Reviews (34)

I've loved this movie for over 20 years and now I own it!
This movie had characters that were very human and even the "wicked" mother had redeeming qualities. You looked for reasons which drove her to behave the way she did. Kathleen Quinlan, a very beautiful and emotion-envoking actress, has stayed in my mind for twenty years! Stephen Collins is always a pleasure to see. Beatrice Straight did the mother with such emotion in her face. This is a movie to watch again. I hadn't seen it for 20 years, I just bought it. Some critics would rather see all the war and killing movies and not appreciate "A Genuine Love Story"!

An original love story overlooked by the press
I remembering seeing this movie, years ago. I was so impressed with the originality that was created in this love story. I remembered the name, and when I saw it in the video store, I was so happy. I immediately rented it.

There is no comparison of this to Love Story, or even Gone with the Wind. This movie is far better. It keeps you cheering for her lover, her husband to find her. You can not help but feeling the mother in law needs to allow her son a life. She has the "you are not good enough for my son, blues." All the actors and actresses were so great. I recommend this to everyone.

The Promise
I saw the movie - I want the video but I don't know how to get it. Please help me to purchase this on line. PLEASE PLEASE HELP
It is absolutely the best book I have ever read and ultimately the best show I have ever seen.

One of the Best!
I read the book by Danielle Steele some twenty years ago and then saw the movie. I am such a romantic that I still go back and read the book again and again. Well written book and wonderful movie! I thought Stephen Collins was hot then and still is. Great love story with twists and turns....And true love always wins!

Get out the hanky
Not since the 5 star hanky movies from Lana Turner will you see such a romantic cry-you-eyes-out movie. This movie is GREAT and one of my all time favorites. This movie proves that if you are ment to be together,,,,,your ment to be together.The acting is wonderful, costumes great and the music score is unforgetable. The opening and closing scene standing by the rock has got to be the most romantic scene ever filmed. It is also the most gut-grabbing. I'm a guy and i still can't help getting all teary eyed especially during those scenes. Just wish this was on DVD and stereo sound. A great film for your collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Virtually no one is ambivalent about abortion; the issue polarizes people like no other. HBO tackles the subject head-on with a trilogy of shorts, and, regardless of your opinion on the topic, If These Walls Could Talk is a bold and provocative examination of how the laws and attitudes about abortion in the United States have both changed drastically and remained so much the same.

Three women, three time periods, one house: each finds herself in trouble and must face the overwhelming decision about what to do with the unwanted pregnancy.The first segment is the most powerful, featuring Demi Moore as a young, recently widowed nurse in 1952.With no one to turn to and limited financial means, her options are few. Catherine Keener costars as her harshly judgmental sister-in-law. The next piece occurs in 1974, as Sissy Spacek, a mother of four who is trying to earn a college degree, discovers she's pregnant with her fifth child. Her utterly modern feminist daughter encourages Spacek to get a newly legal abortion, but it's a complex decision.In the final segment, college student Anne Heche becomes pregnant by her married professor.Her best friend, played by Jada Pinkett, is resolutely against abortion and the two wrangle over right and wrong.As the young woman tries to learn about her options, she finds herself enmeshed in the pro-life demonstrations outside the abortion clinic. Cher, who directs this segment (the other two are directed by Nancy Savoca), costars as a doctor at the clinic.

While trying to be evenhanded and demonstrating the different choices different women make, the film does have a decidedly pro-choice leaning. Yet the power of the movie is undeniable and it raises significant questions on both sides of the abortion debate, making it an important film for women (and men) everywhere to watch and talk about. --Jenny Brown ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A Powerful Take on a Continuing Controversy
This trilogy of stories is both powerful and thought provoking. The movie follows the stories of three women of different eras who are conflicted regarding their unplanned pregnancies. While fictional in form, in reality it reflects the changing views and policies toward abortion from the 1950's to the present era.

The setting of all three segments is in a single house. This masterful production/directorial technique seems to be symbolic for an issue which has always been controversial to many. As the house becomes more and more dilapidated over each segment, we also see that the right to abortion is becoming a compoundingly fragile right that could be taken away at any time. Instead of gaining strength over time, the volatile issue is subject to the demands of the political party in command.

The dynamics of the eras are reflected so realistically in each segment, that a viewer cannot help but to be actively drawn into the drama. The segments feature all-star casts including such heavy hitters as Demi Moore, Sissy Spacek, Cher, Anne Heche, and Jada Pinkett. Cher deserves special attention for both directing and acting in the excellent third segment.

Rather than pro-choice, I think the video challenges us to think, "What if there were no choice?" This is recommended viewing for women and men alike, and this movie will stay in your thoughts for a long time to come.

A picture is worth a thousand words...
This is an incredibly powerful film, and I agree with other reviewers that it solidly argues the pro-choice stance on abortion. Not only are the stories of women who choose abortions portrayed, but the story of a woman (Sissy Spacek) who decides that she could only live with herself if she keeps her baby is also featured. Part of me wants to recommend that only grown women with strong stomachs view this film (cold steel and substantial blood loss make me cringe) and part of me wants to beg every mother to watch this movie with her daughter and talk about what choice and freedom really mean. Before Roe vs. Wade, women died for the mistakes they made. Today they don't have to. This movie wasn't easy to watch. It had a powerful message to deliver, and I think that all the people who helped make this film must have believed very strongly in what they were doing.

Concerning the actual acting and direction, it was superb. Cher's acting has never been better, and Demi Moore was also phenomenal. The structure of the film, which is divided into three sections (one in the 50s, one in the 70s, and one in the 90s) was really engaging. One house is the setting for most of the movie. As the times change and tenants move, different women who live in the house become the focus of the movie. This movie was entertaining and it even taught me something. If you are interested in learning more about abortions before the Roe vs. Wade decision, I recommend the novel The Cider House Rules.

Yes, a bit political, but...
I found this movie a bit political, yes, but it was a very well done movie. I am pro-life and did not find this movie offensive in any way. I felt for the women portrayed here. Those who complain about the political approach are only mad because it is not their belief. If you feel very strongly against abortion, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. Everyone else, watch and think.

If These Walls Could Preach & Nag
By the end of this "bold, provocative" film there's such a smug, desperate self-righteousness that I'm surprised the filmmakers didn't morph the faces of pro-lifers into rats and call for their extinction.
Anyone who finds this film balanced has to be so far removed from reality that the STAR WARS films could be considered documentaries for NASA.

To be perfectly honest, I've stayed out of the abortion debate and rarely offer any opinion, but films like this annoy for their arrogance and, yes, condescension for their "enemies." Go ahead and have a deranged religious fanatic make a martyr out of the abortion doctor--but show us what that abortion doctor does as well. Once the audience sees what happens in a clinic, they could understand how wackos can resort to violence.
Bold? Hardly. Provocative? Not this time.
The drama was tossed aside for a political speech.

The biggest problem I have with the film is that young women will watch it as a "educational" film when it barely qualifies as "entertainment."

Walls and Bridges
When this film was first broadcast on HBO back in 1996, I found it quite compelling. Yes, it had its less than subtle moments, but for a made-for-cable movie, it was pretty darn effective, I thought. The anthology approach--three stories from three different eras in recent history (the 50s, the 70s and the mid-90s)--effectively portrayed the shift in attitudes toward abortion in the US over the past several decades and how its legalization has profoundly altered women's lives. The film's occasional heavyhandedness was not unexpected, but the top flight cast seemed to overcome the script's occasional lapses into preachiness. And overall, it seemed to reflect as balanced a treatment of a complex issue as you could possibly hope for (while definitely maintaining a "pro-choice" perspective throughout).

Or so it seemed at the time. On re-viewing the film recently, I found I had less patience with its flaws for some reason. I have little argument with the pro-choice point of view being advanced by the film. Indeed the film's message that such a choice is almost never anything but traumatic is a potent one and one that abortion rights opponents need always to keep in mind.

But it doesn't invalidate the film's message to say that it probably could have been handled with more subtlety. There are a number of moments in all three films that could have used a leavening touch, but I'll limit myself to one from the third installment (SPOILER WARNING): namely the shoot-up in the clinic that serves as the film's climax.

As someone else pointed out below, by the mid-90s most abortion clinics had metal detectors. Gunmen outside the clinics remained a hazard, but there is no reported case of abortion providers getting shot on the premises (none that I am aware of anyway). Yes, yes, there is such a thing as dramatic license, but when you're dealing with such an incendiary topic to begin with, it's hardly necessary to invoke it.

WALLS remains worth watching, to be sure, but if I were to recommend just one film on the topic of abortion, this would probably not be the one. A film like CITIZEN RUTH addresses the same themes with more irony and panache than this sometimes ploddingly earnest effort can muster. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

I love Richard Burton!
I first saw this movie years ago on cable tv when I was a teenager home sick from school one day. I sat and cried my eyes out because I too fell in love with Ashley (Richard Burton) and vowed to name my first child after him.

His character has morals and values and that is why he takes the high road and turns down the love from a younger woman, not quite of legal age, despite the fact that her love brings him to life again as an artist. He honors and respects the American culture of age appropriateness and for that his character becomes even more endearing to me. He's a safe man for a young girl to have a crush on.

Tatum ONeal is fabulous in this story, playing well beyond her years in maturity... and I will never forget the look on her face in the busy streets of New York as she slowly walks away and stands there as Ashley sticks to his resolve to send her back home after she shows up without his invitation all alone to confront her love for him.

Love is like that sometimes, it makes no sense, but in the end, if it's love, it always does the right thing and that's what I love about this movie.

Deary Canadian Pedophilia
Tatum O'Neal never fulfilled the promise of her first, delightful role as a child actor in Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon. Although she grew into a pleasant looking teenager, some unwise forces -- parents? agents? -- allowed or pushed her into "sexy" roles in terrible pictures like this and 1980's Little Darlings. There seemed to be a very unwholesome interest back in the late 70s/early 80s in pre-teen girl sexuality -- look at movies like these and Brook Shield's Pretty Baby and Blue Lagoon. I don't think you could get away with this kind of leering nonsense in today's climate of greater sensitivity towards child molestation, Jon-Benet Ramsey, etc.

Not too surprisingly, this low budget Canadian mishmash was directed by an older (French) director. It's the ultimate in fantasy for a late middle-aged male -- that a nubile teenager would fall in love with you and throw herself at you (and you of course would heroically refuse to have sex with her). Also that it would rejuvenate you not only romantically and personally, but professionally as well.

Aside from Ms. O'Neal's horribly leaden and awkward performance, there is so much that is wrong and off-key here -- a dreadful script full of lame dialogue and pontification, implausible situations and a cast of supporting actors who look like deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.

Tatum O'Neal (Sarah) is supposed to be a 15 year old girl -- which she probably was at the time of the filming -- but she dresses like an middle-aged woman in loose blouses, dressy shoes and long flowered skirts. Apparently neither the director or costume designer was aware that teenagers in the 80s wore jeans, t-shirts,and sweatshirts. As a result, instead of coming across as an authentic 10th grader, "Sarah" seems to be a adult woman with a high pitched squeaky voice. This takes our focus off the disheartening spectacle of her sexual involvement with a man easily old enough to be her grandfather.

Richard Burton (Ashley), who looks very handsome and fit here, and has a grand theatrical speaking voice, appears pained and uncomfortable (I imagine he had kids younger than Tatum O'Neal), and although he tries mightily to make the character human and sympathetic, he doesn't stand a chance with the lame & embarassing lines he has to spout. To his credit, he comes across as grandfatherly with his co-star and not lecherous, but that tiptoes around the basic problem that a 60 yr old man having a romantic attachment with a 15 yr old girl is sick and destructive.

Speaking of that, where are the authorities -- police, prosecutors, child psychologists etc -- in Toronto anyhow? When Sarah's parents find out she is seeing Ashley, they respond in horror...and lock her in her bedroom (a bedroom that has a huge unlocked window leading to a big branched tree that any teenager could skedaddle down in a minute) but they don't make the slightest attempt to file charges against their daughter's geriatric seducer. Also, Sarah's teenage boyfriend (Michael Wincott) attempts to rape her -- but her parents are unconcerned about this and don't apparently file charges against HIM -- and in turn she bashes him in the head with a large rock and fractures his skull and nothing happens as a result of this either. When she starves herself and threatens sucicide on her 16th birthday, instead of putting her into a psychiatric hospital, her parents allow her to see her elderly boyfriend again.

The worst thing about this type of movie is that it invites us to leer -- even showing us Ms. O'Neal in the nude, quite unnecessarily -- and then wants to overlay the whole thing with a smarmy explanation that it's "true love" and that Sarah is a "woman" because she really loves this senior citizen whom she has known all of one month.

Today this kind of film would probably be made for cable and shown on the Lifetime channel, but hopefully public consciousness is more sensitive these days and no one would make a film glorifying what in fact is not just a crime, but a destructive act of control and manipulation and the objectification of the bodies of very young girls.

In conclusion -- gross, but too dull to be porno.

An American French Film
I agree with another reviewer, this is one of my favorite hard to find videos. I titled this review an American French Film, because of the subject matter. Normally we Americans steer away from the older man, much younger girl romance story. Something the French do with ease. Look at Beau Pere, which you can get right here at Amazon.com. Richard Burton gives a fine performance as the older man while Tatum O'Neil gives us a look at what I consider to be one of, if not her finest performance. A love story for the ages, too bad most ages will never see this film. If you can find this film, buy it. It is a keeper.

A very rare love story
This movie has been my all time favorite hard to find video. A story of an innocent youth (Tatum O'Neal) following her heart with no detour due to outside presures as the repectable aging man (Richard Burton) who recaptures his soul through her eyes which inspires him not only in his paintings, but in the heart and soul as well. A must see movie for all ages young and old alike.

