Reviews (92)

imaginative and bravura shakespeare
An original interpretation of "Richard III", with excellent performances by a star-studded cast. Those who quibble with the "Fish out of water" casting of Annette Benning and Robert Downey Jr.,(who hold their own amongst classically trained actors), don't you see that's the point? Elizabeth Grey and her family were underbred, greedy interlopers looked down on by the "true" aristocrats. By casting Americans, the film makes very obvious their status as outsiders who could never fit into the upper-class milieu that Elizabeth's lucky marriage thrust them. I saw McKellen onstage in this role, and am thrilled that a version of it has been preserved on film. I'd even recommend it to those not usually Shakespeare friendly. I saw this with a vehemently non-Shakespearean friend, and he walked out loving it. (Trust me, if you knew him, you'd understand what a rave that is!) Well worth seeing and owning.

Shakespearean novel is portrayed in a different way
Richard III stars Ian Mckellen in the role as the evil Richard of Gloucester. This Shakespearean novel is portrayed in a different way, in the 1930's. Keeping the same dialogue from the play, Richard III keeps it's theme and plot, with Gloucester killing even his own family to get the throne. Replacing horses with jeeps and guns for swords keeps the audience interested, even those who don't know what the movie is about. Ian Mckellen gives a great job as portraying Richard of Gloucester with an ironic smile and an evil laugh of triumph. The ending of the movie shows a version of what happened to Richard, since it is not told of what happened to him in the play.

No Better Shakespearean Adaptation
Ian' McKellen's amazing adaptation of Shakespeare's "Richard III" shows just how good Shakespeare can be, even for a modern audience that is not trained in the Shakespearean vocabulary.

Directed by Richard Loncraine, and adapted from his triumphant stage production, this "Richard III" is set in a pseudo-Nazi-era England, and the Wars of the Roses are seemingly set as the preliminary days of WWII. In a great opening scene, Richard leads the forces of his brother, King Edward IV (John Wood), to victory over the rebel forces -- following a tank smashing through a fireplace and planting a bullet in his rival's head, all the while breathing through a gas mask like a 20th-century Darth Vader.

The royal family is seemingly happy, "Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer . . ." But Richard is a villain -- in a wonderful soliloquy that starts as a homage to his kingly brother but evolves into a private rant in a bathroom, Richard confesses that he is a villain. "Plots have I laid!"

Capitalizing on the trust given him by his brothers, Richard sets off on a mad quest for power that sees him arrange for the murder of his brother, seduce the widow of his dead rival ("Was ever woman in this humor wooed? Was ever woman in this humor won?"), and ultimately seize the throne. But for Richard the quest for power is the game -- he seems happiest when winning but almost morose having won his prize. He wins a bride but ignores her. He wins the throne but does not enjoy it, and seems to go out of his way to find others to seduce, including Elizabeth (Annette Benning, in dubious casting, but she gives it a good shot), and men to kill, such as Anthony (Robert Downey, Jr., proving once again that he can do just about anything).

In addition to the American cast members (McKellen succeeded in not casting too many Americans in an effort to create box office, unlike Kenneth Branagh in his full-length "Hamlet"), "Richard III" has the usual cast of recognizable British actors -- Nigel Hawthorne (Clarence), Kirsten Scott Thomas (Lady Anne), Maggie Smith (Duchess of York), and Jim Broadbent (Buckingham).

Spinning this tale of murder and corruption in a Nazi-esque England was pure genius -- Richard's murderous successes gain a momentum that is reminiscent of Hitler's and Stalin's respective power grabs, and we get a true sense of danger from Richard's ascension. (Plus it allows for some great costumes!) It is chilling to watch the dominoes fall, one after the other, just as Richard has planned.

Of course, we know that all ends well and that Richard is defeated, but his fall has never been so perfectly staged. Refusing to be captured by Henry, Earl of Richmond (Dominic West), Richard climbs out onto some rickety ironwork. In a nice, but surprising editorial choice, Richard throws out a line that is not in Shakespeare's play -- "Let's to it pell-mell; if not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell." He leaps into a raging inferno below him, and the camera tracks him down, his beaming visage showing that Richard is dying just as he lived -- as a villain in love with his own villainy. Al Jetson's "I'm Sitting On Top of the World" is the perfect icing on the cake.

