Category Archives: 1994

1994, Action sequences, Bad Acting, Classic, Conspiracy, Drama, Good Brother - Bad Brother, Jealousy, Kanopy streaming, Mediocre, Mother-son relations, Murder, Norse Tale, Nudity, Old-Fashioned, Period Piece, Personal Betrayal, Political Conspiracy, Revenge, Sometimes seems silly, Uncle-Nephew relations

Royal Deceit (1994)

From Kanopy:

An ancient Danish story of evil, power and human spirit, that subsequently inspired William Shakespeare on his tragedy, Hamlet. When the king of Jutland is murdered by his brother, the dark prince claims both the throne and Queen Geruth. Although her son saw the murder, he feigns madness to spare his life.

From Kanopy you can stream this 28 year old film lasting 108 minutes.

Somehow, way back in 1994, the film got past the censors.  Have you ever seen a naked Helen Mirren?  Indeed, there is a lot of nudity in the film.

Give credit to the fact that the filming of this medieval tale hopefully stayed true to the Norse conditions of the time.  Buildings are humble and crude. Clothing is rudimentary.  Weapons and warfare are amateur affairs.  Somehow, killing a man  by simply sticking a short knife somewhere in his body just does not look convincing.

Delivery of the spoken lines is a bit stilted.

Watching a film that is 28 years old gives us a chance to see what familiar actors looked like way back then. And what a difference!

  • Christian Bale as prince Amled was 20 years old.
  • Gabriel Byrne as the evil brother Fenge was 44 years old.
  • Helen Mirren as queen Geruth was 49 years old.
  • Kate Beckinsale as Ethel was 21 years old.
  • Tom Wilkinson as king Hardvendel was 46 years old.

 

1994, British, Crime, Detective, Drugs, Psychological Drama, Satirical ultra-violence, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

Shallow Grave (1994)

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From Netflix:

Ewan McGregor stars in this grimly comic tale of three roommates who find their enigmatic new flatmate dead in his room with a stash of drugs and a suitcase full of cash. What will they do with all that money — and the corpse?

Basically the plot is that the suitcase full of cash little by little corrupts each of the three friends. Suspense builds as their increasingly paranoid behavior leads to conflicts and more. Be prepared for violence along with the good acting. Ewan McGregor almost never appears in an unworthy film. But this film is also a bit strange.

And who will win the cash competition ?

1994, British Mystery Series, Child Molestation, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Gay theme, Gritty, Made For TV, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Rugby, Small Town, Violent, Wales

A Mind to Kill (1994)

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From Netflix:

Homicide detective Noel Bain (Philip Madoc) specializes in solving crimes the old-fashioned way: with keen intuition and deductive reasoning rather than high-tech gadgets and forensics. A prickly widower obsessed with his work, Bain always nabs the bad guys. His workaholic tendencies infuriate his teenage daughter, Hannah (Ffion Wilkins), but he strives to protect her from the relentless brutality he witnesses every day in his beloved Wales.

Available from Netflix only on disc (no streaming) with subtitles, this gritty detective series occurring in Wales is well-written and well-acted.

Add this to your list of gritty British detective TV series and enjoy. In this gritty category I would rate this series DO NOT MISS!

1994, British, Catholic culture, Child Molestation, Drama, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Religious Theme

Priest (1994)

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From NetFlix:

Director Antonia Bird’s film centers on Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache), a devout Catholic priest who struggles with a love for his church and congregation — and his secret life as a homosexual with a gay lover (Robert Carlyle). After hearing the confession of a young girl in his parish, who tells him her father is sexually abusing her, the priest is torn between the laws of the church and his need to choose one life over the other.

When this film appeared in 1994 the reviews were a mixture of praise and condemnation. Here the thesis is that the Catholic church is out-of-date and needs to change. No matter your opinion in this case, from an artistic standpoint many viewers, myself included, found the film often preachy, overly melodramatic, and driven by a prejudiced agenda. Still, the film held my attention throughout.

Three separate issues run through the film: Father Matthew Thomas (Tom Wilkinson) is living with the housekeeper, Father Greg Pilkington (Linus Roache) is gay, and a parishoner is sexually abusing his young daughter. With this last item the problem is that due to the “seal of confession” Father Greg feels he cannot tell anyone.

Some sex scenes between Father Greg and his male lover Graham (Robert Carlyle) are explicit.

In watching an old film it can be fun seeing actors that you know from films and TV closer to the present:

  • Linus Roache played Michael Cutter in both “Law and Order” and “Law and Order SVU”.
  • Tom Wilkinson has a huge acting resume. You may recall him as Graham Dashwood in “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
  • Robert Carlyle also has a long resume. You may remember his as Gaz in the 1997 film “The Full Monty”.

My strongest reaction to this film was: “Here we are 19 years after the film was made and there have been no changes in the Catholic church”. Surprise!

1994, British Mystery Series, Cooking and food, Detective, TV Series

Pie in the Sky (1994)

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From NetFlix:

In spite of an intense desire to leave police work forever, Detective Inspector Henry Crabbe (Richard Griffiths) finds himself continually pulled in to help solve crimes even after leaving the force to open his dream restaurant, Pie in the Sky. It seems that Assistant Chief Constable Freddie Fisher (Malcolm Sinclair) can’t manage without Crabbe’s brainpower — and refuses to grant him full retirement. Maggie Steed co-stars in this BBC comedy-drama.

Detective Crabbe spends probably more time talking about food than he does working as a detective. Many episodes do not even involve a murder. Which is a way of saying, these episodes from BBC TV are “gentle” detective stories which do not offer grim situations.

More “As Time Goes By” rather than “Waking the Dead”. Try a few. The series went on for years.

1994, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Flirting, Gay theme, Love Story, Optimistic, Unusual, Vulgar, Wonderful acting

The Sum Of Us (1994)

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From NetFlix:

In this Australian comedy based on David Stevens’s stage play, Jeff (Russell Crowe) is a young gay man living with his widowed father, Harry (Jack Thompson). Although Harry has always accepted the fact that his son is openly gay, his acceptance is challenged. Jeff brings home a potential lover one night, and in turn, when Harry gets involved with Joyce, a divorcée, she and Jeff can’t see eye-to-eye.

“Comedy” is not an apt description of this unusual, well-made, gay-themed film. If anything, it is a touching, warm-hearted drama. Filmed in the Sydney (Australia) from a time that reminds me of our own country before the United States became ancient Rome, the anti-gay sentiments portrayed therein are probably similar to our attitudes here in the USA 18 years ago.

Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand in 1964. So he was a young pup of 30 years when he starred in this film. Jack Thompson, who played Jeff’s father, has been in many films. For example, he was Maj. J.F. Thomas in “Breaker Morant” (which you should see!). John Polson (the potential lover) also has a respectable film resume. In this production the acting is excellent.

One device used in the film is that throughout both Jeff’s father and Jeff speak to us directly as a running commentary.

Lest you be hesitant to watch a gay-themed film, I assure you that the most explicit sexual activity portrayed is a kiss. However, the conversation is something else: off-color comments and very explicit discussions abound!

Every now and then I felt I was watching pro-gay propaganda because of the father’s attitude. How rare was it in those days to have such an understanding and accepting father? If there is a theme to this film it is: You have not lived if you have not loved.

Going out on a limb, I will say DO NOT MISS!

1994, Unusual

Running Out of Time (1994)

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From NetFlix:

Antonio (Javier Bardem) is a Basque terrorist whose plan is
jeopardized when he meets Charo (Ruth Gabriel), who introduces
to another world of crime and pleasure. They become immersed
in a passionate romance. Antonio is determined to complete his
mission, but his indifference to a cause in which he no longer
believes, along with Charo’s tempting allure, creates a tragic
conclusion.

NetFlix got it wrong. Antonio is played by Carmelo Gómez. Javier Bardem instead
has a lesser role as a really rundown drug addict. In fact almost everyone in this downer
of a Spanish film is a bit scummy: prostitute, drug addict, terrorist. Come to think of it,
even the police were corrupt. There is not one decent person in the film. There is way
too much nudity and sexual explicitness. So why did I finish watching ? Because Antonio
the Basque terrorist falls in love with an unfortunate young woman whose drug habit
pushes her into prostitution just as Antonio is questioning his life as a terrorist. In a way
the ending is perfect.

Absolutely not for everyone.