Burton still a powerful force.
Sometimes you run across a movie that just moves you. I've been moved to get up and walk out on some movies, but others like Circle of Two moved me to tell my friends about it. I had the good fortune to see this movie just after it came out and I had a copy for a long time. To many viewings I guess. Burton and O'Neal play their parts very well. If you are a romantic, give it a glance, it will turn into a long look. ... Read more

Description

The Emmy-winning telefilm about singer/actor Frank Sinatra's remarkable life, with over two-dozen Sinatra standards and a remarkable cast headed by Philip Casnoff, Olympia Dukakis, and Marcia Gay Harden. Year: 1992 Director: James Sadwith Starring:Philip Casnoff, Olympia Dukakis, Joe Santos ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Waiting for this to be Transferred to DVD!
This was originally a two or three part television mini-series so that is why it is about 4 hours long. I watched Sinatra when it was originally aired on TV and I really liked it and I think everyone involved did a great job and I believe this is the only movie about Sinatra that the Sinatra family approved of and I thought they really seemed to tell it like it was without sugar coating anything and I was impressed by that. I tried to tape this move last year when a cable station was showing the whole movie but someone had messed up the VCR connections and it didn't come out and I'm hoping that this will be transferred to DVD.

This is a GREAT representation of Sinatra's life
This is the most detailed and accurate documentary of Frank Sinatra out there. Tina Sinatra, his daughter was a producer of this film so it is as close to the real thing as it gets.

Philip Casnoff has the opportunity to be Frank, and does so very well. He is VERY believable. You can tell that he took time to study Frank very hard because he picked up his accent and body movements.

This film starts well, at the beginning! It shows the odds that were against him and his great desire to sing. He begins his career in the Hoboken 4, and sings "Shine" which becomes somewhat a hit. The 4 hour long movie goes through his life, depicting his rise to stardom as he sings with Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey. It also takes you through many loves and many movies that he filmed like On the Town, and Pal Joey. The film even portrays the acedemy award ceremony where he wins best oscar for From Here To Eternity.

When I watched this movie, I felt like I was really watching Frank's life being lived in front of me. You hear his music all throughout the film. After you watch Sinatra, check out a book and cd set called Frank Sinatra An American Legend. The cd contains most of the music that he sang in the movie as well as commericals and promotions that he did!

If you have always wanted to know how Frank lived it, checks this movie out. It is as realistic as it gets.

Kudos to Tina
At first, I thought Casnoff was a poor choice...after all, who could possibly play Sinatra, a cultural institution? I should've trusted his daughter to choose the right actor. Philip Casnoff was perfect. Each time I see the film, I like him better and better. There was an edge to his portrayal that fits the Sinatra who lives in my head. I thought Gina Gershon was wonderful as the long-suffering Nancy Sinatra, Sr.

Good enough to have been a real movie
I don't know a whole lot about Frank Sinatra, so I don't know how accurate it is. However, I enjoyed this very much. It's a little lengthy (over 4 hours) because it was a made for TV special or movie or something, but it does not drag on. His childhood and early career are told very well. However it speeds up too much at the end, attempting to explain his Kennedy and mafia connections but failing. Its still worth watching if you wanna know about him and what he did.

EXCELLENT MOVIE
I thought this to be an excllent first rate movie about the fabulous singer's life. Fine performances by all the actors who also had many physical characteristics of those they portrayed. Phillip Casnoff did a fine job as Sinatra with none of the excesses the part might have encouraged in a lesser actor.

I've always like Nina Siemaszko (Mia Farrow) since I first saw her on Showtime's Red Shoe Diaries.

It's too bad the film didn't receive more attention from critics. Even though made for TV, it is on par with many Hollwood movies. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

I'm torn! Not a GOOD movie and a bare bones DVD ...
This was a 1976 drama that probably killed Margaux Hemingway's career as an actress and model, but oddly enough launched her younger sister Muriel into the spotlight! It's a rape drama about a victim (Margaux) who's rapist goes free (Chris Sarandon), and then attacks her younger sister (Muriel) and then all hell breaks loose!

The movie itself is a guilty pleasure - a potboiler melodrama done quite stlyishly, but somehow offensive and not well acted. Would fit in well with a double bill with EYES OF LAURA MARS! The fashion sequences are unique, and also the modern dance is neat to watch. And Margaux running in heels and a red sequin dress with a hunting rifle is a sight to see! I put it on my list of bad movies that I love. It has a SHOWGIRLS sensibility! Tried hard to be artsy and meaningful, but in the end was just too over the top to be anything but camp.

The DVD has a great transfer, but NO special features at all. Not even a trailer! Pity because Margaux died mysteriously, and this is her biggest movie. Memories of her would be welcome as well as why the movie was made. Credits show that a former DA of LA was an advisor, so somebody was trying to say something!

There's something about this movie ...
It's far from being the best film ever made, but LIPSTICK has some special quality about it. Let's first look at the exceptional performances from the cast:

Chris Sarandon - plays the school teacher of the younger sister (Mariel Hemingway) who rapes the older sister first and then the younger sister after being acquitted of the first crime. He really comes across as the creep he is intended to. You grow to hate him, which is the point.

Mariel Hemingway - her acting debut in which she shines. A great performance.

Ann Bancroft - plays the lawyer convincingly. An all round great actress.

Margaux Hemingway - the lead actress, and real-life sister of Mariel (unfortunately died tragically in mid 90's). Not a great actress by any means but she had her moments in the film. Pity about her voice. She was actually a model in real life then, rather than an actress.

The film bombed upon release in 1976 possibly because audiences couldn't accept Margaux trying to switch to acting. These days, such a movie would go straight to TV.

It is worth seeing at least once - The younger sister's performance is that good.

DVD SUMMARY - a bare bones release saved by an impressive transfer (and widescreen anamorphic too!). No trailer included.

strong stuff
This is one of my favourites from the 70's and it's great to see it finally appear on dvd. This is a hypnotic combination of cheesy exploitation and hard hitting drama that keeps you hooked right up to the explosive finale.
Margaux Hemingway is fantastic as the model who receives the unwelcome attentions of psychotic music teacher Chris Sarandon. Sarandon's character has to be one of the most loathsome ever put on film.
Mariel hemingway delivers a curiously affecting performance as the glamour model's younger sister.
After having only seen this before on UK tv in a cut version this nicely presented disc is a welcome addition to my collection.

Worst Movie Ever
...and boy am I glad it's finally on DVD. Can't wait to get my copy!

Delicious Trash
Oh how I love this film! Margaux is divine as a high fashion model who is raped by her teen sister's school music teacher! Well she is not just raped, she is completely brutalised! I swear some of those scenes looked a bit too realistic. Chris Sarandon is absolutely devilish in the role of the sadistic rapist. He doesn't just physically overpower Margaux, he also attacks her mentally. After the deed is done he slyly begs of her to "not do this with anyone else." During the trial he also torments her with late night calls playing selections of his Phillip Glass inspired music. While the subject matter is serious the film is also high camp & truely hilarious! In an emotional (or as emotional as Margaux can get) courtroom scene she shouts out "he tried to kill me with his c**k!" Let us also not forget lil sis Mariel who gets attacked at the end of the film...after a high speed chase through the Pasadena Design Center! This pushes Margaux over the edge so she grabs a shotgun and goes after Sarandon with a vengeance! After pumping him full of bullets she just keeps pulling the trigger...it is AMAZING! Francesco Scavullo must be so proud. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Best Movie
I think that this movie shows that women can do anything men can do.It was the best movie I have ever seen.All of the actors were great.It was the perfect mix of comedy, action, & suspence.It was the perfect movie.

Very well done
This show was well done all around. The acting was great. The storyline was believable and worked well. It kept a good pace and you didn't get lost in too much dialoge or action. I'd recommend it to all my friends.

Actions speak more than words
I liked the story, but also liked the facial expressions and caring shown. Mitzi Rapture is a person assigned as a bodyguard who was serious and closed off from feeling. But when she would look at something that touched her like the deaf kids at the school or picture of her friend, you could almost feel what she felt.

His Bodyguard
This movie is absolutely great! Though not a box office hit, it still has it's uniqueness and quality. Full of both suspense and love, never have I stayed up late to see a show this great.Watch it!

Deaf Man Witnesses Breakin,Former Cop Assigned To Protect
I think that Mitzi Kapture is really good in this movie and it proves women can be strong and protect men instead of a man protecting a women ... Read more

Reviews (3)

BLACKTHORNE'S GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDSON?
Sorry - I love this movie! It is like seeing Pilot Major John Blackthorne's great great great grandson, showing up in our time with a PhD, and displaying all the best characteristics of his sexy and suave, great great great grandfather. The story is an amusing murder mystery, but Richard Chamberlain's acting is wonderful. He is sexy, sensitive, smart, and totally in control as Dr. Nat Bridger, University professor - turned sleuth - investigating the murder of his brightest student. Dr. Bridger has great on-screen chemistry with Ridley, his love interest, and causes the screen to sizzle with some very steamy bed and shower scenes and particularly when he gives Ridley a licentious look and says, "I knew what you were offering". He is dashing, daring, debonair, and deliciously Blackthorne with his great beard, masculine bearing, and sexy samurai personage. Maybe Blackthorne made it out of the Japans after all........chuckle.

yawn.
This movie was just plain dull so don't bother. I am a Richard Chamberlain fan and after seeing Shogun and The Thorn Birds this movie is just a waste of his talent and my time.

Muder By Phone
Alright...'Murder By Phone'. It was an okay movie. I definitely think it could've been a lot better. It's one of those cheesy 80s horror flicks. I found it more funny than scary, though I admit, I'm gonna be scared to answer the phone for a while! This movie is pretty much about a crazed murderer dude who kills his victims by calling them + then playing a high frequency sound which makes them have like convulsions + then he sends high voltage through the phone + they die. This movie is also a little confusing at times. (Keep in mind, I saw the movie at like midnight) This is DEFINITELY a REALLY good movie to watch with a bunch of your friends during a sleepover in the middle of the night! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Shining Lincoln Shows Tarnish, Too
Though made drearily for television, this film has a number of elements that is ahead of its time. Sam Waterston's savvy, almost hippie-like Lincoln is not at all the "great ape" that many of Lincoln's detractors claimed. He is like the true Abraham Lincoln. With the high-pitched Kentucky squeak in his voice (like Lincoln), Waterston is simply riveting- as Lincoln himself must have been. His terrible screech of pain during the height of the Civil War is something I had always imagined he did several times. Waterston hypnotizes with this Emmy-worthy portrayal. The facts in the film are blurry at times, the direction is plodding, the lighting is too dark- and Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Todd Lincoln must be the casting blunder of the 20th century. Yet all involved give terrific performances. Too bad there wasn't more LINCOLN to this "Lincoln". But all in all, it is the must-see for any interested viewer.

Bland Mini-Series, Very Low Quality DVD
I was surprised to find this DVD so cheap, then found out why as soon as I put it in my player. Like other DVDs from the "Platinum Disc Corporation," it looks like someone took a VHS copy of this film and just recorded it to DVD. The picture is not sharp, and the colors are washed out. Some scenes are so grainy and low-quality they look like they were recorded straight from the 1988 TV broadcast. This DVD also does something I've never seen before - it initially shows a running time of just 1:33, which made me think I only had the first episode of this mini-series. When Chapter 8 concludes, the disc resets itself back to 1:33 for the second episode. Total time is a little over 3 hours. The disc contains no special features.

The film itself is, unfortunately, nothing special. Having been made after the heyday of the TV mini-series, its cinematography and less-than-stellar cast are almost as bland as the film's colors. Sam Waterston makes a good effort as Lincoln. Mary Tyler Moore is just adequate as Mary Todd Lincoln, although she does go over the top on a few occasions. Most of the other actors are stilted and unbelieveable, not to mention the atrocious accents some of them try to pass off. The battle scenes are short, bare-bones and poorly arranged; it looks as if they filmed all of the battles in one location and just used the same footage over and over, hoping no one would notice.

If you're looking for a really good Civil War mini-series, don't waste your time here. Wait for Warner to release all 3 North & South mini-series on DVD later this year (2004), and watch those instead.

Waterston is the Definitive Modern Lincoln
Sam Waterston is a very different Lincoln than the stately, orthodox one of Raymond Massey or even Henry Fonda. This Lincoln is clever, scheming, cynically funny and nakedly ambitious--one who might have a thing or two in common with some well known politicians of the 20th century. You could even call Waterston the first urban Lincoln, under the rail-splitting pretentions. But Waterston never loses sight of Lincoln's tortured, proud but guilt-ridden greatness, and that is the secret of his fine portrayal.

Strong portrait of a different Lincoln
The TV movie, perhaps predictably, doesn't have all the sardonic bite of Vidal's original novel. But it goes a long way toward breaking out of the Raymond Massey talking-waxwork mold and giving us a Lincoln believable as politician and man, as well as a strong portrait of the intensely political milieu in which he operated. Waterston is excellent-- completely unbound by past portrayals of Lincoln, and even fairly good at making us believe that he's anywhere near Lincoln's height-- and though I think there's a little too much of Mary Todd's personal life and not enough of the Civil War in this miniseries, there's no quibbling with Moore's splendid performance, which beautifully captures the pathos of this sad, unliked woman.

