Stars: Paul McGann, Florence Hoath, Elizabeth Earl, Harvey Keitel, Peter O’Toole, Bill Nighy, Peter Mullan, Mel Gibson | Written by Albert Ash, Tom McLoughlin | Directed by Charles Sturridge
Do you believe in fairies? If the answer is yes, don’t worry because a lot of other people seem to too, hell even Arthur Conan Doyle did. FairyTale: A True Story may only be loosely based on the facts of the Cottingley Fairies and the photographs that fooled so many people, but is there harm in believing in a little magic sometimes?
When two young girls take pictures of fairies excitement grows when the photographs are tested by experts and found to be real, or at least hard to fake. When Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O’Toole) and Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) refuse to call it a hoax this seems to be the final confirmation that is needed for the world...
Do you believe in fairies? If the answer is yes, don’t worry because a lot of other people seem to too, hell even Arthur Conan Doyle did. FairyTale: A True Story may only be loosely based on the facts of the Cottingley Fairies and the photographs that fooled so many people, but is there harm in believing in a little magic sometimes?
When two young girls take pictures of fairies excitement grows when the photographs are tested by experts and found to be real, or at least hard to fake. When Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O’Toole) and Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) refuse to call it a hoax this seems to be the final confirmation that is needed for the world...
- 3/24/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Damn these separate two-parter titles. Not only are they a huge pain when it comes to writing reviews, some of them are a bit rubbish. Take the story about gas mask zombies in World War Two: The Empty Child's an excellent title for the story, full of mystery and wonder. And then you have The Doctor Dances, which sounds like a weak spin-off of geriatric dance bore Strictly Come Dancing. Presumably, it's hosted by Skeleton Steptoe, Bruce Forsyth, who dithers to find the country's top dancing Gp in a gaudy TV studio.
Luckily, there's none of that on display in this magnificent two-parter. Looking back on this first season since the big 21st century relaunch, I'm struck by how consistent it is. Other seasons may have bigger and bolder stories, but to me, they're less consistent and contain their fair share of turkeys. But Eccleston's lone season seems to carry...
Luckily, there's none of that on display in this magnificent two-parter. Looking back on this first season since the big 21st century relaunch, I'm struck by how consistent it is. Other seasons may have bigger and bolder stories, but to me, they're less consistent and contain their fair share of turkeys. But Eccleston's lone season seems to carry...
- 5/9/2011
- Shadowlocked
My mother, Hannah Kodicek, who has died aged 63 of pancreatic cancer, was a film-maker, actor, writer, educator and creator of children's television classics, who blended artistic vision with erudition and a childlike humour.
Born Zuzana Oprsalova in Czechoslovakia and trained as a pianist at the Prague Conservatoire, she emigrated to Britain in 1968, after the Russian invasion, with her husband, Michal, and young son, Peter. They were lucky enough to be taken under the wing of an English family in Blackheath, south-east London, which enabled Hannah to get on her feet through a succession of low-paid jobs, until she learned the language.
The cold war meant that there were opportunities for a beautiful young woman with an exotic accent and she found a number of acting roles, under the name Susan Kodicek, mostly as some kind of spy. Her most celebrated role was as Irina in the widely acclaimed 1979 TV adaptation...
Born Zuzana Oprsalova in Czechoslovakia and trained as a pianist at the Prague Conservatoire, she emigrated to Britain in 1968, after the Russian invasion, with her husband, Michal, and young son, Peter. They were lucky enough to be taken under the wing of an English family in Blackheath, south-east London, which enabled Hannah to get on her feet through a succession of low-paid jobs, until she learned the language.
The cold war meant that there were opportunities for a beautiful young woman with an exotic accent and she found a number of acting roles, under the name Susan Kodicek, mostly as some kind of spy. Her most celebrated role was as Irina in the widely acclaimed 1979 TV adaptation...
- 4/19/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
Film review: 'Governess'
"The Governess" will rule on the art house circuit. Starring Minnie Driver as a Sephardic Jew who masquerades as a gentile in order to secure employment, the 19th century period piece is a perceptive, jaunty entertainment that should win fine reviews for Sony Pictures Classics among critics and filmgoers.
Winner of the best first film and Kodak Vision Audience awards at the recent Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the narrative centers on Rosina (Driver), an adventurous young woman whose father is murdered and whose family plunged into debt. Headstrong and self-reliant, Rosina decides to make it on her own but does not see opportunity in her cloistered Sephardic Jewish family life. She has a playful spirit and wicked sense of humor and adopts the identity of Mary Blackchurch, journeying to a remote Scottish island to seek employment as a nanny.
In essence, "Mary" has landed in the far reaches of WASP culture, finding work with the Cavendish family. In movie lexicon, the clan might be described as grim and screwball: Mrs. Cavendish (Harriet Walter) is spacey and depressed; Mr. Cavendish (Tom Wilkinson) is detached and self-absorbed with his photography inventions; young daughter Clementina (Florence Hoath) is nasty and spoiled; and teenage son Henry Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a smarmy, decadence-inclined poseur. In short, they're quite a challenge for Mary's good humor and talent.
