Richard Griffiths: 5 Greatest Ever Movie Moments

4. Bird of Prey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDgojnGi-1E To be fair, this isn't a movie. This was a television series for the BBC, but I figured I could cheat this system for this one. This serial is a techno-thriler staring Griffiths as an investigator caught up in a crazy conspiracy. The serial was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Bird of Prey 2. Part of this serial's strength is Griffiths' performance. Most heroes in these sorts of thrillers are super competent individuals who seem completely and thoroughly in control of their situation. They have some special skill, some talent, something that makes them worth paying attention to. Griffiths' character, Henry Jay, is just a fairly normal guy, humble and a bit introverted, playing a character in a thankless job dealing with issues way above his pay rate. He sort of stumbles into trouble, and we, as the audience, just can't help but cheer for an every man caught up in this huge mess. While this isn't Griffiths' first appearance on television, it was his first staring role after a celebrated career as a Shakespearean actor. Though the production values are a bit shoddy, it's worth is just to see this little piece of film history.