Roger Sloman Movies
- 2000
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The 13th feature-length episode of the British detective series Midsomer Murders, "Beyond the Grave" is set in motion by a mysterious act of vandalism at the Aspen Tallow museum. When a 17th century painting is slashed to pieces, the superstitious locals believe that the damage was the handiwork of one Jonathan Lowrie -- and never mind that he has been dead for centuries. Ultimately, a number of mysterious deaths occur, which some attribute to Lowrie but which DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) believes are being committed by someone who is still very much alive. As he pursues his investigation, Tom is also pressed into service as a "technical advisor" for his daughter's actor-boyfriend (Ed Waters), who has been cast as a cop in a popular TV soap opera. "Beyond the Grave" was first telecast in the U.K. on February 5, 2000, and in the U.S. on April 8 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Nettles, Daniel Casey, (more)
Jasmin Dizdar's debut feature takes place in London on October 13, 1993. England is to play against Holland in a critical World Cup qualifier. The Bosnian war is at its height, Sebrenica is besieged, and the UN is preparing relief airdrops. Serbian Dado Jehan and Croatian Faruk Pruti meet on a London bus. Recognizing each other as fellow refugees from the same village in Bosnia, they try to beat each other up. The subsequent crazy chase through the streets of central London sets the scene for a highly charged dark comedy. Beautiful People draws a portrait of the multicultural life of London where lives of British families are inadvertently linked with the lives of the refugees. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Coleman, Charles Kay, (more)
A scientist finds himself walking a fine line between reason and fantasy in this family-oriented drama. Dr. Jonathan Dempsey (Ted Danson) is an American scientist who has devoted his career to searching out the truth behind contemporary legends and psudeo-scientific phenomena like Bigfoot, which has not gained him much credibility among his peers. Dempsey's superior, Dr. Mercer (Harris Yulin), has a new project that would seem to be right up his alley -- Mercer wants Dempsey to travel to Scotland to prove once and for all that there is no such thing as the Loch Ness Monster. Dempsey takes the assignment and settles into a small hotel near the Loch run by Laura MacFeteridge (Joely Richardson), a single mother with a young daughter, Isabel (Kirsty Graham). Isabel strikes up an immediate friendship with Dempsey while her mother soon takes a more mature interest in the American scientist, but most of the locals don't take kindly to the notion of an outsider flying in to prove that Nessie isn't real, especially the town's self-proclaimed monster expert the Water Bailiff (Ian Holm). What Dempsey does learn about Nessie surprises him a great deal -- and so does his decision about what to do with his findings. Jim Henson's Creature Shop pitched in for the special effects sequences with Nessie. Loch Ness was released theatrically in Europe, but had its American premiere as a network television presentation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ted Danson, Joely Richardson, (more)
- 1995
The naked body of a murdered little girl is found in a forest surrounding a small Eastern European town. It's the third case in a row, and local police detective Victor Marek (Richard E. Grant) is on the killer's trail, but his superior, Novak (James Laurenson), needs to solve the crime quickly in order to boost his political career. So he arrests some suspicious hippie who later hangs himself in a prison cell. Though Marek is ordered to close the case, he continues to work on it on his own. He rents an old gas station and a house in the area where the murders took place. Working from a drawing done by one of the murdered girls he tries to find the clues for the identity of the killer. Marek becomes so obsessed with his quest that when he meets Milena (Lynsey Baxter), a single young woman with a little daughter (Perdita Weeks), he does not hesitate to use the child as the bait for the criminal. Though the film plot bears a strong resemblance to Sean Penn's movie The Pledge, it is actually a remake of the 1958 German film It Happened in Broad Daylight, scripted by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt, who later reworked his original screenplay into the novel The Pledge. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard E. Grant, Lynsey Baxter, (more)
