ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ELIZABETH 1 is such a dream role that no actress seems able to resist. Bette Davis played the monarch in The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955). Glenda Jackson offered her impersonation of the queen on television and film to be followed by Helen […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies DIRECTOR David Cronenberg built his reputation on grisly horror tales where the visceral effects were matched by unusually cerebral, thought-provoking stories. Recently, he has enjoyed unexpected commercial success with thrillers that bring a fresh eye to familiar material. ‘Eastern Promises’ reunites him with his ‘History Of Violence’ star Viggo Mortensen […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies ONCE is the film’s world Cinderella story of the year. A low-budget musical from Ireland it has an unknown cast, modest production values and a distinct absence of special-effects or pyrotechnics. What it does have is charm in abundance and that explains why it won the audience prize at the […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SEACHD is a substantial landmark in the history of Gaelic culture on screen. It may not be the first Gaelic language feature film but it is the first one that will travel the world and appear at a multiplex near you. First shown in Skye as the opening night presentation […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IAN CURTIS took his own life in 1980. He was just 23 and near the beginning of what promised to be a dazzling career as the lead singer and guiding force of Joy Division. His short, tragic life is captured with great flair and poetry in ‘Control’, one of the […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies GERARD DEPARDIEU makes so many films that it is all too easy to take his talent for granted. It seems a long time since he dazzled us with a performance in the league of ‘Jean de Florette’ or ‘Cyrano De Bergerac’. All that changes with ‘The Singer’, a sentimental love […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies PROLIFIC BRITISH director Michael Winterbottom is a past master at relating dramatic true stories in an urgent documentary style. He brings a shrewd intelligence to bear on ‘A Mighty Heart’, the 2002 case of the kidnap and execution of American journalist Daniel Pearl. We already know how the story ended […]

GEORGINA COBURN joins in a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the making of a Another Time, Another Place on the Black Isle.

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies IAN McEWAN may be one of Britain’s finest novelists but that doesn’t mean his books are naturally suited to the big screen. Many famous names have tried and failed to do justice to his work. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ director Joe Wright succeeds where others have struggled with an adaptation of […]

ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies SCOTTISH director David Mackenzie has a great affinity for literary adaptations and characters isolated from mainstream society. His previous films including the award-winning ‘Young Adam’ (2003) and the icy cold ‘Asylum’ (2005). His twin fascinations now combine in a version of the Peter Jinks novel ‘Hallam Foe’, a dark, Oedipal […]