Jonathan-Pryce Movie Reviews

There is a scene towards the long and tedious movie A Business Affair where the character Vanni Corso (played by the often stylish Christopher Walken) is seated with his Italian mother at the dinner table, and for a minute or so he stares blankly at the camera. One senses Walken has had enough of this piece of romantic schlock by now, enough of a meandering and befuddled script, enough of Carole Bouqet's weak attempt at a French accent. No doubt the Video/DVD cover will pitch a different caper, may even describe this tripe as "comedy", but I fail to see the comedy after having paid [money] in a second hand store for the DVD version. I knew in my heart why this was only [money], and yet, I am a sucker for a bargain, and wanted to be consoled by the store attendant ("Christopher Walken looks so young!") when I knew I had bought a lemon. There is nothing funny, nothing at all that warrants the association with any "feminist" viewpoint, and not even a decent soundtrack (spare me the French accordian music please). I fear that if that was my last [monry] and I may be eating the video cover this came in, scribbling over the title and hocking the DVD as a blank CD-R. Stare blankly, longingly at this one, but don't stare for too long at your purchase, or you will regret and be forced to find another buyer like I am doing now.

The story line of this movie has been described by other reviewers, so I'll just say that it is one of my favorites. The acting is first-rate: English actor Jonathan Pryce always turns in a creditable performance, and Carole Bouquet, as the main character, more than carries her share of the plot. Christopher Walken is not to be missed; he plays the comedic nature of his character to the hilt. What is amazing is the way director Charlotte Bronestrom manages to balance perfectly comedy and tragedy, to play off the serious message underlying the plot with the absurdity of human behavior. She doesn't miss a beat and gives us a film that is funny and sad, frivolous and serious at the same time--much like life itself.

This is a marvelous movie with wonderful performances by Christopher Walken, Jonathan Pryce, and the exquisitely beautiful Carole Bouquet. It is the story of a woman (Carole Bouquet), who is married to an egotistical, self absorbed Englishman (Jonathan Pryce), who is a well known writer and highly acclaimed literary figure. Christopher Walken plays the part of an Italian American publisher who is looking to sign up some English authors for the American market. He wines and dines Pryce, who ends up signing with him.

Meanwhile, Pryce is suffering from writer's block, while his long suffering wife is typing out her own manuscript. Pryce speaks to his wife contemptuosly about her effort. She gives her finished manuscript to Walken, who likes it and agrees to publish her book. This angers Pryce, who actually tells Walken not to publish it, so enraged is he by his wife actually having a thought that does not evolve around him. Walken meets with the wife and sees her as the beautiful, warm, intelligent, and articulate woman that she is.

Delighted to be treated like a normal person, rather than an appendage of her husband, Walken and Bouquet begin an affair that culminates in divorce from Pryce and marriage to Walken. She finds out that once married, however, Walken basically expects her world to revolve around him. In essence, Pryce and Walken are basically one and the same. She ultimately leaves Walken, writes another book, and becomes a best selling author in her own right and a woman of independent means. She comes into her own as a person, and is no longer another's doormat. This is the story of her liberation as a woman.

... ten years ago was because I heard from a friend that Ione Skye had a pair of nude scenes in it. However, I found myself completely taken in by the movie...One scene in particular was priceless. Rachel has just climbed into a taxi and closed the door but left open the window. Just as Charles works up the nerve to try to kiss her through the window and leans foreward, the cab pulls away. The look on his face is pitiful. But when you see her smile back, it's just magical...Oh by the way, Ione Skye DOES take off her clothes repeatedly, so guys who normally shun this sort of movie have a valid reason to watch it, too!

A very good movie, not quite up to the standard of the book it is based on (and follows rather closely).

The book was written from the point of view of the main character, but it has two voices. One was Charles Highway's inner meanderings and pronouncements, the other (still by Charles) was the unadorned, unanalysed description of the things that happened to him. And generally there is a glaring difference between the two - they don't match up. In the view of the first voice, Charles is a wise and funny schemer. But the events related in the second voice show him to be inept, unlucky, and chronically unsure of himself. The ending was similarly riven. You can't tell if things ended-up the way they did by choice or design. Perhaps the author didn't know.

So anyway, the movie has to deal with that dichotomy, and it does it by pretty much ignoring the second voice. Charles comes across as boastful and shallow, for the most part, and a lot less likeable. The film also has to drop a lot of his hilarious caustic monolgues, so it's less funny than the book, too. That being said, there's enough left to allow fans of the book to fill in the blanks, and it doesn't attempt to force in a standard Hollywood ending. Plus the three main actors and the supporting cast were very good - Jonathon Pryce as Charles' deranged uncle is so good that it's hard to keep your eyes on Ione Skye in the few scenes they have together.

Perhaps not on par with the novel but more accessible. Although brilliant and highly original, I think Martin Amis' first book contains some obscure passages and insider English schoolboy jokes. Also, the 1970's setting of the book has been replaced by the 1980's in the movie.

Ione Skye and Dexter Fletcher portray the growing relationship between Rachel & Charles rather well. James Spader fills in nicely as DeForest, the rival boyfriend. The college scene with Michael Gambon as Doctor Knowd is particularly humorous.

A good study in adolescence.

... ten years ago was because I heard from a friend that Ione Skye had a pair of nude scenes in it. However, I found myself completely taken in by the movie...One scene in particular was priceless. Rachel has just climbed into a taxi and closed the door but left open the window. Just as Charles works up the nerve to try to kiss her through the window and leans foreward, the cab pulls away. The look on his face is pitiful. But when you see her smile back, it's just magical...Oh by the way, Ione Skye DOES take off her clothes repeatedly, so guys who normally shun this sort of movie have a valid reason to watch it, too!

A very good movie, not quite up to the standard of the book it is based on (and follows rather closely).

The book was written from the point of view of the main character, but it has two voices. One was Charles Highway's inner meanderings and pronouncements, the other (still by Charles) was the unadorned, unanalysed description of the things that happened to him. And generally there is a glaring difference between the two - they don't match up. In the view of the first voice, Charles is a wise and funny schemer. But the events related in the second voice show him to be inept, unlucky, and chronically unsure of himself. The ending was similarly riven. You can't tell if things ended-up the way they did by choice or design. Perhaps the author didn't know.

So anyway, the movie has to deal with that dichotomy, and it does it by pretty much ignoring the second voice. Charles comes across as boastful and shallow, for the most part, and a lot less likeable. The film also has to drop a lot of his hilarious caustic monolgues, so it's less funny than the book, too. That being said, there's enough left to allow fans of the book to fill in the blanks, and it doesn't attempt to force in a standard Hollywood ending. Plus the three main actors and the supporting cast were very good - Jonathon Pryce as Charles' deranged uncle is so good that it's hard to keep your eyes on Ione Skye in the few scenes they have together.

Perhaps not on par with the novel but more accessible. Although brilliant and highly original, I think Martin Amis' first book contains some obscure passages and insider English schoolboy jokes. Also, the 1970's setting of the book has been replaced by the 1980's in the movie.

Ione Skye and Dexter Fletcher portray the growing relationship between Rachel & Charles rather well. James Spader fills in nicely as DeForest, the rival boyfriend. The college scene with Michael Gambon as Doctor Knowd is particularly humorous.

A good study in adolescence.

What if Adolf Hitler kept a diary? What would it say? Would it give an excuse - a hint of reason - for why he did what he did? And if there was a diary, how much would the world media pay for an artifact all the world wants to see?

"Selling Hitler" is a very stylish 4-hour British miniseries of just such a story. As insane as it seems now, the story is true. It happened in 1985, and if you're too young to remember, I will not give away the ending. The fun is in the telling, with corporate greed battling the ethics of good journalism, with common sense flying out the window.

Jonathan Pryce is wonderful as unstable journalist Gerd Heidemann, obsessed with both the good life and Nazi memorobilia. Heidemann acquires Hermann Goering's old yacht, but his Stern Magazine editors demand a productive story. That story leaps when he meets shady Conrad Fischer - a smart man with access to Hitler diaries. Heidemann has the bait, his editors take the hook. Then it gets rather complicated.

No action scenes, but the film digs up plenty of tension. The action is in the passion. Everyone in this story wants the Diaries on their terms at their price. Boardroom negotiations turn into smiley warfare, promotions and threats. The atmosphere is so crazed that even discredited English historian David Irving makes a memorable appearance.

At 3 1/2 hours, the delight in detail can swamp you - Rupert Murdoch vs. Newsweek, Newsweek vs. Stern Magazine, editors against each other, journalists against sources, forgers against sources, David Irving against everybody - "Selling Hitler" is a cutting character study of paranoia, hucksters and good old scheming. Perhaps it's better to watch this over 2 days. Or not - I watch it straight through every time, exhausted but grinning. The pace is excellent.

Still, I hope this film will find a DVD release, as that could eliminate my only complaint. The video print for this film is so-so, with slightly muffled sound, and visuals that seem underlit. This is a non-issue in the second half - much of which takes place in static media corporation light - but more so in the shadowy creepy early half. The film clearly wasn't released this way - DVD would be a good excuse to set this right. Still, "Selling Hitler" is perfect ammunition against those who say "Masterpiece Theater" is the best British TV has to offer. Highly recommended.

An interesting black comedy about a man who hears rumours of lost Hitler diaries, and his growing obsession to have these objects. Based on a true story of a German reporter, he eventually gets his magazine to shell out the money to purchase these documents. Of course he is soon to discover their are more, along with paintings and other items. He becomes submerged in a strange subculture of collectors, eventually purchasing Goering's boat and seducing his grown daughter. The diaries turn out to be frauds and he looses it all. An interesting commentary on the continuing interest in Hitler and the Third Reich.

Based on a true story, The Doctor and the Devils present several fine performances by outstanding actors including Timothy Dalton, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, and Julian Sands. Nineteenth century medicine for one forward thinking physician, Dr. Roc (Dalton), was the fight to teach medicine as science that relied on empirical fact and first hand observation, not folk lore nor religious philosophy. His primary source was fresh cadavers, the fresher the better. Alas, the Victorian mind-set was in the dark ages and regulated the number of cadaver's faculty used for teaching. Into the situation stumble two fiends (Price and Rea) who recognize a quick way to earn money for cheap gin and the local harlot (Twiggy, miscast but not a bad performance) was grave robbing. Rather than steal dead bodies from graves, however, why not avoid the grave altogether? Killing any unfortunate who happened across their path, Pryce and Rea are soon Dr. Roc's best suppliers of fresh bodies. Science versus morality, need and ambition, truth before conscience are issues explored by the stellar ensemble cast. A superb film for any library.

I found this movie to be very uplifting. It isn't just about a girl learning to fly or about her romance on ship board, although those things are elements of the film. It is a message to everyone that in order to live and move forward in life one must let go of the past. One needs to let go of one's fears, and one needs to love regardless of social convention, race, orientation, etc. While the plot did have a lot of angles, it was tied up nicely by the end, and I felt overall it was a film worth watching.

Not a bad little British film. It features some very good period costuming, good acting, particularly by actor Paul Bettany, plus well written story (it is afterall Robert Lewis Stevenson). My biggest complaint are the dark scenes, which make everything hard to see, especially the fight scenes. In addition, for a DVD, there are very few extras included, which would been nice to have. In short, it's not bad, but could have been better.

I purchased "The Game of Death" more or less on a whim. It looked like an interesting, small film that might bear comparison with British television, or low-budget productions like those from Hammer Studios. With its minimal asking price, my only concern was whether or not the film was presented in a widescreen format. (It is, though letterboxed, not 16:9 enhanced.)

The first pleasant surprise was seeing that "Game" was produced by Roger Corman, which is not incidental. In many ways a throwback to Corman's early '60s formula of inexpensive, visually sumptuous literary adaptations, "Game"'s chief virtues are technical and similar to Corman's Poe films. The film is gorgeously lit, the sound is crisp to the point of painful, the costume and production design just rich enough to suggest much more than they show. Corman proves again that you do not have to spend a lot of money to make a decent film.

There is nonetheless a difference between "Game" and Corman's early 60s work. It is part of the charm of those films that you can sense the backlot prop shop beneath the lively surfaces. You don't care much about the rough edges, because you know the films were produced for next to nothing. Here, the uneven performances, the edgy, rushed pace, the repetitive music, in short, all the subtle symptoms of a production that didn't have quite enough time to get things perfect, are out of synch with an environment dressed to the nines.

It is a perverse testament to the film's success in conveying class on the cheap that one is a touch too aware when it doesn't measure up. Jonathan Pryce, for example, is good, but has been better. David Morrissey is all too proficient as a suicidal wimp, but I suspect his irritating self-pity would have been improved if he'd had more time to discover shades of feeling in his predicament. Instead, like the rest of the cast, he hits all the obvious points. No one is particularly bad, but neither are they very engaging.

Still, "The Game of Death" is reasonably entertaining. It's just that where the Poe films are imaginative, "Game" is luxuriously literal-minded.

This is a very original piece of writing so it figures that it is a classic, penned by none other than Robert Louis Stevenson. The quality of the writing made me sit up and take notice of this film from the moment it started. That the makers did not stint on its casting helped as well with Jonathan Pryce, David Morrissey and Catherine Siggins in the lead roles. The plot is not all that simple to conceive. Set in 1899 London, there is a clandestine Suicide Club which suicidal people can join. Eventually they will be murdered by a member of the club enabling them to avoid the then-considered shameful, scandalous death of a suicide. There is one problem with joining though: you can't change your mind. You are in the club till your death with Mr. Bourne (Pryce) in charge of it all, holding card games which determine who kills whom on which nights. He, of course, ends up with all of the suicide's assets at death, considerable motivation for keeping the club going. He also seems to immensely enjoy his work. Captain Henry Joyce (Morrissey) joins the club when he can't get over the death of his wife. However, he runs headlong into trouble by falling in love with another member and then wanting out. Be warned though, Stevenson never takes the easy way out at any stage of the story as many a lesser writer would.

An incredible soundtrack propels Stigmata as the best movie I have seen in decades. The bare bones of the movie was about the struggle for oppressed truth to be brought to public attention. Certain truths are hidden for political, medical,...selfish reasons. Religious truths, be it small or large, are often held undisclosed by another country or equally powerful holder. The religious truth pursued in the movie was that to love God didn't mean you had to pray inside of a church or attend to a minister. The Gospel of St. Thomas, scholars edition, that was found near where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, was used as supporting evidence. The priest who tried to decipher the scroll and make it public met an untimely death. The spiritual influences in pushing the truth forward will be enjoyed by people who believe firmly in the non-physical world interacting with and on the human world. The use of light and dark, music or a mix of sound effects with music really added suspense and maintained it. Wonderful job by Patricia Arquette who played the unsuspecting messenger, Frankie Paige, and Gabriel Bryne was a compelling and believable character, Father Kiernan, who doubted miracles as the scientific eye sent to dash the miracle of stigmata in Frankie Paige.

The ever-so-attractive Patricia Arquette plays Frankie (a derivative of St. Francis of Assisi) Paige, an all-to-hip hairstylist who enjoys hanging-out at industrial/techno clubs with her one-dimensional boyfriend Steven and equally one-dimensional co-worker Donna (Nia Long from Ally McBeal). Anyway, Frankie, a devout athiest, becomes inflicted with the marks of the stigmata (how many of the five? watch the dvd and find out) and Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) investigates her inflictions, while he's involved in a political power struggle with the Vatican, as represented by his superior Cardinal Daniel Houseman (Jonathan Pryce). Gabriel Byrne is a very boring and predictable actor, and the 'romance' that he's half involved-in is ludicrious and must have been suggested by the studio. Anyway, this movie is replete with stunning camera shots that flush-out multifarious symbols: doves, blood, water, ascension of water, trains, Aramaic characters, etc. This film borrows much from _The Exorcist_ when it incorporates demonic-ish possession (actually, it's simply the possesion of freedom: freedom from the boundaries of bureaucratic churches and nature, which are replaced with a reliance on faith -- very similar to the writings of Kierkegaard regarding faith in _Fear and Trembling_), but it is far more cinematographic than any of the Exorcist films ever were. My favorite aspect of the film was the fantastic portrayal of Cardinal Daniel Houseman's (as an individual symbol for the Vatican and the bureaucratic social institution of the Catholic Church) Will to Power in doing everything possible to stifle the Gospel of John, even resorting to murder and excommunication of an entire church. Cardinal Houseman acts in much the same fashion as Aguirre in Werner Herzog's _Aguirre: the Wrath of God_. This film incorporates enough symbols and religious history that a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation could be written centered on this film and related subjects. Anyway, to the special features: I prefer the director's ending and this dvd's best feature is the deleted scene entitled "Steven and Frankie Get it On" (phewwwww, Arquette has a perfect 10 for a body! ). The deleted scene with Frankie graphically stabbing herself is also excellent. I recommend purchasing this dvd, as well as the book _The Gospel of Thomas_ and, if you're really wanting to explore religion, Aliester Crowley's "The Book of the Law" or the "The Book of Abramelin the Mage".