Released in the US on cable television, Blue Ice stars Michael Caine as an older, tireder version of his 1960s "Harry Palmer" character (his name, in fact, is Harry Anders). An M16 agent-turned-nightclub owner, Caine is a man of steadfast loyalties. Thus he takes it personally when several friends from his espionage days are mysteriously killed. Caine investigates on his own, which brings him in very close proximity with enigmatic consul's wife Sean Young. Befitting the fact that Caine's character is a jazz fancier, Blue Ice boasts an evocative musical score by Michael Kamen, of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard fame. Watch for jazz great Bobby Short and an unbilled Bob Hoskins. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Sean Young, (more)
- 1992
Rowan Atkinson repeats his familiar role as the terminally stupid, disastrously clumsy Mr. Bean in this 30-minute BBC comedy special. This time around, the action is divided into three brief segments. In "Bus Stop," Bean tries his best to revive a heart attack victim before using an ambulance to jump-start his own mini-car; in "Letter," our hero loses his only stamp, but that doesn't stop him from posting an important missive; and in "Holiday,", Bean demonstrates a novel (if not entirely efficient) method of packing, disposes of a bothersome train passenger, and tries to entertain an airsick boy during a plane flight. "Mr. Bean Rides Again" first aired in Britain on February 17, 1992, and in America on May 6, 1992. The special has since been included in such video compilations as The Terrible Tales of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 2. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Roger Sloman, (more)
- 1990
Rowan Atkinson stars as the incredibly clueless, accident-prone title character in this first of 13 half-hour Mr. Bean specials. The action is divided into three segments: In "The Exam," Mr. Bean hasn't got the answers; in "The Beach," he tries to change his trunks without removing his trousers; and in "The Church," he just can't seem to stay awake. Mr. Bean was the winner of the 1990 Golden Rose of Montreaux award (one hopes that Bean didn't collect the prize!). The special first aired in Britain on January 1, 1990, and in the United States on April 2, 1992; it can be found on several video compilations, notably The Amazing Adventures of Mr. Bean and The Complete Mr. Bean, Vol. 1. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson
- 1989
- R
Two terminal cancer patients break out of the hospital in a final attempt to enjoy their last days in this black comedy drama. Decker (Anthony Edwards) is an American ex-football player resigned to die. Bancroft (Timothy Dalton) is an attorney who is more optimistic and talks Decker into a journey to a Dutch whorehouse for a final fling. The unlikely duo steal an ambulance and head for Holland. They make a stop at the wedding of Bancroft's former flame -- who abandoned him with his terminal illness. Decker and Bancroft come across two women with car trouble, Maureen (Camille Coduri) and Hazel (Janet McTeer). Maureen and Decker immediately hit it off, but Bancroft considers the meeting an interruption of their quest. The women are unaware the two men are dying, and the men have no way of knowing Hazel is pregnant. They arrive at the bordello where they eventually learn each other's secrets. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Dalton, Anthony Edwards, (more)
- 1986
The central character in this British sitcom was middle-aged Les Brooks (Sam Kelly), who after several years at the same job was suddenly rendered "redundant" (that is, he was given the boot). In order to keep food on the family table, Les hatched a number of get-rich-quick schemes, all of which quickly fizzled. Meanwhile, his more level-headed wife Maureen (Marcia Warren) landed a job at a local pub. The six-episode We'll Think of Something was telecast from September 1 to October 13, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Kelly, Marcia Warren, (more)
- 1983
The inaugural season of the British satirical comedy series The Black Adder ended on July 20, 1983, with the episode titled "The Black Seal." Having exhausted all efforts to usurp the throne of England, Edmund (Rowan Atkinson) resorts to drastic measures -- which, characteristically, are really drastic. Planning to seize the throne by force, Edmund enlists the aid of the Seven Most Evil Men in the land -- among them such worthies as Three-Fingered Pete (Roger Slomon), Sir Wilfred Death (John Hallam), and Mad Gerald (played by "himself," though he bears a marked resemblance to character comedian Rik Mayall). After "The Black Seal," The Black Adder would go on a lengthy hiatus, not to be seen again until 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, (more)
This lighthearted Agatha Christie whodunit concerns a group of friends who spend the weekend at The Chimney's, a gorgeous old palatial estate,. When one individual fails to awaken the morning after the guests arrive, and another mysterious death follows, Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent (Cheryl Campbell) and Jimmy Thesiger (James Warwick) put their heads together to find the murderer. The crimes involve stolen government information and a secret society called 'The Seven Dials.' Made for Granada Television in Great Britain.
