Robert Knights Movies
- 2000
In this two-part miniseries pilot for the British cop show of the same name, Trevor Eve starred as Detective Chief Inspector Peter Boyd of the "Cold Case" squad. On this occasion, Boyd dogged the trail of a serial killer who preyed on schoolgirls. Reopening an unsolved murder case, Boyd hoped to use the evidence at hand to catch the elusive murderer, who seemed to be repeating his familiar pattern after five years of inactivity. This particular investigation ended up taking a great personal toll, not only on the relatives of the victims but also on Boyd and his family. Waking the Dead originally aired on September 4 and 5, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Trevor Eve, Sam Loggin, (more)
- 1998
Between the two World Wars, the British Fascist movement was spearheaded by the high-born but low-principled Oswald Mosley. In this four-part miniseries, Jonathan Cake starred as Mosley, with Jemma Redgrave as his beleaguered first wife Cynthia. The miniseries, paradoxically scripted by a famous team of British sitcom writers, focused as much on Mosley's serial philandering as it did on his political activities, meaning that for every re-creation of a Mosley fascist rally, there was a steamy bedroom scene, usually enacted in the nude. Mosley debuted over Britain's Channel 4 on February 12, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
The title character in this three-part British miniseries was handsome tennis player Lysander Hawkley, played by Stephen Billington. Lysander regarded it as his mission in life to "repair" the marriages of unhappy wealthy couples. To do this, of course, it was necessary to romance the wives in question so as to arouse the latent jealousy of the husbands -- who, as it generally turned out, were even less faithful than their drifting spouses. Adapted from a novel by Jilly Cooper, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous was presented by Anglia Television in 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Created by John Cleese of Monty Python fame, the twice-weekly TV series Look at the State We're In was a hilariously satirical spin on the British judicial and legislative system. Cleese was joined by a stellar cast of British comic talents in the series' six 25-minute episodes, which skewered such topics as bureaucracy, "good old boy" favoritism, the fallacy of open public debate, and the dirty little secrets locked up within governmental walls. The series was shown by BBC2 from May 20 to June 4, 1995, with an additional 45-minute "special" telecast on June 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 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, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Originally aired on the Masterpiece Theatre television series and set in Great Britain towards the end of WW II, this romantic drama chronicles the sacrifices made by a blue-collar woman and her family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Watt, Phyllis Logan, (more)
A young woman in her late teens is caught up in the political unrest of Southern Ireland in the 1920s in this drama that features an excellent cast. Nancy (Rebecca Pidgeon) befriends the pistol packing stranger she dubs Cassius (Anthony Hopkins) while he hides in a beach hut. He talks the naive Nancy into delivering a message to Dublin. There she meets Joe Mulhare (Mark O'Regan) and befriends the recipient of the message. Only when she witnesses the shooting deaths of 12 British officers does she realize the content of the lethal message. After the shootings, Nancy rushes to try and warn Cassius about the military police who are closing in on him. Trevor Howard is the old army officer and grandfather in his last screen role, with Jean Simmons as Aunt Mary. Watch for Hugh Grant as Harry, the stuffed shirt on whom Nancy has a huge crush. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Rebecca Pidgeon, (more)
- 1987
Author Tom Sharpe's outrageous best-seller about the power struggle that emerges when the dean of a Cambridge University dies before naming his successor gets the big screen treatment in director Robert Knights' four-part comedy. Porterhouse College is an institute of higher education steeped in five hundred-years of tradition, so when the Head Master passes away and his reform-minded replacement Sir Godber Evans (Ian Richardson) arrives to take his place the staff is outraged. Head Porter Skullion (David Jason) in particular seems hell-bent on subverting Sir Evans' every decree. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Jason, Ian Richardson, (more)
- 1986
When a workaholic businessman needs to be married to maintain a good image, he asks a woman to pose as his wife. The film is a British production originally made for The Romance Theatre. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In one of his last film appearances, Laurence Olivier portrays an elderly painter who has locked himself away from the world in a crumbling French chateau. Olivier is not quite a hermit; he enjoys the attentions of two nubile admirers, played by Greta Scacchi and Toyah Willcox. This situation is disturbed by the arrival of young transient Roger Rees. Ebony Tower was based on a novel by John Fowles, who has made a career of creating enigmatic characters trapped in prisons of their own making. The film was originally produced for British television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
First filmed theatrically in 1962, F. Scott Fitzgerald's final novel, Tender Is the Night, was given a lavish (seven million dollars) treatment in this British-Australian-American miniseries version. Set in Europe's waning days of the Roaring Twenties, the plot focused upon the tempestuous marriage between jaded psychiatrist Dick Diver (Peter Strauss) and the beautiful, schizophrenic socialite Nicole Warren (Mary Steenburgen). An international cast did an excellent job impersonating the "Lost Generation" for which Fitzgerald was the principal spokesman (the author was himself all but burned out by the time the original novel was published, and his desperation oozes through every page). The script, by the iconoclastic Dennis Potter (Pennies From Heaven, The Singing Detective), was based upon the 1951 "chronologically re-edited" version of the novel prepared by Malcolm Cowley. First broadcast by Britain's BBC2 in six 55-minute installments from September 23 to October 28, 1985, Tender Is the Night subsequently aired in a five-part version (albeit unedited) over America's Showtime network from October 27 to November 26, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
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A hit with the critics when it first premiered on PBS back in the late 1970s, Frederic Raphael's six-part miniseries details the hopes and fears of an entire generation by following a group of friends who first meet while studying at the esteemed Cambridge University in the 1950s. Later, as the 1950s give way to the turbulent 1960s and the hedonistic 1970s, the once idealistic students find themselves struggling with emotional disillusionment as they attempt to find success on their own terms. Tom Conti and Barbara Kellerman star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Conti, Barbara Kellerman, (more)