BREATHTAKING comes to mind when I think of this non stop thrill ride of biblical proportions! Not since Gone with the Wind have I seen better character development and a sly wit that can only be compared to the late Hugh Grant in "4 Weddings and a Funeral"

I was giggling in my seat the whole way through, as this cinematic masterpiece took me, shook me and hooked me all the way to the finish line!

An incredible soundtrack propels Stigmata as the best movie I have seen in decades. The bare bones of the movie was about the struggle for oppressed truth to be brought to public attention. Certain truths are hidden for political, medical,...selfish reasons. Religious truths, be it small or large, are often held undisclosed by another country or equally powerful holder. The religious truth pursued in the movie was that to love God didn't mean you had to pray inside of a church or attend to a minister. The Gospel of St. Thomas, scholars edition, that was found near where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, was used as supporting evidence. The priest who tried to decipher the scroll and make it public met an untimely death. The spiritual influences in pushing the truth forward will be enjoyed by people who believe firmly in the non-physical world interacting with and on the human world. The use of light and dark, music or a mix of sound effects with music really added suspense and maintained it. Wonderful job by Patricia Arquette who played the unsuspecting messenger, Frankie Paige, and Gabriel Bryne was a compelling and believable character, Father Kiernan, who doubted miracles as the scientific eye sent to dash the miracle of stigmata in Frankie Paige.

The ever-so-attractive Patricia Arquette plays Frankie (a derivative of St. Francis of Assisi) Paige, an all-to-hip hairstylist who enjoys hanging-out at industrial/techno clubs with her one-dimensional boyfriend Steven and equally one-dimensional co-worker Donna (Nia Long from Ally McBeal). Anyway, Frankie, a devout athiest, becomes inflicted with the marks of the stigmata (how many of the five? watch the dvd and find out) and Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) investigates her inflictions, while he's involved in a political power struggle with the Vatican, as represented by his superior Cardinal Daniel Houseman (Jonathan Pryce). Gabriel Byrne is a very boring and predictable actor, and the 'romance' that he's half involved-in is ludicrious and must have been suggested by the studio. Anyway, this movie is replete with stunning camera shots that flush-out multifarious symbols: doves, blood, water, ascension of water, trains, Aramaic characters, etc. This film borrows much from _The Exorcist_ when it incorporates demonic-ish possession (actually, it's simply the possesion of freedom: freedom from the boundaries of bureaucratic churches and nature, which are replaced with a reliance on faith -- very similar to the writings of Kierkegaard regarding faith in _Fear and Trembling_), but it is far more cinematographic than any of the Exorcist films ever were. My favorite aspect of the film was the fantastic portrayal of Cardinal Daniel Houseman's (as an individual symbol for the Vatican and the bureaucratic social institution of the Catholic Church) Will to Power in doing everything possible to stifle the Gospel of John, even resorting to murder and excommunication of an entire church. Cardinal Houseman acts in much the same fashion as Aguirre in Werner Herzog's _Aguirre: the Wrath of God_. This film incorporates enough symbols and religious history that a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation could be written centered on this film and related subjects. Anyway, to the special features: I prefer the director's ending and this dvd's best feature is the deleted scene entitled "Steven and Frankie Get it On" (phewwwww, Arquette has a perfect 10 for a body! ). The deleted scene with Frankie graphically stabbing herself is also excellent. I recommend purchasing this dvd, as well as the book _The Gospel of Thomas_ and, if you're really wanting to explore religion, Aliester Crowley's "The Book of the Law" or the "The Book of Abramelin the Mage".

