Dysfunctional Families
Perhaps because it's something nearly all of us can relate to (apart from The Bradys), messed-up families have always been a popular subject for filmmakers in all genres. Whether you're playing it for laughs ('Arrested Development', 'Go For Zucker'), drama ('Kramer vs Kramer', 'Nil By Mouth'), or thrills ('The Quiet Family', 'Olivier, Olivier') the family dynamic is a deep well of ready-made love/hate relationships, seething resentments and hidden secrets. What more could a filmmaker, or a film-watcher, ask for!
Married With Children: Season 2 (1987)
8/10
Starring: Amanda Bearse, Christina Applegate, Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino, Dav...
Ed O'Neill, Katey Sagal. Although the first season made quite a splash, the second season showed an improvement in storytelling and an emphasis in set... Read more
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8/10
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, Daniel Stern, Dianne Wiest, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen...
Woody Allen at his best: Sibling rivalry has never been so funny nor so poignant as in Woody Allen's Oscar-winning comedy-drama Hannah and Her Sisters... Read more
Crimes of the Heart (1986)
6.4/10
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper
Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek and Diane Keaton star as flaky Southern sisters who are uneasily reunited when Spacek is arrested for shooting her politic... Read more
Vigil / The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey / A State of Siege (1984)
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Bruce Lyons, Hamish McFarlane, Penelope Stewart, Frank Whitten, Bill Kerr, Fiona...
A Vincent Ward double feature. 'Vigil' (1984, 86 mins) Director Vincent Ward supplies a striking visual atmosphere in this rural melodrama about life... Read more
Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)
7.1/10
Director: Carl Schultz
Starring: Wendy Hughes, Robyn Nevin, Nicholas Gledhill
Critically acclaimed at home in Australia and in the U.S., this powerful drama concerns the fight between two sisters over the custody of their six ye... Read more
Meantime (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Alfred Molina
From one of Britain's finest directors comes this witty, compelling black comedy of life on the dole. For the permanently unemployed Pollack family, e... Read more
Terms of Endearment (1983)
7.4/10
Director: James L Brooks
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson
Winner of five Oscars including Best Picture, the story of the changing relationship between a mother and daughter over the years, mixes humour and he... Read more
Sorry!: Series 2 (1982)
7.4/10
Director: David Askey
Starring: Ronnie Corbett, Barbara Lott, William Moore
Ronnie Corbett (The Two Ronnies) plays Timothy Lumsden, a part specially written for him, and has turned him into one of the best-loved comic figures... Read more
Sorry!: Series 3 (1982)
7.4/10
Director: David Askey
Starring: Ronnie Corbett, Barbara Lott, William Moore
Series Three finds Timothy embarking on a treasure hunt for a golden rabbit; planning to go to the Gobi Desert with his girlfriend; starring in the am... Read more
All Night Long (1981)
5.9/10
Director: Jean-Claude Tramont
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Dennis Quaid, Diane Ladd, Gene Hackman
Screen legends Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand star in this offbeat comedy that proves a man can lose everything and still love happily ever after.... Read more