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Bruce Purchase
Bruce Purchase (2 October 1938 – 5 June 2008) was a New Zealand actor known for his roles on stage and television. Born in Thames, New Zealand, he won a scholarship to study acting in England, training at RADA, and went on to become a founding actor-member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. He also performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His TV credits included ''Callan'', ''The First Churchills'', '' Clayhanger'', '' A Picture of Katherine Mansfield'', ''Doomwatch'', ''Fall of Eagles'', ''I, Claudius'', '' The New Avengers'', '' Doctor Who'' (in the serial ''The Pirate Planet''), ''Blake's 7'', ''Quatermass'' and ''The Tripods''. His films included '' Macbeth'' (1971), ''Mary, Queen of Scots'' (1971), '' The Optimists of Nine Elms'' (1973), ''Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' (1974), ''Meetings with Remarkable Men'' (1979), ''Pope John Paul II'' (1984), '' Wallenberg: A Hero's Story'' (1985), ''Playing Away'' (1987), '' Lionheart'' (1987) and '' Another Life'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames, New Zealand
Thames () ( mi, Pārāwai) is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel (district), New Zealand, Thames-Coromandel District Council. The Māori people, Māori iwi are Ngāti Maru (Hauraki), Ngāti Maru, who are descendants of Marutuahu's son Te Ngako. Ngāti Maru is part of the Ngati Marutuahu confederation of tribes or better known as Hauraki Iwi. Thames had an estimated population of 15,000 in 1870, but this declined to 4,500 in 1881, and it has increased modestly since. It is still the biggest town on the Coromandel. Until 2016, a historical Oak, oak tree that was planted by Governor George Grey stood on the corner of Grey and Rolleston streets. Demographics Thames covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Thames had a population of 7,293 at the 2018 Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I, Claudius (TV Series)
''I, Claudius'' (stylized as ''I·CLAVDIVS'') is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' 1934 novel ''I, Claudius'' and its 1935 sequel ''Claudius the God''. Written by Jack Pulman, it stars Derek Jacobi as Claudius, with Siân Phillips, Brian Blessed, George Baker, Margaret Tyzack, John Hurt, Patricia Quinn, Ian Ogilvy, Kevin McNally, Patrick Stewart, and John Rhys-Davies. The series covers the history of the early Roman Empire, told from the perspective of the elderly Emperor Claudius who narrates the series. Among many other productions and adaptations, Graves' Claudius novels have also been adapted for BBC Radio 4 broadcast (2010) and for the stage (1972). Plot summary and episodes ''I, Claudius'' follows the history of the early Roman Empire, narrated by the elderly Roman Emperor Claudius, from the year 24 BC to his death in AD 54. The series opens with Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, attempting to find an heir, and his wife, Livia, plotting to elevat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Hero's Story
A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient Greek letter alpha, from which it derives. The uppercase version consists of the two slanting sides of a triangle, crossed in the middle by a horizontal bar. The lowercase version can be written in two forms: the double-storey a and single-storey ɑ. The latter is commonly used in handwriting and fonts based on it, especially fonts intended to be read by children, and is also found in italic type. In English grammar, " a", and its variant " an", are indefinite articles. History The earliest certain ancestor of "A" is aleph (also written 'aleph), the first letter of the Phoenician alphabet, which consisted entirely of consonants (for that reason, it is also called an abjad to distinguish it fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pope John Paul II (film)
''Pope John Paul II'' is a 1984 American biopic drama television film based on the life of Karol Wojtyła, from his early days as an activist in Poland to his installation as Pope John Paul II. Written by Christopher Knopf and directed by Herbert Wise, the film stars Albert Finney, Caroline Bliss, Brian Cox, and John Forgeham. The film marks both Albert Finney's American television debut and the first script Finney had ever turned down upon initial reading. Synopsis This film's timeline begins with the death of Pope John Paul I on September 28, 1978, and then flashes back to Karol Wojtyła as a young man growing up decades earlier in Wadowice, Poland. The storyline then returns to pre-October 16 dates in 1978 and flashes back to Wojtyła's early life, family relationships, his political involvements fighting against Nazism during World War II and against Communism afterwards in the Cold War, and his relationship and involvement in the Roman Catholic Church as he becomes a priest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meetings With Remarkable Men (film)
''Meetings with Remarkable Men'' is a 1979 British biographical drama film directed by Peter Brook and based on the book of the same name by Greek-Armenian mystic, G. I. Gurdjieff, first published in English in 1963. Shot on location in Afghanistan (except for dance sequences, which were filmed in England), it starred Terence Stamp, and Dragan Maksimović as the adult Gurdjieff. The film was entered into the 29th Berlin International Film Festival, in competition for the Golden Bear award. The plot involves Gurdjieff and his companions' search for truth in a series of dialogues and vignettes, much as in the book. Unlike the book, these result in a definite climax—Gurdjieff's initiation into the mysterious Sarmoung Brotherhood. The film is noteworthy for making public some glimpses of the Gurdjieff movements. Selected cast *Dragan Maksimović as G. I. Gurdjieff *Terence Stamp as Prince Lubovedsky *Mikica Dimitrijevic as The young Gurdjieff *Warren Mitchell as Gurdjieff's fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soft Beds, Hard Battles
''Soft Beds, Hard Battles'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting, starring Peter Sellers (in several roles), Curt Jurgens, Lila Kedrova and Jenny Hanley. Sellers reunited with the Boulting brothers for this farce, in which the women of a brothel help the war effort to rid the world of the Nazi peril - in the bedroom. The film took a limited release; in the United States, it was released under the title ''Undercovers Hero''. Plot Set in Nazi-occupied France, the story follows Major Robinson of the British Army. Installing himself at a Parisian brothel, he assists the French resistance and works with Madame Grenier and her girls who find themselves eliminating high ranking German officers (using ingenious rigged beds and killer flatulence pills) right under the noses of the Gestapo. The girls find themselves enlisted in the Free French Forces and finally help to foil Hitler's plan to blow up Paris. They later receive medals from the French president. Cast *Peter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Optimists Of Nine Elms
