Tony Grisoni Movies
- 2009
The Red Riding Trilogy continues in this sequel that picks up six years after the events of the first film. The Yorkshire Ripper is continuing to prey on the young women of a dead-end town, and the local police have proven completely ineffective in solving the crimes. When Manchester detective Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) arrives in Yorkshire to investigate, he discovers a number of inconsistencies in the official report, and begins to suspect foul play. Unfortunately for both Detective Hunter and the growing list of victims, the local police seem unusually tight-lipped about the case. Perhaps their refusal to aid Detective Hunter in his investigation has something to do with his previous visit to Yorkshire in 1974, when he rubbed the local authorities the wrong way while investigating a shooting. As Detective Hunter delves deeper into the case, it becomes increasingly obvious that incompetence isn't likely to blame for the lack of progress made by Yorkshire police. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jim Carter, Warren Clarke, (more)
- 2009
The first installment of the Red Riding Trilogy, 1974 follows rookie newspaper crime correspondent Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) as he encounters police corruption while investigating a chilling series of child abductions in Yorkshire, England. Adapted from British author David Pease's best-selling series of crime novels centering on the mystery of the Yorkshire Ripper, 1974 was quickly followed by 1980 (directed by James Marsh), and 1983 (directed by Anand Tucker). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Bean, Cathryn Bradshaw, (more)
- 2009
The Red Riding Trilogy draws to a close in this installment that finds Detective Chief Superintendent Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey) realizing that the Yorkshire Ripper may still be at large, despite the fact that someone has already been convicted of the heinous crimes. When a young girl is abducted in an incident that bears a chilling resemblance to the crimes of the Yorkshire Ripper, Chief Superintendent Jobson is forced to consider the possibility that he helped to put the wrong man behind bars. Meanwhile, local solicitor John Piggott (Mark Addy) stumbles onto evidence of a massive cover up, and wages a one-man mission to uncover the truth. Adapted from British author David Pease's best-selling series of crime novels centering on the mystery of the Yorkshire Ripper. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2009
11 year old Lucy (Molly Windsor) becomes a ward of the state, and copes with the hardships of being lost in a cruel and uncaring system. Now safe from her abusive father (Robert Carlyle), Lucy bonds with her defiant teenage roommate Lauren (Lauren Socha) and falls back on her faith in the Holy Spirit in the fight to persevere. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Molly Windsor, Robert Carlyle, (more)
- 2009
This most unusual film project from Britain - which clocks in at just over 5 ½ hours - actually consists of three separate features, each by a different director and done in a unique style, recounting the search for the notorious Yorkshire Ripper - a serial killer who terrorized the female population of Yorkshire, England on and off between the mid-1970s and the very early 1980s. Screenwriter Tony Grisoni and directors Julian Jarrold (1974), James Marsh (1980) and Anand Tucker (1983) shape the material into an epic chronicle not simply about the Ripper, but about the depravity that lurks on all levels of society, turning up most potently in the interworkings of law enforcement, big business, clergy and organized crime. The trilogy originally aired on Britain's Channel Four network, but received a theatrical and on-demand release in the United States courtesy of IFC Films. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
My Brilliant Career and Oscar and Lucinda director Gillian Armstrong explores the final feat of the greatest illusionist ever to deceive a live audience in this docudrama concerning Harry Houdini's obsessive quest to find proof of an afterlife. The year is 1926, and Houdini (Guy Pearce) is an international superstar. Not only does the illusionist's otherworldly ability to bend reality hold audiences completely enthralled, but his easy charm finds him winning the hearts of his growing legion of fans as well. Yet behind Houdini's winning smile resides the restless heart of a tortured soul. Isolated by fame and drowning in regret over having not been present to hear his mother's last words, Houdini sets out in tour of Scotland and announces that he will pay 10,000 dollars to anyone who can prove spiritual contact with his deceased mother. But in his determination to prove that there is life after death, Houdini also becomes the target of countless charlatans, scam artists, and self-proclaimed spiritualists. Of course, stunning psychic Mary McGregor (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her daughter/sidekick, Benji (Saoirse Ronan), seem remarkably sincere in their supernatural talents, yet that doesn't mean that the pair doesn't have their own ulterior motives for making a connection with the world-famous magic man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
Brothers of the Head was adapted from Brian Aldiss' novel by screenwriter Tony Grisoni, and marks the narrative feature debut of Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (Lost in La Mancha), who have structured Aldiss' story as a mock documentary. Twins Luke and Harry Treadaway star, respectively, as conjoined twins Barry and Tom Howe, joined at the torso. They were essentially purchased from their family as teens in the 1970s by a sleazy showbiz impresario, Zak Bedderwick (Howard Attfield), who planned to turn them into rock stars. Manager Nick (Sean Harris) kept the volatile Barry in line, sometimes violently, while musician Paul (Bryan Dick) taught the introspective Tom how to play the guitar, and helped the brothers write their songs. A documentary filmmaker, Eddie (Tom Bower), was hired to record the process. Their first live performance was a near disaster, as the rowdy pub crowd didn't welcome the sight of the two young men coming on-stage with their arms around each other, but Barry, the charismatically angry frontman, shocked the crowd by exposing the joint between them as he ripped into a snarling performance of their first single, "Two-Way Romeo," and the legend of their group, the Bang Bang, was born. As the proto-punk group's fame grew, Laura (Tania Emery), a young journalist, came to write an article about them, and quickly developed a romantic relationship with Tom, causing friction between the brothers. The film features interviews with some of the characters in the present day, and clips from an imagined unfinished Ken Russell film about the twins, starring Jonathan Pryce and Jane Horrocks. The music of the Bang Bang, performed by cast members and the band Crackout, was written and produced by Clive Langer. Brothers of the Head was shown at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway, (more)
