Shane Briant Movies

In this thriller, a naive young woman travels from Liverpool to London to search for a man willing to sire her child. She meets a perfectly charming fellow and decides that he is the one. Unfortunately, "Mister Perfect" turns out to be a psychotic killer. The film is also titled Til Dawn Do Us Part. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

John Huston directed this cold war spy thriller (from a script by Walter Hill) concerning a British agent trying infiltrate the organization of a nefarious communist spy. Paul Newman is Joseph Reardon, a British secret agent commissioned by Mackintosh (Harry Andrews) to impersonate a jewel thief. When the police are tipped off about his diamond robbery, Reardon is arrested and shipped off to a high-security prison. At the prison, he meets a convicted Russian spy and the two are involved in a prison break, arranged by a mysterious group called the Scarperers. After the successful breakout, Reardon finds himself drugged and sent to Ireland. It turns out that the escapade was organized by Mackintosh in the hopes Reardon could infiltrate the Scarperers and gather information on the group's leader, Sir George Wheeler (James Mason), and prove him to be a Russian spy. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This Dan Curtis made-for-TV effort was the seventh screen version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. This time, newcomer Shane Bryant plays the debauched 19th-century nobleman who makes an unholy pact permitting him eternal youth and good looks. His multitudinous sins--and his actual age--are reflected in his portrait, which Gray keeps locked up in his attic. Nigel Davenport co-stars as Gray's elegantly corrupt mentor Sir Harry Wotton, while future Lou Grant star Linda Kelsey plays Dorian's unwitting sweetheart Beatrice Hallward, niece of the man who painted the cursed portrait. Originally videotaped and then transferred to film, the two-part Picture of Dorian Gray was first telecast April 23 and 24, 1973. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on Quentin Crisp's autobiography, the once-controversial picture The Naked Civil Servant stars John Hurt as Crisp, a flamboyant character who publicly declared his homosexuality during the brutally homophobic and misogynistic England of the 1930s and '40s -- a time when this alternative lifestyle was still an offense punishable by imprisonment in Great Britain. (The man dyed his hair and wore makeup in an era when women were looked on with disapproval for such behavior!) Director Jack Gold handles the material with taste, discretion, and a generous supply of humor; it thus might seem bizarre to a contemporary viewer that anyone could be offended by this, but remember that the world was a different place in 1975. More than a few PBS subscribers threatened to yank their support when this British TV film was first offered to American viewers in the spring of that year. Fortunately, many others were willing to see beyond the film's controversial subject matter and revel in the excellence of the production and its participants; one of the film's biggest and most influential fans was none other than Milton Berle. Carl Davis, best known for his symphonic silent-movie restoration scores, composed the music. Hurt drew equal controversy later that same year for his work in another British drama-turned-PBS special -- when he played the psychotic Caligula in Herbert Wise's epic miniseries I, Claudius. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Hawk the Slayer will appeal most to undiscriminating fans of the sword-and-sorcery genre. The title character, played by John Terry, is on a lifelong quest for "The Power", an enchanted flying sword. Alas, Hawk's evil brother Voltan (Jack Palance) likewise covets The Power. A plethora of violence ensues, culminating in a slow-motion duel to the death between hero and villain. Among Hawk's comrades are a dwarf and an elf, who are "R2D2 and C3PO" in everything except name and appearance. Hardly the best of its kind, Hawk the Slayer is redeemed by the unbridled hamminess of Jack Palance, who seems to be the only one who realizes that the whole affair is to silly to be taken seriously. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This adaptation of D. H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterly's Lover stars Sylvia Kristel as Constance Chatterly, the young wife of an emotionally distant aristocrat in 1910's England, who becomes only less accessible to his spouse when he loses the use of his legs in World War I. He gives her leave to take up a lover, but when Constance turns to the bed of the low-born groundskeeper, Mellors (Nicholas Clay), she not only discovers what passionate lovemaking is really like, but also experiences actual intimacy and love for the first time, leading to a dramatic love triangle, and a bevy of subtext about classism and emotional freedome. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama from New Zealand, Donough Rees plays Constance, a school teacher bored with routine of her daily life. Constance loves movies and sometimes escapes into a rich fantasy life where she's a world-famous screen star. Constance begins trying to bring a bit of the glamour and excitement of her favorite films into her daily life, and she starts acting like her favorite movie stars. However, her continued retreat into a fantasy world has tragic consequences in real life. Constance was the debut feature for writer/director Bruce Morrison. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Anzacs: The War Down Under is a two-part Australian TV movie dramatizing the activities of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). This all-volunteer outfit fought shoulder to shoulder with enlisted men during the First World War. The film concentrates on three Anzacs: An aristocrat (Andrew Clarke), his best friend (Mark Hembrow) and his friend's sister (Megan Williams). Part One details the training of the volunteers, and their first taste of true combat. Part Two details the further activities of the all-volunteer Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS). During the first few months of World War I, aristocratic Anzac Andrew Clarke is wounded, and is urged to go home to convalesce by Megan Williams, the sister of his best friend (Mark Hembrow). Meanwhile, heavy fighting in France has thinned the ranks and battered the morale of the other Anzacs. Featured in the cast as a military man is Paul Hogan. It was Hogan's new-found international stardom in 1986's Crocodile Dundee which sparked the American distribution of Anzacs, two years after its initial 1985 Australian run. The video release is edited from the 10-hour Australian miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An elite Australian cavalry unit attacks the Turkish-held stronghold of Beersheba in this World War I adventure drama. Four friends goes through the trials of battle in this epic $10 million production. The Australians resent being led by the British who continually misuse the cavalry. They conspire to strike out on their own to prove their effectiveness and drive the Turkish hordes from the desert town. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Not to be confused with the Hong Kong-filmed gangster thriller of the same name, the Philippine-produced True Colors is set during World War II. Noni Hazelhurst stars as a Frenchwoman who is appalled by the Nazi takeover of her village. Running up against indifference and collaboration, Noni struggles to rally her neighbors against the invaders. In lieu of a huge budget, director Pina Amenta concentrates on the personal impact of the war, and succeeds admirably. At 160 minutes, however, True Colors could use just a little snip here or there. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Underrated leading man Jeff Fahey carries most of the dramatic weight of the Australian Wrangler. Fahey plays a handsome, athletic businessman who vies for the hand of rancher's daughter Tushika Bergen. Our hero must not only contend with his romantic rival, a dashing but dangerous cattleman (Steven Vidler), but also with a villainous creditor who craves the land left to Bergen by her late father. By nature of its plotline and setting, Wrangler can't help but invite comparisons to the popular The Man From Snowy River. Still, the stars and director Ian Barry keep up the appearances of freshness and originality. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Times had certainly changed since the original Mission:Impossible. First telecast March 18, 1989, as part of the "M:I" revival series, "Spy" guest-stars Shane Briant as Dr. Yuri Nicolai, a KGB colonel --- not the villain of the peace, but instead a new member of the IMF team! The mission: To locate and destroy a chemical-weapons plant being operated in Africa by cashiered British Intelligence agent John Christie (Tim Hughes). Written by Michael Fisher, "Spy" first aired on March 18, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Adapted from the book Garry O'Connor, the two-part Australian TV movie Darlings of the Gods tells the story of the benighted romance between stage and film stars Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Anthony Higgins and Mel Martin look and sound so much like the very famous characters they're playing that the effect is somewhat eerie. This highly fictionalized account charts one year in the stormy Oliver-Leigh marriage. Also appearing are Jerome Ehlers as Peter Finch, Rhys McConnochie as Ralph Richardson, and Shane Briant as Cecil Beaton. Filmed in 1989, part one of Darlings of the Gods was first presented in the US over the A&E cable service on February 21, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi