Liz Smith Movies

This is probably Peter Greenaway's most famous (or infamous) film, which first shocked audiences at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and then on both sides of the Atlantic. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he has recently bought. Having tired of her sadistic, boorish husband, the wife finds herself a lover (Alan Howard) and makes love to him in the restaurant's coziest places with the silent permission of the cook (Richard Bohringer). Though less cerebral than Greenaway's other films, featuring deadly passions reminiscent of Jacobean revenge tragedies of the early 17th century, the picture still offers the director's usual ironic and paradoxical comments on the relations between eating and sex, love and death. The film is at once funny and horrific, and those who are not used to Greenaway's peculiar style might be even disgusted or shocked; however, one might mention Sacha Vierny's brilliant camerawork, Jean-Paul Gaultier's gaudily stylized costumes, and Michael Nyman's somber, pulsating music, which will haunt the viewer long after the film's end. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A withdrawn Beunos Aries movie buff develops an unusually charged relationship with his new roommate in this off-beat psychological thriller. Reclusive and demanding, movie theater owner Adrian LeDuc is none too happy when circumstances force him to share his apartment. His outlook begins to shift, however, when he meets Jack Carney, a confident charmer with movie star looks. Adrian is both strangely attracted to and resentful of Jack, and the two form a sometimes awkward, often unspoken bond. This connection is challenged, however, when it is revealed that Jack may be hiding a horrible secret in regards to his enigmatic past. While it always remains grounded in the dynamics of the roommate's relationship, the film expands to encompass much more, from an implicit critique of obsessive movie fandom to a look at the bloody politics of the Argentinean military regime. Ultimately, however, the film is primarily concerned with creating a mood of slowly building suspense mixed with a streak of black humor, which becomes more pronounced as the film approaches its violent climax. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale of one man learning the true meaning of Christmas is brought to the screen once again in this made-for-TV movie. Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott) is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money, and who regards compassion as a luxury he can't afford. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley (Frank Finlay), his former business partner, who arranges for Scrooge to be visited by three spirits in an attempt to show him the error of his ways -- the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Angela Pleasence), Christmas Present (Edward Woodward), and Christmas Yet to Come (Michael Carter). The spirits force Scrooge to examine the failings of his own life, as well as the bravery and optimism of his loyal but ill-treated employee Bob Crachit (David Warner). A Christmas Carol also features Susannah York as Mrs. Crachit, Anthony Walters as Tiny Tim, and Joanne Whalley as Fan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Curse of the Pink Panther was released just after Trail of the Pink Panther with a script that has someone looking for the inept Inspector Clousseau and the fabulous stolen Pink Panther diamond at the same time. In Curse, Clifton Sleigh (Ted Wass) is a New York retread of the bumbling Inspector, chosen to look for him by Clousseau's former boss because Sleigh most certainly will never find him. Although peppered with a few inventive stunts, Curse still falls short of the Sellers classics. In a bizarre side note, David Niven was himself terminally ill at the time of his appearance in Trail of the Pink Panther and unable to speak adequately. His voice was dubbed in by impressionist Rich Little. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Two years after the death of Peter Sellers, Blake Edwards tried to exhume his corpse in this pastiche of clips and out-takes from the old Pink Panther films. The plot concerns the legendary "Pink Panther" diamond which is once more stolen. Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) is again enlisted to find the stolen bauble. When he follows the trail of the diamond to another country, he leaves on an airplane that is soon reported missing. Television reporter Marie Jouvet (Joanna Lumley) then sets out to interview old acquaintances and associates of Clouseau, including Lady Litton (Capucine), Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) and Sir Charles Litton (David Niven), who recall their experiences with the bumbling inspector. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

John Fowles' original novel The French Lieutenant's Woman was distinguished by a literary technique that involved telling a story of Victorian sexual and social oppression within the bounds of a 1970s viewpoint. How does one convey this time-frame dichotomy on film? The decision made by director Karel Reisz and Harold Pinter was to frame Fowles' basic plot within a "modern" context of their own making. While we watch as Sarah (Meryl Streep), a 19th-century Englishwoman ruined by an affair with a French lieutenant, enters into another disastrous relationship with principled young Charles (Jeremy Irons), we are constantly made aware that what we're seeing is only a film. This is done by surrounding the story with a modern narrative, focusing on a movie production company which is on location--filming The French Lieutenant's Woman. Meryl Streep doubles in the role of Sara and the American actress who plays her, while Jeremy Irons essays the dual role of Charles and the handsome Briton playing Charles. Likewise, everyone else in the cast is seen as "themselves" and as their French Lieutenant's Woman characters. Not surprisingly, the "real" Streep and Irons enter into an affair which closely parallels their characters' relationship. The commercial TV version of French Lieutenant's Woman eliminates 30 minutes' worth of "extraneous" scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What happened when best-selling mystery novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days back in 1926? The British Agatha "answers" that question. Vanessa Redgrave is cast as Ms. Christie, who vanished from her home not long after her husband (Timothy Dalton) informed her that he was leaving her. Nearly two weeks later, after being the subject of a nationwide search, Christie showed up none the worse for wear at a health spa in Yorkshire, insisting that she could remember nothing of her experiences during her disappearance. According to scriptwriters Kathleen Tynan and Arthur Hopcraft, Christie was located before her return by American reporter Wally Stanton (an uncomfortable-looking Dustin Hoffman), after enjoying a brief romantic fling with the authoress. The journalist decided to keep his discovery a secret. Another plot wrinkle concerns Christie's plan for revenge against her errant husband -- a scheme with all the earmarks of a Miss Marple or Poirot whodunit. Agatha represented former TV director Michael Apted's matriculation to A-pictures with major stars; he fared better with his subsequent endeavor, Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mrs. Thornley (Liz Smith) leads a rather miserable existence in Salford. She lives with her husband, Jim (Clifford Kershaw), a night custodian at a toy factory, and their grown daughter, Ann (Polly Hemingway). Mrs. Thornley is a maid who works for an imperious upper-middle class woman, Mrs. Stone (Vanessa Harris). Between her work and her home life, it seems like Mrs. Thornley is always cooking, cleaning, and fielding complaints. Jim spends most of his spare time at the pub, and is pretty cold to his wife, drunkenly demanding sex from her once a week on the night he's not working. Jim's efforts to ingratiate himself to his supervisor, Mr. Shaw (Keith Washington), are met with a stony lecture about dressing properly on the job. Ann, meanwhile, has been spending her time trying to arrange an abortion for her friend Julie (Linda Beckett) with the help of a friendly Pakistani taxi driver, Naseem (an early turn by Ben Kingsley). The couple's son, Edward (Bernard Hill, who would later play Théoden in Lord of the Rings) seems to care about his mum, but his wife, Veronica (Alison Steadman, in the first of many performances for writer/director Mike Leigh), is a snob who constantly harangues him about his manners and looks down on his family. Mrs. Thornley, beaten down by her wearying existence, eventually seeks solace from a local priest. Hard Labour, Leigh's follow-up to Bleak Moments, was originally produced for the BBC's Play for Today series. It features an appearance by Alan Erasmus (who would become a major figure in the Manchester pop scene), portrayed by Lennie James in Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Prince Leo (Marcello Mastroianni) is the exiled ruler from an unnamed country living on the edge of a London ghetto with his harridan mistress Margaret (Billie Whitelaw). While viewing birds through his telescope, he witnesses the struggles of his black neighbors to survive their harsh urban environment. When Salambo (Glenna Forster Jones) is forced into prostitution by Jasper (Keefe West), the prince decides to take action. He rescues the woman after she is raped and makes her his ward and protectorate. When the royal guards invade the neighborhood, Leo and a makeshift troop of residents repel the advance with fireworks and homemade explosives. The film is based on the George Tabori play "The Prince" and deals with class struggles of the poor against the haughty royals. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide