Peter O'Toole

Role: 

Supergirl

Strength, flight, invincibility, heat vision, an unswerving sense of justice: they're all family traits. Kara, Superman's cousin, also survived the cataclysm that destroyed their homeworld of Krypton. And when she comes to Earth, she's Supergirl! Creative behind Superman The Movie take another page from DC Comics lore with this fun-and effects-packed adventure about the Girl of Steel. Helen Slater plays the title role, posing as Midvale prep-schooler Linda Lee, battling a sorceress (Faye Dunaway) for control of an alien power orb and enjoying an unexpected dating ritual called kissing.

Becket

For the first time in more than 40 years, experience two of the greatest actors of our time in one of the most honored motion pictures in history. Peter O'Toole delivers an electrifying performance as the mischievous Henry II, who surprises England by naming his fellow rogue and trusted valet Thomas Becket (Richard Burton in a career defining role) as Chancellor. But when Henry next appoints him Archbishop Of Canterbury, Becket shocks the world by openly defying the King with his newfound faith and compassion.

The Last Emperor

Among the finest Western-made movies about the East, Bernardo Bertolucci's epic traces the emergence of modern China through the life of one man. After taking on Italian history in The Conformist and 1900, the director was well placed to tackle the story of Pu Yi (played by John Lone as an adult). The narrative proceeds along two tracks: the emperor's post-Forbidden City existence and his cloistered upbringing. Educated by Scotland's Reginald Johnston (Peter O'Toole, in a role slated for Sean Connery), the monarch develops into a sophisticated, if powerless figure.

Stardust

Stardust settles over the viewer like a twinkly cloak. The film, which captures the magic and vision of author Neil Gaiman's fantasy graphic fable, is a transportive journey into a world of true enchantment, which fans of the Harry Potter books will enjoy as well as will adults looking for the perfect date movie. The tale is a not-so-simple love story and adventure, set in 19th century England--and an alternate universe of witches, spells and stars that turn human--and hold the key to eternal life.

What's New Pussycat?

An appealing, free-floating lunacy fuels What's New Pussycat?, and there's enough of it bubbling around to carry the movie past its many defects. The cast is like a collection of terribly attractive people stumbling over each other at a disorganized cocktail party--they aren't always witty, and some of them are drunk, but there's enough going on to keep you distracted. Peter O'Toole plays a swinging London womanizer seeking help for his addiction, who makes the mistake of consulting one Dr. Fritz Fassbender (Peter Sellers), a demented psychoanalyst.

Troy

There are many reasons to recommend Troy as a good ol' fashioned Hollywood epic, especially if you've never read Homer's The Iliad. Dispensing with Greek gods altogether, this earnestly massive production (budgeted at upwards of $200 million) will surely offend historians and devoted students of the classics (for them, there's the History Channel's Troy).

The Stunt Man

The "lost" sleeper hit of 1980 has since become one of the most revered cult movies of all time, largely due to its bawdy, irreverent story about the art and artifice of filmmaking and an outrageously clever performance by Peter O'Toole. As megalomaniacal film director Eli Cross, O'Toole plays a larger-than-life figure whose ability to manipulate reality is like a power-trip narcotic. The focus of his latest mind game is a fugitive (Steve Railsback) recruited to replace a stuntman killed during a recent on-set accident.

My Favorite Year

This love letter to the golden days of live television in the 1950s is a thinly veiled depiction of Your Show of Shows, the groundbreaking comedy show that starred Sid Caesar. The story, set in 1954, focuses on one of the writers for the show (Mark Linn-Baker), who is given the task of chaperoning that week's guest star, a famously ill-behaved movie star named Alan Swann. He's based on Errol Flynn and played with Oscar-nominated glee by Peter O'Toole.

Lawrence Of Arabia

The dramatic portrait of the famed British officer's journey to the Middle East, Lawrence Of Arabia is one of the most critically acclaimed and beloved films of all time. Assigned to Arabia during World War I, Lawrence courageously unites the warring Arab factions into a strong guerrilla front and leads them to brilliant victories in treacherous desert battlefields, where they eventually defeat the ruling Turkish Empire.

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