothic hillbilly horror thriller was produced in New Zealand and centers around a small rural town, circa 1953, where unusual events lead a teenager to cross paths with a serial killer. Ned (Jonathan Smith) and his pal Les (Daniel McLaren) are a pair of teens in trouble with local bullies after they steal some prize chickens. Their troubles are compounded by the arrival of a carnival, employing the sinister Salter (John Carradine), an evil magician and sideshow hypnotist. The presence of Salter seems to bring out the worst in the local citizenry, inspiring nascent lust and perversion to surface in disturbing ways, much of which is centered on Ned's nubile sister Prudence (Tracy Mann). When a girl is slain in the woods, the trial leads to Salter, who is not only guilty of the crime, but of many more. The Scarecrow (1982), based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was the feature debut of co-writer and director Sam Pillsbury, who went on to direct numerous television movies and series episodes in the U.S. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide