Reviews (15)

A movie to watch just for fun!
The acting wasn't GREAT and the story line would OBVIOUSLY never happen. Who would actually tell something so personal as to getting an abortion after being raped to win a debate when she never told anyone else before? (sorry for giving a way part of the movie) But the reason why I give it so many stars is because it had such an affect on me that I've remembered this movie from when I was a child with fond memories. Going past all the bad acting and the far from being realistic it was moving enough to make me remember it. If you remember to watch the movie just to watch a FICTIONAL STORY it can actually be a great film.

Controversial!
Though it has been years since I saw "Listen", I remember it not for the quality of the acting, which I thought was fine, but for delivering the most eloquent argument against abortion I had ever seen, even to this day. Any movie that gets the range of comments that have been posted, from rave to rage, is certainly has to be called controversial. So the debate scenes did not match up to the life experiences of some, it is a STORY. Its message is very, very strong, and delivered quite effectively. Isn't that what movies, books, plays, photography, et al are about? I just saw "Cider House Rules", the flip side of the abortion discussion from "Listen". Try watching "Listen" and "Cider House" back to back for what should be quite an emotional and intellectual experience. I rate both films at least 9 out of 10.

PS: I am 64, male, anti-abortion, and pro-choice.

Painful, yet Humorous.
I watched LISTEN TO ME in a debate class in college. The reason we watched the movie is because it's about the only movie ever made having to directly do with collegiate debate. From what I've gathered from former debate team members, the movie isn't very realistic about what actually goes on during real debates. However, it does establish the basic tenets of debating and for that it's worth watching. It's also worth watching if you want a good laugh. The movie is one of the most-cliched, melodramatic movies I have ever seen. There is absolutely nothing original in the movie whatsoever. Some of the dialogue was so bad that the movie was actually painful at times, soothed only by the laughter that followed some more poor dialogue.

Timothy Patrick Quill, playing Garson McKellar, has a secondary role to Kirk Cameron and Jami Gertz. However, his role is the one that's the real meat of this movie and the only performance really worth watching. Roy Scheider also stars as Coach Charlie Nichols. Overall, LISTEN TO ME is a totally average (almost below average) Hollywood movie. It's worth watching if you have an interest in debate, are a fan of any of the actors, or just need some good laugh therapy.

Truth it ain't
So this movie isn't a realistic depiction of anything that has ever happened in college debate anytime, anywhere. None of us will ever debate in front of the Supreme Court, nor will abortion ever be a national topic (or at least I hope not). That said, weird stuff does happen in college debate, including one coach who used to pair his debaters up by their astrological signs. This movie is just a good time, fun to watch with other debaters over a few beers to laugh at. Great team bonding activity before a big tournament!

A Horrible Look at University-Level Debating
This movie attempts to portray the world of university level debate, and does a poor job at that. As a Parliamentary debater myself, I can assure you of this being an extremely poor interpritation. In the big final round before the Supreme Court for instance, the debaters use opinion as argumentation using brilliant lines as "abortion is wrong because God says so" and relaying a personal story about getting an abortion, all of which are totally irrelevant. Abortion is also pretty much not debated on any circuit because the arguements are cliche (much like this movie), and no one's opinion is changed. Even given the poor debate, the acting is miserable, and the storyline is dull and uninventive. I strongly suggest steering clear of "Listen to Me", unless you just want a good laugh at a poor attempt at film ;-). ... Read more

Reviews (16)

WAYNE'S BEST ACTING.
Wayne is ruthlessly overlooked for this one, a heartache similar to the fate of The Big Lebowski. Its one of those sad mysteries of life; one of the truly great, last, and forgotten westerns. If you read enough Leonard Maltlin, you really start to wonder if he was raised by Quakers. Rooster Cogburn is a fast-paced actioner with accessible, beautifully embellished characters. Its not best picture material the way The Outlaw Josey Wales couldnt have been---not enough "morality" spoon-fed in even bites.
Hearing Wayne say,(in an overlooked line by most, I'll bet)"Don't worry son, they'll pay for it," brings tears to my eyes. It throws me back to my childhood memory of what Wayne represented: There's good guys out there you just don't want to mess with. Wayne fuses all his elements to create this masculine, wise, clever, experienced, tenacious, hard dinking, yet respected federal lawman like none ever seen. This time he's got a real director to back him up.
There are incredible lines, as funny as they are character-building:

SCENE:
(Wayne and Hepburn, recently stealing their supplies, are surrounded at night by Jordan, Zerbe and the rest of the bad guys/murderous white trash.)

Richard Jordan, as HAWK:(YELLING) "You may have the gatlin' gun, but you ain't got the know-how to use it!"

Wayne: (to Hepburn) "Deputy,... show-em'"
(Hepburn cranks the gatlin-gun, scattering their startled enemies in the dark, causing destruction. stops.)

Wayne: (with a fierce grin, hilariously sarcastic, yelling)
"AAAIIIN'T THAT THE WAY IT WORKS, HAWK!?!?!?!?!"

Dull plot, wasted superstars
What a tragedy that Hollywood was able to unite two of the powerhouse superstars of cinema in one movie, but then saddle them with a plodding, boring and utterly pedestrian script. The chemistry between Wayne and Kate Hepburn is palpable and their scenes together are a joy to watch. But there are too few of such scenes to justify repeated viewings or to classify this movie as anything but average and a spent opportunity.

Hepburn is miscast as a crotchety, virginal spinster who pines in her heart for the Duke, but is too repressed to act on her instincts. The Duke's reprisal of Rooster Cogburn is interesting, and he delivers an excellent performance, but the script fails him time and again. Ultimately it's frustrating to watch two great stars wallow in this banal plot. One interesting element in the DVD version is the gorgeous Rogue river scenery which seems to come to life in this format.

John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn stand toe to toe
Sometimes a multitude of wrongs can come out right. Hollywood has a penchant for making sequels to successful films, so when John Wayne finally won an Oscar for his performance in "True Grit." Wayne played Rooster Cogburn, a fearless, one-eyed U.S. marshal who never knew a dry day in his life. Fortunately Hollywood waited six years before making this 1975 sequel. However, at that point they not only hired a novice screenwriter, actress Martha Hyer ("First Men in the Moon"), they let her rip off "The African Queen" and turn it into a western. Fortunately, they hired Katharine Hepburn to play opposite the Duke.

That is what "Rooster Cogburn" comes down to, the chance for John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn to do scenes together; it also explains why the film is also known as "Rooster Cogburn and the Lady." Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, no, wait, I mean Eula Goodnight, who is the daughter of a minister (Jon Lormer) instead of the brother of a missionary. The gospel is still being brought to the natives, except this time we are set in the Cascades of Oregon rather than the jungles of Africa. The bad guys are now a gang of thieves led by Breed (Anthony Zerbe) and Hawk (Richard Jordan), instead of Nazis, and this time they gun down the minister. So when Rooster comes along to track them down and bring them to his brand of justice, Eula insists on going along.

The plot is predictable in terms of the outcome and familiar when Kate and the Duke end up on the water. But there is fun to be had in these two standing toe to toe, but not jaw to jaw, and going at it. "To whom do you think you are speaking," she intones frostily. "You is to whom I think I am speaking, sister," he shoots back. She allows that he is bigger than she is, but only physically. He observes in this situation that should be enough and they continue to have great fun with the dialogue. Wayne has great fun hamming it up and Hepburn enjoys having an actor big enough to stand up to her assault.

The stories from the set were that the two great stars had great fun making this movie. Their politics were at opposite ends of the spectrum so they just avoid the topics and enjoyed being in each other's company. Wayne was playing a character he had done before in a movie, but then Hepburn's character is instantly recognizable as well, even if the name is different. The names do not matter. They can call them "Rooster Cogburn and the Lady," but it is the Duke and Kate, and their fans will not be disappointed by their time together.

Nearly as good as True Grit
While this film has more of a tv western feel to it than film #1 did it still totally clicks. It is, like True Grit, a bit of a true story as Judge Isaac Parker who appears in both did exist. Wayne and Hepburn have fine chemistry and the rest of the cast is faultless. Zerbe especially. Good, believable action too. I'm sorry but I feel I should point out an inconsistency or two with True Grit. Judge Parker is played by a different man here and his court room is small and doesn't call to mind the giant court room he had in the first film. Also, Chin Lee is a different guy here too. And the cat of Cogburn's,General Sterling Price, is still alive after all these years?

ausome
this movie is one of my favorates by my favorate actor John Wayne this sequal of the movie True GRIT IS BETTER BY A 3 ON A SCALE OF ONE TO 10 ALTHOUH YOU MAY LIKE TRUE GRIT BETTER BECAUSE ITS ROBER DUVALLS FIRST FILM I THINK AND JOHN WAYNE WON BEST ACTOR FOR IT ... Read more

Reviews (27)

child of glass
I REALLY LOVED this movie as a child! I hope Disney re-releases it soon! It's one of the few movies that I can clearly remember from my childhood, even though it's been years since I saw it. Disney just doen't make them like that anymore!

"DISNEY", PLEASE RELEASE "Child of Glass"
I watched Child of Glass about 2 years ago. I was fortunate to find it at an OLD movie store. So, I rented it and fell in love with it again. My sister-in-law, whom had never saw it, watched it with me and she has been asking me to find it ever since. The old movie store went out of business, so I can't rent it again. Please re-release this movie on VHS or DVD so I can buy it and watch it again and again. I loved it, and miss it.

Child of Glass
Our screenwriter instructor asked us to make a list of 10 of our favorite films of all time then select 3 of those. When I finished Child of Glass was number one on my list. I can't even explain why I like this movie so well, perhaps because I was raised in a haunted house and the house next door was also haunted by the ghost of a dead school teacher.

Others have explained what this movie is about. They've also explained how difficult it is to find. I have discovered the same things. I would love to have this movie on DVD. I'm not likely to pay $40 for it though. I watch for it to come on TV again but so far have seen no clues as to when or if it will ever appear on TV or a movie channel again.

I'm the author of "The Adventures of Megan Martin" MeganMartin.com which is being adapted to screenplay format now. If someone learns when Child of Glass is going to show or were it can be bought on DVD at a reasonable price please contact me.

Thank you.
...Bryon

"FINALY FOUND!" How I would love to get it on DVD.
As a young boy I happened across Child Of Glass playing on TV. I imediately fell in love with the film, but haveing missed the beginning and unfortunately never catching it playing again, I didn't know the name of it. In fact I didn't even know it was a Disney film. However the film left such an impression on me that years later I would occasionaly question video stores about it giveing a brief synopsis. People sometimes would fondly recall the film but not it's name or where I could find it. With the internet I would on occasion briefly search for it with no success, till recently. I am pleased to know that others were impressed with the film as I was. However I am disapointed to find that it is no longer in print. How I would love to get it on DVD. Child Of Glass may not be a blockbuster film but it is clean entertainment for the family and an experience I would like to enjoy again and share with my children.

Child Of Glass Is Grand
I had always loved this movie as a child. I remember watching so intently when ever it was on. I loved Alexander and Blossom. I really loved the Plantation House.

I had been looking for this movie for years. I had heard that it had been released in 1986 on VHS and BETA but I couldn't find one. This year a very dear friend gave me a copy of this that he had converted to dVD. And it included a cover art that was a minature version of the origional. Even though it is a fake. I treasure this DVD. So much.

This movie begins showing The Ainsworth family traveling to their new plantaion house. WHen they arive the Kids are pretty shocked at how run down the house is. Well they work on it. And you meet the Drunk Caretaker who has Murder On His Mind. One night Alexander sees a Blue Light from the hay loft of the barn. He goes out there and sees the ghost of Inez. She tells him what help she needs from him. Well Alexanders decides to help him. I don't remember the exact riddle. But it was about the 2 should touch. Well it goes on. And Alexander falls into the well. And he is found. His parents send his little friend Blossom down. And she finds the China Doll. They rescue Alexander and they go into the Cemetery into the Chapel of Inezs Family and place the doll on top of her tomb. Well the gost of Inez apperas and grabs the doll than dies and evaporates into the Tomb. THan the doll appears and falls onto the floor. The head shatters and in side the head is the long lost treasure. WHich consists of millions of dollars worth of diamonds.