Good enough to watch again and again!
This is the best fictional movie about Lincoln that I have ever seen. It is intelligent and accurate, and beautifully directed. Sam Waterston is brilliant in the title role and Mary Tyler Moore is a fantastic Mrs. Lincoln. Believe me, I have watched this movie at least 25 times. It's terrific. ... Read more

Description

In a movie suitable for the whole family, meet Jack London, one of America's greatest writers.As a young man, he lived a life full of adventure, and wrote down every word.Klondike Fever is his story - the tale of a 21 year old's epic journey from San Francisco to the Klondike Gold Fields in the great Gold Rush of 1898. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Power Without Morality
This movie is partly a cautionary tale and partly an Its-locked-in-here-with-us movie.

A small rental spaceship on an emergency medical run comes across a derelict ship near a quasar. The quasar interferes with communications. The small ship contains a family; husband, wife and young daughter (the one in need of emergency medical treatment). On board the derelict a survivor is found. He is a very charismatic person and quickly wins the confidence of the family. But all is not well. Thing begin to happen quickly. The father is stranded on the derelict and the little girl is killed in the disposal unit. Why? The stranger loves the mother and wants her for himself. But he did not use malice. He actually though he was making things better.

On the derelict the father finds a second survivor; one with the same name as the first. Seems the first is not what he claims. He is an advanced android. But his creators made a mistake. Simpler androids did not need morals programmed into them so they were not even considered until it was too late. Now there is a super-strong, near-indestructible, hyper-intelligent being with the moral judgement of a two-year-old running around. In the end the mother triumphs and destroys the android (but not until it kills most of the staff of the medical facility).

A quickly developing plot and some good characters framed with an interesting plot device make up the film's strong points. One of the better artificial-man runs amok movies to come along in a good while.

*yawn*
This movie doesn't look like an up to date space movie. You think they are putting the UFO on a string. Really really badly done. Can Richard Grieco please do something else than this!!?? :)

Circuit Breaker
This movie was too awful to even write about it. Richard Grieco must have needed work at this time. It was not written well. The acting was terrible. Richard, I know you are a good actor. Don't do these stinkers again. You would be good in a science fiction movie if it was a good one. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Powerful and Grim
Most films dealing with apocalyptic themes, especially nowadays, likes to use a ton of flashy special effects and thundering soundtracks to convey the imminent demise of our planet. Fortunately for viewers who want something a little more thought provoking, other films about the end of the world occasionally slip through the cracks. One of these films is "Last Night," a chilling, low budget piece of cinema from Canada. "Last Night" doesn't have huge asteroids slamming into the planet, or killer plagues turning the human population into dust, but it does have heavy atmosphere and compelling performances from several actors and actresses you have probably never heard about. The movie even casts famous horror film director David Cronenberg in a major role. If you tire easily of the big Hollywood action/apocalypse films, turn to something like "Last Night" to get your Armageddon fix. About the only problem I had with "Last Night" concerned the play list on the radio station as it counted down the top 500 songs of all time. Personally, I didn't recognize very many of these tunes; I would have picked a few numbers that are more upbeat myself.

"Last Night" distressingly describes the last six hours of the last night the human race will ever see. Set in Toronto, Canada, the movie closely follows the final hours of several individuals, including a reclusive loner and his family, his best friend, an Asian woman desperately trying to reach her husband before the catastrophe arrives, an energy executive and his secretary, and a former high school French teacher. Perhaps surprisingly, most of these people sedately go about the last moments of their lives as though it isn't a big deal. The reason for this maddening calmness rests with the fact that the entire planet has known for some months that the end is coming, so most of the hysterical behavior you would expect to see has already worked itself out of most people's systems (Not everyone accepts their destiny. The streets are dangerous in places, with gangs going around tipping over buses or shooting and robbing people, but many people are staying at home quietly planning their final activities). What remains is a slightly sad resignation of the inescapable as each individual in the film goes about his or her personal business.

Duncan, the energy executive played by Canadian director David Cronenberg, spends his last few hours calling all of his customers to promise them that the power will remain on until the bitter end. Patrick Wheeler, the main character of the film and the loner who wishes to spend his last moments of life alone, makes an appearance at a family Christmas party where some of his pent up bitterness about a life cut short seep out in vitriolic comments to his parents and sister. His friend resorts to playing sexual games, trying to sleep with as many women of different races and physical attributes as possible. One of the women he conquers is his former French teacher, played effectively by a still sexy Genevieve Bujold. Bujold's appearance marks one of the most absurdly comic moments of the film when she quizzes a confused Patrick on his French speaking skills. The best performance in "Last Night" comes from the remarkable and beautiful Sandra Oh, who plays the Asian woman looking for her husband. She soon comes into Patrick's orbit, and seeks his help so she can carry out a grisly pact she made with her spouse. Oh, perhaps better than anyone else in the film, truly conveys the utter helplessness of the unfolding situation.

There seems to be some difficulty among viewers concerning what exactly will destroy the human race in this movie. I find this a bit odd because the ending gives a clear hint, and if that isn't enough, the fact that the sun still shines at midnight should provide a further clue. But what destroys the earth isn't as important as what the characters do regarding their impending fate, and that fate hangs over every action in the film like a black pall. Occasionally, the time flashes on the screen as the characters move another hour closer to doom, giving the whole film an incredible sense of claustrophobic tension. Arguably, the best line in the film comes from Patrick and his oversexed buddy, when Patrick says "See you later" and his friend replies without missing a beat, "No, you won't." Moments like these continually pull the viewer back into the unbearable agony of the film's central premise: There is no hope here, no magical hiding place in the mountains or under the sea where someone can avoid their fate. The ending is never in doubt in "Last Night."

If I had to compare "Last Night" with another film or book, I would say that Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" closely resembles this film in its psychological exploration of an unavoidable apocalyptic disaster. I noticed I was quiet and reflective for some time after watching this film, always a good indication that a movie or a book touched me in some way. Regrettably, the DVD of "Last Night" is a bare bones edition. All you get on the disc is a theatrical trailer and the film. I think a commentary would have been nice, at the very least, but ultimately the movie succeeds without any further elaborations by the director or writers. Hopefully, this great movie will see a reissue on DVD soon.

i liked last night
how many times has the hypothetical question been asked about "what would u do if it was the end of the world?". almost never is the answer, "well i would be a hero and save the world." this movie is not like "armagedden", or other apocalyptic films. instead it shows various popular more practical answers to the hypothetical question. whether it be spending time with family, spend time alone, fufill a fantasy (sexual or non), rioting, committing crimes, its all in here. wonderful performances by don mckellar (who also wrote and produced it), sandro oh, and my personal favourite sarah polley. i must admit i watched this movie because i am a huge fan of polleys, but it turns out i stumbled on a wonderful realistic film. highly recommended

What a gem of a movie!
The first time I watched this was on terrestrial TV, at about 2am (why I was up so late I have no idea!) tucked away in the late night schedules with no fanfares, but found myself still awake at the end, (now 4am! What WAS I doing up that late!?) totally dumbstruck by this amazing film - ...in a way it reflects the way the movie is - it quietly goes about it's business not causing any trouble, then you suddenly realise how amazingly profound and important it is, by which time it's 4am and you need to catch up on some Z's! My wife totally disinterested fell asleep, and I made her watch it when I bought on DVD and of course she loved it!

I am not going to go into plot, because it's well covered by other reviews here, but anyone who thinks this little unassuming movie is not worth seeing seriously needs their head testing - buy this DVD - you will not be disappointed!

It would have got 5 stars but for the fact that the DVD contains worthless extras - a very very great shame!

About Last Night...
Last Night [my favourite movie] works so well at evoking many emotions (pity, suspense, sadness, gladness, etc.) but I am not surprised because it is written and directed by one of Canada's finest, Don McKellar.

It is set in Toronto on the very last hours before the world ends, and follows different people (all connected in some way) and how they choose to spend it. It is very dark, yet funny at times to watch as these people deal with the last 6 hours of their lives....what would you be doing?

Although this is a Canadian flick, you may recognize some of the people in it'.Don McKellar (co-wrote 'The Red Violin', was in eXistenZ, Waydowntown, and 'Twitch City' a hilarious and innovative television show directed by another Canadian gem, Bruce McDonald)'Sarah Polley (Road to Avonlea, eXistenZ , and Go)'David Cronenberg (yes, the ingenious director!)'Callum Keith Rennie (Memento, eXistenZ, and Hard Core Logo)'

The DVD itself doesn't offer many extras (well at least the one I own), but I am still happy to have it in my collection. So should you.

This is THE END. What do you do ?
There is no more night, the world is plunged in eternal light. Toronto, 8PM, four hours before the end of the world. The government has closed down two months ago, there is no more police, and the city is under anarchy rule. The masses have claimed the streets : car travel is hazardous at best. Some people work to report or entertain people in the last hours (such as the radio announcer who proudly announces "here at CKRT... with you... until the end"), but most services are down. This is it. This is THE END. What do you do ?

Patrick Wheeler already knows the answer. He is invited to his parents' home, where his mother is preparing a Christmas dinner, even though it is not Christmas. A cynic at heart and seemingly disgusted at the "fake" of a family he never liked, he can't help disparaging his mother's efforts to give peace to her family. After he leaves, he is planning to wait until the last minutes, when he will install his radio system outside, play some good music, sit in a chair, and wait for the end. As good a way to go, I suppose.

Including Patrick, we follow a group of loosely-knit people as they prepare for the end, including Sandra Oh, whose desperation to get to her husband intertwines her life with Patrick, Craig Zwiller, best friend of Patrick who decides to spend his last days in constant sex, a French teacher (played by Geneviève Bujold), a pianist, and others.

In this frenzy of violence in the streets on the one hand, and the desire for a final accomplishment played out by his friends on the other hand, Patrick wants no part of all this and wants to die alone, but events conspire to derail his simple plans. He is interesting to follow, as an egoist character who spurns the superficiality and frenzy of those around him, while deeply aware of the gravity of the situation. Sort of tying the movie together is the president of the gas company (played by known sci-fi director David Cronenberg, an added plus), who has made it his job to call every customer to thank them and wish them good final hours.

The masses go crazy in fear and revolt, as masses are wont to do, but that's not what concerns the movie (a Hollywood take on this plot would have concentrated on the violence, or saving the Earth, or otherwise some meaningless romance, and that's why I don't bother to watch Hollywood movies). There is only as much violence as necessary, but this is not a slow movie - in fact, if there is one thing I have against Last Night, it's that it doesn't stop. Moments of contemplation would have helped.

As for how to define it, you could say it's a mix of black comedy and drama, although I'm not sure that really captures it. It all looks perfectly "natural", if you understand me - the humour and drama seem completely incidental. This is what impressed me most.

Like Cube, it got moderate critical approval but few people seem to think it's a masterpiece. I guess my love for science-fiction shines through again. This is the kind of movie I love - hard science-fiction, no special effects, no more violence than necessary, paced like clockwork (in this case, I guess there was not much choice, huh ?), lots of dialogue, as natural as possible, and very moving despite - or rather, because of - the lack of Hollywood-like action and histrionics. If you have the same tastes as I do, it is highly likely that you will love Last Night. The acting is delicious, especially Don McKellar as Patrick (he really enhances the movie as its main actor), and David Cronenberg.

In his review, Roger Ebert recounts the following anecdote. On a talk show in Toronto, Wayne Clarkson, the former director of the Toronto Film Festival, explained the difference between Canadian and American movies by using Last Night as example : "Sandra Oh goes into a grocery story to find a bottle of wine for dinner. The store has been looted, but she finds two bottles still on the shelf. She takes them down, evaluates them, chooses one, and puts the other one politely back on the shelf. That's how you know it's a Canadian film."

Patrick Wheeler: I think maybe I should mention before you make any faux pas here, that we have a tradition in this family, that we don't kill other people. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A fictional dramatization of the anti-Communist witch-hunts that plagued the U.S. during the late 1940s and early '50s, Guilty by Suspicion examines one of the most shameful periods of American history. After producing such prominent films as Rocky andRaging Bull, Irwin Winkler made his directorial debut with this 1991 drama, basing his screenplay on the harsh reality of the blacklisting era. Set during 1951, when the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) held hearings to target alleged Communist affiliations within the Hollywood filmmaking community, the film stars Robert De Niro as a prominent director who is urged to "name names" to appease the committee. Rather than betray one of his closest friends, he refuses to "cooperate" with the committee and is quickly blacklisted, his entire career in jeopardy. Costarring Annette Bening as the director's sympathetic ex-wife, the film doesn't pack the emotional punch ofThe Front (another blacklisting-era film, starring Woody Allen), but Winkler captures the paranoid anxiety of the period with a wealth of authentic detail. Because the De Niro character underestimates the power of the HUAC, we share his shock and dismay when he must finally face the committee. Without seeming like a dry history lesson, Guilty by Suspicion illuminates the unconstitutional evil of the blacklist era while offering a glimpse behind the scenes of Hollywood's past. Adding to the realism, director Martin Scorsese makes a rare cameo as another filmmaker under fire. Although Winkler's script and direction are perhaps too melodramatic, Guilty by Suspicion was clearly made with noble purpose and intention. For anyone interested in the blacklisting era and Hollywood history, this movie's a must-see. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Underrated
This movie is a saddening look at one of America's darkest times. It has received lots of negative reviews, but don't listen to them. It is the best movie I have seen about the times and it captures the essence of Hollywood during the 1950s when McCarthy and the House Un-American Committee were at the peak of power. Robert De Niro is excellent, as always, as David Merrill, a director with success, fans, and he is living his dream. Then he goes on a vacation, and when he returns, the town is different. The movie opens up with a typical Committee meeting in which David's friend Larry is spooked by the committee. Before long he is burning his books and disowning his wife as a communist. Red Fever has hit town, and David is next in line. Somebody has named him as a Communist sympathyzer, and he refuses to testify to the Committee because he is angry and doesn't want to hurt his friends. Before long he finds he cannot get a job, not directing, producing, or even working in a film repair shop. His life is turned upside down, and he decides finally to testify to the Committee. The acting is what makes this movie, De Niro, but also Annette Bening, George Wendt, Martin Scorsese is great in a cameo. My favorite part is when one cast member is called a commie by the producer for siding with David. "I turned in commies without the government even asking. If you want to call me a commie, you got to back it up." David replies, "If he wants to call you a commie, he doesn't need to back it up." Some people say it is contrived or unbelievable, but the transformation in David, from materialistic director to a man seeing the need to defy the McCarthyists is done well. If you like history, or if you like De Niro, you will enjoy this film.