What a gas! Shakespeare has given us one of theater's great experiences -- watching a man who loves being bad be about as bad as you can get.

A must for Shakespeare fans and for anyone who is a fan of the cinema. Check this out!

Shakespeare gets updated and how
Once you get used to the Shakespearian lingo, you marvel at the ingenious blending of a Third Reich "ish" regime & the original Shakespeare. A beautiful modernization of the play that works. The cinematography was amazing. The use of smoke via cigarettes or cigars was pure genius not to mention brillant symbolism with freudian overtones. The same can be said of the use of color and camera angle techniques. Reading the original version only enhances the beauty of this piece. Oh, and it also kicks a** as a war movie.

Bravo Sir Ian
I will admit that the only reason I pick up this movie was because it had Ian McKellen in it, and his performance, as always, was amazing. He does a brilliantly job portraying the loathsome, savvy, ingenious Richard III. The language threw me at first (I believe they kept almost all of Shakespeare's original dialect) but it seems so natural in this film. It was a great cast, with Maggie Smith as the grieving queen mother, who has to see and face her son, knowing the awful things he does, things he doesn't even deny.

Richard, the youngest brother of King Edward, sets out to take the throne. He will be king, no matter the price, and thus begins a bloody civil war, murdering, betraying, and seducing all who stand in his way. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Falling neatly into the Enchanted April and Under the Tuscan Sun category, the made-for-HBO My House in Umbria boasts lovely Italian vistas and comforting Englishness. But it begins with a note of violence:on a train rolling through the sunny countryside, a terrorist bomb detonates, killing a handful of passengers. The strangers that survive recuperate at the villa of an eccentric but kindly romance novelist, also a survivor of the blast. She's played by Maggie Smith, who bustles through the role with a pleasing mix of gin and daffodils. Chris Cooper is an uptight American who comes to the villa to pick up his orphaned niece and bristles at the bohemian atmosphere. Director Richard Loncraine maintains the melancholy mood amidst the sun-dappled gardens of Umbria, but Smith really holds the film together with her authority and slightly tipsy humor. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (10)

We should all learn to forgive
You can read some of the other reviews to get more of the gist of the plot, but I just want to add that this movie is well worth seeing. This movie should move you. Dame Maggie Smith,portraying an aging romance novelist, is elegant, understated, and honest. She shows in her anguish the depths of her depression as she senses old age coming upon her and her appeal as a woman all but snuffed out. The girl (I don't have her name on hand, unfortunately) who played the child who had lost both her parents in the bomb blast and was still in the early stages of recovery when her uncle wanted to uproot her from her new home in Umbria, was breathtakingly luminous. The young actress plays the part with such sincerity. She does not have much of a speaking role, but she becomes by way of the intermingling of the characters, the focal point of the movie. Her interaction with Mrs. Delahonte (sp?)(Maggie Smith) and with Werner, the young German, is deeply moving.As Mrs. Delahonte (sp?) becomes deeply attached to the young girl and it appears that this relationship will be tragically severed, you realize that the notion of family and emotional bonding is never defined by blood ties alone. The relationship between Mrs. Delahonte and the young girl is beautifully portrayed. This movie is timeless in its message: we all should forgive because we all have something for which we need to be forgiven.

CAN'T WAIT FOR THE DVD
I saw this lovely film on HBO, and it's to their immense credit that this film was seen at all. This film would never be released by a major studio these days. They are only concerned with huge blockbuster movies, yet anyone who cares about a strong, emotional story, set in gorgeous Umbria and starring Maggie Smith shouldn't miss this gem.

Maggie Smith stars as an aging romance novelist living in splendid isolation in her villa in the Umbrian countryside. On a shopping trip, the train she's traveling on is bombed by terrorists. When the dust is settled, Smith, and several of the travelers who shared her compartment, are in the hospital, including a little girl who has lost her parents. Smith generously offers her home as a refuge for the survivors to recuperate.

The traumatized little girl can't speak. Smith's heart goes out to her, and she does her best to make her as comfortable as possible. Smith's rather bohemian character, as well as her fondness for cocktails makes her a slightly madcap, tipsy hostess. Rather lonely of late, this unexpected intrusion in her life makes her feel needed. There's a young man with a secret to hide, and an older pensioner who round out the group. Then the little girl's uptight uncle (played with unstated eloquence by Chris Cooper) comes to take custody of his brother's orphaned daughter.

Smith is devasted by his coldness, his disapproval, and senses that he simply is taking the girl out of a sense of duty to his brother.

I won't give anymore of the plot away. Dame Maggie won a well-deserved Emmy for her superb portrayal of a middle-aged spinster, lonely for love, and with her own tragic past, who finds a purpose in her life in the aftermath of tragedy. The script is superb, the Italian settings and the gorgeous period costumes as well as fine work from a strong cast, make this a memorble viewing experience.

Nobody captures loneliness as truthfully as Dame Maggie. She's been doing it throughout her long career, as Rod Taylor's assistant in the bloated VIPs, as the headstrong teacher in THE PRME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, as the actress nominated for an Oscar in CALIFORNIA SUITE, and countless other memorable screen portraits. Highly recommended.

Very touching
This movie is very touching. It may not be the most surprising or action packed of movies, but it can touch you if you let it. So many people, all touched by the same tragedy, having to come together, and share and learn and grow together. I think you'll enjoy it.

Annoyingly Bad
I had high hopes for this movie, having fallen in love with "Under A Tuscan Sun" and hoping that "My House In Umbria" would be similar.

I couldn't have been further from the truth. Quite frankly, I hated this movie. I thought Maggie Smith was pompous and incredibly annoying, particularly in her pursuit of the American which didn't seem to fit anywhere into the movie.

If it's Italy you're craving do yourself a favor and rent "Under A Tuscan Sun".

Still undecided [Warning: Includes Spoilers]
I am still undecided on this one.

I really like Dame Maggie Smith. Initially I liked the woman she was cast as - especially the internal dialogue she had as she assessed people around her (in the intuitive, and perhaps at times, overly imaginative nature of a writer). However, I found her character grew irritating as the movie progressed. She kept pursuing Chris Cooper's character. The ruder he was to her, the more she followed him. Suddenly her intuition evaporates and she seems pathetic.

There was so much more warmth and interest in the moments when she interacted with the other characters - especially the elderly gentleman who had lost his daughter. But these relationships were cut short by her increasing (and - to me - eventually irrational) obsession with River-Smith (the Chris Cooper character). The scene with him in his bedroom did not really make sense to me. Are you really going to begin to undress with someone who is being so dramatically hateful to you - no matter how drunk you are?

My favorite part of the story surrounded the German man. I truly liked his character. I was shocked when he turned out to be linked to the bombing. But there was such a grace in how Dame Maggie's character was able to forgive him. And such sorrow in him as he tried to help the little girl (whose parents he realized he had taken from her).

That bizarre element was the one redeeming thing for me from the movie. How easy it is to hate people you don't know. How it becomes conceivable to forgive people once you know them, once you eat with them, and they build a garden with you. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A remarkable cast lends emotional richness to The Gathering Storm,an HBO movie about the life of Winston Churchill just prior to the onsetof World War II. Faced with bankruptcy, his career in decline, Churchill(Albert Finney) is beset with depression until the impending danger ofGerman rearmament--along with the British government's reluctance torecognize the threat of Hitler--gives him a cause that brings him back toenergetic life. The movie focuses as much on the enduring relationshipbetween Churchill and his wife, Clementine (Vanessa Redgrave), as hispolitical struggles. But though The Gathering Storm clearly admiresChurchill, it also acknowledges his tyrannical personality and astonishingego, turning what could be a puff piece into a well-rounded and movingportrait. The truly topnotch cast includes Derek Jacobi, Jim Broadbent,Tom Wilkinson, Linus Roache, and Lena Headey, all of whom turn in superbperformances. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (18)

