Jiri Stanislav Movies
- 1990
Richard Crenna returns as New York police detective Frank Janek in Murder Times Seven. This time Janek tackles the case of a mass murder. One of the victims was his ex-partner (an occupational hazard for Janek, who in an earlier film had to turn in his own boss on a murder rap). One of the detective's former lovers (Carolyn Kava) unexpectedly provides a vital clue to the killer's identity. Originally titled Murder X 7, this made-for-TV drama first aired October 14, 1991-though there was a warning in the TV Guide listings that the film risked being bumped by the World Series playoffs (coincidentally, it would have been Game Number Seven!) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
Based on the philosophical novel by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (who also wrote the screenplay), this black and white drama follows "the man" (Tom Novembre) in his abstracted wanderings. At first, for no apparent reason, "the man" decides he is going to live only in the bathroom of his apartment (clothed). Perhaps he wants the isolation he might find there. His solitude destroyed by a bevy of friends, some housepainters hired by his girlfriend, and his family, our philosophical hero makes his way to a nondescript hotel room in Venice, where he spends his time playing darts in his room. When his girlfriend visits him there, he responds to this interruption of his musings by briefly using her forehead as a dartboard. Eventually he returns to his Paris apartment, and reconciles with his injured girlfriend. The actor Novembre has been compared with Buster Keaton, and for many reviewers, his deadpan performance lifts this odd movie out of the obscurity it might otherwise deserve. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Novembre, Gunilla Karlzen, (more)
- 1988
A group of young adults tries to escape from Czechoslovakia in 1952 in this historical drama. The communist regime sets up what appears to be a western zone in order to trap the escapees and trick them into speaking out against the oppressive regime. Only when it is too late do the people discover that they have been tricked and that the lucky ones will head to prison. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shaun Scott, Edita Brychta, (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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Pierce Brosnan, (more)
The fancy footwork and star appeal of Gregory Hines as Raymond, an exiled American, and the powerful grace of Mikhail Baryshnikov as Nikolai, a defector, combine with a great production design to carry this otherwise thinly-stretched tale of intrigue. With a stellar supporting cast (Isabella Rossellini as Raymond's wife, Helen Mirren as Nikolai's lover, and Jerzy Skolimowski, the Polish director, as a wily KGB agent), the film has a few excellent moments. Nikolai has defected from the former USSR some time in the past. While on a trip, his plane spectacularly crashes on a runway in Siberia. Trapped in the country he had escaped, he is brought to stay with Raymond, an American who defected during the Vietnam war. Nikolai desperately wants to get out of the country, but the Russians have other plans. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, (more)
Jeremy Irons portrays Nowak, one of four Polish laborers, living in England. In exchange for a place to stay, Irons and his buddies -- none of whom have British work permits -- agree to renovate their landlord's flat within a limited time-frame. Despite their hectic schedule, the boys agree never to work on Sunday: this is the day that they communicate with their loved ones in Poland. On one such Sunday, however, the Soviets declare martial law in Poland, cutting off all telephone and telegraph service to the outside world. Nowak, the only one of the four who speaks English, learns of the turmoil in Poland before his friends do; he decides to keep the news secret, rather than jeopardize their living arrangements. When the flow of money from home ceases, Nowak takes to stealing to finance the renovation project. He pushes his friends mercilessly to make sure the project is completed on time, secretly burning their letters so that they remain in the dark about the Soviet incursion upon their native soil. When they do find out, they physically vent their anger upon Nowak, perceiving him to be as much an enemy and oppressor as the Soviets. This is clearly the allegorical point that director Jerzy Skolimowski is hoping to make in Moonlighting; wisely, he avoids conveying his message in fluent tract, relating his story with generous doses of humor and irony. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Eugene Lipinski, (more)
Director Alan Clarke's influential television drama Made in Britain marked the screen debut of actor Tim Roth. Roth plays Trevor, a skinhead with a swastika tattoo on his forehead who lashes out verbally and sometimes physically at everything that surrounds him. Cinematographer Chris Menges (who would go on to win Oscars for his work on The Killing Fields and The Mission), gets his camera right in Roth's snarling face, as the film tracks Trevor's progress through the British justice system. In the courtroom, charged with attacking a Pakistani man and vandalizing his store, Trevor displays absolutely no remorse as he matter-of-factly admits that he knew the man would have to be hospitalized for his injuries. Trevor's social worker, Harry (Eric Richard), recognizes Trevor's intelligence, but he's running out of ways to convince Trevor to straighten out his life. Harry takes him to a juvenile detention center for "assessment," after which he'll be sentenced. Trevor immediately dismisses Peter (Bill Stewart), the put-upon supervisor of the center, as a "wanker." He meets his black roommate, Errol (Terry Richards), whom he quickly convinces to come out with him on a car-stealing, glue-sniffing, job-center-vandalizing day trip. Brazenly returning to the detention center in a stolen car, Trevor eventually provokes Peter into locking him in a classroom, so a police superintendent (Geoffrey Hutchings) can harangue him about the hopeless path his life is taking. Trevor refuses to accept the center's (and society's) standards for "good behavior," raging that they all just want everyone to follow the rules and keep their mouths shut. The script was written by David Leland (Wish You Were Here) and the songs on the soundtrack are by the anarchist hardcore band the Exploited. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- 1964
A traveling circus visits the Gothic abode of the evil Count Drago (Christopher Lee), whose pastimes include experimenting on various animals with his potions and formulas. Naturally, he's no longer content to stop there, and the visitors become unwilling participants in the next horrific progression of the Count's macabre hobby. In a surprising twist, it is one of the troupe's dwarf performers who saves the day. This Italian production is believed to have been augmented with scenes shot by Michael Reeves (Witchfinder General), which may account for occasional atmospheric touches in an otherwise pedestrian mad-scientist effort. Look for young first-timer Donald Sutherland in bizarre dual roles -- as a bumbling soldier and a withered old witch. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