Guilty By Communism (If The Shoe Fits...)
Another attempt by leftists to rewrite history and generate sympathy for (and disguise) their collaboration with those who seek to destroy our American way of life. Don't fall for it.
In relation to this dramatized account, I recently watched "Hollywood On Trial", which also seeks to generate sympathy for anti-American activity by showing genuine footage of the "terrible/tragic/unfair/mean spirited/hateful/etc, etc, etc" actual hearings. The interesting thing is that instead of accomplishing the mission of showing the Hollywood Ten as poor, helpless, innocent victims, rather it shows them up for what they actually were (are): communists. It is hilarious to watch them squirm, backpedal and crawfish when asked a simple, straightforward, easy question: "are you now, or were you ever, a member of the communist party?" Anyone who cannot answer this simple question in one word does not need to be in hollywood cranking out subversive, unpatriotic, communist, anti-American propaganda disguised as "entertainment".
For the real story on communist infiltration of hollywood (which is still very much prevalent today, as evidenced by this production of "Guilty By Suspicion"), as well as the real story about Senator McCarthy's efforts to resist those whose goal was (is) to destroy America, I highly recommend the book "Treason" by Ann Coulter (also available on audio CD), which exhaustively documents that communists in America were (and are) not "Guilty By Suspicion", but instead were simply guilty because, despite all their loud, thrashing-around, indignant, tearful, smoke screen laden protestations to the contrary, they were and are communists, committed to the destruction of America.

Guilty by Fact
This is just another pro-communist film that tries to re-paint the 1950's as some type of ruthless time subjected by patriots against innocent leftists. The reality is that Hollywood was full of not only leftwingers but with hardcore communists as well. These people conspired with Soviet agents to tilt the U.S. to the Left and to aid the Soviets in their global war against the U.S.

This film is pure lies in the way it tries to portray these communists as innocent filmakers. The reality is that they were quite guilty and the evidence demonstrating this was without a doubt quite valid.

There's nothing to see in this film that would relate to historical fact so don't waste your time.

A MOVIE THAT PRESENTS THE ANTI-COMMUNISM SUBJECT.
The movie is set in the times when the sole mention of the term "communist" was seen as synonymous of "evil". The film is a critique to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), when it created a Hollywood blacklist, which included Hollywood celebrities considered as communists, banning their works and denying them the opportunity of getting new jobs, until they provided names of more people that "attempted against the American Way Of Life".

Despite the fact that a lot of people confusedly relates the communism with the word "criminal", actually the communism is another way of life of some countries, mostly Europeans. "Guilty By Suspicion" criticizes the paranoia that a lot of people suffered when they heard the word "communism". The thing is that there were (and there are) some criminal communists, as well as there were (and there are) some criminal German, Americans, Mexicans, English, Asians, etc., in all the world there are criminals. But is ridiculous to judge a whole culture with a different way of life based on a few bad people.

Perhaps "Guilty By Suspicion" is not the best political drama movie, but its message is clear, and also features good performances (the fantastic Robert De Niro and the attractive Annette Bening), interesting situations, and a Martin Scorsese cameo. At the end of the day, "Guilty By Suspicion" is an interesting political drama.

Paranoia at its worst
This is a great film about one of the darkest period of American history, the Committee on Un-American activities in 1952, what is known as McCarthyism. It deals only with Hollywood though it had a quite wider range. What is striking about the film is that it looks at this unbearable negation of the American constitution only from the human consequences it created : wives, children, and of course husbands too, but most of the victims were men, at least as shown in the film. The people who came under suspicion were tracked down, under permanent surveillance from the FBI, and they lost all their jobs, all employment possibilities, in the film industry but also in any field possible, no matter how small. They were pushed into suicide, or dereliction. They lost their houses, their property, any means of living and they had to disappear. Happy were those who had passports from other countries, because they were able to leave the country in time, like Charlie Chaplin, and to get refuge in England, France or other countries. There is absolutely no excuse for this action, even if there are many explanations : the Cold War, the anticommunist panic, jealousy and competition from those who were not at the top and managed to get rid of those who were at the top and blocked them, ambition to be able to have a career even if the ambitious did not have the value of their victims, etc. It created a society based on rumors, denunciations, hatred, and a total lack of human values and rejection of all moral and ethical principles. The State had become crazy and had reinvented the fascism that it had fought in Germany and Italy. But the worst part of it is that it took America twenty years to repair the damage. A nd some were not repairable, like the execution of the Rosenbergs. In spite of all, the film is optimistic on human nature, too optimistic, because it is centered on two friends who refuse to talk, who refuse to answer the questions and give names. But those courageous individuals are so few that this optimism is reduced to nearly nothing, a few human beings who consider that their principles, the very principles of their American constitution are more important than their present and their future, that it is easier to explain to their children the victimization they suffer than to explain to them when they are of age that their fathers or mothers had been finks, unhuman an inhumane vultures giving their own friends to the claws of vengeance rather than defending those friends as best they could, which was their Christian duty too. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Raquel Welch Rules!!!
Raquel Welch rules a a beautiful voluptuous barmaid dealing with small minds in a small town.If you liked Harper Valley PTA,you'll love this movie!!

Raquel Welch Rules!!
Raquel Welch rules playing a beautiful voluptuous barmaid dealing with the hypocracies in a small town.If you likeed Harper Valley PTA,then you'll love this movie!!!

Raquel Welch Rules!!
Raquel Welch rules as a beautiful voluptuous barmaid dealing with small minds in a small town.It's a must see!!

Not to be taken very seriously....
TV Movies are like soap operas and reality based shows, they exist as pure/shock value entertainment only. They do not useually take themselves very seriously and even when they purport to do something on a serious subject, the resulting film is often miscast and has very shoty production values. This movie was one in a whole series of very bad TV movies that the networks (both cable and commerical networks) continue to do to this day. The casting of Welsh is, well it does not really work.

She says these very corny lines that make you want to laugh when you hear it. The courtroom scenes are a joke, and the subject matter here would have been better handeled had different film makers (and more serious ones at that) done it. But they did not, and as a result this movie is a largely forgetable mess.

