Mike Newell Movies
A film director of sure hand and considerable range, Mike Newell credits his ability to juggle numerous genres and subject matters to his diverse assignments and early experiences in British television. Generally shunned as a redheaded stepson to film, Newell considers television a key component in the scheme of the entertainment industry, claiming that his work at Granada Television fueled his versatility by allowing him the room for experimentation that the non-existent British film industry of the late '60s and early '70s couldn't provide. Born in England in March of 1942, Newell studied at Cambridge, later moving on to work at Granada Television as a trainee in 1963, where he worked in various aspects of production for several years before making his TV directorial debut. Spawning such contemporaries as Ken Loach, Stephen Frears, and Michael Apted, television work provided the creative outlet that many young filmmakers of the time so desperately needed. Newell's U.K. television feature debut, The Man in the Iron Mask (1977) served as his springboard to international success, finding theatrical release in the U.S. Continuing with work in television in the following years, Newell began to concentrate on his attempts to move into feature territory in the late '70s. Newell's first theatrical feature The Awakening (1980), a U.S./U.K. co-produced adaptation of Bram Stoker's Jewel of the Seven Stars, earned mixed reviews, though it began to cement Newell's reputation as a talented and versatile director with a gift for getting the best performances possible from his actors. Following Awakening with Bad Blood (1982), a disturbing study in small town alienation set in New Zealand, Newell continued to refine his gift for darkly enchanting, personalized films on a feature level. Working through the remainder of the decade in multiple genres, including crime (Dance With a Stranger, [1985]), drama (Soursweet, [1989]), and the activist sports drama Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987), Newell proved time and again that his sure directorial hand and sharp eye for storytelling transcended genre restrictions in favor of deeply rooted character studies. Though he had over 54 credits to his name upon entering the final decade of the millennium, the 1990s proved to be the decade in which Newell began to gain the international recognition that he so richly deserved. Making his '90s theatrical debut with the charmingly romantic Enchanted April (1992), Newell continued with a critically praised melancholy family fable in 1993, Into the West, before making his breakthrough with the influential romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Offered directorial hand on a slew of similarly themed romantic comedies in the wake of the success of Four Weddings (including Notting Hill, [1999]), and taking advantage of one such offer with the less successful Hugh Grant comedy An Awfully Big Adventure, Newell proved his versatility and struck gold again in 1997, with Donnie Brasco. In 1999, Newell spun a tale of dysfunctional air-traffic controllers with Pushing Tin, "a movie about people crashes, not plane crashes." ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
English archaeologist Matthew Corbeck (played by the emphatically-American Charlton Heston) undertakes an expedition to find the tomb of the Egyptian princess Kara, despite his awareness of a nefarious curse that is said to befall anyone who disturbs the tomb. Eighteen years after Corbeck's discovery of the burial site, his teenage daughter (who was born at the very moment of the tomb's violation) begins to behave strangely. Turns out she's been possessed by Kara's malevolent spirit, carrying out the princess's revenge by causing several deaths and developing a less-than-healthy obsession with Daddy. Based very loosely on Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars (itself the inspiration for Hammer's superior Blood from the Mummy's Tomb), this is basically Warner Brothers' attempt to jump on the big-budget horror bandwagon in the wake of The Omen's staggering success. The result is a good-looking but artistically hollow film -- with elaborate sets, lush cinematography and a sweeping musical score, but little in the way of logic or suspense. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, Susannah York, (more)
- 1977
The made-for-television The Man in the Iron Mask was, at the very least, the twelfth film version of Alexandre Dumas' 1847 novel. The title character is Philippe (Richard Chamberlain), rightful heir to the throne of France. Enemies of Philippe's twin brother, King Louis XIV (also Chamberlain) plot to kidnap the monarch, lock him in a dungeon, and obscure his identity with an iron mask. But aging musketeer D'Artagnan (Louis Jourdan), who'd virtually raised Louis from boyhood, reunites his old musketeer cohorts to rescue Louis and overthrow the wicked Philippe. Emmy nominations went to scripter William Bast and costumer Olga Lehmann. Photographed by the great Freddie Young, Man in the Iron Mask was first telecast January 17, 1977 ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
This six-part British anthology offered new adaptations of the works of Thomas Hardy. The initial 75-minute telecast, on November 7, 1973, was Hardy's "The Withered Arm." Subsequent episodes included "Fellow Townsman," "A Tragedy of Two Ambitions," (with John Hurt), "An Imaginative Woman," "The Melancholy Hussar," and the series finale on December 12, 1973, "Barbara and the House of Grebe," starring Joanna McCallum and a pre-Gandhi Ben Kinglsey. Among the writers who adapted Wessex Tales for the small screen were David Mercer and Dennis Potter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Created by Wilfred Greatorex, the British miniseries The Man From Haven was a showcase for the versatile Ian Holm. The "man" in question was Jack Byron Lever (Holm), an unscrupulous businessman. Gaining access to a number of Swiss bank accounts, Lever used the knowledge gleaned thereby to blackmail several prominent British citizens. Codirected by the innovative Mike Newell, The Man From Haven was presented by ATV in 1972, running for six hour-long episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
This spin-off of the British crime series The Fellows focused on recurring character Alec Spindoe (Ray McAnally), a brash cockney gangster. Ostensibly shipped off to prison for keeps by the two protagonists of The Fellows, Spindoe nonetheless managed to get sprung in time to appear in his own Granada TV series, beginning April 19, 1968. Attempting to pick up his vast criminal activities where he left off, Spindoe met with fierce opposition from a North London crime czar (Richard Hurndall) and a down-at-heels private eye (George Sewell). The tone of the series was succinctly established by the initial episode title "And the Blood Starts Flowing." Despite its London milieu, Spindoe was filmed in Manchester by award-winning director Mike Newell. Lasting six hour-long episodes, the series completed its run on May 24, 1968. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
