Ray Burdis Movies

This British TV "dramedy" has been described as "Sex and the City with Men," and allegedly was pitched as such to the BBC2 executives. Each episode dwelt upon the lives of four middle-aged Britishers, who gathered once a week to compare notes at their local sauna. Put simply, the premise was: You may be half a century old in body, but if you're a male you've never really gotten past childhood. The four principal characters were James (Anthony Head), a prosperous, divorced 45-year-old dentist who still doggedly pursued young ladies but was no longer able to "perform" on a regular basis; Terry (Nigel Havers), a divorced stockbroker who had buried himself in his hobbies, specifically fast cars and motorbikes (he also served as the series' narrator); Gary (Ray Burdis), surprisingly still married, who told himself and everyone else that he was happy in his dull, cozy domesticity, but was fooling no one; and the enigmatic, never-married Patrick (Don Warrington), who apparently upheld his lavish lifestyle by selling off his seemingly limitless collection of Beatles memorabilia. Premiering in the U.K. on February 19, 2002, Manchild became an international hit when it was picked up by the BBC America satellite service on April 18 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A man forces his friends to take a long, hard look at themselves in this unconventional British drama. Shortly after the death of Jude (Jude Law), his partner Sadie (Sadie Frost) invites a number of their friends to a wake at her apartment, where they gather to watch footage from a video documentary that Jude had been working on at the time of his death. The guests are shocked to discover that the "documentary" consists of hidden camera footage showing nearly every one of them at their worst. Several of the men are caught snorting cocaine, while another rummages through Sadie's laundry basked for her soiled underwear. Holly (Holly Davidson) takes money from the purse of her friend Lisa (Lisa Marsh), while Holly complains about her unsatisfying sex life with her husband John (John Beckett), who is confined to a wheelchair. John, meanwhile, is caught consorting with a prostitute. Eventually, the long parade of foul images of drug abuse, infidelity, and broken promises concludes with Jude making love with Lisa, which leads to his death at the hands of her husband Ray (Ray Winstone). Final Cut marked the debut of directorial duo Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis, both of whom also act in the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

For his second outing as a director, filmmaker Philip Ridley once again enlisted the talents of Viggo Mortensen, who starred in Ridley's debut, The Reflecting Skin, and co-stars here with Ashley Judd and Brendan Fraser. Fraser plays Darkley Noon, a disturbed young man who received a sheltered upbringing from his strict Christian parents. When the elder Noons pass on, Darkly wanders off aimlessly until he is picked up by a passing truck driver named Jude (Loren Dean). Jude leaves the physically worn Darkly with Callie (Judd) and Clay (Mortensen), a young married couple. As Callie cares for Darkly, he begins to develop romantic and sexual feelings for her, feelings that threaten to turn violent when Darkly is taunted by the love between Callie and Clay. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Peter Medak directed this fact-based drama, chronicling the lives of the infamous Kray Brothers, notorious celebrities in 60s London. The Krays were twin gangsters who ruled London's stylish East End club scene, staking out their territory by committing the most violent crimes imaginable, preferring to perform the most torturous acts themselves. The film stars Gary Kemp and Martin Kemp, founding members of the pop group Spandau Ballet, as Ronald and Reginald Kray. The film opens as their mother Violet Kray (Billie Whitelaw) recalls a dream in which she is a swan from which two beautiful babies have hatched. She can't tell if the swans are angels or demons, but the film soon answers that question for her. Brought up in London's East End in the 1930s, Ronald and Reginald Kray are raised in the resentful world of Violet, who is hateful of her lot in life and bitter at the control men have in running the world ("Housework is a lethal business," she says). The twins react to each other almost telepathically and they take out their anger by clogging the nose of their sleeping father (Alfred Lynch), pushing around fellow schoolboys, and even beating each other to pulp at a boxing match. When her mother chastises them for their fight in a fairground boxing ring ("You fight them up, but you don't fight each other"), the twins veer into the London underworld. In their self-contained world of Us-Against-Them, the Krays rapidly rise to the height of power, first taking over the territory of a petty mobster by violent means and then putting together an underworld empire of posh clubs, cars, and fancy suits. But at the height of their fame, the twins begin to break from each other. Reginald falls in love with Frances (Kate Hardie), while Ronald gets involved in a homosexual relationship with one of his underlings. Ronald, in a jealous rage over Frances stealing his brother away from him, becomes even more brutal in his crimes and while the brothers' backs are turned, a group of older mobsters challenge the Krays' authority, invoking a horrible bloodbath that effects not only the two brothers but Frances and Violet as well. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

A British version of Saturday Night Fever, Music Machine chronicles the travails of a disco dancer's quest to become king of the local dance club. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi