Movies starring Judi Dench

A Study in Terror (1965)

95 mins Mystery, Thriller

"A Study in Terror" starts by taking us on the fog laden streets of 1880s London where the noise of boisterous drinking fills the air from those in the pubs as much as the fog does. It is a great looking start to a movie and ...

84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

100 mins Biography, Drama, Romance

In 1987 someone described "84 Charing Cross Road" as a movie about penpals who become friends through their continuous correspondence and thinking back to that I thought whether they could update the movie to a modern world w...

A Handful of Dust (1988)

118 mins Drama, Romance

In all fairness I've never read the Evelyn Waugh novel which "A Handful of Dust" is adapted from and I am not a fan of stiff upper lip period dramas, Downtown Abbey is not on my viewing list. But despite this "A Handful of Du...

GoldenEye (1995)

130 mins Action , Adventure , Thriller

It may have been 7 years between Bond movies but other than Pierce Brosnan replacing Timothy Dalton as Britain's most famous agent not a lot has changed, well other than Judi Dench taking on the role of "M". The storyline is ...

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

119 mins Action , Adventure , Thriller

I have a rule of thumb when it comes to the Bond movies when it comes to an actor taking over the iconic role, the first movie is a little shaky but the second movie is much better. And it is a point proven by "Tomorrow Never...

Mrs Brown (1997)

105 mins Drama

The story of the relationship between Queen Victoria and her loyal servant John Brown is a fascinating one, one which I paid little attention to till I watched "Mrs Brown". It is one of the joys of this movie that not only do...

Shakespeare in Love (1998)

123 mins Comedy, Drama, Romance

At school during the 80s as part of the British Curriculum we had to study one Shakespeare play, we didn't get the choice and we were given "Macbeth" to study. I remember there were three witches and someone called MacDuff bu...

Tea with Mussolini (1999)

117 mins Comedy, Drama, War

Italian director Franco Zeffirelli is widely acknowledged as a director of Shakespearean movies such as "Hamlet", "Romeo and Juliet" and of course "The Taming of the Shrew" but he also directed "Tea With Mussolini" a far more...

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

128 mins Action , Adventure , Thriller

The Bond franchise is a curious beast because every movie is pretty much the same, we see Bond sent on a mission to stop some crazed criminal and in-between saving the day he has time to bed a beauty or two, look cool, play w...

Chocolat (2000)

121 mins Drama, Mystery, Romance

"Chocolat" is like the confectionary at the centre of the story, it's sweet and creamy delighting with quirky flavours that tickle your taste buds but at the same time it has a bitterness, a darker almost harsh side as it use...

The Shipping News (2001)

111 mins Drama, Romance

"The Shipping News" is a wonderfully entertaining, strangely charming movie which delivers not only what you expect from a Lasse Hallstr�m movie but also from a cast of fine actors lead by Kevin Spacey. But there is something...

Iris (2001)

91 mins Biography, Drama, Romance

I only watched part of "Iris". That's not what you want to read from a reviewer and it isn't in fact true. I watched the whole of "Iris" but as I'm not a huge fan of literature I had never heard of Iris Murdoch before and as ...

Die Another Day (2002)

133 mins Action , Adventure , Thriller

"Die Another Day" sort of proves my theory about Bond movies because the first two Pierce Brosnan Bond movies were okay and then the third "The World Is Not Enough" got it absolutely right and then came this fourth and it wen...

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)

97 mins Comedy, Drama, Romance

When it comes to adaptations and updates of popular plays my main concern is always whether or not it leaves me entertained rather than how true it is to the original. And that is the case when it comes to this update of Osca...

Ladies in Lavender (2004)

104 mins Drama, Mystery, Romance

Ladies in Lavender (2004) Judi Dench & Maggie Smith star as sisters who end up taking in a young musician who washes ashore after a terrible storm...

Mrs Henderson Presents (2005)

103 mins Comedy, Drama, Musical

That synopsis only details the first half of "Mrs Henderson Presents", a pre-war first half which is fully of wit and snappy dialogue. I won't be go into what happens in the second half as it puts a different spin on things a...

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

129 mins Drama, Romance

Pride & Prejudice - Keira Knightley & Matthew MacFadyen star in this romantic adaptation of Jane Austen's novel...

Casino Royale (2006)

144 mins Action , Adventure , Thriller

So after a short hiatus James Bond is back bigger, better and as is often the case with a new actor taking over the famous suit, gun and agent status of 007. So much was made of the news that James Bond was returning when it ...

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

92 mins Drama, Thriller

Maybe every school has one but Judi Dench's portrayal of Barbara Covett reminded me so much of a teacher when I joined secondary school, a small maths teacher with permed hair who had been there for many years and was feared ...

Quantum of Solace (2008)

106 mins Action , Adventure , Crime, Drama, Thriller

"Quantum of Solace" is the 22nd official movie in the James Bond franchise and welcomes back Daniel Craig in the iconic role as the suave British agent James Bond. Not bad considering that before Craig made "Casino Royale" ma...

* This is purely a list of reviews on The Movie Scene featuring the name Judi Dench as one of the principle cast members.