At once an insightful character study and a shrewd, anthropological depiction of the friction and challenges encountered when people of different religious cultures come together, the challenging, intelligent work from screenwriter-director Sandra Goldbacher illuminates as much as it entertains. Down to generics, "The Governess" is a fish-out-of-water story, but its intelligence and ornately woven themes distinguish it from the form's usual superficial nature.
The performances are particularly astute, especially Driver as the spirited Rosina. It's a splendid, regal performance, conveying both decency and vulnerability. Similarly, Wilkinson is superb as the preoccupied inventor, a cold-appearing man who is frightened and isolated beneath his serious veneer. Walter wins our sympathies as the daffy lady of the house who in a very real sense is a prisoner. Rhys Meyers is well-cast as the churlish son, while Hoath is aptly cantankerous as the spoiled daughter.
Under Goldbacher's solid, measured guidance, technical contributions are first-rate, with special praise to DP Ashley Rowe's grand cinematic scopings and production designer Sarah Greenwood's mood-drenched interiors.
THE GOVERNESS
Sony Pictures Classics
Producer: Sarah Curtis
Screenwriter-director: Sandra Goldbacher
Executive producer: Sally Hibbin
Director of photography: Ashley Rowe
Production designer: Sarah Greenwood
Editor: Isabel Lorente
Costume designer: Caroline Harris
Casting director: Michelle Guish
Music: Edward Shearmur
Sound: Danny Hambrook
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rosina: Minnie Driver
Mr. Cavendish: Tom Wilkinson
Clementina: Florence Hoath
Henry: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Mrs. Cavendish: Harriet Walter
Lily Milk: Arlene Cockburn
Rebecca: Emma Bird
Benjamin: Adam Levy
Aunt Sofka: The Countess Koulinskyi
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Winner of the best first film and Kodak Vision Audience awards at the recent Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the narrative centers on Rosina (Driver), an adventurous young woman whose father is murdered and whose family plunged into debt. Headstrong and self-reliant, Rosina decides to make it on her own but does not see opportunity in her cloistered Sephardic Jewish family life. She has a playful spirit and wicked sense of humor and adopts the identity of Mary Blackchurch, journeying to a remote Scottish island to seek employment as a nanny.
In essence, "Mary" has landed in the far reaches of WASP culture, finding work with the Cavendish family. In movie lexicon, the clan might be described as grim and screwball: Mrs. Cavendish (Harriet Walter) is spacey and depressed; Mr. Cavendish (Tom Wilkinson) is detached and self-absorbed with his photography inventions; young daughter Clementina (Florence Hoath) is nasty and spoiled; and teenage son Henry Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a smarmy, decadence-inclined poseur. In short, they're quite a challenge for Mary's good humor and talent.
At once an insightful character study and a shrewd, anthropological depiction of the friction and challenges encountered when people of different religious cultures come together, the challenging, intelligent work from screenwriter-director Sandra Goldbacher illuminates as much as it entertains. Down to generics, "The Governess" is a fish-out-of-water story, but its intelligence and ornately woven themes distinguish it from the form's usual superficial nature.
The performances are particularly astute, especially Driver as the spirited Rosina. It's a splendid, regal performance, conveying both decency and vulnerability. Similarly, Wilkinson is superb as the preoccupied inventor, a cold-appearing man who is frightened and isolated beneath his serious veneer. Walter wins our sympathies as the daffy lady of the house who in a very real sense is a prisoner. Rhys Meyers is well-cast as the churlish son, while Hoath is aptly cantankerous as the spoiled daughter.
Under Goldbacher's solid, measured guidance, technical contributions are first-rate, with special praise to DP Ashley Rowe's grand cinematic scopings and production designer Sarah Greenwood's mood-drenched interiors.
THE GOVERNESS
Sony Pictures Classics
Producer: Sarah Curtis
Screenwriter-director: Sandra Goldbacher
Executive producer: Sally Hibbin
Director of photography: Ashley Rowe
Production designer: Sarah Greenwood
Editor: Isabel Lorente
Costume designer: Caroline Harris
Casting director: Michelle Guish
Music: Edward Shearmur
Sound: Danny Hambrook
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rosina: Minnie Driver
Mr. Cavendish: Tom Wilkinson
Clementina: Florence Hoath
Henry: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Mrs. Cavendish: Harriet Walter
Lily Milk: Arlene Cockburn
Rebecca: Emma Bird
Benjamin: Adam Levy
Aunt Sofka: The Countess Koulinskyi
Running time -- 114 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/29/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Film review: 'Fairytale -- a True Story'
"Fairy tales can come true, they can happen to you -- if you're young at heart." That vaunted lyric sums up the theme of this wonderfully whimsical tale of two young girls who stunned the world in 1917 when they photographed a fairy in their summer garden.
A captivating children's film, this Paramount release is an appealing winner. Likely to be praised by critics, teachers and arts-council types, the only reservation one has about this ethereal gem is whether its sophisticated abstractions will connect with flesh-and-blood children.
