Michael Williams Movies
Awarded the Papal knighthood well into his struggle with cancer and days before his death, British actor Michael Williams responded to the honor with typical zeal and sincerity, "This has been one of the best days I have had. Could I have a match replay?" A respected and versatile actor of stage and screen as comfortable with Shakespeare as with sitcoms, Williams was well known to U.K. television audiences through his role in the popular sitcom A Fine Romance, though his tireless on-stage career is a testament to an actor with a great love for classical roles.Born in Manchester in 1935, and attending Liverpool's St. Edward's Christian Brothers school in his youth, Williams was a devout Roman Catholic who maintained a close relationship with the church throughout his life, serving as an enthusiastic and supportive member of the Catholic Stage Guild for a number of years. Gaining popularity through his powerful roles in such productions as The Taming of the Shrew and perhaps most notably in Troilus and Cressida (opposite Helen Mirren's Cressida), Williams married actress Judi Dench in 1971. Remaining close friends long before matrimony (not unlike their fictional counterparts on Romance), Dench and Williams remained together until Williams' death in 2001, often appearing together on stage (The Pack of Lies) and in film (Tea With Mussolini). In 1972 Williams and Dench had their only child, actress Finty Williams (The Secret Rapture) (1993). His other popular television parts included that of a brilliant Oxford scholar reduced to hamburger slinging in Double First, and a co-starring role opposite actress Gwen Taylor in the mid-life marital drama Conjugal Rites (1993).
Taking a cue from his Shakespearean stage roles, Williams' film roles were often geared towards the more classically dramatic. After making an early appearance in Marat/Sade (1966), Williams appeared with other well-respected classically trained actors such as John Gielgud (Eagle in a Cage, 1971), and Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, 1989). Williams was widely praised for his dramatic abilities and the remarkable depth of character he brought to his portrayals.
In the 1990s Williams teamed with wife Dench and fellow Shakespearean actor John Moffatt for a charitable series of comedy, song, drama, and poetry under the title Fond & Familiar, one program of which was broadcast live on Radio 4. Retaining much of the same remarkable charisma on the radio as in his film and stage appearances, Williams other radio roles included that of Watson on a late-'90s adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles and a monologue performance titled The Packer which was written for him by Peter Tinniswood. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1999
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An American businessman rents a cottage in Ireland, only to find the cottage is also inhabited by leprechauns as well. Soon, the American finds himself embroiled in a fierce dispute between the leprechauns and their enemies, the fairies, that only he can help settle. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Randy Quaid, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 1997
Memories of his late colleague Steve Crosetti continue to haunt Lewis (Clark Johnson), as well as former cop Chris Thormann (Lee Tergesen), who was blinded by a gunman in one of Homicide's first-season story arcs. Thormann's agony intensifies when the man who robbed him of his sight comes up for parole, obliging Lewis to offer emotional support. Meanwhile, although they haven't yet settled their differences, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) team up to investigate a shooting in which the victim's daughter is a suspect -- thereby sparking more unpleasant childhood recollections for Bayliss. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
Bored small-town teens anxious for excitement get in over their heads when they believe the wild tales of a wounded stranger in this absorbing and taut Canadian drama. Kyle, Eric and Brad are fourteen years old and already feel trapped by the boring routines of their small-town lives. Their only refuge from their adolescent angst is an abandoned cabin located in the woods. One day they got to their sanctuary and find themselves staring at a heavily bleeding wounded wild man with a gun pointed right at them. He calls himself Luke Cooper and tells them that he is a good cop who must escape from some bad ones. The three boys totally believe the tale and so begin helping Luke. The adventure is great fun until suspicions rise and they discover the awful truth: Luke is a real criminal wanted for killing a cop. Luke then turns violent on them taking Eric hostage after beating him. The tension increases as the inevitable blood soaked final confrontation approaches. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris Penn, Dominic Zamprogna, (more)
- 1996
A black gang-member befriends an amnesiac in this independent drama that begins as a groggy fellow awakens in an abandoned building with no clue as to his identity. Soon after regaining consciousness he meets Rumor, who just happened to be around. Rumor generously decides to take care of the wounded fellow, who turns out to be Joe, a photo-journalist who came into the slum for a photo shoot. Unfortunately, Joe doesn't realize that it was the gang Rumor belongs to who beat, robbed and left him for dead. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Knepper, Michael Williams, (more)
Touted upon its release as the finale of the Rocky saga, this fifth entry in the long-running series of sports dramas reunites star Sylvester Stallone with John G. Avildsen, director of the Oscar-winning original. Stallone is Rocky Balboa, suffering from career-ending brain damage as a result of his punishing bout with Ivan Drago at the finale of the previous film. Upon their return to Philadelphia, Rocky and his wife, Adrian (Talia Shire), discover they are broke, their fortune squandered by an incompetent accountant. Forced to move back to their working-class neighborhood, Rocky finds that his only asset is the run-down gym willed to him by Mickey (Burgess Meredith, who appears in new flashback sequences). Resisting big money offered to him by Don King-like boxing promoter George Washington Duke (Richard Gant), Rocky becomes a trainer and finds a talented comer in Tommy Gunn (real-life boxer Tommy Morrison, nephew of John Wayne). Rocky's son (played by Stallone's real-life son Sage Stallone) feels neglected by his father, who lavishes attention on his protégé, but Tommy ultimately turns his back on his mentor to sign a more lucrative deal with Duke, leading to a street-fight showdown. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, (more)
At times, Another 48 Hrs. seems less like a sequel to than a parody of the first 48 Hrs., especially when Nick Nolte, repeating his role from the earlier film, begins commenting on the cliched absurdity of the goings on. This time, Nolte risks life, limb and career as he obsessively tries to bring an elusive master criminal known as "The Iceman" to justice. Eddie Murphy, who stole the show in the first 48 Hrs. as the wheeler-dealer convict who becomes Nolte's reluctant partner, is brought into the plotline of the second film when a contract is taken out on his life. The adversarial relationship between Nolte and Murphy, supposedly dissipated by the end of the first film, is revivified in the sequel via a couple of plot devices. Still, Murphy rallies to the occasion, in the process saving Nolte from being thrown off the force. Though not as successful as the first film, Another 48 Hrs. proved that there were still enough Eddie Murphy fans around in 1990 to insure a strong box-office showing. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, (more)
Australian filmmaker John Duigan followed up his captivating The Year My Voice Broke with Flirting. Noah Taylor repeats his "Danny" characterization from the earlier film, while Thandie Newton plays a Ugandan exchange student who attends an Australian girls boarding school. Billeted at a nearby boy's school, Danny finds himself falling in love with Newton, though he is frequently at a loss as to how to express himself. Flirting is the second in a proposed trilogy of John Duigan-directed films revolving around Danny's "awkward" years. Featured in the cast as one of Newton's schoolmates is Nicole Kidman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Noah Taylor, Thandie Newton, (more)
Kenneth Branagh makes his feature-film directorial debut with this adaptation of William Shakespeare's Henry V. After the Chorus (Derek Jacobi) introduces the play, young king of England Henry V (Kenneth Branagh) begins an angry dialogue with King Charles of France (Paul Scofield). The king's son, Dauphin (Michael Maloney), insults Henry and the argument escalates into war. In flashback, Henry is seen as a young man drinking in a tavern with Falstaff (Robbie Coltrane), Bardolph (Richard Briers), Nym (Geoffrey Hutchings), Pistol (Robert Stephens), and Mistress Quickly (Judi Dench). Meanwhile, Henry and his captain, Fluellen (Ian Holm), assemble an army and invade France. The French greatly outnumber the British troops, yet Henry leads them to victory in the Battle of Agincourt after delivering his famous St. Crispin's Day Speech. Throughout this struggle, Henry also courts Katherine (Emma Thompson) and eventually wins her over. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, (more)
- 1989
The USA Network may have been a relatively new service in 1989, but it wasn't above trotting out an old reliable plot device in the made-for-cable movie Murder by Night. Robert Urich stars as a murder witness who is clunked over the head by the killer. When he comes to, he can remember none of the details of the murder. By and by, he becomes convinced that he himself is the murderer--and that he may soon strike again. Ignore the bromidic dialogue in Murder by Night and stick around for the shockeroo ending. The film had its world premiere on July 19, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, (more)
- 1986
- R
- Add Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to Queue Add Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling to top of Queue
Popular African-American comedian Jo Jo Dancer is severely burned while free-basing cocaine. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. While hovering between life and death, Dancer flashes back to his childhood, when he grew up in a brothel. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. Dancer decides to become a comic, but has a great many difficulties rising to stardom until he begins making scatological comments about race relations. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists that the movie is not autobiographical. As he rises to fame, Jo Jo has problems controlling his drug addiction and womanizing. Producer/director/writer Richard Pryor insists.....Well, you've caught on by now. If one were able to excise the excruciatingly boring "introspection" scene, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling would stand as an excellent testimonial to Richard Pryor's cutting-edge comic brilliance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Pryor, Debbie Allen, (more)
- 1986