- 2006
The Lives of the Saints embodies the first cinematic collaboration between the acclaimed, London-based still photographer-turned-director Rankin, co-helmer Chris Cottam, and veteran scenarist Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). This parable, heavily laden with doses of magic realism and dark humor, unfurls on the gritty streets of North London, where kingpin Mr. Karva (James Cosmo) runs a series of rackets with the assistance of a lightning-paced courier known as Roadrunner (Daon Broni). In time, Karva is due for replacement, and either his stepson, Othello (David Leon), or his not-too-bright partner, Emilio (Bronson Webb), will usurp the throne. Meanwhile, Roadrunner happens upon a Wild Child-like character in the park (Sam MacLintock) who somehow wills him to stop moving for the first occasion in his life. This animal-like boy manages to actualize the wishes of everyone he encounters, but some object to his innate magical abilities, and eventually, tragedy materializes -- which unveils the potential casualties inherent in receiving everything we ask for. Gillian Kearney and Marc Warren co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Cosmo, David Leon, (more)
Following the death of her drug-addicted mother, a whimsical young girl follows her chemically dependent father to a remote prairie house to discover a wondrous world of magical fireflies and nocturnal bog men in this hallucinatory childhood fantasy from visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam. Noah (Jeff Bridges) is a burnt-out rock star whose post-superstar voyage to obscurity is hastened by a serious drug addiction that is also shared with his wild-eyed wife (Jennifer Tilly). When the Noah's increasingly erratic wife suffers a fatal overdose, the faded rock star opts to escape the painful reality by retreating to a ramshackle remote home with his young daughter, Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland). Left to her own devices as her father stumbles about the grasslands in a drug-induced haze, Jeliza-Rose soon ventures into her own fantasy land before making the acquaintance of mentally challenged youth Dickens (Brendan Fletcher). As the two become fast friends and Jeliza-Rose joins the swimsuit-clad Dickens in defeating the menacing shark that traverses the nearby railways, the pair are watched over by Dickens' black-clad sister, Dell (Janet McTeer), who acts as Dickens' guardian and whose overly enthusiastic interest in the art of taxidermy borders on obsessive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jodelle Ferland, Janet McTeer, (more)
Prolific British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom adds to his impressively diverse oeuvre with this harrowing account of two Afghan refugees' passage to the West in search of a better life. The movie opens at a refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, where Afghans have sought refuge in the wake of the U.S. military campaign in their country following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The story follows Jamal, an orphaned teenager, and Enayat, his older companion, as they make their way from Pakistan to London. Traveling in the back of trucks, by bus, and on foot, the two cross Central Asia in an arduous journey punctuated by encounters with hostile border guards and shady smugglers. Even more traumatic is the ocean voyage from Turkey to Italy, during which Jamal and Enayat are forced to hide in a shipping container with other asylum seekers, including a terrified infant. Winterbottom shot the movie vérité-style on digital video, and the smudgy look and quick cutting betray the movie's guerrilla roots. Enhancing its raw veneer is Winterbottom's reliance on improvised dialogue and non-actors. A stirring work of advocacy, this flawed but wrenching film won the Golden Bear at the 2003 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Elbert Ventura, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jamal Udin Torabi, Enayatullah, (more)
For years, one of filmmaker Terry Gilliam's great dreams was to make a screen adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's classic tale Don Quixote, and in 2000 it looked as if his dream was to become a reality. In collaboration with Tony Grisoni, Gilliam had written a script called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, in which a 20th century advertising man accidentally travels back in time and is mistaken by Don Quixote for his faithful companion, Sancho Panza. After ten years of shopping the project to American studios with no success, Gilliam and his producers had secured financing for the film from a consortium of European sources, and Johnny Depp had been cast as the time-tripping adman, with the venerable French actor Jean Rochefort as Don Quixote. However, as the production moved closer to its start date, more and more things began to go wrong -- contracts went unsigned, key cast and crew members had not yet arrived, and the carefully prepared budget seemed stressed to the breaking point. Nevertheless, Gilliam soldiered on, but after a mere six days of shooting, during which Spanish Air Force jets ruined several takes, flash floods destroyed several sets, and Gilliam struggled to keep his dream afloat, Rochefort suffered a severe back injury. The film's financiers decided to cash in their chips and pulled the plug in order to cash in on their insurance, though Gilliam struggled for months afterward to find a way to put the production back on track. Documentary filmmakers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe had been invited by Gilliam to make a film about the production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and after shooting 80 hours of footage of the chaotic pre-production process as well as the aborted shooting schedule, they instead created Lost In La Mancha, a look at the "un-making" of the film, which along with the story of the project's brief rise and messy collapse, featured a look at several completed scenes from the film, as well as animated versions of the film's storyboards which offered a glimpse of the look and scale of the film Gilliam was attempting to create. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bernard Bouix, René Cleitman, (more)
