Frank Finlay

  • Mark Cullingham – Play for Today: 84, Charing Cross Road (1975)

    1971-1980DramaMark CullinghamThe Wednesday Play & Play for TodayTVUnited Kingdom

    Written by Helene Hanff (book) & Hugh Whitemore (dramatisation)

    Quote:
    ‘…people going to England find exactly what they go looking for. I said I’d go looking for the England of English Literature…’

    When Arthur Dent receives an alien tongue-lashing on arrival at yet another inhospitable planet during The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he observes in exasperation: ‘Why doesn’t anyone ever seem to pleased to see us?’1 One answer to that question might well be: ‘Because drama and comedy rely on conflict to make them work.’ There’s rarely a great deal of mileage to be extracted from people liking one another and generally getting on, but when the trick is pulled off, the results can be delightful and surprising.Read More »

  • Tinto Brass – La chiave AKA The Key (1983)

    1981-1990DramaEroticaItalyTinto Brass

    In 1940s Venice, after twenty years of marriage, a Professor and his younger wife witness the passion wane. Now, all that remains is to confess the rousing thoughts to an elaborate diary hoping to break free from ties and inhibitions.Read More »

  • Clive Donner – A Christmas Carol (1984)

    Drama1981-1990Clive DonnerFantasyUnited Kingdom

    PLOT:In the Victorian period, Ebenezer Scrooge is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money, and who regards compassion as a luxury he cannot afford. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner, who arranges for Scrooge to be visited by three spirits in an attempt to show him the errors of his ways — the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. The spirits force Scrooge to examine the failings of his own life, as well as the bravery and optimism of his loyal but ill-treated employee Bob Cratchit. Scrooge reforms, learning to keep the spirit of Christmas alive in his heart, ultimately becoming a well-loved and respected man.Read More »

  • Stephen Frears – Gumshoe (1971)

    1971-1980ComedyMysteryStephen FrearsUnited Kingdom

    Synopsis:
    Ginley (Albert Finney) is a nightclub bingo caller eager for a career change. On his thirty-first birthday, he advertises himself as a private eye in the newspaper. He dons a trench coat, and begins engaging others in rapid-fire dialogue as if he were Humphrey Bogart, or some Dashiell Hammett creation. Soon after, Ginley is phoned by a fat man, who gives him a package containing a gun, a photograph, and a large sum of money. Eventually Ginley is investigating a case involving smuggling of weapons as well as drugs. Read More »

  • Tinto Brass – La chiave aka The key (1983)

    1981-1990DramaEroticaItalyTinto Brass

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    R E V I E W B Y D E R E K H I L L
    Director Tinto Brass is a man of big passions. His films — excluding Caligula (1980), which doesn’t really fit into his overall body of work — are filled with curvaceous women who are uninhibited and bold enough to freely express their healthy appetites for sex. Brass’ camera lovingly (and intrusively) explores the many facets of a woman’s beauty, be it physical or psychological. Brass also isn’t shy about what he likes most about a woman’s body, either — her ample backside. The bigger the better.
    Although Brass would probably chuckle at the idea that his films have a strong feminist slant, Brass’ female leads are strong, independent, and almost heroic in their quests to become emancipated from their roles as housewives, concubines, or mothers. Less cartoonish than his American counterpart Russ Meyer’s heroines, Brass’ ladies actually exude a real humanity with their sensuality.
    Read More »

  • Roman Polanski – The Pianist (2002)

    2001-2010DramaRoman PolanskiUSAWar

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Plot Synopsis: A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.Read More »

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