Paul Marcus Movies

An A-list cast, with screen legends Max von Sydow (The Seventh Seal, Hannah and Her Sisters), Diana Rigg (TV's The Avengers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service), andGeraldine Chaplin (Nashville, Remember My Name), highlights this live-action, feature-length adaptation of Johanna Spyri's much-beloved novel Heidi (1880). The picture -- like the book -- tells the familiar story of the title character (here played by Emma Bolger), an orphaned little girl who goes to live with her grandfather (Max Von Sydow) in the Swiss Alps. Shot on location in Switzerland, against a wintry, majestic backdrop, the picture strives to preserve Spyri's sense of the landscape and her rare insight into the perceptions of children, as well as the book's feel for sweeping adventure and lasting sentiment. Paul Marcus directs, from an adaptation by Brian Finch. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

John Thaw of Inspector Morse fame starred in this two-part British miniseries as renowned plastic surgeon Joe MacConnell. His torrid affair with his client Louise Ferman (Frances Barber) ended up having disastrous consequences on his wife and grown children. The story came to a head when McConnell's son James (Stuart Piper), a doctor in training, was involved with a crime that was inexorably linked to McConnell's infidelity. The first episode of Plastic Man, running 90 minutes, was seen in the U.K. on May 12, 1999; the concluding hour-long installment aired the following week. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

What do you do if you're a white guy in a white town who happens to love black music? Flip (Danny Hoch) is a middle-class kid from the Iowa corn belt, but he doesn't think of himself as just another guy from farm country. Flip loves hip-hop, and he longs to be respected as a hard-core rapper. But a white guy from Iowa who drops mad rhymes looks weird. While Flip and his buddies Trevor (Mark Webber) and James (Dash Mihok) may have the clothes, the style, and the lingo down pat, to most folks they look like three white boys trying to be black. When Khalid (Eugene Byrd), an African-American from Chicago, transfers into Flip's school, Flip comes to his rescue when other kids give him a hard time, and, while Khalid is as baffled by Flip's affectations as most people, a friendship grows between them, and Khalid grudgingly agrees to take Flip and his crew to Chicago, where they get a look at hip-hop culture in a way they haven't seen before. Director Marc Levin previously explored elements of hip-hop culture in his first dramatic film, Slam; he also made a number of acclaimed documentaries, including Gang War: Bangin' in Little Rock, about middle-class kids who have absorbed the gang lifestyle through popular culture. Whiteboys features appearances by a number of noted hip-hop artists, including Snoop Dogg, Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, and Fat Joe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The British series Wokenwell had something in common with the whimsical small-town saga Ballykissangel, albeit with a more bizarre and supernatural edge. The series took place in the tiny rural community mentioned in the title, with dramatic emphasis on Wokenwall's three chief law enforcers: PC Brian Rainford (Jason Done), PC Rudy Whiteside (Nicholas Gleaves), and Sgt. Duncan Bonney (Ian McElhinney). The trio was perennially baffled and flustered by the weird goings-on in the community, but the cops weren't anywhere near as perplexed as their long-suffering wives, respectively Fran Rainford (Nicola Stephenson), Lucky Whiteside (Lesley Dunlop), and June Bonney (Celia Imrie). The first of the six hour-long Wokenwell episodes was seen on May 18, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bear witness to the rise of the most corrupt and ruthless ruler ever to preside over the Roman Empire as filmmaker Paul Marcus tells the tale of Nero's unlikely ascent to the throne, and his historical fall at the hands of his own vengeful kingdom. After murdering his sister's husband on grounds of conspiracy, the increasingly incoherent Caligula exiles his grieving sibling and sets into motion a devious plan that will one-day find her son Lucius presiding over all of Rome. Beset on all sides by tyranny and bloodlust, Lucius rises to power as Nero while facing the constant wrath of all who oppose his legacy. His paranoia soon reaching a fever pitch, Nero struggles to maintain power as his army, his people, and his own mother, ultimately turn against him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Created by Lynda La Plante, the sporadically broadcast British TV series Prime Suspect succeeded in bestowing international stardom upon actress Helen Mirren. Set in London, the series dealt with female homicide detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren), who did her best to do her job in the face of sexual prejudice on the job and political corruption from the higher-ups. Virtually every time that Tennison investigated a murder, the trail of clues led to a compromising situation for a prominent civic leader, who invariably pulled strings to get the heroine off his scent. Not unexpectedly, Tennison was plagued with feelings of doubt and inadequacy, especially whenever her instincts proved (initially) to be wrong. Even so, by the time the series had run its course, Tennison had been promoted to superintendent. Making its British debut on April 7, 1991, Prime Suspect was broadcast for six seasons, each season progressively retitled as Prime Suspect 2, Prime Suspect 3, and so forth. In America, the property was seen over the PBS network and the A&E cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide