Nigel Whitmey
The debut film by director Robert Edwards, Land of the Blind, is a political satire starring Ralph Fiennes as a military man who helps overthrow his government. He does so at the urging of a political prisoner, played by Donald Sutherland, who has been outspoken about the corruption of the current regime. The soldier learns that corruption may in fact be an inevitable part of having power. Set in an unnamed country without ever giving indication of a specific time period, the allegorical film had its North American debut at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Donald Sutherland, (more)
"The face that launched a thousand ships" was the centerpiece of this two-part TV miniseries, which invoked affectionate memories of the overblown Cecil B. DeMille epics of years gone by. Set in the 13th century B.C., the series starred Sienna Guillory as Helen, the Olympian-born, dazzlingly beautiful trophy wife of Sparta's King Menelaus (James Callis). Unhappy in her "marriage of state," Helen yearned for the companionship of the gorgeous young man whom she had seen only in a vision: Paris (Matthew Marsden), the Prince of Troy. As luck would have it, Paris managed to "abduct" Helen and spirit her off to his homeland, where she was welcomed by his father, King Priam (John Rhys-Davies), despite the portents of doom from Paris' foresighted sister, Cassandra (Emilia Fox). Meanwhile back in Sparta, King Menelaus, his honor besmirched, declared war on Troy, thus beginning a ten-year conflict that would culminate disastrously in the incident of the Trojan horse. All of which greatly pleased Menelaus' covetous brother, Agamemnon (Rufus Sewell), who cannily exploited the war in order to emerge as King of the Aegean. Far more elaborate than any of the previous cinematic treatments of the Helen legend, this one was also a bit more sensational, with a number of gratuitous but enjoyable nude scenes. Filmed on location in Malta and Greece, Helen of Troy was seen over the USA cable network on April 20 and 21, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sienna Guillory, Matthew Marsden, (more)
Television commercial director and music video maker Marcus Adams directs the U.K. thriller Octane, shot entirely in Luxembourg. Madeleine Stowe stars as overprotective mother Senga Wilson, who doesn't want her teenage daughter Nat (Mischa Barton) to get into trouble. While driving down the road with her mother one night, Nat jumps out of the car and escapes with a bunch of backpackers. It turns out the crowd she's running with is really an evil cult that's out for blood, led by a freaky guy they call The Father (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). In order to save her daughter, Senga embarks on a thrilling journey into a rave/dance underworld of violent twentysomethings while she copes with her own past. The techno soundtrack was provided by Orbital. Octane premiered in the U.S. at the 2003 CineVegas International Film Festival and was renamed Pulse for its eventual video release. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Madeleine Stowe, Norman Reedus, (more)
- 1997
Set in a blazing land where the sun ceaselessly shines, this dramatic fantasy examines love's darker aspects. After years of incarceration as a political prisoner, Peter Glahn (Nigel Whitney, who had his name removed from the credits because another actor redubbed his lines) finally returns to Mandragora via ship. During the voyage, he encounters the glamorous Julianna (Pascale Bussieres), and falls deeply in love. Before he can act upon it, the radiant beauty mysteriously disappears. Once home he goes to see his sister Amelia (Shelley Duval) on the family ostrich farm. Poor homely Amelia is pining for the love of snake-in-the-grass Dr. Solti (R.H. Thompson) who is busy controlling the lives of Juliana and Zephyr (Alice Krige), a fisherman's widow. Solti toys with these women, but he is actually in love with a statue of Venus, a magical sculpture that seems strangely drawn towards Zephyr. Continuing frustration causes Amelia's smouldering passion for Solti to erupt into a conflagration of grisly violence. A challenging film from idiosyncratic Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascale Bussières, Nigel Whitmey, (more)
Kewpie-doll voiced Melanie Griffith does a sexed-up Nancy Drew turn in David Seltzer's adaptation of Susan Issacs' novel Shining Through. Set during World war II, Griffith plays Linda Voss, a spunky New York girl who applies for a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Michael Douglas). Ed hires her immediately when he finds out that she speaks German fluently. The reason Ed is so interested in Linda's language skills is because Ed is an undercover OSS officer who needs a German translator. Their business relationship translates into love, but when America enters the war, Ed abandons his law practice to become a full-time spy. Utilizing Linda's charms, she travels to Berlin and infiltrates the Nazis as a domestic to try to discover information about "a bomb that can fly by itself." But Linda has personal as well as patriotic motives for agreeing to go undercover, since she has Jewish relatives in Berlin and wants to find out their whereabouts. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Melanie Griffith, (more)
