8 Ways Beatle Turned Producer George Harrison Saved British Cinema
5. Handmade Films Takes Mona Lisa (1986) All The Way To The Oscars
Reuniting Handmade Films, the gangster genre and Bob Hoskins in the lead role, Mona Lisa made an even bigger impact than The Long Good Friday did, establishing George's little studio as a major international force. The gritty story of an ex-con (Hoskins) who gets entwined with a call girl (Cathy Tyson) and a mobster (Michael Caine) was a huge critical hit and went to the Oscars with Hoskins earning his sole nomination for Best Actor. For his work in the little £2m indie flick that received international attention, Hoskins won the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Cannes Film Festival award. Harrison, and indeed all of the Beatles, was already an Oscar winner for his work on the Let It Be documentary film of which he was credited for providing the score. In addition, George would be posthumously given the British Independent Film Awards' Lifetime Achievement honour in 2002 for his work with Handmade Films, but no statues could mask the disaster that came after Mona Lisa
Despite a fear of using plastic cutlery and drinking overly milky brews, Dave is open to indulging in most other things at least once especially when it comes to movies and music.
10 of his favourite films are: Masaki Kobayashi's Hara-Kiri, Ingmar Bergman's Persona, Martin Brest's Midnight Run, Lawrence Kasdan's The Big Chill, Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, Peter Medak's The Ruling Class, H.G. Clouzot's Les Diaboliques, Hector Babenco's Kiss of the Spider Woman, Fritz Lang's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and Sidney Lumet's Network.
