Peter Firth
Encyclopedia
Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce
in the BBC show Spooks
, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan. He is also known for playing a variety of starring roles in film and on television from the 1970s to the 2000s.
as Archie Weekes and the Here Come the Double Deckers
series, which featured child actors in the leading roles. Firth played Scooper, the leader of the gang.
In July 1973, he appeared at Laurence Olivier
's National Theatre
, starring in the stage version of Peter Shaffer
's play Equus
, playing a teenager being treated by a psychiatrist, and in October 1974 repeated the role in the Broadway production, receiving a Tony Award
nomination for his performance as Alan Strang.
His first major role as an adult was in the title role in a 1976 BBC Television
Play of the Month adaptation of Oscar Wilde
's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The adaptation was based on a stage adaptation by John Osborne
and also starred Jeremy Brett
and John Gielgud
. That same year saw the release of the World War I film Aces High
which featured Firth as the inexperienced RFC
pilot Lt. Stephen Croft.
Firth played the lead role in the unsuccessful film adaptation of Henry Fielding
's Joseph Andrews (1977). That same year, he starred in the film adaptation of Equus
, with Richard Burton
. The film was only a moderate box office success, but earned Firth a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
and a Golden Globe
award in the same category. Further film work quickly followed, most notably Roman Polanski
's Tess
(1979).
In May 1981, he appeared on Broadway again in Peter Shaffer
's Amadeus
as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
replacing Tim Curry
. Shaffer had offered him the role in the original London production, but he was unavailable due to film commitments.
(1973); When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
(1979); Lifeforce
(1985); Letter to Brezhnev
(1985); Northanger Abbey
(1986), playing Henry Tilney; The Hunt for Red October
(1990); White Angel
(1993), playing mild mannered dentist Leslie Steckler; Amistad (1997); Pearl Harbor
(2001); and The Greatest Game Ever Played
(2005), playing Lord Northcliffe
).
episodes of the BBC's Play for Today
anthology series as the eponymous time traveller in the romantic The Flipside of Dominick Hide
(1980), and its sequel, Another Flip for Dominick (1982). In 1994, in the First Season of Heartbeat, he played Dr. Radcliffe who partnered with Dr. Rowan (Niamh Cusack
) in Whitby
. He also portrayed the Emperor Vespasian in "The Jewish Revolt" episode of the BBC
series Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.
For several years he had played senior MI5
officer Harry Pearce
in the BBC's popular spy drama series Spooks
(2002–2011), and played Fred Hoyle
in Hawking, a BBC dramatisation of the early career of Stephen Hawking
.
He was also Snaith in the 3 part series South Riding in 2011. Firth has also appeared on American and Canadian television, on programmes such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
and Total Recall 2070
, as well as in television films such as The Incident
starring Walter Matthau
.
's Regeneration
, The Ghost Road
and The Eye in the Door
, Suspicion
by Robert McCrum
, Maurice
by E. M. Forster
, Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
, Sebastian Faulks
' Birdsong
and Thomas Hardy
's Tess of the d'Urbervilles
.
, Yorkshire, England, the son of publican
s Mavis (née Hudson) and Eric Macintosh Firth, who also had a daughter.
He has been married twice: to the Irish
dancer Maya, who later had an affair and resultant son born with Jason Dawes, the son of Diana Dors
; and actress Lindsey Readman (1990 - ?) with whom he has four children.
On 17 July 2009, he was awarded an Honorary degree by the University of Bradford
as a Doctor of Letters
for his services to acting, having been nominated by the School of Computing, Informatics & Media; he received his award during the school's degree ceremony.
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
in the BBC show Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan. He is also known for playing a variety of starring roles in film and on television from the 1970s to the 2000s.
Early career
Firth was a leading child actor by mid-1970, starring in The Flaxton BoysThe Flaxton Boys
The Flaxton Boys is a British historical children's television series set in the West Riding of Yorkshire and covering a timespan of almost a century. The series was made by Yorkshire Television and was broadcast on ITV between 1969 and 1973, running for 4 series and 52 episodes, each of 30...
as Archie Weekes and the Here Come the Double Deckers
Here Come the Double Deckers
Here Come the Double Deckers was a 17-part British children's TV series from 1970-71 revolving around the adventures of seven children whose den was an old red double-decker London bus in an unused works yard.-The show:...
series, which featured child actors in the leading roles. Firth played Scooper, the leader of the gang.
In July 1973, he appeared at Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
's National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, starring in the stage version of Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
's play Equus
Equus (play)
Equus is a play by Peter Shaffer written in 1973, telling the story of a psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses....
, playing a teenager being treated by a psychiatrist, and in October 1974 repeated the role in the Broadway production, receiving a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for his performance as Alan Strang.
His first major role as an adult was in the title role in a 1976 BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
Play of the Month adaptation of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The adaptation was based on a stage adaptation by John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
and also starred Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
and John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
. That same year saw the release of the World War I film Aces High
Aces High (film)
Aces High is a 1976 British war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. As acknowledged in the opening credits, the film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff and the memoir...
which featured Firth as the inexperienced RFC
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
pilot Lt. Stephen Croft.
Firth played the lead role in the unsuccessful film adaptation of Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
's Joseph Andrews (1977). That same year, he starred in the film adaptation of Equus
Equus (film)
Equus is a 1977 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Burton. Peter Shaffer wrote the screenplay based on his play Equus...
, with Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
. The film was only a moderate box office success, but earned Firth a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
and a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
award in the same category. Further film work quickly followed, most notably Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's Tess
Tess (film)
Tess is a 1980 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy...
(1979).
In May 1981, he appeared on Broadway again in Peter Shaffer
Peter Shaffer
Sir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
's Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
replacing Tim Curry
Tim Curry
Timothy James "Tim" Curry is a British actor, singer, composer and voice actor, known for his work in a diverse range of theatre, film and television productions. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California....
. Shaffer had offered him the role in the original London production, but he was unavailable due to film commitments.
Film
Other film work has included roles in Diamonds on WheelsDiamonds on Wheels
Diamonds on Wheels is a 1974 British family comedy film directed by Jerome Courtland and starring Patrick Allen, George Sewell and Derek Newark and Barry Jackson....
(1973); When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? is a play by Mark Medoff.The setting is Foster's Diner, a New Mexico rest stop that lost most of its clientele when a new highway bypass opened. Employees include restless cook Stephen , mousy waitress Angel, and their no-nonsense boss Clark...
(1979); Lifeforce
Lifeforce (film)
Lifeforce is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, from the novel The Space Vampires, published in 1976, by Colin Wilson.-Plot:...
(1985); Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev
Letter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British comedy film about working class life in contemporary Liverpool. It was written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Lea, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke amongst others...
(1985); Northanger Abbey
Northanger Abbey (1986 film)
Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey was adapted for television in 1986 by the A&E Network and the BBC.-Crew:*Giles Foster *Louis Marks *Ilona Sekacz *Nat Crosby...
(1986), playing Henry Tilney; The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October (film)
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
(1990); White Angel
White Angel (film)
White Angel is a 1994 British thriller film directed by Chris Jones and starring Harriet Robinson, Peter Firth and Don Henderson. A crime writer is approached by a serial killer who wishes her to tell his story to the world.-Cast:...
(1993), playing mild mannered dentist Leslie Steckler; Amistad (1997); Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
(2001); and The Greatest Game Ever Played
The Greatest Game Ever Played
The Greatest Game Ever Played is a 2005 biographical sports film based on the early life of golf champion Francis Ouimet. The film was directed by Bill Paxton; Shia LaBeouf plays the role of Ouimet. It is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures...
(2005), playing Lord Northcliffe
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe rose from childhood poverty to become a powerful British newspaper and publishing magnate, famed for buying stolid, unprofitable newspapers and transforming them to make them lively and entertaining for the mass market.His company...
).
Television
In parallel to his film career, Firth has continued to appear in various television productions, with several notable credits in various high-profile dramas. He starred in two science-fictionScience fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
episodes of the BBC's Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
anthology series as the eponymous time traveller in the romantic The Flipside of Dominick Hide
The Flipside of Dominick Hide
The Flipside of Dominick Hide is a British television play first transmitted by the BBC on 9 December 1980 as part of the Play for Today series....
(1980), and its sequel, Another Flip for Dominick (1982). In 1994, in the First Season of Heartbeat, he played Dr. Radcliffe who partnered with Dr. Rowan (Niamh Cusack
Niamh Cusack
Niamh Cusack is an Irish actress. The daughter of late Irish actor Cyril Cusack, she is the sister of Sinéad Cusack and Sorcha Cusack, and half sister of Catherine Cusack. Cusack played Dr Kate Rowan in the television drama series Heartbeat...
) in Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
. He also portrayed the Emperor Vespasian in "The Jewish Revolt" episode of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire.
For several years he had played senior MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
officer Harry Pearce
Harry Pearce
Sir Henry James "Harry" Pearce KBE is the fictional head of the Counter-Terrorism department of MI5, featured in the British television series, Spooks...
in the BBC's popular spy drama series Spooks
Spooks
Spooks is a British television drama series that originally aired on BBC One from 13 May 2002 – 23 October 2011, consisting of 10 series. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters, in a...
(2002–2011), and played Fred Hoyle
Fred Hoyle
Sir Fred Hoyle FRS was an English astronomer and mathematician noted primarily for his contribution to the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and his often controversial stance on other cosmological and scientific matters—in particular his rejection of the "Big Bang" theory, a term originally...
in Hawking, a BBC dramatisation of the early career of Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is an English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, whose scientific books and public appearances have made him an academic celebrity...
.
He was also Snaith in the 3 part series South Riding in 2011. Firth has also appeared on American and Canadian television, on programmes such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
and Total Recall 2070
Total Recall 2070
Total Recall 2070 is a science fiction television series first broadcast in 1999 on the Canadian television channel CHCH-TV and later the same year on the American Showtime channel. It was later syndicated in the United States with some editing to remove scenes of nudity, violence and strong...
, as well as in television films such as The Incident
The Incident (TV movie)
The Incident is a TV movie starring Walter Matthau, originally broadcast on the CBS network on March 4, 1990. The film marked Matthau's return to television after over 20 years.-Plot:...
starring Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
.
Audiobooks
Firth is also a narrator of audio books. He has been responsible for performances reading Pat BarkerPat Barker
Pat Barker CBE, FRSL is an English writer and novelist. She has won many awards for her fiction, which centres around themes of memory, trauma, survival and recovery. Her work is described as direct, blunt and plainspoken.-Personal life:...
's Regeneration
Regeneration (novel)
For the 1997 film adaptation of the novel see Regeneration .Regeneration is a prize-winning novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1991. The novel was a Booker Prize nominee and was described by the New York Times Book Review as one of the four best novels of the year in its year of publication...
, The Ghost Road
The Ghost Road
The Ghost Road is a novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1995 and winner of the Booker Prize. It is the third volume of a trilogy that follows the fortunes of shell-shocked British army officers towards the end of the First World War...
and The Eye in the Door
The Eye in the Door
The Eye in the Door is a novel by Pat Barker, first published in 1993, and forming the second part of the Regeneration trilogy.The Eye in the Door is set in London, beginning in mid-April, 1918, and continues the interwoven stories of Dr William Rivers, Billy Prior, and Siegfried Sassoon begun in...
, Suspicion
Suspicion
Suspicion may refer to:*Suspicion , a feeling of distrust or perceived guilt for someone or something-Music:* "Suspicion" , recorded by Elvis Presley and Terry Stafford* "Suspicion" , a song by R.E.M....
by Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum
Robert McCrum , is an English writer and editor. He served as literary editor of The Observer for more than ten years. In May 2008 he was appointed Associate Editor of the Observer and was succeeded as literary editor by William Skidelsky...
, Maurice
Maurice (novel)
Maurice is a novel by E. M. Forster. A tale of homosexual love in early 20th century England, it follows Maurice Hall from his schooldays, through university and beyond. It was written from 1913 onwards...
by E. M. Forster
E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
, Brave New World
Brave New World
Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...
by Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
, Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Faulks
-Early life:Faulks was born on 20 April 1953 in Donnington, Berkshire to Peter Faulks and Pamela . Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks, is his older brother. He was educated at Elstree School, Reading and went on to Wellington College, Berkshire...
' Birdsong
Birdsong
Birdsong may refer to:* Bird vocalization, the sounds of birds* Birdsong , a 1993 novel by Sebastian Faulks* Birdsong, Arkansas, USA* Birdsong , a channel on the UK Digital One digital radio multiplex...
and Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the d'Urbervilles or just Tess, is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British...
.
Personal life
Firth was born in BradfordBradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Yorkshire, England, the son of publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
s Mavis (née Hudson) and Eric Macintosh Firth, who also had a daughter.
He has been married twice: to the Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
dancer Maya, who later had an affair and resultant son born with Jason Dawes, the son of Diana Dors
Diana Dors
Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as: "The only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva."-Early life:Diana Mary Fluck was born in Swindon,...
; and actress Lindsey Readman (1990 - ?) with whom he has four children.
On 17 July 2009, he was awarded an Honorary degree by the University of Bradford
University of Bradford
The University of Bradford is a British university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The University received its Royal Charter in 1966, making it the 40th University to be created in Britain, but its origins date back to the early 1800s...
as a Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
for his services to acting, having been nominated by the School of Computing, Informatics & Media; he received his award during the school's degree ceremony.
Selected filmography
- Diamonds on WheelsDiamonds on WheelsDiamonds on Wheels is a 1974 British family comedy film directed by Jerome Courtland and starring Patrick Allen, George Sewell and Derek Newark and Barry Jackson....
(1973) - King Arthur, the Young Warlord (1975)
- Aces HighAces High (film)Aces High is a 1976 British war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. As acknowledged in the opening credits, the film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff and the memoir...
(1976) - Joseph AndrewsJoseph Andrews (film)Joseph Andrews is a 1977 period comedy film directed by Tony Richardson. It is based on the novel Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding With its rollicking comic plot, period costume and setting, ribald adventures and a dashing young hero who exposes his buttocks, the film was an obvious attempt to...
(1977) - EquusEquus (film)Equus is a 1977 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Burton. Peter Shaffer wrote the screenplay based on his play Equus...
(1977) - When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? is a play by Mark Medoff.The setting is Foster's Diner, a New Mexico rest stop that lost most of its clientele when a new highway bypass opened. Employees include restless cook Stephen , mousy waitress Angel, and their no-nonsense boss Clark...
(1979) - TessTess (film)Tess is a 1980 romance film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname and who is raped by her wealthy...
(1979) - Fire and Sword (1982)
- Born of Fire (1983)
- Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green KnightSword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green KnightSword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a 1984 film starring Miles O'Keeffe, Cyrielle Claire, Leigh Lawson, and Sean Connery. The film is based on the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written in the late 14th century, but the narrative differs...
(1984) - White ElephantWhite Elephant (film)White Elephant is a 1984 British comedy drama film directed by Werner Grusch and starring Peter Firth, Peter Sarpong and Nana Seowg. A young British businessman goes to Ghana to modernise a furniture factory by introducing computers...
(1984) - LifeforceLifeforce (film)Lifeforce is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Dan O'Bannon and Don Jakoby, from the novel The Space Vampires, published in 1976, by Colin Wilson.-Plot:...
(1985) - Letter to BrezhnevLetter to BrezhnevLetter to Brezhnev is a 1985 British comedy film about working class life in contemporary Liverpool. It was written by Frank Clarke and directed by Chris Bernard. It starred Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Lea, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke amongst others...
(1985) - A State of Emergency (1986)
- Prisoner of RioPrisoner of RioPrisoner of Rio is a 1988 drama film directed by Lech Majewski and starring Steven Berkoff, Paul Freeman and Peter Firth. It shows the flight of the Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs to Brazil and the attempts of Scotland Yard detectives to re-capture him. It was a co-production between several...
(1988) - Tree of HandsTree of HandsTree of Hands is a 1989 British drama film directed by Giles Foster and starring Helen Shaver, Lauren Bacall and Peter Firth. A woman becomes desperate after he young son dies in hospital. It is based on a novel by Ruth Rendell.-Cast:...
(1989) - The Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down UnderThe Rescuers Down Under is a 1990 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution on November 16, 1990...
(1990) - The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October (film)The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 thriller film based on the novel of the same name by Tom Clancy. It was directed by John McTiernan and stars Sean Connery as Captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan...
(1990) - The Pleasure PrincipleThe Pleasure Principle (film)The Pleasure Principle is a 1992 British comedy film directed by David Cohen and starring Peter Firth, Haydn Gwynne and Lysette Anthony. A modern-day Don Juan enjoys relationships with several different women, but is still bemused by the mysteries of the opposite sex.-Cast:* Peter Firth ... Dick*...
(1992) - El marido perfecto (1993)
- ShadowlandsShadowlandsShadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham....
(1993) - White AngelWhite Angel (film)White Angel is a 1994 British thriller film directed by Chris Jones and starring Harriet Robinson, Peter Firth and Don Henderson. A crime writer is approached by a serial killer who wishes her to tell his story to the world.-Cast:...
(1994) - An Awfully Big AdventureAn Awfully Big AdventureAn Awfully Big Adventure is a 1995 British coming-of-age film directed by Mike Newell. The story focuses on a teenage girl who joins a seedy theatre troupe in Liverpool...
(1995) - MerisairasMerisairasMerisairas is a 1996 thriller film directed by Veikko Aaltonen and starring Bob Peck, Katrin Cartlidge and Peter Firth. Eco-terrorists attack a ship carrying toxic waste. An English-language film, it was a co-production between Sweden, Finland and France. It is also known as Seasick.-Cast:* Bob...
(1996) - Marco Polo: The Missing Chapter (1996)
- Gaston's WarGaston's WarGaston's War is a 1997 drama film directed by Robbe De Hert and starring Werner De Smedt, Mapi Galán and Peter Firth. Many decades after the Second World War, a Belgian resistance fighter, Gaston Vandermeerssche, tries to discover who betrayed them to the Nazis. It is based on a novel by Allan...
(1997) - Amistad (1997)
- Mighty Joe YoungMighty Joe YoungMighty Joe Young is a 1949 RKO Radio Pictures film made by the same creative team responsible for King Kong .Written and produced by Merian C. Cooper andRuth Rose , and directed by Ernest B...
(1998) - Chill Factor (1999)
- Pearl HarborPearl Harbor (film)Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
(2001) - The Greatest Game Ever PlayedThe Greatest Game Ever PlayedThe Greatest Game Ever Played is a 2005 biographical sports film based on the early life of golf champion Francis Ouimet. The film was directed by Bill Paxton; Shia LaBeouf plays the role of Ouimet. It is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures...
(2005)