Robin Chapman based his teleplay for the 1986 BBC production Blunt: The Fourth Man on a true story. Ian Richardson plays Sir Anthony Blunt, an above-reproach aristocrat and renowned art expert. In 1951, Blunt sells out his country by helping turncoat British spy Donald MacLean (Michael McStay) escape to Moscow. Blunt's stake in all this intrigue is personal: he is the former gay lover of MacLean's partner in espionage, the notorious Guy Burgess (Anthony Hopkins). The revelation of Blunt's role as the "fourth man" in Britain's most famous modern spy scandal is not made public until 1979. Blunt: The Fourth Man was first telecast in the US over the A&E cable network on July 24, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson, Michael Williams, (more)
Inspired by the Herman Melville novel Billy Budd, writer Charles Fuller created the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play, which he then adapted into this film drama in 1984, for socially conscious, liberal director Norman Jewison. In the racially-divided 1940s, Fort Neal, Louisiana, is a military base where black soldiers are sent not to fight in WWII but to play baseball against other armed forces teams. The murder of a black sergeant, Waters (Adolph Caesar) brings an investigator, Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.) to the base. Davenport, the first black officer that most of the men have ever met, suspects that a pair of white men were responsible for Waters' death, but his probe reveals that nearly everyone, regardless of skin color, had ample reason to kill the loathsome but pitiable Waters. The cast of A Soldier's Story features early supporting performances from several African-American actors who would go on to greater prominence, including Denzel Washington, David Alan Grier, and Robert Townsend. The film was nominated for three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Caesar) and Best Adapted Screenplay. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Adolph Caesar, (more)
A trio of Oscar nominations and a pair of Golden Globes went to this acclaimed romantic comedy-drama based on the play by Willy Russell. Julie Walters stars as Rita, a witty, 26-year-old working class British hairdresser who decides to seek an education at Open University. Rita needs a tutor, and she selects Dr. Frank Bryant (Michael Caine), an alcoholic college literature professor whose life is a shambles. Divorced, Bryant's new lover is now having an affair with his best friend and he's increasingly depressed, seeking solace in whisky. Bryant's domestic turmoil is mirrored by Rita's, as she has opted for college over motherhood, a source of friction between her and her husband. As Rita blooms intellectually under the tutelage of Bryant, she realizes that what she really lacks is self-confidence, not education, and a gentle romance blossoms between her and Bryant. At home, however, Rita's newfound self-respect and intelligence cause her even greater pain. Director Lewis Gilbert and writer Russell teamed again six years later on the similarly-themed Shirley Valentine (1989). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Julie Walters, (more)
Directed by TV-anthology veteran Jeannot Szwarc, Enigma has a certain small-screen "feel" to it. Adopting a musical-comedy foreign accent, Martin Sheen plays Alex Holbeck, an Iron Curtain defector who returns to East Germany at the behest of the CIA. His mission is to save five political "undesirables" from the communists. Holbeck runs up against some formidable opposition, namely ambitious KGB agent Dimitri Vasilkov (Sam Neill) and a quintet of highly trained Soviet assassins. Brigitte Fossey co-stars as Holbeck's former love, whom he involves in his escape plans by asking her to romance the susceptible Vasilkov. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
The British sitcom A Fine Romance aired for four seasons from 1981-1984 on London Weekend Television and has since been syndicated on PBS in the States. Judi Dench stars as Laura Dalton, a quirky independent woman who meets the equally eccentric Mike Selway, played by Dench's real-life husband Michael Williams. The mismatched pair is introduced by Laura's sister, Helen Dalton-Barker (Susan Penhaligon), and brother-in-law, Phil Barker (Richard Warwick). Laura and Mike humorously suffer through day-to-day turmoils, eventually finding romance. In 1984, Judi Dench won a BAFTA TV award for Best Light Entertainment Performance. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- 1979
Sometimes, Cupid's arrows land in the wrong targets. How else can one explain why the high-born Charles (David Ogden Stiers) has fallen in love with low-born Korean bar girl Sooni (Sylvia Chang)? And what other compelling reason would cause fashionable nurse Debbie Clarke (Kit McDonough) to enter into romance with blue-collar Klinger (Jamie Farr)? (It can't simply be because Debbie is impressed by Klinger's cross-dressing wardrobe--though she is, she truly is). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Based on a book by National Hunt jockey Dick Francis, the horseracing thriller Dead Cert was filmed in the village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K. When jockey Bill Davidson (Ian Hogg) is killed in a horseracing incident, his best friend Alan York (Scott B. Anthony) decides to investigate. He believes that Bill's death was not an accident, and he intends to expose the real killers. Judi Dench stars as Bill's wife, Laura Davidson, while her real-life husband Michael Williams appears as jockey Sandy Mason. Directed by Tony Richardson, Dead Cert received a U.K. theatrical release in 1974. In British slang, a "dead cert" means something that is definite. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Antony, Judi Dench, (more)
- 1971
- PG
