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Tim Roth
Mini Biography
Often mistaken for an American because of his skill at imitating accents, actor Tim Roth was born Timothy Simon Smith in London, England on May 14, 1961 to mother Ann, a teacher and landscape painter, and father Ernie, a journalist who changed the family name to "Roth". Tim grew up in Dulwich, a middle-class area in the south of London. He demonstrated his talent for picking up accents at an early age when he attended school in Brixton, where he faced persecution from classmates for his comfortable background and quickly perfected a cockney accent to blend in. He attended Camberwell Art College and studied sculpture before he dropped out and pursued acting.
The slightly built blonde actor's first big break was the British TV movie Made In Britain (1982) (TV). Roth made a huge splash in that film as a young skinhead named Trevor. He next worked with director Mike Leigh on Meantime (1984) (TV), which he has counted among his favorite projects. He debuted on the big screen when he filled in for Joe Strummer in the Stephen Frears neo-noir The Hit (1984). Roth gained more attention for his turn as Vincent Van Gogh in Vincent & Theo (1990) and his work opposite Gary Oldman in Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990).
He moved to Los Angeles in search of work and caught the eye of young director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino had envisioned Roth as a possible Mr. Blonde or Mr. Pink in his heist flick Reservoir Dogs (1992), but Roth campaigned for the role of Mr. Orange instead, and ultimately won the part. It proved to be a huge breakthrough for Roth, as audiences found it difficult to forget his performance as a member of a group of bank robbers who is slowly bleeding to death. Tarantino cast Roth again in the landmark film Pulp Fiction (1994). Roth and actress Amanda Plummer played a pair of robbers who hold up a restaurant. 1995 saw the third of Roth's collaborations with Tarantino, a surprisingly slapstick performance in the anthology film Four Rooms (1995). That same year Roth picked up an Academy Award nomination for his campy turn as a villain in the period piece Rob Roy (1995).
Continuing to take on disparate roles, Roth did his own singing (with an American accent to boot) in the lightweight Woody Allen musical Everyone Says I Love You (1996). He starred opposite Tupac Shakur in Shakur's last film, the twisted comedy Gridlock'd (1997). The pair received postive critical notices for their comic chemistry. Standing in contrast to the criminals and baddies that crowd his CV, Roth's work as the innocent, seafaring pianist in the Giuseppe Tornatore film Leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, La (1998) became something of a fan favorite. Grittier fare followed when Roth made his directorial debut with The War Zone (1999), a frank, critically acclaimed drama about a family torn apart by incest. He made his next high-profile appearance as an actor as General Thade, an evil simian in the Tim Burton remake of Planet Of The Apes (2001). Roth was, of course, all but unrecognizable in his primate make-up.
Roth has continued to enjoy a mix of arthouse and mainstream work, including everything from the lead role in Francis Ford Coppola's esoteric Youth Without Youth (2007) to becoming "The Abomination" in the special effects-heavy blockbuster The Incredible Hulk (2008). Roth took his first major American television role when he signed on to the Fox-TV series "Lie to Me" (2009)
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Filmography
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Tim Roth - news / articles
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Tim Roth joins Hulk cast -
10 May 2007
Following this week's announcement that Liv Tyler is to join Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk, it has emerged that Tim Roth will play the villain of the movie.-Roth, who recently starred in horror remake Dark Water, is to star as Abomination, who purposely exp
Tim Roth - what members say
Tim Roth - filmography
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Skellig
on DVD
(2009)
Starring: Tim Roth, Kelly MacDonald, John Simm
Director: Annabel Jankel
Certificate: 
Journey into a world of hope and discovery with the sumptuous adaptation of David Almond's acclaimed, award-winning novel. A young boy discovers a strange, winged creature hidden amongst the shadowy cobwebs of his decayed garden shed. Together with his new friend Mina, Michael befriends this ..read more »
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63%
from 2,156 members
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Incredible Hulk, The - BLU-RAY Version
(2008)
Starring: Tim Roth, Liv Tyler, William Hurt
Director: Louis Leterrier
Certificate: 
Hailing more from the pulp-melancholic spirit of the 1978-1982 Hulk television series than its 2003 predecessor did, THE INCREDIBLE HULK wordlessly tells the entire gamma ray-afflicted origin story of scientist Bruce Banner's alter-ego within its first two-and-a-half minutes. This credit sequence ..read more »
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68%
from 5,456 members
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The Incredible Hulk
on DVD
(2008)
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth
Director: Louis Leterrier
Certificate:
Oscar nominee Edward Norton bulks up to play the green-skinned comic book hero in THE INCREDIBLE HULK. In this instalment, Bruce Banner (Norton) searches for a cure for his transformation, but he must face a frightening foe: the Abomination (Tim Roth). Liv Tyler stars as Banner's love interest, ..read more »
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67%
from 34,374 members
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Funny Games - BLU-RAY Version
(2007)
Starring: Tim Roth, Naomi Watts, Brady Corbet
Director: Michael Haneke
Certificate: 
In 1997, writer-director Michael Haneke (HIDDEN) made the controversial Austrian thriller, FUNNY GAMES, about two young men who terrorize a family on holiday. A decade later, Haneke was convinced by producer Chris Coen to bring the story to America, filming a nearly word-for-word, shot-for-shot ..read more »
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56%
from 924 members
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Youth Without Youth
on DVD
(2007)
Starring: Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Certificate: 
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola returns to the screen with this drama that raises questions of life and love. This philosophic film stars Tim Roth as Dominic Matei, a 70-year-old in 1938 Romania who is changed into a young man by an accident.
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48%
from 1,868 member
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Funny Games
on DVD
(2007)
Starring: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt
Director: Michael Haneke
Certificate:
Director Michael Haneke (CACHE) remakes his own 1997 feature, this time casting Naomi Watts, Brady Corbet, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, and Devon Gearhart. Following the original's premise, the thriller explores the chaos surrounding a family hostage situation.
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54%
from 6,642 members
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Dark Water
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Pete Postlethwaite
Director: Walter Salles
Certificate:
Based on a story by Japanese novelist Koji Suzuki and a film by Hideo Nakata (THE RING), DARK WATER is a thrilling exercise in psychological terror. Jennifer Connelly stars as Dahlia, a troubled woman who is battling her husband, Kyle (Dougray Scott), for custody of their young daughter, Ceci (..read more »
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52%
from 22,662 members
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The Last Sign
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Andie MacDowell, Samuel Le Bihan, Tim Roth
Director: Douglas Law
Certificate:
Abused and bullied by her alcoholic husband, Kathy sheds no tears when she is told he's been killed in a car crash. Free at last from years of tyranny, she slowly begins to rebuild her life...
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43%
from 2,046 members
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Don't Come Knocking
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Sam Shepherd, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth
Director: Wim Wenders
Certificate:
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child ..read more »
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52%
from 1,216 member
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The Beautiful Country
on DVD
(2005)
Starring: Nick Nolte, Tim Roth, Damien Nguyen
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Certificate:
Binh (newcomer Damien Nguyen) is an outcast in his small village and the quiet hero of this affecting drama, which opens in the lush landscapes of the Vietnamese countryside. The son of an American soldier and a native woman, Binh is considered in his country to be 'lower than dust'. Though he grew ..read more »
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60%
from 2,314 members
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Silver City
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Tim Roth
Director: John Sayles
Certificate:
During a gubernatorial race in small-town Colorado, a mystery is uncovered involving a dead body found in a local lake. A private detective, Danny (Danny Huston), is hired by the governor-to-be's campaign manager (Richard Dreyfuss), who is worried that the unexpected event may be used as a scandal-..read more »
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47%
from 5,780 members
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Battle Of The Brave
on DVD
(2004)
Starring: Noemie Godin-Vigneau, David La Haye, Juliette Gosselin
Director: Jean Beaudin
Certificate:
Battle of the Brave is set against the sweeping backdrop of history and is the epic tale of great passion and sacrifice in a time of war. When Canada is besieged by British forces, two brave lovers risk everything to protect their freedom and the freedom of Quebec. Marie-Loup Carignan (Noemie Godin-..read more »
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44%
from 800 members
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To Kill A King
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Dougray Scott, Tim Roth, Rupert Everett
Director: Mike Barker
Certificate:
Set at the end of the Civil War in 1645, TO KILL A KING is a stirring period piece that follows the relationship between Lord General Fairfax (Dougray Scott) and his ambitious deputy Oliver Cromwell (Tim Roth) as they struggle to rebuild a shattered England. Part of Cromwell's solution is to ..read more »
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57%
from 2,351 members
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Emmett's Mark
on DVD
(2003)
Starring: Tim Roth, Scott Wolf, Gabriel Byrne
Director: Keith Snyder
Certificate:
Scott Wolf stars in this thriller as Emmett Young, a Philadelphia homicide detective who learns that he has a terminal illness and only a short time left to live. While working a bizarre serial killer case, Emmett meets up with a shadowy government agent who convinces him that the best way to die ..read more »
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53%
from 393 members
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The Hit
(2002)
Starring: John Hurt, Terence Stamp, Tim Roth
Director: Stephen Frears
Certificate: 
Ex-gangster Willie Parker has betrayed his former "colleagues" and now lives in Spain where he thinks he can hide from their vengeance. But one day, ten years later, two hitmen (Braddock and Myron) show up and kidnap Willie. They are ordered to escort him back to Paris where he should stand trial. ..read more »
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72%
from 20 members
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Invincible
(2001)
Starring: Tim Roth, Jouko Ahola, Anna Gourari
Director: Werner Herzog
Certificate:
The film is based on the true story of Zishe Breitbart, a Jewish blacksmith's son from Poland who becomes a sensation in Weimar, Berlin as a mythical strongman. His employer Hanussen dreams of establishing an all-powerful Ministry of the Occult in Hitler's government. Yet as Hitler's hold on power ..read more »
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53%
from 25 members
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Planet Of The Apes
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham-Carter, Tim Roth
Director: Tim Burton
Certificate:
A remake of the classic story in which Leo, an astronaut lands on a planet which is inhabitated by very intelligent apes. On this planet humans are enslaved as the apes are the dominant race... Can Leo lead the humans in an uprising in order to free themselves?...
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53%
from 10,544 members
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The Musketeer
on DVD
(2001)
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Mena Suvari, Tim Roth
Director: Peter Hyams
Certificate:
In 17th century Paris, a dashing swordsman named D'Artagnan finds himself at odds with the powerful forces taking over France. As he sets out to avenge the murder of his parents, he finds his country cleaved by chaos and civil unrest. D'Artagnan's heart softens only for Francesca, a fiery peasant ..read more »
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52%
from 580 members
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Vatel
(2000)
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth
Director: Roland Joffe
Certificate:
Set in 1671 France under the decadent reign of Louis XIV, VATEL charts the events of a three-day feast in an impoverished western province. In an effort to impress the gilded king and then ask him for financial support, Prince de Condé (Julian Glover) invites Louis XIV (Julian Sands) to his country ..read more »
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68%
from 37 members
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The War Zone
on DVD
(1999)
Starring: Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, Kate Ashfield
Director: Tim Roth
Certificate:
Tim Roth's directorial debut, based on the novel by Alexander Stuart (who adapted the screenplay), is not for the faint of heart. When a seemingly normal family moves from London to rural Devon, 15-year-old Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) stumbles into a shocking secret concerning his father (Ray Winstone) ..read more »
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59%
from 1,806 member
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Legend Of 1900
on DVD
(1998)
Starring: Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor, Clarence William III
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
Certificate:
Aboard Virginian, a passenger ship, at the turn of the century, a baby boy is found. He is called 1900 and is brought up by the ship's coal room worker. When his adoptive father is killed in an accident the rest of the ship becomes aware of the boys presence. 1900 starts to play the piano aboard ..read more »
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67%
from 1,015 member
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Liar
on DVD
(1997)
Starring: Tim Roth, Christopher Penn, Michael Rooker
Director: Jonas Pate
Certificate:
A man pulled in for questioning by the police, because his phone number was discovered in the pocket of a murdered woman, does his best to outwit the lie detector test...
Rate this:
55%
from 363 members
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Gridlock'd
on DVD
(1997)
Starring: Tim Roth, Tupac Shakur, Thandie Newton
Director: Vondie Curtis Hall
Certificate:
When a friend OD's and winds up in a coma, a mismatched pair of Detroit junkies strive to seek help in kicking their heroin habit in government-sponsored programs, only to find themselves drowning in the comical--and sadly accurate--bureaucratic morass of sanctioned detox centers. An authentic, ..read more »
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63%
from 1,292 member
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Hoodlum
on DVD
(1997)
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth, Andy Garcia
Director: Bill Duke
Certificate:
Bill Duke's HOODLUM, with its rich visuals, brutal violence, and moral probing, pays homage to THE GODFATHER and other classic gangster films while exploring the nature of black empowerment as it relates to criminality. The film is Duke's second collaboration with Laurence Fishburne, and as with ..read more »
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57%
from 492 members
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No Way Home
on DVD
(1996)
Starring: Tim Roth, James Russo, Deborah Unger
Director: Buddy Giovinazzo
Certificate:
When Joey is released from prison, his older brother, Tommy, and his wife, Lorrain, take him in. Lorrain soon realises that Joey isn't the kind of person to commit murder but her husband Tommy may not be as innocent as he seems...
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47%
from 108 members
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Everyone Says I Love You
on DVD
(1996)
Starring: Woody Allen, Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn
Director: Woody Allen
Certificate:
A melange of sentimental musical vignettes about the various members of a madcap Manhattan family, who attempt by turns to find romance. Allen returns to his improvisational comic vein, reportedly springing the musical numbers on his nonmusical stars--only Barrymore was dubbed--shortly before ..read more »
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60%
from 3,729 members
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Rob Roy
on DVD
(1995)
Starring: Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, John Hurt
Director: Michael Caton-Jones
Certificate:
A rousing film version of Sir Walter Scott's sweeping romantic adventure based on the life of Scottish hero Robert Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) who battled a despotic English secretary appointed by the king to watch over Scottish highlands.
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65%
from 2,613 members
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Little Odessa
(1994)
Starring: Tim Roth, Edward Furlong, Moira Kelly
Director: James Gray
Certificate:
Hitman Joshua plays a deadly game of chance when he returns to Brighton Beach to eliminate an Iranian jeweller. His return stirs up a past that could incite his own execution...
Rate this:
57%
from 37 members
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Captives
(1994)
Starring: Julia Ormond, Tim Roth
Director: Angela Pope
Certificate:
Recovering from a broken marriage, a beautiful prison dentist succumbs to the advances of a charming patient, launching an ill-advised love affair. Able to see each other once a week while he's on a day pass, the relationship ultimately turns dangerous when fellow prisoners coerce them into aiding ..read more »
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67%
from 44 members
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Pulp Fiction
on DVD
(1994)
Starring: John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Certificate:
Quentin Tarantino's blockbuster follow-up to RESERVOIR DOGS is a breathtaking tribute to old dime store novels about small time hoods and dangerous criminals. It features deftly woven plotlines, creating a mythic Los Angeles underworld of drug dealers, molls, affable hitmen, restaurant-robbing ..read more »
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81%
from 86,050 members
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Bodies, Rest And Motion
(1993)
Starring: Phoebe Cates, Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth
Director: Michael Steinberg
Certificate:
A romantic comedy about four people caught between loving and leaving. Rebelling against his dreary life in a small Arizona town, TV salesman Nick (The Legend of 1900's Tim Roth) abandons his girlfriend, Beth (Singles' Bridget Fonda), and strikes out onto the highway in search of... something else...read more »
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51%
from 26 members
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Reservoir Dogs
on DVD
(1991)
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Penn
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew ..read more »
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76%
from 62,159 members
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Reservoir Dogs - BLU-RAY Version
(1991)
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Penn
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
Former video store clerk Quentin Tarantino's directorial debut, RESERVOIR DOGS, is a brutally funny, supercharged introduction to his supremely distinct cinematic vision, which was later to become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew ..read more »
Rate this:
79%
from 1,142 member
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Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead
(1991)
Starring: Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Richard Dreyfuss
Director: Tom Stoppard
Certificate:
Watch now: £2.49
Centering on two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, two off-kilter rogues are summoned to the court of the King of Denmark, where they meet a traveling entertainer and attempt to solve a mystery. Based on Tom Stoppard's play, this film won Best Picture at the 1991 Venice Film Festival.
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67%
from 1,354 member
Not currently released
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Vincent And Theo
(1990)
Starring: Tim Roth, Paul Rhys, Jean-Pierre Cassel
Director: Robert Altman
Certificate:
A blistering, unsentimental portrait of the great Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, Robert Altman's VINCENT AND THEO focuses on the deeply neurotic relationship between the unstable, impoverished Vincent (Tim Roth) and his art dealer brother, Theo (Paul Rhys). Specifically, the film investigates the ..read more »
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53%
from 474 members
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Meantime
on DVD
(1983)
Starring: Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tim Roth
Director: Mike Leigh
Certificate:
Director Mike Leigh presents another slice-of-life drama--this time focusing on a family of acerbic, terminally unemployed working-class Britons languishing in their East End council house. Frank (Jeff Robert) and Mavis (Pam Ferris) are the endlessly bickering parents of Mark (Phil Daniels) and ..read more »
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61%
from 1,771 member
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Made In Britain
on DVD
(1982)
Starring: Tim Roth, Terry Richards, Geoffrey Hutchings
Director: Alan Clarke
Certificate:
When teenage skinhead Trevor (Tim Roth) is apprehended smashing the windows of a shop owned by Pakistanis, social worker Harry (Eric Richard) sends him to an assessment centre where Trevor proves to be far more intelligent than one would be led to believe. But he is not easily contained, and it isn'..read more »
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63%
from 2,543 members
Tim Roth - watch online
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Reservoir Dogs
to Watch Now
(1993)
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Penn
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Certificate: 
Watch now: £2.49
Run time: 99 minutes
Four Perfect Killers. One Perfect Crime. Critically acclaimed for its raw power and breathtaking ferocity, it's the brilliant American gangster movie classic from writer-director Quentin Tarantino. They were perfect strangers, assembled to pull off the perfect crime. Then their simple robbery ..read more »
Rate this:
83%
from 246 members
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
to Watch Now
(1991)
Starring: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss
Director: Tom Stoppard
Certificate: 
Watch now: £2.49
Run time: 113 minutes
Richard Dreyfuss stars as the leader of a theatrical troupe visiting the Danish Royal castle. He acts out the demise of the unsuspecting Rosencrantz & Guildenstern while performing before the Royal Family. The films takes two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and make the bumbling duo the ..read more »
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72%
from 7 members
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Tim Roth facts
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A movie with heart 21 August 2004
... husband and pushes aside her own pain to help him any way she can. And lastly, Tim Roth is the supreme villain. He doesn't really look it at first, with his wigs and h...
What you lookin' at ? It's well-hard Trevor... 17 February 2004