- 1998
- R
- Add Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Queue Add Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to top of Queue
Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, The Fisher King) directed this colorful, stylized, pseudo-psychedelic $21-million adaptation of the 1971 Hunter S. Thompson classic, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey into the Heart of the American Dream, about stoned sportswriter Raoul Duke, Thompson's alter ego, on a wild drug-crazed road trip, a paranoid plummet into the belly of the beast, with his pal, lawyer Oscar Zeta Acosta. Originally serialized in Rolling Stone (November 1971), the book catapulted Thompson headfirst toward the Kerouac-Mailer-Capote pantheon and jump-started the entire movement of "gonzo journalism." Carrying a suitcase of drugs, Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp with shaved pate) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) drive a red convertible across the Mojave from L.A. to Vegas, where Duke has an assignment to cover the Mint 400 desert motorcycle race. As the drugs kick in, Duke ventures into voiceover, filling in the blank spots and narrative gaps. "This is not a good town for psychedelic drugs," says Duke, but even so, they consume vast quantities, eventually escalating to ether. Duke notes that with ether "you can actually watch yourself behaving this terrible way, but you can't control it." The two trash their hotel room, and Gonzo goes back to L.A. Thinking the hotel room holocaust will lead to an arrest, Duke begins a drive back to L.A., but after an odd encounter with a highway patrolman (Gary Busey) and a telephone conversation with Gonzo, he returns to Vegas to cover the District Attorney Convention on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the glitzy Flamingo Hotel. This time the drugged-out duo trash their Flamingo room. The crazed carnival atmosphere segues into a carney casino, Bazooko's Circus, where a barker (Penn Jillette) spiels amid aerialists, clowns, and a rotating carousel bar. Gonzo worries over runaway teen Lucy (Christina Ricci), who paints portraits of Barbra Streisand. Soon the hallucinations begin: Duke sees Gonzo transmogrify into a demon with breasts on its back, and an acid vision of a Vegas bar features large legit lounge lizards (courtesy of monster makeup man Rob Bottin). Flashbacks depicting Duke's intro to the drug scene jump back to love-Haight relationships in San Francisco's Summer of Love. Cameos and guest stars include Mark Harmon, Cameron Diaz, Flea, Lyle Lovett, Harry Dean Stanton, Ellen Barkin, Tobey Maguire, and Hunter S. Thompson himself. The film features a Geffen Records soundtrack mixing rock of the period with Vegas lounge tunes. Over the years, various script adaptations came and went as did numerous talents; people connected with past efforts to film Thompson's book include Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and writer-director Alex Cox. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, (more)
A young boy learns a grownup's lesson in survival in this dramatic adventure. Alex (Jordan Kiziuk) is an 11-year-old boy who is living with his father Stefan (Patrick Bergin) and Uncle Boruch (Jack Warden) in a Jewish ghetto in Poland during WWII. While Alex has been able to hold onto some shards of his childhood innocence, he's all too aware of the dangers all around him, and his father has gone so far as to teach him how to use a gun for his own protection once the inevitable tragedy occurs. When Nazi troops begin clearing the Poles from the ghetto, Stefan tells his son to hide, and leaves him with the words, "No matter what happens, I will come back for you." Alex follows his fathers instruction to the letter; he makes a hiding place for himself in the loft of an old building, which he's able to furnish and can access with a rope ladder, while keeping a pet mouse who not only keeps him company but helps him find precious caches of food. With his favorite book, The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, as his guide, Alex tries to outrun and outmaneuver the Nazi soldiers as he patiently waits for his father to make good on his promise. The Island on Bird Street was a multiple award-winner in its screenings at the 1997 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Bergin, Jordan Kiziuk, (more)
- 1992
When Caroline (Kim Cattrall) begins to have nightmares and visions of her twin sister Lisa's watery demise, she rushes to London to try to reach her sister before it is too late. As she searches for her sister, Caroline begins to discover that her twin's life is more dangerous and desultory than she had imagined. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1989
- PG
The Queen of Hearts is an essentially Italian story given full and proper treatment by a virtually all-British crew. Anita Zagaria plays a lovely Italian lass, consigned to an arranged marriage with a wealthy Sicilian man. She balks at the altar and runs off, while the jilted bridegroom swears revenge. She marries another Italian (Joseph Long), and together they set up the quaint "Lucky Cafe" in the middle of London. Though the family vendetta that results from this union has its unfortunate consequences, there are quite a few laughs along the way as well. The Queen of Hearts was directed by Jon Amiel, best known for his handling of the quirky TV serial The Singing Detective. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vittorio Duse, Joseph Long, (more)
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