Television veteran Fielder Cook brings a TV-like intimacy to his direction of Eagle in a Cage. This underrated film stars Kenneth Haigh as Napoleon Bonaparte, in his years of exile on St. Helena. The story is told from the point of view of the island's governor (John Gielgud), a former schoolteacher who finds greatness thrust upon him upon becoming Napoleon's jailer. By necessity, the emphasis is on conversation rather than action, but it holds the ear throughout. Eagle in a Cage is one of a handful of theatrical films released by the American broadcasting firm of Group W. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
Subtitled A Film About London, this drama is a quintessential experimental counter-culture film of the late 1960s that centers on the questions raised by the Vietnam war. Renowned Shakespearean theater director Peter Brook serves as producer and director. It includes many members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, such as London actors Mark Jones, Robert Lloyd, and Pauline Munro, who essentially play themselves. They become obsessed with a photograph of a wounded Vietnamese child and begin discussing the war with their friends and fellow actors. They attend a series of lectures and teach-ins, discussing the issues of the day with a number of activists, including the American Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael. The discussions are combined with newsreel footage in a bizarre collage of images. Moved to do something, the group of actors puts on a series of skits about the war. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Jones, Pauline Munroe, (more)
- 1967
Benefit of the Doubt had its roots in US, a Peter Brook play produced by the Royal Shakespearean Company. This anti-war documentary blossomed into a multi-media presentation, then to a 70-minute film. The movie version expands upon Brook's piece with authentic newsreel footage of the Vietnam War. Despite the original title, the film concentrates on the British, rather than American, view of the war, which in 1967 was a lot more dove-ish than in the States. Eric Allan and Mary Allen head the cast of this agit-prop time capsule. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Allan, Mary Allen, (more)
Adapted from his own Royal Shakespeare Company production of Peter Weiss' play entitled The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade, Peter Brook directs this fascinating look into revolution, power, and human frailty. During the 19th century, fashionable theatergoers would attend ostensibly therapeutic stage performances by mental asylum inmates. The film opens on July 19, 1809, with Monsieur Coubnier (Clifford Rose), the officious head of the Charenton asylum, introducing that night's show -- a drama about the assassination of French Revolutionary War firebrand Jean-Paul Marat, written by that institution's most notorious resident, the Marquis de Sade (Patrick Magee). The play begins conventionally enough , considering that the lead actress (Glenda Jackson) is a narcoleptic, the actor playing Marat (Ian Richardson) is a paranoiac, and another actor, a sex maniac with very pressing urges, is kept in chains. But the work soon evolves into a dialogue between Marat and De Sade. Though both men were early supporters of the Revolution, their ideas of the shape of the movement took very different courses. Espousing a form of proto-Marxism, Marat is at first presented as the sort of tyrannical idealist that became depressingly familiar in the 20th century, a la Lenin and Pol Pot. But then later, Marat seems haunted by the terror he has unleashed and unable to understand where he went wrong. De Sade, on the other hand, preached his own unusual brand of Nietzschean existentialism. Unlike Marat, he not only recognizes the inherent weakness of the human character, but he revels in it. Murder as an act of individual passion should be celebrated, De Sade at first argues; murder as an anonymous act of statecraft should be deplored. The individual is not given meaning though politics but through acts of spontaneous passion and desire. As the play progresses, the revolution depicted in the play soon develops into an outright revolution on the stage. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson, Patrick Magee, (more)
- 1962
Characteristically breaking with tradition, director Robert Bresson presents a realistic, unique view of the life and death of Joan of Arc. Using a script based on the actual transcript notes taken during her trial, Bresson focuses on the psychological and physical torture that Joan had to endure, showing how these techniques were used to break her resolve and cause her to eventually recant her faith. With impeccable historical accuracy Bresson re-creates the story of the peasant girl who, after leading an unsuccessful revolt against the government, was brought to trial, convicted of heresy, and burned as a witch. However, Bresson shows Joan (Florence Carrez) as a woman more sophisticated and calculating and less naive than she has normally been represented. His Joan, while more real, is no less heroic than the traditional Joan. This unusual approach is characteristic of this unique director who defies classification as either a traditional or "new wave" filmmaker while being highly respected for pursuing his own individual style and vision. Robert Bresson has been called a poet and philosopher with a camera, preoccupied with the idea of predestination and spiritual grace. In Proces de Jeanne d'Arc, as with all of his films, Bresson imprints his own personal signature. The film is tightly constructed and stripped to the bare essence of the material. Bresson has made only a handful of feature films, yet he is one of the most discussed and revered figures in cinema, creative, original and unique. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Florence Carrez, Gerard Zingg, (more)
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