A CHURCHILLIAN LANDSCAPE
Okay, so for my money Winston Churchill was the greatest character of the last century. Larger than life and who defied all and sundry when he thought he was right (which was practically always). Could this or any other movie live up to the memory of a legend. The Gathering Storm managed very well, thanks in no short measure to the amazing performance by Albert Finney who not only looked and sounded like the great man but also captured the Bulldog Defiance which served the British people and indeed the world so well during World War II. Vanessa Redgrave must also be acknowledged for her performance as the power behind the cigar. In fact every actor in this movie turns in a stunning performance, including Tom Wilkenson who has long been one of my favorite undiscovered actors (discovered now of course). I understand that a sequel is in the works and I hope this is true. Because this surely is only the first course and what should be a sumptious feast of history, acting, writing and dircetion. Just don't keep us waiting too long.

Albert Finney is Superb as Churchill!
Rarely does an actor capture the essence of someone so much bigger than life as was Sir Winston Churchill, but Albert Finney achieves the nearly impossible-- he becomes Churchill and manages to dominate practically every frame of this HBO video even against the likes of someone as talented as Vanessa Redgrave, who plays his beloved "Clemmie" Churchill. Ms. Redgrave does rise to the occasion as she, as we say, eats up the furniture when Finney accuses her of being selfish. She roars something to the effect that "don't you dare call me selfish when I have lived with you for 26 years," These two fine actors are joined by a great supporting cast in this beautifully filmed movie. The action covers a brief time in Churchill's life when Hitler is rising to power in Germany. Churchill is having financial difficulties, is plagued by what he calls the "black dog" of depression and cannot convince the current prime minister that Hitler is an enormous threat to the security of England.

Finney here joins other over 50, overweight actors (think Kathy Bates and Jack Nicholson)who bare their all for art. This movie won three Emmys, which were richly deserved.

There is no such thing as a five star film.
The Gathering Storm, thankfully brushed lightly upon those over-documented events leading to England's declaration of war in 1939. Where the movie shines brightest is in it's bare honest portrayal of The Right Hon. Winston Churchill - as an egomaniacal, obstinate, fanatical 'god and empire' patriot with the effette pretentions of a petti-artiste. Who was a chronic looser in every aspect of his personal and professional life, who conspired to bully a tragically vulnerable civil servant to betray his office and who divulged stolen intelligence from his own government to give a hopelessly pacifist England a harsh wake-up. Finney and Redgrave are glorious, simply wonderful. The cameo of Ronnie Barker as 'Mr Inches', Churchill's butler, came closest to upstaging Albert Finney as I have ever seen. No film is worth five stars, no movie comes close to perfection, so here we have four.

Wow
Well,it is an English movie so of course there is male nudity and dark humor. Albert Finney, the man (the lawyer) from Erin Brockovich movie, has given us a stunning performance in this movie. He is Winston Churchil prior to second world war and before he became a prime minister.
You should absolutely watch this movie - and when you do - you'll find out something you never knew about England and Nazis.
Appearantly English Government sold Hitler 8000 planes prior to WWII unbeknownst to them that Hitler would bomb England with the very same planes!

It is another "boring" English movie but it's worth watching it and I highly recommend it to all. There's so much to be learned from it!

a personal portrait
It's interesting -- and understandable -- that the other customer reviewers focus at times on how great Churchill was. This movie, although it shows Churchill as a great man and conscious of that greatness, is about Churchill as a human being. We see how much his wife meant to him, and his animals, and his sense of place and animals and painting.

The movie is set before the war, while England slept (to borrow a phrase from JFK), when Churchill was trying to sound the alarm about the growing threat from a rearming Germany. It was fascinating, in that sense, to watch this movie as we await al Qaeda's next horrific move.

Leading up to World War II and Churchill's return to power, the movie's structure is a bit off-putting, in that the coming of war becomes a personal triumph, in dramatic terms, for Churchill. But then we watch with the full knowledge the Churchill's role in the war was one of the great personal and historic triumphs.

Finney is a great Churchill impersonator and calibrates his performance well, capturing the man's crankiness and depression and not just making him a show-off orator. The rest of the cast is spot on and the interiors are rich and lovely. A good historical piece, personal dynamics piece and appealing Anglophile nostalgia piece. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Strange, funny, with good performances, by Palin, et. al.
This movie, about a missionary, who comes back from Africa, and is about to get married to his highly organised [British spelling] fiance, is given an assignment by his bishop, to "convert" the "fallen women" (prostitutes) of England. With funny performances by Palin, Maggie Smith (stunningly attractive in an aristocratic way), Phoebe Nicholls, as his future wife (you have to see the movie to see if he marries her), and others, presents a wickedly funny look at a man who seeks to do good, in the face of temptation. Not bad.

The cleric and the working girls
Sometimes, life among the "uncivilized" is less taxing.

Michael Palin is the Reverend Charles Fortescue, an Anglican cleric recalled to England in 1906 after spending the previous ten years in the bush among African tribesmen. Charles happily anticipates marriage to his sweetheart of long standing, Deborah (Phoebe Nicholls), and, perhaps, a posting as the vicar of a country church in the south of England. If he only knew, poor devil, he might have elected to stay on the Dark Continent.

THE MISSIONARY encompasses three subplots. While silly and demanding Deborah plans the wedding, she allows her beloved not even so much as a kiss on the cheek before the vows are solemnized. Until then, her great passion is for her system of filing papers and correspondence, an interest about which she prattles on endlessly. In the meantime, the Bishop of London gives Charles his new assignment - to establish a halfway house for prostitutes in the squalid London Dockyards. But the greatest threat to Fortescue's peace of mind is the bored and lusty wife of a filthy rich and semi-senile old Lord (Trevor Howard), Lady Isabel Ames (Maggie Smith), who offers herself in exchange for financial backing of the Mission for Fallen Women. Before long, Charles has problems with the gentler gender, especially when his redeemed working girls begin showing their, um, appreciation for his kind and sensitive nature. It doesn't help Fortescue maintain a stiff upper lip that he's a closet sensualist too long denied.

THE MISSIONARY, described as a "gentle satire", doesn't really work because the separate parts never mesh as well as they could. Deborah remains clueless virtually throughout; the complication represented by Lady Isabel veers off into a clumsily done sidebar involving an attempted murder; the relationship between Charles and his flock is quickly left behind. There aren't enough chuckles to recommend this film, although the best are perhaps when the butler employed by Lord and Lady Ames first ushers Fortescue into a country palace so huge that the guide gets hopelessly lost. Or when the sudden death of a terminally aged, potential benefactor goes unnoticed by Charles while expounding at length on the spiritual needs of the deprived underclasses.

A much classier comedy about an Anglican minister unnerved by the pesky existence of sex is SIRENS (1994), which benefits from the discomfiture of Hugh Grant in the lead role faced with an unashamedly unclothed bevy of Babes that includes supermodel Elle Macpherson.

A Missionary With a Difference
Michael Palin plays a missionary who has just returned after ten years in Africa. He has a fiancé waiting and has high hopes for a good position.

But all does not go as planned. He keeps running into an intriguing woman, his fiancé is obsessed with filing, and his church wants him to tackle the growing problem of "fallen women" working in the docklands.

Faced with the task of setting up a mission in London, he must find funding and souls to save. But to do either he finds that he may have to extend a different sort of kindness. One that gets him money and fills the mission with prospects.

But, again, all is not well. Other churches are jealous, all of their prospects want to go to Palin's mission. His funding source gets jealous and stops funding. He learns of a murder plot that he must stop. He must even go against the wishes of the church in order to save the women.

All of this is wrapped in a sort of dry British humor. We have the fiancé who is utterly obsessed with filing, a butler who can't go from one room to another without getting lost, and all sorts of subtle gags. In the middle is Palin as the straight man dealing with it all.

