In 1940s Kenya, a married couple join other affluent British expatriates in a lifestyle of recklessness and excess, but soon find themselves in a troubling situation.
A young man discovers that not only does he have the ability to read minds, but that if he holds a camera next to his head he can transmit the thoughts he sees onto film. He strikes a deal ... See full summary »
Director:
Philip Saville
Stars:
Antony Sher,
Billie Whitelaw,
Patrick Macnee
Sir Richard Attenborough plays Ernest Tilley, a man who lost his daughter in a hit-and-run accident. He tracks down the man responsible for the accident and boards the same plane, ... See full summary »
Director:
Cy Endfield
Stars:
Richard Attenborough,
Stanley Baker,
Hermione Baddeley
A small time thief is recruited by a mobster to help with the racketeering. He doesn't like the job, but with the mob on his back, a femme fatale in his bed and a sick friend to care for, he will have to keep all his wits about him.
Police inspector Léonetti, a tough, efficient policeman, has been sent to a second-rate police station after being reprimanded. There he is given a partner, young and beautiful Jeanne Dumas... See full summary »
Director:
José Giovanni
Stars:
Lino Ventura,
Marlène Jobert,
Michel Constantin
Angela, an Italian-American woman, after many years returned to Sicily to attend the funeral of her father. During the ferry trip she meets Salvo, a teenager boy who claims to be hunted by ... See full summary »
A reporter Mullen 'stumbles' on a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent. In fact it is also linked to a near Nuclear disaster involving a teenage runaway and an Americal USAF base. Has there been a Government cover-up,Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss, an old hack, and Nina Beckam the MP's assistant to find out the truth.Written by
Matthew Stanfield <mattst@cogs.susx.ac.uk>
The plot borrows a few elements from the 1961 Profumo affair. That too involved a British politician sharing a woman with a Russia spy. But most of the story is very different. See more »
Goofs
Markham's wife's name is spelled "Trudy Markham" when a typist takes dictation from Nick over the phone and in the rolling credits. In a newspaper clipping that Mullen looks at, her name is spelled "Trudi" in the headline. See more »
Quotes
[Mullen shows Bayliss a group photograph in which Markham and Kleist are laughing together at a Prague conference]
Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen:
You better take a look at that, Vernon.
Vernon Bayliss:
Okay, so what does that prove?
Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen:
It proves that your friend was lyin'. He said categorically that he'd never met Kleist before.
Vernon Bayliss:
Well, isn't it possible that Kleist could just have been another face in the crowd? That Markham didn't know who he was?
Nicholas 'Nick' Mullen:
Come on, Vernon! There's Markham, there's Kleist.
Vernon Bayliss:
Well, that doesn't prove that Markham's a ...
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
The research done for this film is shown by the acknowledgment at the end of the credits: "The Producers wish to thank the STAFF and MANAGEMENT of THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS FOR THEIR HELP." See more »
Gabriel Byrne stars in "Defence of the Realm," a 1985 film also starring Denholm Elliott, Greta Scacchi, Ian Bannen and Robbie Coltrane. Byrne plays Mullen, an aggressive newsman who is responsible for a story leading to the downfall of a Parliament member - he was seen leaving a madam's house, as was a KGB agent. However, he soon learns that there's much more to the story than that and that the man has been set up because he knew to much.
This is a very good story with handsome Byrne heading up an excellent cast of foreign faces that will be very familiar to Americans. All of the acting is good, with a standout performance by Denholm Elliott. The beautiful Greta Scacchi, an asset to any production, is totally wasted here, however.
What I liked best about this, and many other British films, is that you have to pay attention - first of all, so that your ears can adjust to the sound of not only the accents but also adjust to the way the British allow room tone to mix in with the dialogue, which we're not used to here. It gives the atmosphere a much more realistic flavor.
Worth seeing.
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Gabriel Byrne stars in "Defence of the Realm," a 1985 film also starring Denholm Elliott, Greta Scacchi, Ian Bannen and Robbie Coltrane. Byrne plays Mullen, an aggressive newsman who is responsible for a story leading to the downfall of a Parliament member - he was seen leaving a madam's house, as was a KGB agent. However, he soon learns that there's much more to the story than that and that the man has been set up because he knew to much.
This is a very good story with handsome Byrne heading up an excellent cast of foreign faces that will be very familiar to Americans. All of the acting is good, with a standout performance by Denholm Elliott. The beautiful Greta Scacchi, an asset to any production, is totally wasted here, however.
What I liked best about this, and many other British films, is that you have to pay attention - first of all, so that your ears can adjust to the sound of not only the accents but also adjust to the way the British allow room tone to mix in with the dialogue, which we're not used to here. It gives the atmosphere a much more realistic flavor.
Worth seeing.