Reviews (157)

Prince of Action Heros
Kevin Costner got a lot of... for his English accent, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't that distracting. "Robin Hood: Prince of Theives" slightly brakes from traditional myth in that Robin Hood is a returning knight from the Crusades. In the absense of King Richard, Sherriff of Nottingham attempted to take power. When Robin returns he swears vengence against the sherriff who killed his father and defamed his name. Then it's basicly "Die Hard" in the forest. The greatest change is Morgan Freeman's Moorish warrior traveling with Robin. Freeman is good, as usual. Christan Slater is full of fire and wind (putting it nicely) as Will Scarlet. Costner dose well as Robin, I really thought he did excellent. Mary Elizabeth Mastrentonio is pretty good as more or less independent Maid Marion (she has a lot of 1990s style "Thelma and Louise" attitude than was not realistic in the Dark Ages). But it's Alan Rickman's Sherriff who steals the show. He is wild, over the top, very funny to watch. This movie is dark, violent, and kind of scary with it's witch and occultic themes. This is pure action from start to finish. Just excellent.

Entertaining
First off, I wanna address this whole thing about Kevin Costner's accent. What difference does it make at all??? If you think it makes the movie more historically accurate, well, I hate to break it to you but, you're wrong. English people in 1194 weren't speaking in modern British accents, they were speaking in Old English, which is basically a dialect of German. So, with that thought, the British actors were as from the historical truth as Costner with their accents. Costner I think plays a very realistic Robin Hood, who is a lot more human than the other Robin Hoods. He shows emotion, and in the beginning, really plays well his role of a spoiled, rich boy. A lot of people commend Allan Rickman on his performance here, but I think he was one of the worst characters. When talking about him, people spoke so frightenedly about him, but in every single one of his on screen moments, he was acting like a goofy weirdo. I couldn't ever tell if what he was saying was supposed to be serious or a joke. I think his character took away from the more serious, adventurous tone of the rest of the movie, and made Prince of Thieves seem like a parody in itself. Not to say that he was a bad actor, I think that s a fault of the writers. There were a few inaccuracies, like the way that the Scots dressed. My exact first thoughts of that scene are expressed by other reviewers. They looked more like people who would have been ravaging the Roman establishments in Britain in the 4th and 5th centuries, not like Scots of the 12th. A lot of people have complained about the witch, and although I m not sure what her purpose was in the movie, she was entertaining, and kind of scary at the same time. On the whole, this was a good movie that s entertaining to watch, not too far away from Braveheart. (Although Robin's rhetoric skills are definitely much worse than William Wallace's. I could not comprehend at all what he is trying to say while he s lecturing the people from the fallen tree. He started off with something about being freedmen, and then ended with making weapons from the forest, I don't understand that connection. If they are free men then while in the hell are they living in the forest? I think that if you re free you can live wherever you want, not be forced into a "haunted" forest in the middle of nowhere. And if they were already free, they wouldn't need to fight back.)

4 1/2
Much better than the original release. This version has optimal quality in the picture and sound and has lots of bonus features. Now I can review the content of the film as this version is the best you can get! The film presented here is pretty good, well done. Im not a huge Costner fan but he does fairly well here, this story of Robin Hood did well in the theatres but skyrocketed with the help of Brian Adam's song "Everything I do, I do it for you". Its a good film with a great soundtrack and it helped sell cereal, toys and books...Good film, GREAT dvd! Must buy

Prince of Leaves
I'm rating this film so low only because of the dvd itself. Its a double sided disc that doesnt need to be flipped but the studio was so cheap they made it double sided at the time! The film itself looks average, not wonderful. Do yourself a favor...get the new extra disc version....

aging slowly but surely...
This was one of my favorite movies way back when it came out in '91. What may have even prompted me to see it was that it wasn't gonna be the proverbial 'men in tights' satire. But Kevin never really did much that was meant to be an intentional comedy (some only turned out to be that way not by design). Hilarity was an element was not intended to dominant the script. However, anyone who may have been expecting this to be anything like Dances With Wolves will have been thrown a curveball. Costner did not hold the directorial reigns and it shows, with no disrespect to K. Reynolds.
I bought the DVD recently and I cringe at some of the choices the project had taken. It's easy to say it in hindsight but the truth is rough considering the lineup of some high-profile actors cast. Bottom line: It fumbles from being having all components of a comedy, drama, and romance in one release. In other words, typical Hollywood fare.
I found the second supplementary disc sub-par. I'm surely not asking for anything on the level of the Lord of the Rings, Terminator 2 or Star Wars prequels, but I thought the SE version was going to merit more information and detail. I also grew weary of Costner's commentary here.
I might have given Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves three stars. But the cast did all they could do to save a rushed screenplay. The movie did do well in the theatres in '91 so it did have its charm. Get this only if there is absolutely nothing on the store shelf. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

