This film is part of Rentals
The Missionary
In his first substantial feature-film role away from the involvement of his Monty Python cohorts, Michael Palin stars as a 19th-century missionary tasked with setting up a mission for fallen prostitutes.
Comedy 1983 86 mins
Director: Richard Loncraine
Overview
In his first substantial feature-film role away from the involvement of his Monty Python cohorts, Michael Palin stars as a 19th-century missionary tasked with setting up a mission for fallen prostitutes. He soon discovers that although the wealthy Lady Ames (Maggie Smith) is lined up as a financial backer, her patronage comes with strings attached...
While making Time Bandits, Handmade Films executive producers Denis O'Brien and George Harrison asked Michael Palin to conceive of a movie idea of his own choosing. The Missionary was the result. The film features actual locations including Longleat House in Wiltshire; Dorney Court; Highclere Castle in Hampshire; and Ardverikie House in Scotland. Reportedly, actor Michael Hordern lost his way in the labyrinthine passages of Wiltshire's Longleat, an action fitting of his absent-minded character Slatterthwaite. Director Richard Loncraine has said of this film that it was "one of the happiest films I've ever made".
Related
Comedy
Lucky
Drama 2016 88 mins Director: John Carroll Lynch
Harry Dean Stanton gives the performance of a lifetime as an irascible nonagenarian maverick in a New Mexican town, grappling with his mortality.
The Marvellous Mabel Normand: The Leading Lady of Film Comedy
Comedy 2018 78 mins Director: Mabel Normand
Discover early Hollywood's irrepressible comic pioneer, showcased in this delightful package of short films in which she appears alongside fellow greats Charlie Chaplin, Fatty Arbuckle and Oliver Hardy.
Anchor and Hope
Comedy 2018 113 mins Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet
Sweetly swaying houseboat comedy about a couple whose river-bound existence is upended by the arrival of an old friend.
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn
Comedy 2017 108 mins Director: Jim Hosking
Lulu Danger's (Aubrey Plaza) unsatisfying marriage takes a turn for the worse when a former lover comes to town in this strange and surreal comedy.
Swimming with Men
Comedy 2018 97 mins Director: Oliver Parker
Rob Brydon leads a motley crew who pool their resources as part of a synchronised swimming team, in this buoyant feelgood comedy.
Scene Nun, Take One
Comedy 1964 26 mins Director: Maurice Hatton
Susannah York plays a mischievously wayward actress mistaken for a nun in this comedy short shot in Swinging 60s London
Comedy Genius
Spring Meeting
Comedy 1941 94 mins Director: Walter C. Mycroft
A penniless woman’s attempts at matchmaking her way to riches go awry when her son falls for the wrong daughter of a nobleman.
The Brand New Testament
Comedy 2015 110 mins Director: Jaco van Dormael
Catherine Deneuve and Benoît Poelvoorde head the cast in Jaco Van Dormael’s wildly inventive comedy, in which God’s daughter decides to rewrite the rules.
Shaun of the Dead
Horror 2004 99 mins Director: Edgar Wright
The original ‘rom-zom-com’: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the slacker mates tasked with battling a zombie apocalypse in Crouch End.
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Comedy 2013 90 mins Director: Declan Lowney
It’s Alan’s finest hour, as the veteran DJ for North Norfolk Digital (Steve Coogan) is called into action to mediate a hostage situation following a siege.
Privates on Parade
Comedy 1983 113 mins Director: Michael Blakemore
Musical comedy with John Cleese. In Singapore, 1948, the Song and Dance Unit tour their 'Jungle Jamboree' review.
Notting Hill
Comedy 1999 124 mins Director: Roger Michell
Richard Curtis and Hugh Grant followed Four Weddings with this featherlight, frequently funny romance between an ordinary bloke and a visiting Hollywood starlet.
Featuring Michael Palin
Monty Python's the Meaning of Life
Comedy 1983 107 mins Director: Terry Jones
Mr. Creosote, live organ transplants, salmon mousse... The Python's cinematic swansong contains some of the troupe's most notorious and hilarious sketches.
The Death of Stalin
Comedy 2017 107 mins Director: Armando Iannucci
Chaos and comedy ignite in Armando Iannucci’s acerbic satire, as Soviet officials frantically react to the passing of their glorious leader.
Featuring Maggie Smith
Richard III
Drama 1995 104 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s bold restaging transplants Shakespeare’s play to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Drama 1989 116 mins Director: Jack Clayton
Maggie Smith is astonishing in one of her greatest roles as a spinster who falls for Bob Hoskins’ brash businessman.
Directed by Richard Loncraine
Richard III
Drama 1995 104 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s bold restaging transplants Shakespeare’s play to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.
New
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
Documentary 2018 96 mins Director: Steve Loveridge
Fascinating delve into the career, personality and politics of award-winning musician M.I.A.
Postcards from London
Drama 2017 89 mins Director: Steve McLean
A stylish, sexy film about a young man’s journey into an unusual form of escort work.
Tides
Drama 2017 100 mins Director: Tupaq Felber
Four thirtysomethings find some much-needed time to reconnect in this beautifully observed and subtly insightful debut.
The Special World of Nigel Hunt
1967 27 mins Director: Ian Mcfarlane
An edition of This Week reporting on the restricted lives of young people with Down’s syndrome living in homes away from their families.
The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
Documentary 2017 101 mins Director: Stephen Schible
A graceful, intimate study of a the legendary Japanese musician, composer, actor, writer and activist.