Alas, it seems more like a movie outing for Hillary and Chelsea than one for the kids in the neighborhood. Paramount will likely find the biggest fans for this film are adults who are young at heart and appreciate the film's celebration of the magical powers of innocence.
In this auspicious storytelling, screenwriter Ernie Contreras has distilled the bare facts of two young girls' photographing a fairy and spun them around the events and thinking of the day. Incredibly, this true story lured into its philosophical midst such figures as illusionist/escape artist Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) and the venerable Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole). Contreras' scenario is well-founded and appealing, grounded in the basic kids' complaint that adults never take them seriously.
In essence, we see that adults are too serious to comprehend the real wonders of existence. The storytelling is also keenly flecked with one girl's belief that her father, who has been declared missing in action in World War I, will someday return.
Charles Sturridge's kindly directorial wand conjures up the spry and supple theme, never dwelling on didactic points or overreaching in either tenor or tone. It's a gentle tale, graced with humorous dollops. The two lead girls are well-chosen. Florence Hoath's graceful, intelligent performance as 13-year-old Elsie is a high point and 10-year-old Elizabeth Earl shows some real moxie and poise as the headstrong Frances.
The supporting performances are all top-drawer. O'Toole brings luster as the master of deduction, Conan Doyle, while Keitel imbues his Houdini character with credible scrappiness.
Fittingly, the technical contributions are magical. Michael Coulter's lush cinematography, Zbigniew Preisner's captivating compositions and Michael Howell's inviting production design are of the highest quality.
FAIRYTALE - A TRUE STORY
Paramount Pictures
Icon Prods./Wendy Finerman Prods.
Producer Wendy Finerman, Bruce Davey
Director Charles Sturridge
Screenwriter Ernie Contreras
Co-producers/co-story Albert Ash,
Tom Loughlin
Executive producer Paul Tucker
Co-producer Selwyn Roberts
Associate producer Margaret French Isaac
Director of photography Mike Coulter
Production designer Michael Howells
Editor Peter Coulson
Music Zbigniew Preisner
Costume designer Shirley Russell
Visual effects supervisor Tim Webber
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsie Wright Florence Hoath
Frances Griffiths Elizabeth Earl
Arthur Wright Paul McGann
Polly Wright Phoebe Nicholls
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Peter O'Toole
Harry Houdini Harvey Keitel
Running time -- 98 minutes...
A captivating children's film, this Paramount release is an appealing winner. Likely to be praised by critics, teachers and arts-council types, the only reservation one has about this ethereal gem is whether its sophisticated abstractions will connect with flesh-and-blood children.
Alas, it seems more like a movie outing for Hillary and Chelsea than one for the kids in the neighborhood. Paramount will likely find the biggest fans for this film are adults who are young at heart and appreciate the film's celebration of the magical powers of innocence.
In this auspicious storytelling, screenwriter Ernie Contreras has distilled the bare facts of two young girls' photographing a fairy and spun them around the events and thinking of the day. Incredibly, this true story lured into its philosophical midst such figures as illusionist/escape artist Harry Houdini (Harvey Keitel) and the venerable Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Peter O'Toole). Contreras' scenario is well-founded and appealing, grounded in the basic kids' complaint that adults never take them seriously.
In essence, we see that adults are too serious to comprehend the real wonders of existence. The storytelling is also keenly flecked with one girl's belief that her father, who has been declared missing in action in World War I, will someday return.
Charles Sturridge's kindly directorial wand conjures up the spry and supple theme, never dwelling on didactic points or overreaching in either tenor or tone. It's a gentle tale, graced with humorous dollops. The two lead girls are well-chosen. Florence Hoath's graceful, intelligent performance as 13-year-old Elsie is a high point and 10-year-old Elizabeth Earl shows some real moxie and poise as the headstrong Frances.
The supporting performances are all top-drawer. O'Toole brings luster as the master of deduction, Conan Doyle, while Keitel imbues his Houdini character with credible scrappiness.
Fittingly, the technical contributions are magical. Michael Coulter's lush cinematography, Zbigniew Preisner's captivating compositions and Michael Howell's inviting production design are of the highest quality.
FAIRYTALE - A TRUE STORY
Paramount Pictures
Icon Prods./Wendy Finerman Prods.
Producer Wendy Finerman, Bruce Davey
Director Charles Sturridge
Screenwriter Ernie Contreras
Co-producers/co-story Albert Ash,
Tom Loughlin
Executive producer Paul Tucker
Co-producer Selwyn Roberts
Associate producer Margaret French Isaac
Director of photography Mike Coulter
Production designer Michael Howells
Editor Peter Coulson
Music Zbigniew Preisner
Costume designer Shirley Russell
Visual effects supervisor Tim Webber
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elsie Wright Florence Hoath
Frances Griffiths Elizabeth Earl
Arthur Wright Paul McGann
Polly Wright Phoebe Nicholls
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Peter O'Toole
Harry Houdini Harvey Keitel
Running time -- 98 minutes...
- 9/12/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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