"Don't worry...He knows you're an idiot!"
HE in this case is NAPOLEON of CRIME,Professor James Moriarty. YOU is "the world's most famous consulting detective",SHERLOCK HOLMES. Speaking is Ben Kingsley essaying the role of CRIME DOCTOR,John Watson.The case is WITHOUT A CLUE. Directed by Thom Eberhardt,WAC is a deft, wacky satire on Conan-Doyle's genius master detective positing what if Dr. Watson was THE MAN;and Sherlock Holmes was master of CLUTZ. Parody works because humor is arch but neither ham-handed nor condescending. Michael Caine (usually epitome of cockney cool from Super spy Harry Palmer, to Super thug Jack Carter)is Clouseau Goofy without overshadowing Kingsley who plays a genuine hero sleuth against England's most nefarious MASTER CRIMINAL. This is a very funny movie with excellent production values and superb(Victorian)ambience. And there is genuine mystery to solve. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN is sure to revive interest in THE PROFESSOR if not Sherlock. WITHOUT A CLUE may or may not(like Spielberg's YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES)help much with its satirizing of the first League of Extraordinary Crime Fighters. But Doctor Watson's cloning of a Sherlock of extraordinary ineptitude and rank(though charming)stupidity is OXYMORONIC episode of Holmsian mythology in a Major League of its own.(4 & 1/2 stars)

This is a great movie!
Sherlock Holmes has solved unnumbered cases for Scotland Yard, but it turns out that Dr. Watson (played by Ben Kingsley) has a secret - there is no Sherlock Holmes! Having hired Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the part of Holmes, Watson now wants to get rid of the man, as he is "a liar, a drunkard and a womanizer." But, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer arrives with a case that threatens the very existence of the Empire, and will talk to no one but the great Sherlock Holmes, Watson has to take Kincaid back for just one more case, and it's a whopper! There is a deep mystery here, one with Professor Moriarty (Paul Freeman) at it's heart, and only Holmes...er, Watson can possibly unravel it. [Color, released in 1988, with a running time of 1:47.]

This is a great movie! Turning the Sherlock Holmes stories any which way but loose, Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley make a great duet, battling crime and each other. The movie succeeds in being outrageously funny, and yet absolutely gripping. The movie is clean, though Leslie Giles' secret is enough to make you squirm in front of little ones. Overall, though, my family and I loved this movie, and highly recommend it to you!

Very clever, a lot of fun!
What if Dr. Watson (Ben Kingsley) is the real detective and Sherlock Holmes is his fictional alter ego whose name he created and uses to protect his medical practice? And what if, when pressured to produce Holmes to the public, Watson hires an out-of-work actor to pretend to be Holmes (Michael Caine). All Holmes has to do is what Watson tells him to do as he, Watson, does all the sleuthing. This is the clever premise of this film -- all the more clever if you know that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a doctor who wrote the Holmes detective mysteries on the side. Of course, things start to spiral out of control when "Holmes" tries to solve the mysteries without Watson and "Holmes" makes up a lot of the famous mannerisms.

Lots of humor, a good mystery and very nice repartee between the two men as Watson becomes increasingly exasperated with his creation. (This has an almost "Remington Steele" like premise if any of you remember that 1980s TV show staring Pierce Brosnam.) A very under-rated film with a top notch cast.

I have not seen this film on the new DVD so can't comment on the quality of this DVD. I'm just reviewing the film itself.

What a delight!
Although I'm a lover of Sherlock Holmes movies, I almost missed this gem. Everything about this film was wonderful, particularly the tremendous performances by Caine and Kingsley. You can see they're having fun with it every scene, and I loved being along for the ride.

The script is intelligent and witty, without getting goofy or slapstick. The plot is hilarious yet holds together as a "mystery" (kind of...). It is totally devoid of the offensive language that plagues so many movies, making it a great family fun flick (but it's NOT at all juvenile).

I just wish they'd made a series of these films -- I didn't want it to end.

"I've got it! His real name is Arty-Morti!"
Without a Clue (1988) poses an interesting and humorous take on the Sherlock Holmes mythos created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The film asks what if the character of Sherlock Holmes was truly a fictional character created by Doctor Watson, and is played by an actor, with Watson being the actual mastermind behind solving the various cases and crimes?

In the film, Ben Kingsley plays Doctor Watson, the man behind the deductive and crime solving skills of his fictional character, Sherlock Holmes. For reasons that are revealed within the movie, Watson was not able to take credit for solving his first caper, so he invented the character of Sherlock Holmes, but soon found his creation was in great demand, so he hired an actor, Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to play the part of the detective while Watson stayed in the background continuing to be the 'brains' of the operation. Only problem is Reginald Kincaid is a buffoonish, womanizing, gambling, drunkard, and unable to, as he put it, '...detect horse manure if he stepped in it.'

After a falling out, Doctor Watson fires Kincaid, and decides to go it alone as 'The Crime Doctor'. Guess what? The legend of Holmes has grown so large and become ensconced so deeply within the public psyche that no one takes Watson seriously, and even his publisher threatens to sue if Watson reveals the truth of the situation publicly. Not only that, but a rather important case involving the financial integrity of the British Empire has surfaced, one involving the nefarious Professor Moriarty, and Holmes is the only man for the job. Watson finds himself in the humbling position of bringing Kincaid back for what will be one last performance.

Kingsley and Caine play their parts perfectly, and are supported by a wonderful cast including Jeffery Jones as Inspector Lestrade, Paul Freeman as Moriarty, Lysette Anthony, and Peter Cook. The dialogue is witty, and even though the plot a bit thin in some areas, the film works wonderfully as a farcical tale with just the right amounts of slapstick and tongue in cheek humor. A completely professional job done by everyone all around. My favorite part of the film was the notion of Watson using Holmes to keep Inspector Lastrade busy tracking down pointless leads while Watson performed the real detection at the crime scene. I was laughing hard when Holmes was on all fours inspecting the pattern of a rug with the baffled inspector right next to him, trying to get the jump on the master detective.

I was a little disappointed in the release of this film on DVD, as I thought the picture and sound quality could have been better. Also, why is there only a full screen release available? Special features are virtually non-existent with the inclusion of a trailer for the film. MGM usually does a pretty good job with their releases, but they seemed to have dropped the ball here. Anyway, this is a great little film, and worth watching if only to see two fine actors at work

Cookieman108 ... Read more

Description

For the good of all men, and the love of one woman, he fought to uphold justice by breaking the law. In this richly-detailed, action-packed retelling of the legendary story, Robin Hood must battle the evil Sheriff of Nottingham not only to save King Richard the Lionhearted and England but also to save his love, the noble beauty Maid Marian. ... Read more

Reviews (157)

Prince of Action Heros
Kevin Costner got a lot of... for his English accent, and while it wasn't great, it wasn't that distracting. "Robin Hood: Prince of Theives" slightly brakes from traditional myth in that Robin Hood is a returning knight from the Crusades. In the absense of King Richard, Sherriff of Nottingham attempted to take power. When Robin returns he swears vengence against the sherriff who killed his father and defamed his name. Then it's basicly "Die Hard" in the forest. The greatest change is Morgan Freeman's Moorish warrior traveling with Robin. Freeman is good, as usual. Christan Slater is full of fire and wind (putting it nicely) as Will Scarlet. Costner dose well as Robin, I really thought he did excellent. Mary Elizabeth Mastrentonio is pretty good as more or less independent Maid Marion (she has a lot of 1990s style "Thelma and Louise" attitude than was not realistic in the Dark Ages). But it's Alan Rickman's Sherriff who steals the show. He is wild, over the top, very funny to watch. This movie is dark, violent, and kind of scary with it's witch and occultic themes. This is pure action from start to finish. Just excellent.

Entertaining
First off, I wanna address this whole thing about Kevin Costner's accent. What difference does it make at all??? If you think it makes the movie more historically accurate, well, I hate to break it to you but, you're wrong. English people in 1194 weren't speaking in modern British accents, they were speaking in Old English, which is basically a dialect of German. So, with that thought, the British actors were as from the historical truth as Costner with their accents. Costner I think plays a very realistic Robin Hood, who is a lot more human than the other Robin Hoods. He shows emotion, and in the beginning, really plays well his role of a spoiled, rich boy. A lot of people commend Allan Rickman on his performance here, but I think he was one of the worst characters. When talking about him, people spoke so frightenedly about him, but in every single one of his on screen moments, he was acting like a goofy weirdo. I couldn't ever tell if what he was saying was supposed to be serious or a joke. I think his character took away from the more serious, adventurous tone of the rest of the movie, and made Prince of Thieves seem like a parody in itself. Not to say that he was a bad actor, I think that s a fault of the writers. There were a few inaccuracies, like the way that the Scots dressed. My exact first thoughts of that scene are expressed by other reviewers. They looked more like people who would have been ravaging the Roman establishments in Britain in the 4th and 5th centuries, not like Scots of the 12th. A lot of people have complained about the witch, and although I m not sure what her purpose was in the movie, she was entertaining, and kind of scary at the same time. On the whole, this was a good movie that s entertaining to watch, not too far away from Braveheart. (Although Robin's rhetoric skills are definitely much worse than William Wallace's. I could not comprehend at all what he is trying to say while he s lecturing the people from the fallen tree. He started off with something about being freedmen, and then ended with making weapons from the forest, I don't understand that connection. If they are free men then while in the hell are they living in the forest? I think that if you re free you can live wherever you want, not be forced into a "haunted" forest in the middle of nowhere. And if they were already free, they wouldn't need to fight back.)

4 1/2
Much better than the original release. This version has optimal quality in the picture and sound and has lots of bonus features. Now I can review the content of the film as this version is the best you can get! The film presented here is pretty good, well done. Im not a huge Costner fan but he does fairly well here, this story of Robin Hood did well in the theatres but skyrocketed with the help of Brian Adam's song "Everything I do, I do it for you". Its a good film with a great soundtrack and it helped sell cereal, toys and books...Good film, GREAT dvd! Must buy

Prince of Leaves
I'm rating this film so low only because of the dvd itself. Its a double sided disc that doesnt need to be flipped but the studio was so cheap they made it double sided at the time! The film itself looks average, not wonderful. Do yourself a favor...get the new extra disc version....

aging slowly but surely...
This was one of my favorite movies way back when it came out in '91. What may have even prompted me to see it was that it wasn't gonna be the proverbial 'men in tights' satire. But Kevin never really did much that was meant to be an intentional comedy (some only turned out to be that way not by design). Hilarity was an element was not intended to dominant the script. However, anyone who may have been expecting this to be anything like Dances With Wolves will have been thrown a curveball. Costner did not hold the directorial reigns and it shows, with no disrespect to K. Reynolds.
I bought the DVD recently and I cringe at some of the choices the project had taken. It's easy to say it in hindsight but the truth is rough considering the lineup of some high-profile actors cast. Bottom line: It fumbles from being having all components of a comedy, drama, and romance in one release. In other words, typical Hollywood fare.
I found the second supplementary disc sub-par. I'm surely not asking for anything on the level of the Lord of the Rings, Terminator 2 or Star Wars prequels, but I thought the SE version was going to merit more information and detail. I also grew weary of Costner's commentary here.
I might have given Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves three stars. But the cast did all they could do to save a rushed screenplay. The movie did do well in the theatres in '91 so it did have its charm. Get this only if there is absolutely nothing on the store shelf. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Hysterical!
THE TALL GUY has been a favorite of mine for years. I take great pride in being a fan of this "guilty pleasure" film! I try to turn people onto it as often as possible.

THE TALL GUY, first and foremost, is very British in its humor, which means there is irony, surrealism, and jokes that don't depend on insults (Americans *love* the insult-joke).

THE TALL GUY has the funniest sex scene (Goldblum and Thompson) that I've ever seen. And as others have mentioned, the ELEPHANT! musical is hysterical. I cried the first time I saw the musical numbers ... it's that hilarious.

At heart, THE TALL GUY is a sweet romance. But its British sensibilities and backstage humor (Goldblum's character is an underdog actor) lifts it above an average screwball comedy. And Emma Thompson is very charming as Nurse Kate! One forgets after all of her serious Shakespeare and Jane Austin roles that she is quite a comedienne.

So enjoy THE TALL GUY! And remember: "Somewhere up in heaven there's an angel with big ears."

Early work from Curtis the movie scriptwriter
Richard Curtis, eventual architect of 'Four Weddings', 'Notting Hill', 'Love Actually' and bits of 'Bridget Jones', kicked off his filmwriting career with this 1989 debut.

It shows its youthfulness. Just as 'Four Weddings' had at its core a string of sketches based on weddings Curtis had attended (but very skillfully linked by a romantic story), so 'The Tall Guy' appears to have started with the idea of a pastiche musical based on the Elephant Man, around which Curtis wraps a romance between a supporting actor and a nurse.

Curtis's great buddy from Oxford, Rowan Atkinson, is brought in to play a control-freak comedian -- no type-casting there, then -- but there are a few ex-Cambridge people too: Emma Thompson, Mel Smith etc. Jeff Goldblum is good as the lead, but there's no evidence that the script was specially written for him in particular or an American in general.

This film is perhaps now best known for the slapstick sex scene between Thompson and Goldblum, which manages to be (slightly) erotic while also revealing a basic truth about the domestic tidiness of all nurses I have known.

Many of the standard Curtis plot elements appear in a formative stage for this film: the early sexual encounter, followed by the break-up, followed by a finale in which the protagonists make a grand declaration of true love in front of a large crowd, the pop video sequence etc etc.

I suspect this is now a budget-priced DVD because Curtis is slightly embarrassed by it. But it's 88 enjoyable minutes of good, largely clean fun. As ever, Emma Thompson is the most convincing actor on the screen. Fifteen years on, she talks frankly about her varicose veins and growing old. It's probably handy to have a film which she can now show her children and say "This is what I used to look like before anything drooped."

Soon after making this, Curtis co-wrote the brilliant 'Blackadder Goes Forth' series for Rowan and friends, which was one of the comic masterpieces of the 1980s. Clearly outstanding at TV scriptwriting, Curtis may have felt after 'The Tall Guy' that he hadn't proved himself on the movie screen. But the movies were where the real money was (for writers), and five years later, Curtis perfected the formula with 'Four Weddings'.

The Tall Let Down
I've been experiencing Jeff Goldblum fever for some reason so I've been grabbing at all of his movies. The Tall Guy is the number one reason you shouldn't buy a movie from just reading a few reviews and seeing a few scenes. It's terribly misleading.

I tried to give the film a chance but it wasn't easy. I am someone who enjoys intelligent humor and I love brit comedies as much as American comedies. Humor is humor but the humor was not in this film for me. Rowen ( better known as Mr. Bean ) was impressive and Jeff Goldblum gave Dexter King all he could but it was still as the Brits say...a bloody bore.

The plot was limited. Okay what's so great about a tall out of work actor when there's no useful information spilt about the character? I found it tedious the FIFTH time Jeff Goldblum rode down the narrow London streets on his bike. Point is...the film was going nowhere and that's exactly where it went. The actors did well except for Emma Thompson who was way too old to act so naive. Her character gets upset when Dexter cheats, yet the first thing she wanted to do was sleep with HIM a couple of days after they met. Isnt't that the pot calling the kettle black?

There were a lot of loopholes and snail scenes that dragged on and on for no reason. Usually Jeff Goldblum's lamely charming, but he made me more tired of Dexter than any of the other characters.

This film had no substance and even less of an effect. Don't waste your time on this one. No matter how much Jeff fever you may have.

Good solid british comedy
I admit that I purchased this movie as a Rowan Atkinson fan. While his parts are small 20 minutes, and at times mirror his work on Mr. Bean, he is clearly the standout performer in this video. He plays an excellent jerk!
Emma Thompson, playing a straight-forward nurse, is charming, and give a similarly lively performance. There are a couple or fairly racy lovemaking scenes with Emma and Goldblum, so it's not a movie for children, but it is pretty tame fare other than that.
The movie itself centers on the transformation of Jeff Goldblum, and has some inventive writing when dealing with the struggles of becoming an unsuccessful actor, but pretty standard predictable fare when dealing with romance.
The movie, with an 80's soundtrack and look, is a great dose of nostalgia, a gentle dose of comedy, and I highly recommend it as a "guilty pleasure" or "Brain-candy". While you won't see alot of Mr. Atkinson, you will get a decent entertainment value.

Standing tall!
When I first saw this movie about 10 years ago, the primary reason was because Emma Thompson starred in it. 10 years later I have watched it again and have found there is an additional reason to view it: it's genuinely FUN!

The plot is not overly creative or original, but the film is set in London and is full of laughs. It's a Romantic Comedy - British style! This is one of Jeff Goldblum's earlier movies, before he was a really big name.

And if you're looking for women who are beautiful, intelligent AND talented in the acting department, look no further than Emma Thompson! To my knowledge, this film contains her the lone nude scene of her career [although I could be wrong on this one]. That in itself is enough reason to buy this DVD!

