John Du Prez Movies

A pair of stepsiblings are torn between desire and suspicion in this sexy thriller. Scott Doherty (Adam Garcia) is a young man in his early twenties who is still coming to terms with the unexpected death of his father (James Naughton) when he learns that his mother, Maureen (Jacqueline Bisset), is engaged to marry Oliver Vance (Stuart Wilson). Scott doesn't approve of the marriage, and he soon learns Oliver's daughter Kelly (Alice Evans), also in her early twenties, has similar misgivings, primarily because Oliver also just recently lost his spouse. As Scott and Kelly get to know one another, they begin to wonder if the recent deaths that made the marriage of Maureen and Oliver possible were entirely accidental, though their feelings become far more complicated when they enter into a passionate affair. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Former Monty Python members Terry Jones, Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Michael Palin were reunited by director Jones for this live-action adaptation of the 1908 children's fantasy classic by Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932). The actors have only slight physical changes to suggest animal characteristics, plus tails protruding from their Edwardian-style costumes. In pre-WW I England, fascist Weasels prowl the countryside, forcing modest Mole (Steve Coogan) from his underground home after the Weasels acquire the meadow from wealthy, waddling Mr. Toad (Jones). Toad's inheritance is leaking away because of his fascination with the recently invented motorcar. After Mole takes shelter with refined Rat (Idle), the two set out for Toad's cavernous mansion. Toad crashes into another vehicle, but unfortunately, his attorney (Cleese) has nothing nice to say in Toad's defense. Toad's behavior in court prompts the judge (Stephen Fry) to give him a century-long jail sentence. Rat and Mole plan to spring Toad with the help of the hibernating Badger (Nicol Williamson), but Toad simultaneously puts his own escape plan into motion. Back at Toad Hall, the Weasels construct a dog-food factory and intend to destroy the main house by blowing it up-so the threatened animals make plans to retake Toad Hall.

Crew members who worked on past Python films include James Acheson (production/costume design) and John Du Prez (original music and songs). Lawrence Van Gelder (New York Times) reviewed, "The Wind in the Willows, brimming with verbal and visual wit and imagination, driven by high adventure, reveling in English eccentricity, enlivened by bursts of song, unafraid of ideas and filled with color and splendid performances, exposes most other movies intended to attract children as out-and-out pap." This film should not be confused with the 1996 animated adaptation which also has Michael Palin in the cast. Filmed at Burnham Beeches (in Buckinghamshire, England). Other earlier versions: the second half of Disney's animated The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949); live-action by the Minneapolis Children's Theatre (1983); stop-motion animation for British TV (1983); 1982 stop-motion animation by John Semper (Spider-Man); and Rankin-Bass animation for U.S. TV (1987). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This third film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series finds the half-shelled ninjas traveling back in time to 17th-century Japan in order to save April O'Neil (Paige Turco). Once there, they also use their skills to help a rebel army battle an evil leader. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