A good movie, but I have to agree with others that I can't believe MGM released it only in full-screen (several scenes have only a character's nose making it onto the screen).

'Modified to fit your screen."
How could MGM release a fullscreen only version of a film at this late date? I'm afraid that this lovely film is too obscure ever to be re-issued in the correct aspect ratio. I hope I'm proved wrong.

Try to change the world, and the world changes you!
After ten years of heroic missionary work, the Rev. Charles Fortesque is recalled from Africa and reassigned to the most pressing problem of the Church of England - to reform "fallen women" who work on the back streets of East London. Yet, ironically, by a strange twist of fate, it is he who is reformed by a woman who once was "fallen". Or, is it that he always does the decent thing? I loved the reversals! ... Read more

Description

Critics across America loved THE WEDDING GIFT, praising its wry wit and heartfelt performances. It's the inspirational story of a remarkable couple, Deric and Diana (Academy Award(R)-winner Jim Broadbent -- Best Supporting Actor, IRIS, 2001; GANGS OF NEW YORK, MOULIN ROUGE and Julie Walters -- HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS), who share their lives in perfect harmony, amusing each other with good humor as they face Diana's failing health. As a final act of affection for Deric, Diana orchestrates a gift of love in its purest and deepest form -- by secretly setting him up with another woman! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

paralysis is a state of mind
This BBC TV is based on the true story of Deric and Diana Longden, who were faced with the debilitating symptoms of what was at the time undefined Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, with Diana a paralytic who has blackouts. The trap in dramatising this kind of tale is allowing the proceedings to get either too maudlin or too icky sweet uplifting. Adapter playwright Jack Rosenthal and director Richard Loncraine overcome this but fall into the opposing trap, by making the situations mundane and distracting the narrative with the seemingly unnecessary plight of the Longden's to be married son, and the lack of success of Deric's business. We don't so much resent the time given to Deric's doddery mother played by Thora Hird since her addle-mindness is so funny, with the reactions to her underplayed as a given. Thankfully as the Longden's, Julie Walters and particularly Jim Broadbent partially restore the balance by investing their characters with warmth and wit. Walters has the tougher role since it is her last wish for Deric to re-marry, and though she makes her Diana someone to be treasured we also see the pain and frustration of her dependence on Deric. Unlike the couple in the Jill Clayburgh Miles to Go, Diana's wish is only activated by Deric's chance meeting with Aileen (if that name wasn't based on the real person it would be unforgiveable), a writer who happens to be blind. As Diana witnesses Deric's interest in Aileen, she sees that the blindness would allow for Deric to continue his need to watch out for someone, without them being totally dependent. The arrangement isn't pushed, much like Diana's anger towards the medical profession's inability to help her. Since the disease she suffers from is unknown to them, they dismiss her as an "hysteric" which matches the medieval hand aides she is given to wear. The film's second half is definitely stronger than the first, as if we need to pause after the gothicness of Diana's encounters with hospitals and before Aileen makes her entrance, and by the conclusion we become grateful that things are left somewhat open, which nicely undercuts what could have deteriorated into tragedy and sentimental sludge.

Well worth watching.
Julie Walters is very good in this movie. It's a wonderful story about peoples tragedies...and how strong it can make one.....and persistent. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Worth Watching To See Gort Get What He Deserves
This is a somewhat different presentation of a bank-robbery story involving an alcoholic computer expert blackmailed into service by some really sickening dudes who have kidnapped his son. The head robber, code name Bellman, is a ghastly individual, as is his particularly unpleasant henchman, Gort.

Gort gets killed during the robbery in a horrific accident, an extremely disturbing scene that merely underscores the Bellman's coldness. The accident portrayed is so unexpected, so heretofore out-of-place in this film, that its impact upon the viewer is stunning. And at the same time, it could not have happened to a nicer guy.

This is a good movie to see once. It's probably not one you'll want to view again, but you will want to lend it to friends. ... Read more