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Gary Cady
A boy-and-his-horse tale loosely based on the IRA's unsolved 1983 horsenapping of a Derby winner, this adventure film opens with the animal being abducted and brought to a farm run by Garritty (David Warner), a borderline IRA sympathizer. After Irish authorities refuse to pay a 5 million pound ransom, sinister terrorist O'Rourke (Mickey Rourke) orders the horse to be shot, but before that happens, the animal escapes with Kevin (Tim Walsh), a stableboy who has run away from reform school. Kevin and the horse are subsequently befriended by a tinker (Ian Holm) and his granddaughter (Laura Murphy). ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrew Connolly, Ian Holm, (more)
Lindsay Wagner stars as Paula O'Neill in this made-for-TV miniseries based on the best-selling novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford. Paula's grandmother, Emma Harte, took a failing department store and turned it into the powerful Harte Industries retail empire, and now that Paula has inherited the family business, she is determined to expand their international success by launching a new store in Hong Kong. However, Paula's cousins Jonathan (Christopher Cazenove) and Sarah (Claire Oberman) are determined to wrest control of the company away from Paula, and begin running interference in her plans for global expansion. Paula soon learns that Harte Industries is on financially shaky ground, and her personal life begins to crumble under the strain of keeping Hart Enterprises afloat. As Jonathan uses the firm's financial woes to his advantage, Paula finds that Jack Figg (Anthony Hopkins), the company's head of security, may be her last line of defense against her devious relatives. Originally broadcast in August 1992, To Be the Best was a follow-up to 1983's A Woman of Substance, another miniseries based on a Barbara Taylor Bradford novel, which covered Paula's life before she took over the family business; Diane Baker played Paula in the earlier series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, David Robb, (more)
An unusually principled young Viking becomes increasing uncomfortable with all the killing and plundering that goes with the job, and sets out on a magical journey in order to bring about world peace. Former Monty Python member Terry Jones attempts to have his story of Erik's seemingly hopeless quest operate as both witty, lunatic satire and sincere children's fantasy. However, despite a good cast and some interesting design elements, the film fails to completely succeed at either of its goals. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Gary Cady, (more)
This historical drama, based on a novel by John Masters that was in turn inspired by actual events, follows William Savage (Pierce Brosnan), a British agent of the East India Company, as he is sent with his new wife to India in the early 19th century. While Savage holds the unusually progressive view that the people of India are human and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, he is still a very proper subject of the British empire and behaves accordingly. One night, when he sees a group of seemingly crazed men rob and kill a defenseless woman, he demands to know what has happened. He learns that the killers were members of a bizarre cult called the Thugees; Savage is determined to do something about them, and he works his way into the group by disguising himself as one of their number; however, the more Savage tries to win the trust of the Thugees, the more he must act as one of them, which leads him into a murderous secret life of his own. The Deceivers was produced by Ismail Merchant, his first film with a director other than James Ivory. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Saeed Jaffrey, (more)
- 1987
The two-part TV movie Queenie was adapted from the roman a clef by Michael Korda. This is the story of Queenie Kelly,an English girl (Mia Sara) from the slums of Calcutta who is kept from full knowledge of her Indian heritage by her protective mother (Jean Simmons). As a means of bettering herself, Queenie moves to London, where she works as an exotic dancer. Later on, Queenie, using an assumed name, becomes a famous movie star and marries a powerful producer. At the point, we should observe that "Queenie" was the nickname of Michael Korda's aunt: actress Merle Oberon, who was married to British film mogul Alexander Korda. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely...well, you know. And any resemblance between awkward newcomer Mia Sara and the ultra-sophisticated Merle Oberon is...well, accidental. Queenie originally aired May 10 and 11, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mia Sara, Kirk Douglas, (more)
- 1987
- R
Sky diver Clare (Ellen Barkin) wakes up disheveled and almost naked in Spain. She has left her husband Del (Martin Sheen) in Death Valley in order to find her former lover Augustine (Gabriel Byrne). She may have committed a murder, or it may all be fantasy. This film, directed by Mary Lambert is odd, confusing and sometimes downright laughable, full of preposterous plot twists and ridiculous symbolism. The plot makes little sense, and Lambert, while showing great visual style, has little concern for character or plot. It is never clear whether the mysterious visions that Claire experiences are memories or simply plot devices, and Clare's continued pursuit by a taxi driver with rusty teeth who keeps trying to rape her is ludicrous. Good performances by Barkin and Byrne, and a nice musical score by Miles Davis do nothing to save this pretentious, silly film. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Barkin, Gabriel Byrne, (more)
Bob Hoskins plays George, a tough but basically goodhearted British mob flunky, recently released from prison, where he'd served a term to cover up for his gangster boss (Michael Caine). Still willing to be everyone's doormat, George agrees to act as chauffeur for Simone (Cathy Tyson), a haughty, high-priced call girl. They don't like each other at first, but George begins to fall for her and take a protective interest. She implores him to help her find her only truly friend, a prostitute named Cathy (Kate Hardie). Touched by this devotion, George locates the girl, only to be chagrined to learn that Simone and Cathy are lovers. Hoskins is used and abused by so many people in Mona Lisa that when the worm finally does turn, you feel like cheering--even though it doesn't make him any happier. Director Neil Jordan cowrote this study of underworld mores with David Leland. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Cathy Tyson, (more)
- 1986
In this comedy, a band of financiers attempt to break a Russian gangster out of Soviet prison and use him to manipulate the London Stock Exchange. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
The kibbutz setting to this standard love story between Gil (Joanna Pacula), an Israeli woman and Mike (Sam Robards), a visiting American pre-med student is not particularly relevant to the tale -- which is a twist away from the original stage play in which the two lovers do not even appear. Four Brits are also visiting the kibbutz: two complaining young men, a young woman who arrives for a stay after experiencing a nervous breakdown, and a soldier trying to assuage the psychic wounds of the past. As these people interact and the romance between Gila and Mike heats up, the story leads to several, simultaneous climactic moments -- including the kidnapping of Gila and a group of tourists and a dramatic rescue by the disenchanted Brits. Through all this, Mike must decide whether he will stay with Gila at the kibbutz or go back to the U.S. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Sam Robards, (more)
