Archive
THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN – Stephen Endelman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
There’s trouble brewing down in the Welsh valleys. It’s 1917, in the waning years of World War I, and there’s an Englishman who works for the ordnance survey in the village of Ffynnon Garw. He’s measuring the local mountain, Ffynnon Garw itself, but he’s come down from the mountain saying that it’s ten feet short of actually being classified as a mountain, and is now officially a hill. The villagers don’t like this one little bit, so they try to concoct lots of unusual reasons for the Englishman to stay in Ffynnon Garw while they physically make their hill ten feet higher, so that it’s a mountain again. And that’s why this smashing little film has one of the longest titles in living memory: The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. Read more…
ROB ROY – Carter Burwell
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
One of two ‘historical Scottish epics’ released in 1995 – the other, of course, being Braveheart – Rob Roy is a historical drama set in the early 18th-century Scottish Highlands. The film follows Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson), a clan leader who strives to maintain honor and dignity while navigating the brutal social and political landscape dominated by aristocratic landowners and English influence. Rob borrows money from the Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) to improve his clan’s welfare but is betrayed when the money is stolen by the cunning and sadistic Archibald Cunningham (Tim Roth), an associate of Montrose. Rob refuses to falsely implicate himself in a political scheme in order to regain the funds, choosing instead to uphold his principles. This decision makes him an outlaw and sets him on a dangerous path of vengeance, survival, and moral conflict. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones, and co-stars Jessica Lange as Rob’s devoted wife Mary, plus Eric Stoltz and Brian Cox in other supporting roles. Read more…
UNE FEMME FRANÇAISE – Patrick Doyle
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Une Femme Française is a French romantic drama film co-written and directed by Régis Wargnier, starring Emmanuelle Béart and Daniel Auteuil. The story follows Jeanne (Béart), a passionate and free-spirited woman, who marries Louis (Auteuil), a devoted but rigid French army officer, in the early 1940s. Soon after their marriage, Louis is sent off to fight in World War II, leaving Jeanne alone for several years; she struggles with loneliness and eventually engages in various torrid romantic and sexual affairs, seeking love and companionship in his absence. When Louis finally returns, he discovers Jeanne’s infidelities but remains deeply in love with her, and they attempt to rebuild their marriage, but the emotional wounds and social constraints of the time make it difficult. Over the course of several decades their relationship is tested by Louis’ military deployments, societal expectations, and Jeanne’s unrelenting desire for independence and passion – including an extensive affair a wealthy industrialist in post-war Berlin – all of which combined to offer a deeply emotional portrayal of a woman torn between personal fulfillment and societal norms. Read more…
DON JUAN DEMARCO – Michael Kamen
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Don Juan DeMarco is a romantic drama written and directed by Jeremy Leven, based on his own short story, Don Juan DeMarco and the Centerfold. The plot follows a mysterious young man who believes he is Don Juan, the figure from Spanish literature who presents himself as the world’s greatest lover. After a dramatic suicide attempt, he is placed in a psychiatric hospital under the care of Jack Mickler, a caring doctor nearing retirement. Mickler is intrigued by the young man’s passionate and elaborate tales of romance, seduction, and adventure, and as he listens to his stories rather than dismissing them outright he is encouraged to rediscover the passion in his own life, particularly in his marriage to his wife Marilyn. As the film unfolds, it becomes ambiguous whether Don Juan is truly delusional or if there is some deeper truth to his claims; either way, his influence ultimately revitalizes not only Mickler’s marriage but also the lives of others around him, and ultimately ‘Don Juan’ is allowed to leave to continue his life as an enigmatic and romantic figure. Read more…
DOLORES CLAIBORNE – Danny Elfman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Dolores Claiborne is a psychological drama-thriller directed by Taylor Hackford, adapted by Tony Gilroy from the 1992 novel by Stephen King. The story centers on the titular character, played by Kathy Bates, who is accused of murdering Vera Donovan, her wealthy, elderly employer on a remote Maine island. The investigation brings Dolores’s estranged daughter, Selena St. George (Jennifer Jason Leigh), back to the island. Selena is a troubled New York journalist with a complicated history with her mother, marked by years of resentment. As the investigation unfolds, the film shifts between the present day and flashbacks to the 1970s, gradually revealing the dark events that shaped Dolores and Selena’s relationship – specifically, the horrific abuse that Dolores endured at the hands of her alcoholic husband, Selena’s father. Read more…
OUTBREAK – James Newton Howard
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Outbreak is a medical disaster thriller directed by Wolfgang Petersen, inspired by Richard Preston’s 1994 nonfiction book The Hot Zone. The story begins when a highly contagious and lethal virus, named Motaba, is discovered in Zaire in 1967. The U.S. military secretly destroys the infected village to prevent its spread but keeps the virus as a potential bioweapon. Years later, the virus resurfaces when an illegally smuggled monkey carrying Motaba is brought into the United States. The monkey ends up in a small California town, where the virus mutates into an airborne strain, making it even deadlier; the disease spreads rapidly, causing severe hemorrhagic fever and killing its victims within days. U.S. Army virologist Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and his team, including his ex-wife Dr. Roberta Keough (Rene Russo), race against time to find a cure. However, their efforts are hindered by General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland), who wants to suppress the outbreak to protect the military’s bioweapons program. As the town is placed under martial law and the military considers firebombing it, Daniels and his team try to track down the host monkey and develop a cure just in time to prevent mass destruction. Read more…
JUST CAUSE – James Newton Howard
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Just Cause is a psychological thriller based on the 1992 novel of the same name by John Katzenbach, directed by Arne Glimcher, starring Sean Connery, Laurence Fishburne, Blair Underwood, and Ed Harris. The film follows Paul Armstrong (Connery), a Harvard professor and former lawyer, who is drawn back into the legal world when an elderly woman pleads with him to help her grandson, Bobby Earl Ferguson (Underwood), a black man convicted of the brutal murder of a young girl in a small Florida town. Initially reluctant, Armstrong is convinced of Bobby Earl’s innocence after the accused claims that he was coerced into confessing by a ruthless sheriff, Tanny Brown (Fishburne). As Armstrong investigates, he uncovers more inconsistencies in the case and follows leads that point to another suspect, serial killer Blair Sullivan (Harris), who is incarcerated for another crime. However, as the case unravels, Armstrong slowly realizes that not everything is as it seems. Read more…
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD – Alan Silvestri
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Quick and the Dead is a Western action film written by Simon Moore, directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio. The story follows Ellen (Stone), also known as The Lady, a mysterious gunslinger who arrives in the frontier town of Redemption circa 1881. The town is controlled by the ruthless John Herod (Hackman), a powerful outlaw who has installed himself as the town mayor and who now hosts an annual quick-draw tournament where gunfighters compete to the death. Ellen enters the tournament with a secret motive – she seeks revenge on Herod for the death of her father, a marshal whom Herod had killed when she was a child. As the competition unfolds, Ellen encounters various colorful participants, including The Kid (DiCaprio), a cocky young gunslinger claiming to be Herod’s son, and Cort (Crowe), a former outlaw turned preacher who refuses to kill. Read more…
FAR FROM HOME: THE ADVENTURES OF YELLOW DOG – John Scott
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog is a family-friendly adventure-drama written and directed by Philip Borsos. The film follows the journey of a teenage boy named Angus, played by Jesse Bradford, who is spending the summer with his family in a remote part of British Columbia. While there, Angus befriends a stray dog named Yellow, who has a mysterious past. After a series of unfortunate events, Angus and Yellow become stranded together in the wilderness when a storm hits. As the two navigate the challenges of the wild, they face dangers such as wild animals, the elements, and the need to find food and shelter, and must work together to find their way back to safety. It was a moderate success upon its release in the early months of 1995, and many found it to be a nostalgic throwback to the popular Walt Disney ‘wilderness adventure’ films of the 1950s and 60s. Read more…
MURDER IN THE FIRST – Christopher Young
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Every person who develops a liking for film music has a score, or group of scores, which are special to them on a personal level. They are the ones which first piqued their interest, first caught their attention, maybe inspired them to go out and buy a physical album for the first time, and eventually led them down the path to full-blown film music fandom. I have a few of them myself: Star Wars, of course, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. by John Williams. Dances With Wolves, and the James Bond scores of John Barry. Several James Horner scores, including the significant mid-1990s trio comprising Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, and Apollo 13. However, perhaps my most unexpected ‘keystone score’ is this one: Murder in the First by Christopher Young. The film opened in cinemas in England in December 1995, almost a year after it premiered in the United States, and I went to see it at the old Warner Village Cinema in Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield. I have a vivid memory of coming out of the cinema, meeting up with my mum in the foyer, and barely being able to speak because I had been so emotionally overwhelmed by the film, and especially its music. Read more…
LITTLE WOMEN – Thomas Newman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
As a classic of American literature, there have been multiple big screen adaptations of the 1868 novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott over the years. The story follows the March sisters – headstrong and mercurial Jo, willful and artistic Amy, maternal and meek Meg, creative but sickly Beth – as they come of age in post-civil war Massachusetts. The narrative deals with numerous issues of the day, including the effects of ‘genteel poverty,’ the fallout of the war, sibling rivalries, the entrenched class system, and of course romance and love, the latter of which usually revolves around Laurie, the handsome grandson of the March’s wealthy neighbor. My favorite movie adaptation is the version from 1949 directed by Mervyn LeRoy starring June Allyson and Elizabeth Taylor, but this version from 1994 runs it a close second; it was directed by Gillian Armstrong from a screenplay by Robin Swicord, and stars Winona Ryder, Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis, Kirsten Dunst, and Claire Danes as the sisters, with Gabriel Byrne, Eric Stoltz, and a young Christian Bale as their various suitors, and Susan Sarandon as their beloved Marmee. Read more…
THE PAGEMASTER – James Horner
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
The Pagemaster is a family fantasy film directed by Joe Johnston and Maurice Hunt that combines live-action and animation to tell a whimsical coming-of-age story. The film stars Macaulay Culkin – who at the time was right in the middle of his post-Home Alone superstardom – as Richard, an overly cautious, fearful boy who avoids risks at all costs. During a storm, he takes shelter in a grand library where he meets the enigmatic librarian, Mr. Dewey (Christopher Lloyd). After slipping on the library floor, Richard finds himself transported into a magical, animated world of books. In this fantastical realm, Richard encounters three anthropomorphic books—Adventure (Patrick Stewart), Fantasy (Whoopi Goldberg), and Horror (Frank Welker)—who guide him on an epic journey through iconic literary worlds. Together, they face pirates, dragons, haunted castles, and other challenges drawn from classic tales such as Moby Dick, Treasure Island, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, all of which forces Richard to confront his fears and discover his inner bravery. The film has a noble and worthwhile sentiment that espouses the wonderful nature of classic literature, and is ambitious in its scope, but it was not a critical or commercial success, and the production was marred by in-fighting between director Johnston, the production company, and screenwriter David Kirschner. Read more…
NELL – Mark Isham
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Nell is a fascinating film that explores themes of human connection, individuality, and the boundaries between nature and civilization, which challenges viewers to think about how society treats those who are different and the ethical implications of trying to “help” them. Based on Mark Handley’s 1985 play ‘Idioglossia,’ and directed by Michael Apted, the film stars Jodie Foster in the title role as a young woman who has grown up in isolation in a remote cabin in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. When her mother dies, Nell is ‘discovered’ by local doctor Jerome Lovell (Liam Neeson), who finds that Nell apparently speaks her own unique language and has a different way of interacting with the world, which has been shaped by her solitude and her limited human contact. Lovell calls Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson), a psychologist, for help, and they begin studying Nell to understand her behavior and language. As they spend time with her, they discover that Nell is highly intelligent, emotionally insightful, and capable of connecting with others despite her differences. However, Nell’s presence also raises questions about the ethics of interfering with someone’s life and the societal need to label and categorize people who are different. Read more…
RUDYARD KIPLING’S THE JUNGLE BOOK – Basil Poledouris
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Hot on the heels of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in Hollywood’s short-lived series of supposedly faithful film adaptations of classic novels, this live-action versions of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book reimagines the classic tale as an adventurous, romantic epic. Directed by Stephen Sommers, the film focuses on Mowgli (Jason Scott Lee), a young boy raised by animals in the Indian jungle after being separated from his family. Years later, as an adult, Mowgli re-enters human civilization when he encounters Kitty (Lena Headey), his childhood friend and the daughter of a military officer working within the British Raj. As Mowgli navigates the clash between his jungle upbringing and human society, his relationship with Kitty deepens, eventually becoming a forbidden romance; however, he faces hostility from the corrupt Captain Boone (Cary Elwes), Kitty’s fiancé, who seeks to exploit Mowgli’s knowledge of the jungle to find the legendary treasure of Monkey City. Read more…
TOM & VIV – Debbie Wiseman
THROWBACK THIRTY
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
Thomas Stearns ‘T. S.’ Eliot is considered to be one of the 20th century’s greatest poets, with notable works such as The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, Four Quartets, and Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the latter of which inspired the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. While living in London in 1914 Eliot met and married Vivienne Haigh-Wood, a governess from Cambridge, who became not only the love of his life, but also his muse, inspiring what is possibly Eliot’s most acclaimed work, The Waste Land, written in 1922. However, their relationship was also turbulent, in part because of Viv’s health problems, which eventually resulted in her having significant mental instability and often being confined to an asylum. Although they formally separated in 1933 Eliot refused to divorce her, and they remained married until her death in 1947. Their relationship became the subject of the 1984 play Tom & Viv by Michael Hastings, which was then adapted into this film by Hastings and screenwriter Adrian Hodges. The film starred Willem Dafoe as Eliot and Miranda Richardson as Haigh-Wood, and was directed by Brian Gilbert. Although not especially successful from a financial point of view it was acclaimed by critics, and both Richardson and Rosemary Harris (who played Haigh-Wood’s mother) were nominated for Oscars for their roles. Read more…
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