As Goldblum plays a struggling actor, people in the theatre community will likely get some extra chuckles from this film. However, it's a film that's also recommended for everyone else who enjoys a good RC and it's very couples-friendly. Oh, and did I mention it stars Emma Thompson??? ... Read more

Amazon.com

Helped considerably by a relatively high budget for a 1988 British film, Buster perfectly remade the 1960s caper-film experience. Rock star Phil Collins plays Buster Edwards, who's only one of a gang who all seem doomed to be captured after their £2.5 million train heist. The caper is over within 30 minutes. However, the film is really about the love story between Buster and his doting yet long-suffering wife June (an excellent Julie Walters). When the action switches to sun-drenched Mexico, you just know her loyalty is going to be tested to extremes because that's when Collins's award-winning songs kick in! "Two Hearts" and "Groovy Kind of Love" may not be '60s-styled, but the message is that love always conquers time and place. --Paul Tonks ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Brilliant, Fun, Love, Laughter, Music & Crime
I was so happy to find this in American format - I'm a British expat and was thrilled to see this again.

The Four Tops on the soundtrack is wonderful!

One of those "rootin' for the bad guy" movies.
I'm so glad this video is being reissued, not only because I'm a Phil Collins fan, but because it's a great movie in general.

Phil plays Buster Edwards, who may be a thief by profession but whose real reason for living is the love of his wife June (Julie Walters) and his daughter Nicky. After pulling off the biggest train robbery in British history, Buster flees with his family to Mexico, along with the ringleader (Larry Lamb), and his wife.

What starts out as a vacation in paradise turns into tensions boiled over when an argument between June and Buster gets physical (he slaps her face) and she retaliates by taking Nicky and flying home. That's when Buster realizes that living in exile is pointless if it means alienating his family.

All in all, this is a very moving, heartwarming film (which includes one of the best robbery sequences I've ever seen); it gets the R rating for some of the more violent scenes, brief nudity, and the occasional British curse word. The score by Anne Dudley is as beautiful as some of the film's most tender moments, and the songs in the soundtrack include two of Phil's biggest hits: "Two Hearts", and "A Groovy Kind of Love"; as well as such classic tunes as: "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher, "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" by Dusty Springfield," "Keep On Running" by the Spencer Davis Group (with lead vocals by a then-relatively unknown singer and keyboard player named Steve Winwood), and "How Do You Do It?" by Gerry & the Pacemakers ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Heroes
"Galileo" is one of those movies people serious about cinema more or less "have" to have or see, less for its cinematic achievements than for its pedigree. After all, how many films start with a play by Bertolt Brecht, based on a translation by Charles Laughton, directed by a preeminent film maker (Joseph Losey) with a cast that includes luminaries like John Gielgud, Tom Conti, Edward Fox, Michel Lonsdale, Colin Blakely, Margaret Leighton, and on and on? The results are almost secondary. What matters is who participated.

Fortunately, "Galileo" offers more than a laundry list of Big Names. While it is not a hallmark of cinema, it is an entertaining, frequently lively and at the same time, tragic look at the interplay between private conscience and public responsibility. People familiar with Brecht's work need no introduction to this, one of his most famous plays. Those unfamiliar with his name can enjoy a largely straightforward, suspenseful exposition on Galileo's complex relationship to the history of science.

With the large exception of Topol, in the lead role, the cast is extraordinary, providing one plum moment after another. John Gielgud offers a witty walk on as an apoplectic cardinal, while the scene between Galileo, Cardinal Bellarmin (Patrick Magee) and Cardinal (eventually Pope) Barberini (Lonsdale) is a playful feint, a series of verbal parries and thrusts, dextrous, but deadly serious. My favorite scene, however, is the famous "dressing of the Pope" sequence in which the Cardinal Inquisitor (Fox) convinces the Pope to force Galileo to recant.

Viewers who know Losey's work only through his movies may be surprised at the idea of him directing such a project. Aside from the fact that he had a parallel career in the theater, however, he was also the director of the play's first production, in Los Angeles and New York in the forties, starring Laughton. His adaptation of some of Brecht's "alienation effects" is, for the most part, simple and clean, such as using superimposed titles instead of Brecht's on-stage signs announcing the forthcoming action, or having Galileo occasionally speak directly to the camera. There are even one or two trademark "Losey" moments, such as the fraught, nerve jangling scene between the Inquisitor and Galileo's daughter. As with the director's more famous work, there is nothing explicitly violent in the scene, even at a verbal level, yet you sense the implicit threat in every moment.

Most of the time, however, the director is clearly serving the playwright, and when the results are this successful, no one should complain. ... Read more