Roland Joffé Movies
Steeped in the traditions of British stage and television, director Roland Joffé has fashioned a career which veers between highbrow, left-leaning historical epics and sexually charged high camp, sometimes within the same film. Born and raised in Manchester, England, Joffé leapt into the theater scene with the Young Vic troupe; after graduating from Manchester University, he found a career with the troupe's counterpart, the aptly named Old Vic. In the late '70s, the director began to dabble in documentary and dramatic television. The journalistic style he developed on the small screen would brilliantly inform his feature debut, The Killing Fields, in 1984. Based upon true accounts of Cambodia's bloody Kahmer Rouge takeover in the mid-'70s, the politically charged film managed to connect with both critics and audiences, winning Academy awards for cinematography, editing, and Best Supporting Actor (the latter for Dr. Haing S. Ngor, who had experienced the injustices of Cambodia firsthand). Joffé followed up on his auspicious debut with The Mission (1986), a tragic story of two disparate but equally disastrous attempts to settle 18th century Latin America. Though the picture got a positive-to-mixed reception from critics, it garnered a boatload of Academy award nominations as well as the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.The director's output since The Mission has been wildly varied in tone and quality. The high-minded, thinly conceived, and unfortunately titled Fat Man and Little Boy was notable only for having the first "grown-up" performance from former teen star John Cusack. 1992's film adaptation of Dominique Lapierre's novel City of Joy seemed a return to form, as it touched upon many of the director's pet themes: culture clashes, the sometimes-disillusioning effects of altruism, and the splendor of nature. While many critics admired Joffé's effort (and the lead performance of an against-type Patrick Swayze), the Calcutta-set film went largely ignored by moviegoers. Unfortunately, Joffé would be far from ignored -- at least by critics -- when he unleashed his "freely adapted" (read "sexed-up") version of The Scarlet Letter on the public in 1995. Garnering an orgy of guffaws from the press ("It makes Hester's secret seem more like Victoria's," wrote Richard Corliss in Time), the flop almost single-handedly destroyed Demi Moore's career.
In 1999, Joffé meekly emerged from his own Hester Prynne-like exile to attempt a hip, youthful neo-noir, Goodbye Lover. As star-studded as it was convoluted, the film (which had languished on Warner Bros.' shelf for some time) received the briefest of releases before its appearance on cable television. Perhaps in a further bid for the coveted youth market, the 54-year-old director also decided that same year to lend his name as executive producer to the MTV network's vapidly explicit teen soap opera Undressed. The one-two punch of Undressed and Lover prompted many to opine that the once-prestigious Joffé had "lost his way."
Those fears were assuaged -- at least thematically -- when the director's lavish costume drama Vatel was chosen to open the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. Starring Gérard Depardieu as the legendary French chef chosen to serve King Louis XIV, the Tom Stoppard-penned film was prepped for a high-profile domestic release that Christmas. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
Ambitious journalist Robert Torres (Dougray Scott) travels from London to Spain in order to research controversial Opus Dei founder Josemaría Escrivá (Charlie Cox) for an upcoming book, but hits a dead end when his secretive father, Manolo (Wes Bentley), refuses to speak as an official source. Later, as Robert searches desperately for the answers, he discovers that his father and Josemaría grew up together in the same town, and forged a powerful friendship while attending seminary school together. But at some point their paths diverged; Manolo went to fight in the Spanish Civil War as Josemaría embraced his faith. When Manolo fell for a stunning revolutionary (Olga Kurylenko) who shunned his affections in favor of a powerful military man (Rodrigo Santoro), his fate was sealed by his uncontrollable rage. But it's never too late to forgive, and now if Manolo can accept the dark truth about his difficult past, he may have one last shot at redemption. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, (more)
Adapted from the novel t.A.T.u. Come Back by Russian authors Aleksey Mitrofanov and Anastasia Moiseeva, director Roland Joffé's You and I (aka Finding t.A.T.u.) follows a lonely American teenager living in Moscow as she bonds with a local girl over their mutual obsession with titular Russian pop duo. Former O.C. actress Mischa Barton co-stars as the Russian girl. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mischa Barton, Shantel VanSanten, (more)
Vatel director Roland Joffé teams with screenwriters Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura to adapt an original story by Cohen concerning a fashion model (Elisha Cuthbert) and her chauffeur, who are kidnapped and held captive by a sadistic serial killer. Jennifer Tree (Cuthbert) is America's sweetheart; a top fashion model and ubiquitous cover girl who is adored by millions, Jennifer possesses all of the wealth and power that comes with being a natural, world-class beauty. Every girl wants to be Jennifer, and every man wants to have her -- one more than all others combined. That man has been lying in wait for precisely the right moment to strike, and when Jennifer makes the fateful mistake of stepping out on her own at a Soho charity event, he finally sees the opportunity to take possession of his most prized object. Drugged, taken, and placed in a cell, where she is forced to endure unspeakable mental and physical torture, Jennifer struggles against her twisted tormentor with every ounce of courage and fight that she has -- but will it be enough for her to endure should her captor continue to maintain the upper hand? A controversial film long before it ever went into wide release, Captivity caused quite a stir when graphic, unapproved ads for the film appeared on billboards and taxicabs in New York and Los Angeles. Though representatives from Captivity's releasing company After Dark Films claimed that the wrong materials were shipped to the printers and put up before they realized what had happened, public outcry was such that the MPAA saw fit to suspend the ratings process for the film. As a result, it quickly became apparent that Captivity would fail to procure an MPAA rating before its original target release date. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, (more)
- 2000
- PG13
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A man hoping to win the favor of a King finds that his heart has gotten in the way in this lavishly-produced comedy-drama. In 1671, the Prince du Conde (Julian Glover) is a figure of French nobility who is deep in debt and suffering from gout. Hoping to buoy his fortunes and his reputation, du Conde wants to win command of the French Army in an anticipated conflict with Holland. When du Conde receives word from the Marquis de Lauzun (Tim Roth) that that King Louis XIV (Julian Sands) wishes to spend three days at his estate, du Conde is determined to pull out all the stops, and he asks Francois Vatel (Gerard Depardieu) to make the arrangements. Vatel is a master chef with a genius for arranging spectacular entertainments, and he is determined that this will be a weekend that the king will always remember. But that's before Vatel meets Anne de Montausier (Uma Thurman), a lovely courtesan traveling with the king's party. Anne is the king's new mistress, but that doesn't stop Vatel from falling in love with her, and he is determined to win her heart. Produced in both English and French language versions, Vatel was chosen to open the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Féodor Atkine, Hywel Bennett, (more)
A darkly comic whodunit about greed, deceit, and romantic deception, Goodbye Lover stars Patricia Arquette as Sandra, a seemingly moral and obsessively cheerful woman who sells real estate and is fascinated by the movie The Sound Of Music. But Sandra has a secret; while she's married to Jake (Dermot Mulroney), an ad executive who is having problems with both his career and his drinking, she's having an affair with his brother, Ben (Don Johnson), a successful public relations man. Ben, on the other hand, is already dallying with Peggy (Mary-Louise Parker), a woman on his staff who is beautiful but insecure, though she has a darker side few people know about. When Ben decides to break it off with Sandra so he can pursue his relationship with Peggy, Sandra is furious, and, knowing Jake would be just as angry, tells him about their affair. A vengeful Jake confronts Ben, which leads to a knock-down, drag-out fight -- and Ben's death, as he falls from a window. Ben leaves behind a hefty insurance settlement, and soon the surviving characters are scrambling over the money. Enter Police Detective Rita Pompano (Ellen DeGeneres), who has seen too much in her time on the force to not develop a deep cynicism about the people she protects -- or to not be tempted to get in on the payday herself. Goodbye Lover was directed by Roland Joffé, in something of a departure from his best-known work in high-minded dramas such as The Killing Fields and The Mission. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, (more)
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel of hypocrisy among America's pilgrims was brought to the screen by director Roland Joffe in this 1995 feature. Demi Moore stars as Hester Prynne, a new arrival to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1666. Prynne, who interacts freely with slaves and Quakers and wears revealing garb, is something of a free thinker and off-putting to the uptight locals. She awaits the arrival of her husband, Roger (Robert Duvall), but he is reported killed. One person who does not find Prynne unsettling is the new preacher, Arthur Dimmesdale (Gary Oldman). A torrid encounter between them produces a child, Pearl, and Hester is condemned by the colony, forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" (for "adultery"). Roger reappears; he had been living with a native tribe -- an experience that has driven him mad. He masquerades as "Roger Chillingsworth," trying to discover the identity of Pearl's father. When Hester is about to be executed, Dimmesdale confesses, but a timely Indian raid intervenes, saving him and Hester. The Scarlet Letter was widely derided by critics for sexualizing and changing Hawthorne's novel to an absurd degree. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, (more)
The huge success of the video games featuring animated Italian plumbers the Mario Brothers led to this $42 million live action movie. The two brothers (Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo) live in Manhattan and are chasing Princess Daisy (Samantha Mathis), who wears a necklace made from a meteor fragment. Its powers can free a race of reptilian creatures from the city's sewers. The villainous ruler of the creatures, who are descendants of dinosaurs, is King Koopa (Dennis Hopper). Koopa has kidnapped Daisy and taken her to the underworld of Dinohattan, which is rat-infested and strewn with garbage. The Mario Brothers must overcome many obstacles, just as they do in video games, to free the princess. The film spares no expense with its use of animatronic monsters and high-tech special effects. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, (more)