BREATHTAKING comes to mind when I think of this non stop thrill ride of biblical proportions! Not since Gone with the Wind have I seen better character development and a sly wit that can only be compared to the late Hugh Grant in "4 Weddings and a Funeral"

I was giggling in my seat the whole way through, as this cinematic masterpiece took me, shook me and hooked me all the way to the finish line!

An incredible soundtrack propels Stigmata as the best movie I have seen in decades. The bare bones of the movie was about the struggle for oppressed truth to be brought to public attention. Certain truths are hidden for political, medical,...selfish reasons. Religious truths, be it small or large, are often held undisclosed by another country or equally powerful holder. The religious truth pursued in the movie was that to love God didn't mean you had to pray inside of a church or attend to a minister. The Gospel of St. Thomas, scholars edition, that was found near where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, was used as supporting evidence. The priest who tried to decipher the scroll and make it public met an untimely death. The spiritual influences in pushing the truth forward will be enjoyed by people who believe firmly in the non-physical world interacting with and on the human world. The use of light and dark, music or a mix of sound effects with music really added suspense and maintained it. Wonderful job by Patricia Arquette who played the unsuspecting messenger, Frankie Paige, and Gabriel Bryne was a compelling and believable character, Father Kiernan, who doubted miracles as the scientific eye sent to dash the miracle of stigmata in Frankie Paige.

The ever-so-attractive Patricia Arquette plays Frankie (a derivative of St. Francis of Assisi) Paige, an all-to-hip hairstylist who enjoys hanging-out at industrial/techno clubs with her one-dimensional boyfriend Steven and equally one-dimensional co-worker Donna (Nia Long from Ally McBeal). Anyway, Frankie, a devout athiest, becomes inflicted with the marks of the stigmata (how many of the five? watch the dvd and find out) and Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne) investigates her inflictions, while he's involved in a political power struggle with the Vatican, as represented by his superior Cardinal Daniel Houseman (Jonathan Pryce). Gabriel Byrne is a very boring and predictable actor, and the 'romance' that he's half involved-in is ludicrious and must have been suggested by the studio. Anyway, this movie is replete with stunning camera shots that flush-out multifarious symbols: doves, blood, water, ascension of water, trains, Aramaic characters, etc. This film borrows much from _The Exorcist_ when it incorporates demonic-ish possession (actually, it's simply the possesion of freedom: freedom from the boundaries of bureaucratic churches and nature, which are replaced with a reliance on faith -- very similar to the writings of Kierkegaard regarding faith in _Fear and Trembling_), but it is far more cinematographic than any of the Exorcist films ever were. My favorite aspect of the film was the fantastic portrayal of Cardinal Daniel Houseman's (as an individual symbol for the Vatican and the bureaucratic social institution of the Catholic Church) Will to Power in doing everything possible to stifle the Gospel of John, even resorting to murder and excommunication of an entire church. Cardinal Houseman acts in much the same fashion as Aguirre in Werner Herzog's _Aguirre: the Wrath of God_. This film incorporates enough symbols and religious history that a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation could be written centered on this film and related subjects. Anyway, to the special features: I prefer the director's ending and this dvd's best feature is the deleted scene entitled "Steven and Frankie Get it On" (phewwwww, Arquette has a perfect 10 for a body! ). The deleted scene with Frankie graphically stabbing herself is also excellent. I recommend purchasing this dvd, as well as the book _The Gospel of Thomas_ and, if you're really wanting to explore religion, Aliester Crowley's "The Book of the Law" or the "The Book of Abramelin the Mage".

BREATHTAKING comes to mind when I think of this non stop thrill ride of biblical proportions! Not since Gone with the Wind have I seen better character development and a sly wit that can only be compared to the late Hugh Grant in "4 Weddings and a Funeral"

I was giggling in my seat the whole way through, as this cinematic masterpiece took me, shook me and hooked me all the way to the finish line!