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Search: Starring Simon Callow

  • Amadeus - The Director's Cut (1984)
    Review preview for Amadeus - The Director's Cut

    As a partnership of writer and actor, it is as close to perfection as is possible to witness.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
    Superior biopic of the Austrian composer.
  • Blue Iguana (2018)
    Review preview for Blue Iguana

    Rockwell could have played this role in his sleep but makes as effort nonetheless, and Schwartz holds his own.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    Two small time US criminals get out of their depth after being persuaded to travel to England to steal a mysterious package.
  • Bright Young Things (2003)
    Review preview for Bright Young Things

    Where Fry succeeds so well is allowing the intrinsic innocence of these brittle butterflies to be exposed without mockery.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    Biting satire on the Thirties party circuit in London.
  • Chance In A Million: Series One (1984)
    Review preview for Chance In A Million: Series One

    Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen give their characters a real sense of warmth.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Sitcom centring on a man who is dogged by coincidence.
  • Chemical Wedding (2008)
    Review preview for Chemical Wedding

    One of the key plot developments in the film is a process by which you can reverse time and live a day all over again, sadly an option not available to filmgoers yet.

    Jeff Robson · 1 out of 5
    A mild-mannered academic takes part in a virtual reality experiment and is possessed by the spirit of notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley.
  • Christmas Carol - The Movie (2001)
    Dickens' classic tale gets an animated makeover, chagal-style.
  • Doctor Who: Series One (2005)
    Review preview for Doctor Who: Series One

    Yes, it’s flawed and a bit daft at times, but for transforming a show that virtually nobody thought was worth bringing back into impressive Saturday night TV, Davies deserves all the back-patting he gets.

    Stephen Carty · 3.5 out of 5
    Russell T Davies' resurrection of the time traveller.
  • Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)
    Review preview for Four Weddings And A Funeral

    The audience is taken from delight to despair, while never truly losing its grin.

    Josh Morrall · 5 out of 5
    Comic observations of the emotionally cauterised English upper-middle-classes at play.
  • Hampstead (2017)
    Review preview for Hampstead

    Predictable and embarrassing, despite a cast that deserves better,

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2.5 out of 5
    An older man, known as The Tramp, who lives in a homemade shack in North London woods attracts support and something more from a lonely widow and a bunch of protesters when he is ordered to leave.
  • Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work Of Orson Welles (2014)
    Review preview for Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work Of Orson Welles

    Described in this film as the "patron saint of independent filmmakers" and with his work marked by ambition and a desire to push boundaries, it's a shame that this documentary about Orson Welles by Chuck Workman is, well, so workman-like.

    Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
    Documentary tracking the director and actor.
  • Maurice (1987)
    Review preview for Maurice

    What's really revolutionary about this film is the way Ivory photographs male bodies.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A young man has to come to terms with his sexuality.
  • Merchant Ivory (2023)
    Review preview for Merchant Ivory

    Whether you’re a fan of the company’s work specifically or simply interested in the history of cinema, this portrait of its longest-lasting partnership will delight and entertain you.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The story of cinema's longest lasting partnership.
  • No Man's Land (2001)
    Review preview for No Man's Land

    A film of astonishing maturity and compassion.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
    Black comedy about the Bosnian conflict told from the viewpoint of a trench between warring factions.
  • The Phantom Of The Opera (2004)
    Review preview for The Phantom Of The Opera

    A considerably flawed, yet visually superb, tale of beauty, beast and love.

    Josh Morrall · 3 out of 5
    Phantom of the opera sings once again that strange duet, this time to the tune of Andrew Lloyd Weber.
  • Rag Tale (2005)
    Review preview for Rag Tale

    After 15 minutes of fast zooms, sliced cuts, topsy pans and turvy close ups you want to be sick... after 40 minutes, you have eaten your words and are beginning to think this is original and thrilling.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    Poisonous cynicism and manipulative scheming at the heart of a national tabloid.
  • A Room With A View (1985)
    Review preview for A Room With A View

    The cast could not be better.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A chance encounter in Florence leads a respectable young Englishwoman to develop secret passions.
  • Save Our Bacon (2010)
    Review preview for Save Our Bacon

    A tasty treat.

    Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
    A farmer needs ten more pigs in a hurry, but the only one he has turns her snout up at prospective suitors.
  • Shakespeare In Love (1998)
    Review preview for Shakespeare In Love

    The air is heavy with irony, light with laughter and alive with love.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 5 out of 5
    The young William Shakespeare - suffering writer's block - finds romance provides inspiration.
  • Thunderpants (2002)
    Review preview for Thunderpants

    The moral of the tale is that everyone has a talent, however improbable. This is lost, alas, amongst the debris of failed farce.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
    An 11-year-old English schoolboy blows farts that can fuel an American moon rocket.
  • Viceroy's House (2017)
    Review preview for Viceroy's House

    Such an important story cannot be squeezed into 106 minutes. The politics are complex and the religious conflict on a Syrian scale of horror

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
    In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the home of British rulers, whilst 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants lived downstairs.
  • Victoria And Abdul (2017)
    Review preview for Victoria And Abdul

    Judi Dench has become the living embodiment of fine acting, so much so that it is easy to take her for granted. Don't even think it!

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    Queen Victoria's friendship with a young Indian clerk.

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Festival coverage

Festivals
Cannes festival coverage, 2026

We're bringing you all the latest news and reviews from the Cheltenham International Film Festival, the Leeds International Film Festival, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Tallinn Black Nights.



We're looking forward to the French Film Festival and DOC NYC.



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