''The Optimists of Nine Elms'', also known as ''The Optimists'', is a 1973 British drama film starring Peter Sellers and directed by Anthony Simmons, who also wrote the 1964 novel upon which the film is based. The film is about an old street musician (played by Sellers) who strikes up a friendship with two children - Liz, played by Donna Mullane, and her younger brother Mark, played by John Chaffey. Neither of the child actors was featured in future films. A young Keith Chegwin also played a small role. Mullane was recruited for her role by the film crew when they were scouting locations and saw her as she was walking home from school. Plot The story revolves around Sam, a dignified, former music hall artist who now works with his elderly trained dog Bella, busking in the West End of London. He lives in a run down goods yard alongside a derelict canal in Nine Elms. Two young children, Liz and Mark, stumble upon his yard whilst out walking. He chases them away, but his manner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary, Queen Of Scots (1971 Film)
''Mary, Queen of Scots'' is a 1971 biographical film based on the life of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, written by John Hale and directed by Charles Jarrott. The cast was led by Vanessa Redgrave as the title character and Glenda Jackson as Elizabeth I. Jackson had previously played the part of Elizabeth in the BBC TV drama '' Elizabeth R'', screened in February and March 1971, the first episode of which was also written by Hale. The screenplay was written by John Hale and the film directed by Charles Jarrott. Like the play by Friedrich Schiller ('' Maria Stuart'', 1800) and the opera by Gaetano Donizetti (''Maria Stuarda'', 1835), it takes considerable liberties with history in order to achieve increased dramatic effect, in particular two fictitious face-to-face encounters between the two queens (who never met in real life). The film received mixed reviews with criticism of the screenplay, running length and historical inaccuracies; however it received praise for the leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth (1971 Film)
''Macbeth'' (or ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'') is a 1971 historical drama film directed by Roman Polanski and co-written by Polanski and Kenneth Tynan. A film adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, it tells the story of the Highland lord who becomes King of Scotland through treachery and murder. The film stars Jon Finch as the title character and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, noted for their relative youth as actors. Themes of historic recurrence, greater pessimism and internal ugliness in physically beautiful characters are added to Shakespeare's story of moral decline, which is presented in a more realistic style. Polanski opted to create an adaptation of ''Macbeth'' as a means of coping with the highly publicized Manson Family murder of his wife, Sharon Tate. Finding difficulty obtaining sponsorship from major studios, the production was funded by Playboy Enterprises. Filming was troubled by poor weather around the British Isles. ''Macbeth'' was scr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Tripods (TV Series)
''The Tripods'' is a television adaptation of John Christopher's ''The Tripods'' series of novels. It was jointly produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom and the Seven Network in Australia. The music soundtrack was written by Ken Freeman. Series one of ''The Tripods'', broadcast in 1984, had 13 half-hour episodes written by Alick Rowe, the author of many radio plays, and covers the first book, ''The White Mountains''; the 12-episode second series (1985) written by Christopher Penfold covers ''The City of Gold and Lead''. Although a television script had been written for the third series, it was cancelled by BBC executives Michael Grade and Jonathan Powell due to the adaptation failing in the ratings. The first series was released on both VHS and DVD. The BBC released ''Tripods — The Complete Series 1 & 2'' on DVD in March 2009. Production The series introduced several minor changes from the book, notably the shape of the Masters and Tripods, which have tentacles ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quatermass (TV Serial)
''Quatermass'' (also known as ''Quatermass IV'', or ''The Quatermass Conclusion'' for its intended international theatrical release) is a 1979 British Science fiction on television, television science fiction serial. Produced by Euston Films for Thames Television, it was broadcast on the ITV (TV network), ITV network in October and November 1979. Like its three predecessors, ''Quatermass'' was written by Nigel Kneale. It is the fourth and final television serial to feature the character of Professor Bernard Quatermass. In this story, the character is played by John Mills. Influenced by the social and geopolitics, geopolitical situation of the early 1970s and the hippie youth movement of the late 1960s, ''Quatermass'' is set in a near future in which large numbers of young people are joining a cult known as the Planet People who gather at prehistoric sites, believing they will be transported to a better life on another planet. The series begins with Professor Quatermass arriving i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blake's 7
''Blake's 7'' (sometimes styled ''Blakes7'') is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, produced by David Maloney (series 1–3) and Vere Lorrimer (series 4), and the script editor throughout its run was Chris Boucher, who wrote nine of its episodes. The main character for the first two series was Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas. ''Blake's 7'', which was broadcast in 25 other countries, had a low budget but featured many tropes of space opera, such as spaceships, robots, galactic empires and aliens. Critical responses have been varied; some reviewers praised the programme for its dystopian themes, strong characterisation, ambiguous morality and pessimistic tone, as well as displaying an "enormous sense of fun", but others have criticised its production values, dialogue, and accused it of lacking originality. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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