In this drama, a wealthy American doctor learns some important lessons about life in one of the poorest cities on Earth. Max Lowe (Patrick Swayze) is a Houston surgeon who has grown weary of the bureaucracy of American medicine. When he loses a patient on the operating table, Max impulsively decides to leave America and travel to India in the hope of "finding himself." Not long after he arrives in Calcutta, Max is attacked by a group of thugs and left without money or a passport. However, a man named Hasari (Om Puri) comes to Max's rescue. Hasari had left his farming community to come to the city, only to be overwhelmed by its dirt, crime, and overcrowding. Despite their poverty, Hasari and his family take Max in and bring him to a medical clinic in the City of Joy, one of the poorest slums in the city. The clinic is run by Joan Bethel (Pauline Collins), an Irish-American nun who urges Max to use his skills to help the people of Calcutta who so desperately need it. Max signs on, and he finds that the experience changes his life. City of Joy was based on a novel by Dominique Lapierre. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Pauline Collins, (more)
"Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were the nicknames given the atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II. This elaborately assembled film is the story of the events leading up to the dawn of the atomic age. Paul Newman plays General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed career soldier who in 1942 finds himself the reluctant "nursemaid" to a group of idealistic scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the military head of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Groves intends to have the operation run by the book--and failing that, to have things his way at all costs. The film's storyline narrows down to a battle of egos between Groves and atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz), in his own way as contentious and childishly single-purposed as the general. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, (more)
Featuring a majestic score by Ennio Morricone and lush Oscar-winning cinematography by Chris Menges, Roland Joffé's The Mission examines the events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, when Spain ceded part of South America to Portugal, and turns this episode into an allegory for the mid-'80s struggles of Latin America. Two European forces are on hand to win the South American natives over to imperialist ways. The plunderers want to extract riches and slaves from the New World. The missionaries, on the other hand, want to convert the Indians to Christianity and win over their souls. Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is an exploiter dabbling in the slave trade. But after he kills his brother Felipe (Aidan Quinn) in a fit of rage, he seeks redemption and calls upon the missionaries to assist him. After repeatedly climbing a cliff with a heavy weight as penance, Mendoza finds redemption and becomes a devout missionary at a settlement run by Gabriel (Jeremy Irons). The missionaries want to promote a new society in which the natives will live together in peace with the Spanish and the Portuguese. But this concept frightens the royal governors, who would rather enslave the natives than encourage peaceful coexistence between the Europeans and the Indians. They order the mission to be burned to the ground. But this event causes a rift between Gabriel, who wants to pray and pursue peaceful resistance, and Mendoza, who wants to take up arms and fight the Europeans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, (more)
The Killing Fields is a romanticized adaptation of an eyewitness magazine story by New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg. Covering the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975, Schanberg (Sam Waterston) relies on his Cambodian friend and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) for inside information. Schanberg has an opportunity to rescue Dith Pran when the U.S. army evacuates all Cambodian citizens; instead, the reporter coerces his friend to remain behind to continue sending him news flashes. Although his family is helicoptered out of Saigon (a recreation of the famous TV news clip), Dith Pran stays with Schanberg on the ground. Racked with guilt, Schanberg does his best to arrange for Dith Pran's escape, but the Cambodian is captured by the dreaded Khmer Rouge. Accepting his Pulitzer Prize on behalf of Dith Pran, Schanberg vows to do right by his friend and extricate him from Cambodia. The rest of the film details Dith Pran's harrowing experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and his attempt to escape on his own. The Killing Fields won Academy Awards for Hang S. Ngor (a Cambodian doctor who lived through many of the horrific events depicted herein), cinematographer Chris Menges, and editor Jim Clark; an Oscar nomination went to Roland Joffe, who made his directorial debut with this film. Spalding Gray, who played a small role in the film, later elaborated on this experiences in his one-man stage presentation Swimming to Cambodia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, (more)
- 1975
Previously filmed by director Carol Reed in 1939, A.J. Cronin's Depression-era novel The Stars Look Down served as the basis for this 13-part, 13-hour British miniseries. The story took place in a poverty-stricken village in the North East, which relied upon the local coal mines and fisheries for its meager income. Ian Hastings headed the cast as David Fenwick, the son of a mining family, whose chances to escape his grimy surroundings were compromised by a number of highly dramatic complications -- and, ultimately, by his own conscience and sense of duty. Also in the cast was Alun Armstrong, making a meal of his role as all-purpose villain Joe Gowan. The Stars Look Down was broadcast by Granada Television from September 4 to November 27, 1975. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
The British drama series Sam covered nearly a two-decade time span, from the early '30s to the late '40s. After the death of his father, young Sam Wilson (played as a child by Kevin Moreton) and his mother moved in with their grandparents in a grimy Yorkshire mining town. The series followed Sam into adulthood, with future Taggart star Mark McManus taking over from Kevin Moreton during the second season. Presented by Granada Television, Sam was broadcast from 1973 to 1975, yielding 39 hour-long episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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