Sexy Raquel Welch Rules!!
Sexy Raquel Welch rules in this controversial small town story!!She's still got it!!! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Winds of Kitty Hawk
I am delighted to find this excellent biography of Orville and Wilbur Wright and their struggles, defeats and eventual triumph in the invention of the airplane. I am ordering it for a Christmas gift for my 15-year-old Godson. There is so much junk all over the place these days, but very little that inspires young boys to aspire to greater things than rock and roll bands! I have seen it on television twice and found it as interesting the second time as the first. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Matthew Broderick, in one of his first grownup roles after years of playing teen heroes, stars as an air force foul-up, a pilot who, as punishment, is assigned to care for the chimps in military medical experiments. He's indignant at first but gradually warms up to his simian charges (who wouldn't?). The more time he spends with them, the more he realizes just what thinking, feeling creatures they are--which sticks him squarely in the center of a moral dilemma when he realizes that the outcome of the experiments involves putting all the chimps to sleep. Director Jonathan Kaplan, no stranger to ethically complex melodrama, gives what might otherwise be a predictable tale a jolt of both adrenaline and real emotion--and it doesn't hurt that most of his actors are lovable scene-stealers. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (4)

This is my favorite movie
Chimps are featured, but only to keep us from defensively noticing that the movie is really talking about our deepest experience as humans-- the transition from mute wonderment, through learning and loss, into competence and self-reliance. The story seems to meander as Matthew Broderick replaces Helen Hunt as the main human character, but by the end you can tell that the script was written with the greatest of care and skill.

This Film is from 1987 not 1968.......
This Film you present here is from 1987. Project X from the 60's is a 1968 film about a spy who brought back from cryogenic suspension after being almost killed in a plane. Please let me know if I am wrong or correct this mistake on your page

One of Broderick`s Best.
Matthew Broderick gives one of his best performances of his career in this funny, touching, sad story about about army recruit been choose to teach and take care of the chimps but the real problem, he find out the army using the chimps for radiactive about if they can survive ,if they are flying the plane without knowning they could die.

Good Cast including Helen Hunt and William Salder. This Is Broderick`s Best With War Games, Ferris Bueller`s Day Off, Glory, The Lion King(Voice Only), Election and his underappreciate films are The Cable Guy and Godzilla. Grade:A.

Forever Awesome
This movie was my favorite when it first came out. I had fogotten about it then I saw it on tv and I haven't seen it at stores so I came here to find it. You have to watch this movie, Its great!! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Good premise, but weak plot line
Good movie idea about superior court judges taking the law into their own hands when technicalities allow guilty criminals to be set free. But after setting this up, the story really doesn't have anywhere to go. Good performance by Michael Douglas.

this belongs on DVD
i really like this better than any of michael douglas' performances. he desreved an award for this rather than WALL STREET. i found it more suspenseful than FATAL ATTRACTION. i highly recommend this on DVD in the near future. i have a growing DVD library but i don't feel it's complete without this movie among them. i just have to say to anyone out there who is reading this and in the amazon.com business that i really do hope and pray that THE STAR CHAMBER comes on DVD soon. even if it wasn't one of michael douglas' most talked about and popular flicks, it's a masterpiece in my book. please get this video relesed on DVD soon, real soon.

The only verdict is "guilty," the only sentence is "death!"
It is often said that one of the cornerstones of our criminal justice system is the concept that it is better to let a hundred guilty men go free than to convict one innocent. But what if you had to live in the community where those hundred guilty murderers and rapists were set free...?

Although an imperfect film, I thought it did a good job of being fair to both sides of the argument (just like the film "Magnum Force"), being unusually free of the usual liberal Hollywood bias.

The criminal justice system will always be flawed, because human beings are flawed, they still make mistakes even when they try their best. But let's face it, even though the standard is supposed to be "proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," day after day after day suave defense attorneys bamboozle sheepish jurors into a standard of "beyond the shadow of a doubt." Many defense attorneys often don't try cases -- they try causes. They ask the jury not to render a verdict based on the evidence or the facts of the case at hand, but instead based on how they feel about some social or political issue that they claim is the REAL reason why their client was charged. Time and again, judges, jurors, prosecutors, police and the public are asked to gouge their own eyes out and lobotomize themsleves into ignoring clear evidence of guilt -- even when it proves guilt beyond the shadow of a doubt -- because of some highly unlikely technical interpretation and misapplication of the letter of the law in order to violate its spirit. To many defense lawyers, the term "intellectual honesty" is an oxymoron.... (If you doubt anything in this paragraph, then you've obviously never heard of the OJ Simpson case.)

It is easy to understand Michael Douglas' frustrations as a judge. Clearly, the system needs improvements. But by the end of the film it becomes equally clear that Hal Holbrook's changes are not improvements! Erring too far on EITHER side of the equation erodes people's faith in the system, which results in just the sort of breakdown we see in society today.

So, now that "The Star Chamber" (and "Magnum Force") has shown us the dangers of the criminal justice system moving too far to the right, when is Hollywood going to show us the dangers of it moving too far to the left...? Don't bother holding your breath -- read the newspaper instead....

Judges, Jurors, And Executioners
Michael Douglas portrays an idealistic L.A. County superior court judge who finds himself in a cabal of judges known as THE STAR CHAMBER, in this 1983 film of the same name directed and co-written by Peter Hyams (OUTLAND; CAPRICORN ONE; 2010). His character is frustrated about letting criminals go scot-free on charges ranging from kidnapping to murder because of technicalities; even though the evidence would clearly put these thugs on ice, improper procedures by the police force Douglas to obey the letter of the law and dismiss them.

But he gets a look into this Star Chamber cabal from his mentor (Hal Holbrook, good as ever), where he and seven other judges, plus Douglas now, pass judgment on and later find and execute the criminals. In essence, this Star Chamber consists of judges so fed up with the System that they resort to vigilantism. Douglas, however, doesn't see this particular cabal as the answer, and he has to struggle with this dichotomy.

In a twisted sort of way, this seems like the 1973 Dirty Harry film MAGNUM FORCE as reimagined by John Grisham (though this was years before Grisham was ever widely known). But I think the film, though imperfect in places, makes it clear that a private cabal of judges deciding on the violent punishment of criminals who slip through on technicalities is no better (and realistically far worse) than a flawed prosecution in a real court of law. We may think the justice system is slanted so heavily in favor of the criminals, but that's only because that one day, through some weird twists of fate, we too may find ourselves in the position of the criminals.

Douglas and Holbrook are well-matched here, and Hyams' direction, aided by his co-screenwriter Roderick Taylor, brings out some good points in a somewhat flawed but otherwise well-done courtroom drama that is in need of a revival.

A Little Known Sleeper of a Movie
I saw this movie a long time ago and still remember it well. A group of judges, dissatisfied with the system that can let a dangerous criminal walk due to a technicality, decide to retry the same criminals in a closed room, free of the rules