A Christmas Carol 1999  TV, 95 min.
Genre: Family / Drama / Fantasy
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Joel Grey, Ian McNeice, Saskia Reeves, Desmond Barrit, Bernard Lloyd, Dominic West, Trevor Peacock, Liz Smith, Claire Slater, Ben Tibber, Elizabeth Spriggs, Kenny Doughty, Laura Fraser
Patrick Stewart makes an excellent Ebenezer Scrooge in this fine TV adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic Christmas story. After visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Joel Grey), Present (Desmond Barrit), and Future (Tim Potter), Scrooge re-evaluates his treatment of Tiny Tim (Ben Tibber) and and his family. It ranks among the best of the several film renditions.
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The Christmas Wife 1988 TV, 73 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Jason Robards, Julie Harris, Don Francks, James Eckhouse, Patricia Hamilton, Deborah Grover, David Gardner, Tom Harvey, Christopher Andrade, Steven Andrade, Bill Lynn, Helen Frost, Lawrence Dane, Gwynyth Walsh
Lonely widower John Tanner (Jason Robards) does not want to be alone for Christmas and hires a woman companion, Iris (Julie Harris), to spend the holiday with him. They drive to a secluded mountain cabin where John learns that there is mystery surrounding Iris and that she will not answer his questions. On Christmas day, Iris tells John that she wants to go home. The reason for Iris' mysterious presence is that she is, in fact, married to the social arranger (Don Francks) who sent Iris to John. Iris and her husband needed the $500 service fee to pay their bills, and Iris agreed to spend the holidays with John.
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The Confession 1999   R, 114 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Ben Kingsley, Amy Irving, Jay O. Sanders, Kevin Conway, Anne Twomey, Richard Jenkins, Boyd Gaines, Chris Noth, Gerry Bamman
Following his son's death, Harry Fertig (Ben Kingsley) kills the three people he believes are responsible. Now, he hires the high-powered lawyer, Roy Bleakie (Alec Baldwin), to defend him when he is indicted for murder. 3 User Reviews
| User Reviews |
| | intelligent script superbly acted | Anonymous 01/06/2008 | | I was riveted by Alec Baldwin's performance, even though I saw it on the small screen. He easily held his own with Ben Kingsley (Oscar for Gandhi); he gave a very powerful, sensitive dramatic performance that was as natural as breathing. The previous reviewer is right, it is a thinking person's movie. But it's not simply high-minded--there are unexpected twists and turns that paint a moral palette with many shades of grey, involving the two men and also Amy Irving's character. (Amy Irving is an 'ace' too.) That medical malpractice is at the heart of the matter made it all the more fascinating, considering the relevance.**** |
| | A poignant commentary on the world we live in. | gjbsport 12/05/2007 | | This is movie goes to the heart of our society. A man is considered insane because he confesses to his crime and expects, even demands, to be punished for that crime. It reveals the character of people. The power of one man to do the right thing regardless of the consequences. Considering the consequences ahead of time, the accepting them and then even demanding that they be enforced. Man's laws are arbitrary and can be subverted by clever, sleazy lawyers but God's law is immutable, it changes not and cannot be avoided through the slight of hand of men. It seemed that every person who had any dealing with Ben Kingsley's character was changed in some way. They seemed compelled to do the right thing just as he was doing by accepting responsibility for his actions. This movie didn't do well because it mentioned God, it moves along much like a book might, and it was too revealing of people's heart. It forced me to look at my life and reevaluate it. A thinking person's movie, it is not mindless entertainment. |
| | thought provoking | Anonymous 01/25/2007 | | The pivot of the movie is this line by Ben Kingsley were he tells Alec Baldwin " In life it is very difficult to know what the right thing is, but once you know what the right thing is, it is very hard to do any thing else". |
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Jacknife 1989 R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Robert De Niro, Ed Harris, Kathy Baker, Charles S. Dutton, Sloane Shelton, Tom Isbell, George Gerdes, Michael Arkin, Kirk Taylor, Jordan Lund
Vietnam veterans (Ed Harris and Kathy Baker) experience vivid emotions when another vet (Robert De Niro) becomes a part of their world.
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Langrishe Go Down 1978  TV, 105 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Jeremy Irons, Judi Dench, Annette Crosbie, Susan Williamson, Harold Pinter, Joan O'Hara, Margaret Whiting
This made-for-TV drama was broadcast in the U.K. in 1978. The story revolves around three unmarried sisters–Imogen (Judi Dench), Helen (Annette Crosbie), and Lily (Susan Williamson)–who live in an old mansion in Ireland. To make ends meet, Imogen had rented out part of the house to graduate student Otto (Jeremy Irons), and a love affair between Imogen and Otto bloomed, then failed. The sisters have been nursing grudges against each other ever since.
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The Trial 1993 PG-13, 120 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: David Hugh Jones
Cast: Kyle MacLachlan, Anthony Hopkins, Jason Robards, Juliet Stevenson, Polly Walker, Alfred Molina, David Thewlis, Jean Stapleton, Tony Haygarth, Michael Kitchen
This version of Frank Kafka's novel features Josef K. (Kyle MacLachlan) as a bank clerk who awakens one morning to find himself arrested, but he has no idea of what the charges are. A trial follows in which the tentacles of government bureaucracy envelop Josef.
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| 1. 84 Charing Cross Road (1986)
2. Betrayal (1983)
3. A Christmas Carol (1999)
4. The Christmas Wife (1988)
5. The Confession (1999)
6. Jacknife (1989)
7. Langrishe Go Down (1978)
8. The Trial (1993)
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