~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This quaint horror anthology is loosely based on the works of horror novelist R. Chetwynd-Hayes -- who is portrayed by John Carradine as an active participant in his own tales. The author is invited by a suave vampire (Vincent Price) to accompany him to the title establishment, where he observes the secret social customs of various species of monsters -- which apparently include drinking, dancing, and watching undead strippers remove more than just their clothing. He is also made privy to the mating patterns of these creatures, whose tendency to inter-breed creates such new strains of monsters as the "shadmock" (a vampire-like entity with a deadly high-pitched whistle) and the "humgoo" (the sullen offspring of a human and a flesh-eating ghoul). Price's descriptions of these new beasties trigger accompanying vignettes far less entertaining than the framing story, which is rife with horror movie in-jokes, cheesy rubber monster masks, and music by pop-reggae band UB40(!). Accomplished horror-omnibus director Roy Ward Baker seems to delight in the opportunity for pure camp, although the overall silliness of the proceedings has put off more than a few horror buffs. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Donald Pleasence, (more)
- 1981
- R
The later years of the life of author D.H. Lawrence are dramatized in this screen biography. Following the controversial reception of his novel The Rainbow, David Herbert Lawrence (Ian McKellen) and his wife Frieda (Janet Suzman) leave England for the U.S., where they hope that Lawrence's bold themes will be received in a more tolerant climate. Such is not the case, and the Lawrences travel first to Mexico, and then to Italy while David attempts to complete and then publish his best known (and most controversial) work, Lady Chatterley's Lover. However, as the furor over the book taxes David's well being, tuberculosis saps his physical health. The supporting cast includes John Gielgud as censorship crusader Herbert G. Muskett and Ava Gardner as Mabel Dodge Luhan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, (more)
Few filmmakers other than Warren Beatty would have had the courage and vision to fashion an epic film from the life of famed American Communist John Reed (who is the only US citizen buried in the Kremlin). The film is an effort to humanize a political movement that has previously been depicted on screen in a series of unsubtle and prejudicial broad strokes. The film begins in 1915, when Reed (Beatty) makes the acquaintance of married Portland journalist Louise Bryant (Diane Keaton). So persuasive is Reed's point of view--and so charismatic is Reed himself-- that Bryant kicks over the traces and joins Reed and his fellow radicals. Among the famous personages depicted herein are Emma Goldman (Maureen Stapleton), Eugene O'Neill (Jack Nicholson) and Max Eastman (Richard Herrmann). The second half of this nearly-200-minute film skims through the years when Reed, now a Russian resident, becomes disillusioned by the harsh realities of Bolshevism. Despite the celebrity line-up of real-life "witnesses" to the events depicted in the film (ranging from novelist Henry Miller to comedian George Jessel!), historians took Reds to task for its oversimplification of events and its laundering of the notoriously promiscuous Louise Bryant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, (more)
Keith (Roger Sloman) and Candice Marie (Alison Steadman) take a trip to a campsite in the English countryside. They're folk-singing vegetarian types, but Keith is very controlling, and Candice Marie is manipulative as well, in her own childlike way. Keith is also very anal, taking down every expenditure in a ledger, using his various guidebooks to lead them through every attraction, and refusing to diverge from his detailed plan for their trip. "What's the point of having a schedule if you don't stick to it?" he asks. He rushes ahead of Candice Marie, and she struggles to keep pace. The couple spends a good deal of time trying to find a dairy farm that will sell them unpasteurized milk. Their idyll, such as it is, is interrupted by the arrival of Ray (Anthony O'Donnell), a geology student, who disturbs the couple by playing his radio. Candice Marie goads Keith into confronting Ray, but Ray refuses to turn off his radio, so the couple move to a new location a bit further away. Returning home from one of their day trips in the rain, the couple stops to offer a ride to a pedestrian who turns out to be Ray. Keith refuses to speak to him, but Candice Marie makes polite conversation, and soon decides that Ray is "nice." Candice Marie's attempts to be social infuriate the quietly jealous Keith. But he goes along when she invites Ray over for tea, and the couple bullies Ray into joining them in a little singalong. But things are shaken up again when a couple of young bikers, Finger (Stephen Bill) and Honky (Sheila Kelley), show up flouting the "country code." Nuts in May was written and directed (or "devised and directed") by Mike Leigh for the BBC program, Play for Today. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
