Barry Hanson Movies
When a London modeling agency booker dozes off while waiting for the midnight subway train, the subterranean terror that awaits her in the underground tunnels will send her screaming for her life through a dark labyrinth in this horror entry directed by Christopher Smith and starring Run Lola Run's Franka Potente. Awakening to discover that the midnight train has passed and she is locked in the station, Kate (Potente) reluctantly steps onto a mysterious empty train for a ride she will not soon forget. As the train grinds to a stop in the pitch black tunnels of the London Underground, Kate realizes that she is not alone in the darkness and if she has any hope of surviving until dawn she'll have to fight for her life against an unimaginable horror too terrifying for the light of day. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franka Potente
Another of writer/director Ken Russell's D.H. Lawrence adaptations, Lady Chatterley (an amalgam of three Lawrence novels) was first shown as a British TV miniseries on BBC1 from June 6 to 27, 1993. In recounting the familiar details of young, bored Lady Chatterley (Joely Richardson), her elderly, infirm husband (James Wilby), and her hot-blooded stable-groom lover, Manners (Sean Bean), Russell took the opportunity to both celebrate and savage the British upper classes of the 1920s. One brief sequence of full frontal nudity caused a minor scandal in Britain, though by Ken Russell standards the scene was a model of taste and decorum. After its initial TV run, Lady Chatterley was edited down from 220 to 110 minutes and released theatrically in the United States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joely Richardson, Sean Bean, (more)
- 1992
Created by Harry Robertson and Brian Degas, the British series Virtual Murder took an intellectual approach to the standard cops-and-robbers business. The main character was criminal psychologist Dr. John Cornelius (Nicholas Clay), who relied upon brain rather than brawn and educated guesses rather than cold hard facts to solve all sorts of baffling murders. Also appearing was Kim Thomson as Cornelius' trusty aide, Samantha Valentine. The six 50-minute episodes of Virtual Murder were telecast from July 24 to August 28, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Clay, Kim Thomson, (more)
- 1987
The three-part British miniseries Lost Belongings was set in Belfast during the early 1980s. Catherine Brennan and Gerard O'Hare starred respectively as Deidre and Niall. In the midst of the violent political and religious conflict exploding all around them, the two protagonists somehow managed to fall in love. Cowritten and directed by the busy Tony Bicat, Lost Belongings originally aired over Britain's Channel 4 in 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
In a charming tale about the spirit of Christmas giving, Nigel Playfayre (Peter Chelsom) is a callous investment manager somewhere in the middle cogs of a bank who is charged with delivering the Christmas turkey to an impoverished London family. On his reluctant way to fulfill his onerous obligation, he loses the address. From there on in, the story is of Nigel's slowly changing attitude as he meets one hardship case after another, searching for his destination in a low-income housing project. Meanwhile, the boy who finds the address has his own story to tell. And who is that couple riding around on a donkey, looking for an inn that will give them shelter on this Christmas Eve? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Chelsom, Bill Fraser, (more)
In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones, (more)
- 1983
In this standard story about a father searching for his missing teenage daughter long after others have given up, there are a few subplots, such as a woman looking for her own missing son, but attention focuses on the father's search. When he does find his daughter safe and sound -- working in a car rental office -- he cannot believe she just ran away and does not want to come home. After their initial encounter, the question of why she left in the first place is raised for the first time. Given that this film doggedly moves in a steady pace from one scene to the next, excitement is also a missing entity here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Fox, Jane Asher, (more)
- 1983
The "Bloody" in Bloody Kids is meant in both its scatological in literal sense. Two restless teens (Derrick O'Connor and Gary Holton) from the South End of London go on a Saturday-night spree. When girls and booze lose their appeal, the boys add murder to their itinerary. A surreal, high-energy film about life and death on the streets, the film has some intelligent social criticism, but its ultra-violent subject matter and unusual visual style caused controversy. The most noteworthy aspect of Bloody Kids may well be its treatment upon release. Considered too bloody for British theatrical exposure, the film went directly to television -- an intriguing reversal of the American procedure. Bloody Kids was director Stephen Frears' second feature, foreshadowing his later highly acclaimed The Grifters which also featured grim subject matter but with classic film-noir grace and sensibility, a sensibility lacking in Bloody Kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
John Mackenzie's masterfully directed British crime drama features a star-making performance by Bob Hoskins as Harold Shand, a successful London gangster whose world falls apart over the course of one weekend. Shand controls the London docks and is planning a big real estate deal, financed by money from the American mob and given the okay by the London organization. His world is sweet -- he lives in a fancy penthouse, he owns a yacht, and has a sensitive and intelligent mistress. But suddenly a bomb explodes inside his Rolls Royce, another bomb destroys a pub he owns, and a third is found inside his casino. Shand can't understand who would suddenly want him dead, particularly over the Easter weekend, when representatives from the American mafia are coming into town to discuss investing in Shands's real estate project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, (more)