In this black teen comedy, a young man is thrilled that his kindly older brother has arranged for him to date the bombshell next door. To further impress her, little brother takes his sibling's shiny sports car. If he had known that there were a pair of corpses in the trunk though, the youth may have changed his mind. Matters get really messy when the cops pull him over and check out the trunk themselves. Soon he and his date find themselves pursued by the police, the tong and an irate florist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A hectic caper flick with farcical overtones, Bullseye! doesn't quite hit the....oh, you know. Government scientist Michael Caine and his titled pal Roger Moore plan to auction off a cold fusion formula to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, a pair of con artists-also played by Caine and Moore-impersonate the scientist and his friends in hopes of getting a piece of the action. This leads to an unending supply of comic complications, deadly encounters, wacky recurring characters and Sennett-style chases. Is louder and faster really funnier? You be the judge (but you'll have to catch the film on home video, since it never received a US theatrical release). Roger Moore's real-life daughter Deborah Barrymore shows up as a CIA agent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In A Fish Called Wanda, Jamie Lee Curtis plays an ambitious con artist who uses every ounce of her sexual wiles to obtain a fortune in jewels stolen by her gangster lover Tom Georgeson. First, she romances Georgeson's dimwitted but deadly henchman Kevin Kline (who won an Academy Award for his performance). Then, to clear the path for her getaway with Kline, Jamie woos Georgeson's starched-shirt attorney, John Cleese -- and it's Cleese whom she genuinely falls in love with. Michael Palin, Cleese's former Monty Python cohort, plays a stuttering mob flunkey who continually messes up his one big assignment: killing a little old lady (it isn't that he has any qualms about knocking off the old dear; it's just that her pet dogs keep getting in the way). A Fish Called Wanda was scripted by star John Cleese. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This comedy was inspired by the true story of Cynthia Payne, a former waitress who gained fame as England's best-known (and best-liked) madame. Christine Painter (Julie Walters) is a working-class single mother who sub-leases a few inexpensive flats as a way of bringing in extra money. Christine has no particular interest in selling her body, but when she finds herself in a tight spot financially -- and notices that the prostitutes who rent her apartments are the only ones who consistently pay on time -- she decides to open a brothel. With the help of Shirley (Shirley Stelfox), an experienced prostie, and Morton (Alec McCowen), a former RAF commander with a fondness for women's undergarments, Christine opens a little place where elderly businessmen can indulge their fondness for kinky lingerie and being spanked by younger women. Soon Christine's business is booming and everyone is happy -- until the police pay her a visit. Personal Services was directed by Terry Jones, best known as a member of the Monty Python troupe; the real-life Cynthia Payne served as a technical advisor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Love With a Perfect Stranger was the first of a series of made-for-cable movies based on the Harlequin Romance novels. Fabulously wealthy widow Marilu Henner falls for mysterious Irishman Daniel Massey the moment she spots him on a Florence-bound train. All she knows about Massey is that he lives in sumptuous fashion, and that he insists that she give up her business interests to marry him. If you're familiar with the Harlequin formula, you know where this is going. However, if we didn't tell you here, you might not know that the film was directed by Desmond Davis; for reasons of his own, Davis had his name removed from the credits. Adapted from a novel by Pamela Wallace, Love With a Perfect Stranger debuted over the Showtime cable service on October 12, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is an uneven modern remake of A Yank at Oxford (1938) from writer-director Robert Boris, the man behind such diverse earlier productions as Some Kind of Hero (1981) and Doctor Detroit (1983). Rob Lowe stars as Nick Di Angelo, an American hustler and parking attendant in Las Vegas who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful, classy British woman, Lady Victoria (Amanda Pays). He follows her back to England and learns that she is a student at the prestigious Oxford University. Intent on wooing the object of his affection despite their obviously different locations in the social strata, Nick manages to finagle his way into an admission at the school by paying a computer hacker for some illegal tampering. With his arrogant manner and self-centered worldview, Nick quickly offends nearly everyone he encounters, except fellow American expatriate Rona (Ally Sheedy), who becomes his only friend. Nick also secures a spot on the rowing team, an experience that builds his character. A typical example of the mid-'80s "Rat Pack" film, Oxford Blues featured a soundtrack with several forgettable rock songs written expressly for the movie, interjected at intervals into the narrative through music video-style sequences. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Eight British women sign up for a week-long survival course. They hope to counter their boredom with life by sweating through a regimen of cliff-climbing and rope-pulling in Britain's Lake district. In between, the ladies discuss their sex lives, with the best lines going to Julie Walters as she rambles on about her three years' abstention from sex. The other actress, who haven't scaled the same professional heights as Ms. Walters since 1984, include Jane Evers, Janet Henfrey, Paula Jacobs, Penelope Nice, Maureen O'Brien and Alyson Spiro. She'll Be Wearing Pink Pajamas was written, apparently from first-hand experience, by Eva Hardy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Plot is a secondary consideration in this partially successful, partially failed take-off on the Bulldog Drummond series of the 1930s. "Bullshot" Crummond (Alan Shearman) is a square-jawed hero of World War I who longs to face off against his German arch-nemesis Count Otto von Bruno (Ron House) one more time. He gets his chance when he must save Rosemary Fenton (Diz White), a damsel in distress -- her father made a top-secret discovery before he died and Count von Bruno wants that secret for himself, no matter what happens to the good Rosemary. As the hijinks unfold inside the requisite Sinister Mansion (Bullshot fights a giant octopus and leaps onto a plane in mid-air as the action reaches a crescendo), caricature, and zany anarchy provide the humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide