Film: 1990s

Jump to: 1990 * 1991 * 1992 * 1994 * 1995 * 1997 * 1999

Note: Plot summaries focus on Alun Armstrong's character and may contain spoilers.

 

1990:

White Hunter, Black Heart
Release Dates	31 August 1990 (UK); 14 September 1990 (US)
Role	Ralph Lockhart Supporting role throughout.
Also Starring	Clint Eastwood as John Wilson; Jeff Fahey as Pete Verrill
Maverick film director John Wilson goes to Africa to make a movie, but he refuses to start filming until he has killed an elephant. The unit manager Ralph Lockhart acts as a spy and reports back to the producer in London. He informs Wilson that his planned whitewater rapids sequence must be cut because the boat is unsafe, so Wilson insists on testing the boat in the dangerous waters until Lockhart backs down. Wilson then decides to relocate the shoot to his native guide's remote village. Just as they are about to start filming, the rainy season begins as Lockhart warned it would. Wilson uses this as another excuse to go on safari. As the prospect of starting the film decreases, Lockhart's drinking increases. Wilson's obsession ultimately leads to tragedy, and the cameras finally roll.
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Interesting exploration of a man's obsession. Alun goes nicely off the rails too.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Available to watch on Amazon Instant Video. Region 2 (UK) DVD (Danish edition, in English) may be available on Amazon UK. Available to buy or rent on iTunes.
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Ralph Lockhart	Backing the wrong horse	It's the hunters from Hollywood
Whitewater rapids	Have a pleasant day	Downtime

 

1991:

American Friends
Release Date	22 March 1991 (UK)
Role	Dr Weeks Supporting role throughout.
Also Starring	Michael Palin as Reverend Francis Ashby; Trini Alvarado as Miss Elinor Hartley; Connie Booth as Miss Caroline Hartley; Alfred Molina as Oliver Syme; Sheila Reid as Mrs Weeks; Edward Rawle-Hicks as John Weeks
Reverend Francis Ashby - a conventional senior tutor at Oxford - sets off on a walking holiday in Switzerland where he meets two American women who change his life. Eighteen-year-old Miss Elinor Hartley lost her family to the Irish famine and was adopted as a young child by Miss Caroline Hartley. Ashby is attracted to Elinor while both women develop feelings for him. Staying at the same inn are Dr Weeks, whose practice is in Oxford, and his wife and son John. Mrs Weeks is prone to vapours and the Weeks cut short a walking tour, taking the guide with them, leaving the ladies in the company of Ashby. Dr Weeks wants John to study at Oxford and he interrupts an intimate moment between Ashby and Elinor to request an interview. Ashby must return to Oxford when the college president falls ill, and the two ladies later decide to visit him there. John fails his Oxford interview. Dr Weeks sees Ashby and Elinor on the streets of Oxford in the middle of the night, and he sends a note threatening Ashby's chances at becoming the next college president. Ashby arranges a job for John as an entomologist at a museum, which John much prefers. Elinor believes that Ashby is in love with Caroline and she succumbs to the advances of Ashby's rival Syme. As repayment for helping his son, Dr Weeks informs Ashby that Elinor is pregnant. As Elinor is about to return to America, Ashby declares his feelings and they marry, though this means he must leave the college where only unmarried men are allowed.
My Rating	3 out of 5 stars.
Availability	Out of print. Used VHS tapes and Region 4 (Australia) DVDs can sometimes be found on Amazon or Amazon UK.
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What a coincidence	May I have the honour?	A considerable blow
What might have been	A delicate matter	Bearer of bad news

 

London Kills Me
Release Date	13 December 1991 (UK)
Role	John Stone One set of scenes from around 1 hr., 19 min. to 1 hr., 27 min.
Also Starring	Justin Chadwick as Clint; Eleanor David as Lily
A young man named Clint tries to escape the world of drugs by finding a decent pair of shoes so he can get a job. At one point, he and his friends go to the countryside to visit his mother Lily and his stepfather John Stone, who does Elvis impersonations. In the middle of Stone's rendition of "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", the ceiling starts leaking. Stone rushes upstairs where Clint is taking a shower, and he sees one of Clint's friends shooting up and another messing with his Elvis memorabilia. Stone pulls Clint out of the shower and tells him he's breaking his mother's heart. Clint steals a pair of Stone's shoes as he and his friends depart, even though his mother tells him Stone will take it out on her. Stone comes out in his white Elvis jumpsuit to see them off. Clint later loses Stone's shoes but ends up getting the job anyway.
My Rating	2 out of 5 stars. The crooning and the white jumpsuit are worth a look-see but the rest of the film not so much.
Review	"Also, the nuttiness of Clint's stepfather (Alun Armstrong), who has an Elvis fetish, is a pure delight in an otherwise depressing series of events." - Candice Russell, Sun Sentinel
Availability	Not released on DVD. DVD-R copies can sometimes be found on iOffer.
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Has your boy come back then?	I wonder if you're lonesome tonight...	Fate had me playing in love
Leaky ceiling	Apologise to your mother	The King

 

1992:

Split Second
Release Dates	1 May 1992 (US); 5 June 1992 (UK)
Role	Thrasher About four scenes spaced throughout.
Also Starring	Rutger Hauer as Harley Stone; Neil Duncan as Dick Durkin; Pete Postlethwaite as Paulsen
In a world beset by environmental problems, maverick cop Harley Stone won't rest until he finds his partner's killer. His boss Thrasher assigns a nerdy serial killer expert to work with him. They discover that the killer is a monster that has rat DNA as well as the DNA of its victims. Thrasher is sceptical about their theories, but he doesn't stop them from taking big guns out to hunt down the creature and kill it.
My Rating	2 out of 5 stars. I agree with Thrasher, the theories about the creature are ****.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD is out of print. New and used copies can sometimes be found on Amazon (though when I checked the prices were ridiculous). Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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Maybe you'll be a soothing influence	What the **** is this?	Special delivery
Rat DNA?	What the **** is he talking about?	An APB on the Devil

 

Patriot Games
Release Dates	5 June 1992 (US); 25 September 1992 (UK)
Role	Sergeant Owens Supporting role; about 6 scenes.
Also Starring	Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan; Sean Bean as Sean Miller; David Threlfall as Inspector Highland
While in London, CIA analyst Jack Ryan prevents an assassination attempt against a member of the Royal Family and finds his own family targeted by Sean Miller, a terrorist whose brother he killed. Sergeant Owens of the Anti-Terrorist Branch SO13 is on the case with his partner Inspector Robert Highland. Highland is killed when Miller's comrades attack a prison van and rescue him. Owens vows to find whoever fed them inside information - not realising that he's standing next to the traitor. Following an anonymous tip, Owens conducts a raid on a Belfast flat where bombs are being made but realises that no one could have seen the explosives from outside. Ryan begins to suspect that the terrorists are not IRA but a splinter group, and he identifies the female terrorist as a woman posing as a rare book dealer. Owens' team conduct surveillance on a rare book shop she frequents, but their bug is spotted after an electrical fire. The book store owner, who is a cohort of the terrorists, escapes into a tube station and Owens loses him. A raid is conducted against the terrorists' camp in North Africa, but Miller escapes and comes after Ryan in his home.
Notes	Owens' partner Inspector Highland is played by David Threlfall, who played Smike in Nicholas Nickleby with Alun Armstrong as Squeers.
My Rating	3 out of 5 stars. Decent action film.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Available to watch on Amazon Instant Video. Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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SO13	Better pray I don't find him	Belfast raid
Morning!	Damn!	Lost him

 

Blue Ice
Release Date	9 October 1992 (UK)	You're a good old pal
Role	Osgood 2 scenes starting at around 24 min.
Also Starring	Michael Caine as Harry Anders
Former spy Harry Anders has a run in with Stacy, the American Ambassador's wife, that leads to romance and then trouble when she asks him to track down a man named Kyle. Harry visits his old friend Osgood at Scotland Yard who is willing to help for a monetary incentive. Osgood traces Kyle's credit card to a hotel where Harry meets him. While Harry tries to ring Stacy, Osgood disappears. Harry enters the hotel and finds Kyle dead in his room and Osgood dead on the roof. A shadowy assailant gets away and Harry finds himself a murder suspect.
Notes	Alun Armstrong's first film role was in Get Carter with Michael Caine in 1971.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon.

 

My Little Eye
Role	Dad
Also Starring	Andrew Dicks as Jez; Katherine Barker as Mum; Edna Doré as Aunty
Jez's aunt is convinced that her dead husband wants her to remain in the house, to the complete exasperation of Jez's dad who wants to put her in a old people's home.
Notes	Short film. Aired on Channel 4 on 19 January 1994.
Availability	Not released on DVD.

 

1994:

Black Beauty
Release Dates	29 July 1994 (US); 17 February 1995 (UK)
Role	Reuben Smith Supporting role; a set of scenes from around 42 min. to 55 min.
Also Starring	Alan Cumming as Narrator/Black Beauty; Eleanor Bron as Lady Wexmire; Peter Cook as Lord Wexmire; John McEnery as Mr York
Black Beauty has a number of different owners over the years, including Lord and Lady Wexmire, who treat their horses with casual cruelty. Lady Wexmire orders the grooms to use a bearing rein to pull the horses heads up for show. Reuben Smith is disgusted by the order, which causes unnecessary pain to the horses. Black Beauty's companion Ginger rebels and tries to bolt while harnessed to a carriage. The horses are returned to the stable, where Reuben's boss Mr York gets his foot stepped on, to Reuben's amusement. He commiserates with Black Beauty, commenting that Lady Wexmire's behaviour is enough to drive one back to drink. Her ladyship has Reuben bring Black Beauty into the drawing room in order to paint his portrait, forgetting that horses are not housebroken. On a trip into town to have a carriage repainted, Reuben falls off the wagon and gets drunk. He insists on riding Black Beauty home even though a stableboy points out a loose shoe. Horse and rider come a cropper, knocking Reuben out and seriously damaging Black Beauty's knees. Reuben is fired and Black Beauty is sold.
My Rating	3 out of 5 stars. A nice film with a borderline-cutesy narration by the horse.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Available to watch on Amazon Instant Video. Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK. Available to buy or rent on iTunes.
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Ginger	Mr York	Comeuppance
Enough to drive anybody back to drink	Her ladyship	Not housebroken
Over the limit	Where's your damned head?	All chance

 

1995:

An Awfully Big Adventure
Release Dates	7 April 1995 (UK); 21 July 1995 (US)
Role	Uncle Vernon Supporting role throughout.
Also Starring	Georgina Cates as Stella; Hugh Grant as Meredith Potter; Alan Rickman as P.L. O'Hara; Rita Tushingham as Aunt Lily
In postwar Liverpool, 16-year-old Stella lives in a boarding house run by her Uncle Vernon and Aunt Lily. She was taken in by them as a baby after her mother left her alone in her cot and disappeared. Uncle Vernon encourages Stella to pursue acting as an outlet for her emotions and so she doesn't end up working behind the counter in Woolworth's. He arranges an audition for her with a theatre company and she is taken on as an apprentice. But as Stella gets caught up in the emotional intrigues of the theatre world, Uncle Vernon fears they're losing her.
My Rating	2½ stars out of 5. I quite liked Uncle Vernon and his snazzy beret, but the story takes a sordid turn.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Region 2 (UK) DVD out of print. New and used copies can sometimes be found on Amazon UK. Available to buy or rent on iTunes.
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Air raid	Tipping degrades the giver and receiver	She's burgeoning you know
All the newspapers, even Manchester	Compelled to speak	Moved to tears

 

Braveheart
Release Dates	24 May 1995 (US); 8 September 1995 (UK)
Role	Mornay Supporting role; about 6 scenes.
Also Starring	Mel Gibson as William Wallace; Patrick McGoohan as King Edward; Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce; John Murtagh as Lochlan; John Kavanagh as Craig
William Wallace rallies the Scots against the oppressive English king but faces opposition and betrayal from the Scottish nobles, including Mornay. At the Battle of Stirling Bridge, the Scots are outnumbered and Mornay, believing they have no chance, meets the King's emissary to negotiate. Mornay and the other nobles are offered estates in Yorkshire and hereditary titles if they withdraw. But Wallace interrupts the negotiations and forcefully rejects the terms. He tells Mornay to ride around and flank the English army. Mornay objects to dividing their forces but he complies and the battle is won. After the battle, the clan leaders start squabbling amongst themselves, and Wallace warns them that they won't withstand another invasion if they don't stand together. The next year, as an army led by King Edward Longshanks approaches, Mornay says their only option is to negotiate, and Wallace calls the nobles cowards. Mornay and Lochlan bring their troops to the Battle of Falkirk, but they have secretly made deals with King Edward. Mornay is to receive double his lands in Scotland and matching estates in England. When Wallace signals them to charge, Mornay and Lochlan instead ride away, abandoning Wallace and his men to defeat. Mornay dreams that Wallace is coming after him, and he awakes to find Wallace riding into his bedroom on his horse. He kills Mornay with a flail and jumps out the window into the water below.
My Rating	4 out of 5 stars. Well done epic; Alun in a kilt.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD and Blu-ray available on Amazon. Available to watch on Amazon Instant Video. Region 2 (UK) DVD and Blu-ray available on Amazon UK.
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Council of Scottish Nobles	Battle of Stirling Bridge	Outnumbered
Change of plan	Allies	Clans divided
Opposition	Betrayal	Retribution

 

1997:

The Saint
Release Dates	4 April 1997 (US); 18 April 1997 (UK)
Role	Inspector Teal Small supporting role; about 4 scenes.
Also Starring	Val Kilmer as Simon Templar; Elisabeth Shue as Emma Russell; Charlotte Cornwell as Inspector Rabineau
Simon Templar - a master thief and a master of disguise - is hired by a Russian tycoon to steal a formula for cold fusion from Dr Emma Russell, but things become complicated when Simon falls for Emma and tries to find a way out of the deal. Inspector Teal and his partner Inspector Rabineau of Scotland Yard have been trying to track Simon's various identities and disguises when Emma comes to them to report the theft of her notecards. She points out that he uses the names of Catholic Saints, which seems to take Teal by surprise. Upon returning from Moscow after successfully thwarting the bad guys, Emma again reports to the detectives but tells them nothing, and Teal observes that she's fallen in love with Simon. The detectives attend a conference where Emma plans to share her findings on cold fusion. Rabineau realises that Simon is sitting next to Teal, but by the time she gets Teal's attention, it's too late and Simon escapes.
My rating	2 out of 5 stars.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Available to watch on Amazon Instant Video. Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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	On the lookout	They're all him
	Where oh where can he be?	Oops

 

1999:

With or Without You
Release Date	10 September 1999 (Italy)
Role	Sammy O'Neil Several brief scenes throughout.
Also Starring	Christopher Eccleston as Vincent; Dervla Kirwan as Rosie; Fionnula Flanagan as Irene O'Neil
A couple in Northern Ireland have marital problems when they are unable to have a baby. Vincent is also unhappy that Rosie asked him to quit his job as a policeman to work as a glazier for her father Sammy O'Neil. Rosie is drawn to an old penpal from France who is visiting Belfast, while Vincent has a fling with an old girlfriend.
My Rating	2 out of 5 stars. Not particularly interesting or original for this sort of film.
Notes	Listed on his CV with the working title Old New Borrowed Blue.
Availability	Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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Sammy the glazier	Family gathering	Awkward moment
Son-in-law	Rosie on the phone	Granddad

 

G:MT - Greenwich Mean Time
Release Dates	1 October 1999 (UK)
Role	Uncle Henry About four scenes, mostly in the first half.
Also Starring	Steve John Shepherd as Sam
After leaving school, a group of friends try to make it in the music industry. The band's manager Sam has an uncle in the business. But Uncle Henry thinks the band needs a vocalist instead of a trumpet player, and he's annoyed when Sam tries to promote the band at one of his parties. When one of the friends is paralysed in an accident, Sam tells Henry he's serious about becoming successful, and Henry finds a vocalist and arranges studio time. The other band members are unhappy, and the trumpeter leaves the band and becomes a drug dealer, leading to further tragedy. With only one original band member left, along with the new vocalist, G:MT has their first gig.
My Rating	1 out of 5 stars. Urgh.
Availability	Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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Party time	You're embarrassing me	Mood lighting

 

Onegin
Release Dates	19 November 1999 (UK); 17 December 1999 (US)
Role	Zaretsky Only in the duel scene and one (split) scene leading up to it; from around 52 min. to 1 hr., 3 min.
Also Starring	Ralph Fiennes as Onegin; Liv Tyler as Tatyana; Toby Stephens as Vladimir Lensky
Onegin inherits his uncle's country estate and ends up fighting a duel with his friend and neighbour Vladimir as a result of a misunderstanding. Alun Armstrong plays Zaretsky, Vladimir's second in the duel.
My Rating	3 out of 5 stars. Beautifully filmed - particularly the duel scene on a pier in a foggy lake - but a bit draggy and self-indulgent.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD available on Amazon. Region 2 (UK) DVD available on Amazon UK.
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Sleepy Hollow
Release Dates	19 November 1999 (US); 7 January 2000 (UK)
Role	High Constable Two brief scenes at the beginning.
Also Starring	Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane; Christopher Lee as the Burgomaster
Constable Ichabod Crane has unusual notions about investigating crime and serving justice. His superior, the High Constable, scoffs at the idea of looking for a cause of death other than drowning when a body is found in the river. When Ichabod tries to present his proposals to the Burgomaster, the High Constable silences him. The Burgomaster sends Ichabod away to the town of Sleepy Hollow to use his experimental methods to solve three gruesome decapitations.
Availability	Region 1 (US) DVD and Blu-ray available on Amazon. Region 2 (UK) DVD and Blu-ray available on Amazon UK.
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	Cut him up? Are we heathens?	Stand down!