The best Mark Benton’s drama movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Mark Benton’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Mark Benton.
Eddie the Eagle
7.3/10
The feel-good story of Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself—even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Topsy-Turvy
7.3/10
After their production "Princess Ida" meets with less-than-stunning reviews, the relationship between Gilbert and Sullivan is strained to breaking. Their friends and associates attempt to get the two to work together again, which opens the way to "The Mikado," one of the duo's greatest successes.
Blow Dry
6.2/10
The annual British Hairdressing Championship comes to Keighley, a town where Phil and son Brian run a barbershop and Phil's ex-wife Shelly and her lover Sandra run a beauty salon.
The Reckoning
6.4/10
In 14th Century England, this tale of murder and mystery follows a fugitive priest who falls in with a troupe of actors. As they Arrive in a small town, the actors encounter a woman bing sentenced to death for practicing witchcraft and murder. Discarding the expected bible stories, the actors stage a performance based on the crime. Through the performance of the play, they discover a mystery.
Breaking and Entering
6.5/10
Set in a blighted, inner-city neighbourhood of London, Breaking and Entering examines an affair which unfolds between a successful British landscape architect and Amira, a Bosnian woman – the mother of a troubled teen son – who was widowed by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
All or Nothing
7.5/10
Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.
Career Girls
7.1/10
Two young women reunite and rekindle their friendship after having said goodbye at their college graduation, six years earlier.
The Girl
7.3/10
Adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel. In mid-19th century Yorkshire, Hannah Boyle is left with the family of Matthew Thornton, the man her dying mother claims fathered her. Ill-treated by Thornton's bitter and vindictive wife Anne, who views Hannah only as evidence of her husband's infidelity, she is married off to the village butcher, whose waspish mother torments her further. But through her patience, intelligence and strength, she wins her freedom and the man she loves.
Three and Out
6.1/10
A London tube driver considers pursuing a third fatal accident to collect a huge payout.
Crime and Punishment
7.4/10
John Simm stars in this adaptation of Dostoyevsky's tragic masterpiece - a profound drama of redemption and a thrilling detective story of the soul.
Gladiatress
4.2/10
Offbeat sword-and-sandals comedy-adventure about three unlikely heroines (Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips) who set out to thwart a Roman invasion and save Celtic Britain in their own unique and outrageous style.
Torvill & Dean
6.5/10
Biopic of the British ice dancers and British, European, Olympic and World champions, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.
Christmas Lights
6.7/10
Robson Green and Mark Benton co-star in Christmas Lights, a one-off comedy drama for ITV1 centred on two lifelong friends who have always competed with each other. The festive season brings on new challenges and takes their rivalry to extremes resulting in the two friends forgetting what Christmas is really about. Can anything bring them to their senses?
Boys On Film 8: Cruel Britannia
6.4/10
From the cliffs of the Isle of Wight to an abandoned swimming pool in Lambeth, Boys On Film 8: Cruel Britannia presents an eclectic mix of ten UK-set short films including: Harry Wootliff's "I Don't Care" starring Iwan Rheon; Ben Peters's "Downing" starring Jamie Brotherston and Ross William Wild; David Andrew Ward's "All Over Brazil" starring Iain De Caestecker, Frank Gallagher, and Gemma Morrison; David Leon and Marcus McSweeney's "Man and Boy" starring Eddie Marsan, Geoff Bell, and Eddie Webber; Aleem Khan's "Diana" starring Neeraj Singh; Jason Bradbury's "We Once Were Tide" starring Alexander Scott, Tristan Bernays, and Mandy Aldridge; Hong Khaou's "Spring" starring Chris O'Donnell and Jonathan Keane; Sybil H. Mair's "The Chef's Letter" starring Jonathan Firth, Ray Fearon, and Layke Anderson; Faryal's "What You Looking At?!" starring Rez Kabir, Michael Twaits, and Hussina Raja; and Dominic Leclerc's "Nightswimming" starring Harry Eden, Linzey Cocker, and Tim Dantay.
Danny & the Human Zoo
7.3/10
A dramatised account of the early life and career of impressionist, comedian and actor Lenny Henry.
Planespotting
6.5/10
Television drama based on a true story about a group of planespotters wrongly accused of being spies. 14 planespotters are arrested for behaving 'suspiciously' at an air base in Greece and are accused of being spies because of the telescopes, radio scanners and aircraft serial numbers they have in their possession. They plead their innocence but the farce turns into a nightmare when the group are held in squalid Greek prisons.
The Booze Cruise
7/10
A group of men from Kent; Clive (Martin Clunes), Rob (Neil Pearson), Dave (Mark Benton), Maurice (Brian Murphy) and Daniel (Ben Whishaw) - go on a booze cruise to France, with mixed success and many mishaps along the way. Events involving their wives and families back home also form a large part of the plot.
Beyond The Pole
5.6/10
A documentary film crew follows the first carbon neutral, organic, vegetarian expedition ever to attempt the North Pole. Simultaneously Saving the Planet and getting into the Guinness Book of Records Brian and Mark hope to kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, they have never done anything like this before.
This Is Personal: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper
7.6/10
This is a dramatisation of the real-life investigation into the notorious Yorkshire Ripper murders of the late 1970s, showing the effect that it had on the health and career of Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield who led the enquiry.
The Booze Cruise II: The Treasure Hunt
6.8/10
The Booze Cruise is a series of three feature length comedy dramas written for British television by Paul Minett and Brian Leveson. In this episode the same characters go on a treasure hunt, and end up with their car being washed out to sea on a beach. Marcus (a businessman who deals with Dave's company) first appears in this episode.