Great Movie. Fun for the whole family. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Please, release it on DVD!
I saw this movie on TV once, Way Back When. I didn't understand it then, and I still don't now, but one thing's for sure; this movie *must* be released on DVD! It's a cult classic, right up there with "Plan 9 From Outer Space" in its' (unintentional) badness. KISS fans, unite; petition the band to get this movie released on Special Edition DVD--featuring a "making of" documentary, of course!!! 'Nuff said.

"The Phantom"
There is only about 30 minutes worth of actual KISS members in the film, but there is some outstanding live in-concert film from the show at Magic Mountain in the spring of 1978. Some of the show is the actual live recording, not dubbed music. This is the made for TV movie that came out on Halloween of 1978.

I believe this video is out of print, so grab it if you can find it somewhere. A must for any diehard KISS fan.

"Its the cosmic forcefield that protects our talisman."
I think it helps if you're a KISS fan to enjoy this movie as much as I do, but I loaned it to a friend who was never into them at all and it became a cult favorite of his which he quotes to this day. This 1978 masterpiece was directed by Gordon Hessler who did tv shows like Hawaii 5-0, Kung Fu, and Wonder Woman and I think the influence is apparent. Also, the film is produced by Hanna-Barbera (as in Yogi Bear & the Flintstones) and that influence is extremely present!

The plot! involves KISS playing live at Magic Mountain where there is lots of cool things going on like a Peter Criss look a like contest! Anthony Zerbe (Omega Man, First Deadly Sin) plays the mentally unstable Abner Devereaux (the Phantom), creator of all the rides at the park and also the machanical apes. Anyway, he starts losing it when some biker dorks mess with his ride so he sends them to his haunted house to get sucked down these big pipes and....wo! My brain stings...hang on. Ok, so Abner ends up losing his job and he totally flips out and creates a little microchip thing that fits behind the ear and turns whoever is wearing it into a mindless robot. He's also jealous of KISS, not to mention hates their music so he creates a duplicate KISS to destroy the original KISS. Whew!

Watching KISS try to act is endless fun. Gene has a few lines like "Starchild!" and other times just opens his mouth and a prerecorded animal growl comes out! Paul says stuff like "Easy Catman, these guys are serious." and shoots a laser beam out his eye so he can listen to what people are saying far away. Ace says "Ack" and can teleport the whole band out of sticky situations (like when be attacked by samurais or cat people in disco suits, stuff like that.). I never found out what Peter's power was but I know his real voice isn't in the film, its a famous cartoon voice like Aquaman or something. He does have some great lines like "without them we'd be ordinary human beings." This is in response to a question about their talisman, which are these little glowing objects they keep in a little briefcase in their apartment. They get their powers from these things you see. Anyway lots of KISS tunes and scenes that are pricelessly cheesy and unintentionally (I think) hilarious. Like when the cops go to question KISS about a Gene look alike bashing up property in the park and all 4 of them are sitting on high lifeguard stools at their pool dressed in their normal black leather and also silver hooded robes sweating their butts off! This scene always gets me. "Rock and rollers don't bathe."

I found this at a dept. store for cheap on VHS and now I wish I would've bought more copies because it's very out of print. I hope it comes to DVD someday but KISS aren't very proud of it so they probably want it to be buried. However, since KISS will usually sell anything for a buck including a big coffin with their autographs on it, maybe their greed will make them put this timeless cheezeball from 1978 on special edition DVD with interviews about why they hate it! I love this movie! "Rip & Destroy!"

kiss meets the phantom of the park
loved this movie as a kid and wants to share the experence of it with her kids!

KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Camp?
Anyone who is a KISS fan will tell you this is not the greatest effort they've ever done. KISS themselves will tell you that, and they take pride in the fact that they don't own the rights to it. When asked, they say, "we don't own that one, fortunately!" But to needle it down to what appears to be racist and predjudiced remarks (Paul's double with a double chin and Ace's double a "kungfu black man") shows no real merit. What makes a double chin and BLACK SKIN on the doubles so bad? The cool thing about KISS is they can do these kind of things and get away with it. The possibilities are endless, and that is something we should all enjoy. I'm a lifelong die-hard myself, and there are points in the movie that I would love to crawl under the seats in the theaters right along with KISS. Fortunately, there are markers in life by which we grade our accomplishments and make adjustments where necessary. I think for no other reason, this was a great movie to really gaze at the costumes and effects (albeit cheezy) and be taken away. It's a FANTASY, not reality. What does it hurt? Nothing. People can say what they want negative about the movie, but it STILL SELLS like wildfire and the demand has YET to slow down for it. Long live the KINGS OF ROCK! ... Read more

Reviews (11)

MITCHUM IS MARLOWE
Director Richard Rush presented us a valentine with this incredible film, the third version made from the the 1940 Raymond Chandler novel. At least seven actors have portrayed Philip Marlowe. Robert Mitchum, played the part twice. The first time, in this film, he was nothing short of brilliant; just world-weary, battered, meloncholy, and tough enough to spark this tale into a full flame. His voice-over narrative hit perfect pitch; all gravel, too many smokes, and cheap booze. Mitchum, himself the veteran of several Noir classics, played the gumshoe as comfortable as one's favorite overcoat; a perfect fit. He shuffled lazy-lidded yet irascible and alert, as ready for a sap behind the ear, as he was to be the recipient of the sexual energy radiated off of Charlotte Rampling as Helen, the femme. She, likewise, postured perfectly in the Noir 1940's clothes and hairstyles. John Alonzo, fresh from shooting CHINATOWN, presented us with an LA bathed in just the right mix of golden light and shadow. Jerry Goldsmith delivered another spectacular score, overlapping jazz, blues, and swing, underscoring the action and dialogue masterfully. John Ireland, also a veteran of classic Noir, Anthony Zerbe, and Harry Dean Stanton gave tremendous support with their roles. There was even a couple of glimpses of Sly Stallone ( pre-ROCKY ) as a viscious punk. Some of the critics felt that this lush color film had to try too hard for that Noir feel. I disagree. This movie is a modern Noir classic, even in living color.

Movie Transcends the Material
The photography is perfect, the score is magnificent. Robert Mitchum was made to play a middle aged Philip Marlowe, and his voice over has all the weariness and angst the most die hard noir fan could ask for. The mid-30's sets are impeccable. So what is there to complain about? I think the culprit is Raymond Chandler.

One of the most quotable of the hard-boiled writers, his writing sang but his plots were so convoluted, the reader needs a scorecard to keep track of the story. Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his elusive love Velma. Until the bloody finale, that was the last time I was clear about the action.

I commend all the actors for delivering fine performances, particularly Sylvia Myles who played the hopeless alcoholic, Mrs. Florian. She was piercingly pathetic as a nice girl who couldn't quite believe she was a middle-aged drunk. Robert Mitchum allowed merciless lighting that occasionally made him look like a guy who has had one too many face-lifts.

This film version of "Farewell My Lovely" is probably as good as it gets. I recommend "Out of the Past" for Mitchum and noir fans.
-sweetmolly-Amazon Reviewer

The sets look really cheap.
'Farewell, My Lovely' is a likable detective film, but the sets look really cheap and fake. I didn't get the feeling I was back in Los Angeles in the 1930s; I felt like I was looking at a set that was trying to look like Los Angeles in the 30s. Robert Mitchum is alright, but he is a little too old.

"New" Old Time Detective Thriller
To many of the reviews I've read rave on about Ms. Rampling, and while she is good in her small role, this is a Robert Mitchum Movie, and he is very good in it.....

Actually, if it was B&W you'd look at it like an old Bogie film like "The Big Sleep",or any one of a dozen classic detective flix.....

Anyway, I happen to get my hands on one of the rare DVD's and it was in great shape. But it's the story...this is one of those films you get to watch 5 times before you actually follow everything that's going on......

I truly enjoyed it, and you will too.

the spirit is dead on
purists might debate whether the deviancies from the novel are to positive or detrimental effect, but Mitchum captures Marlowe in a casual and powerful way. the entire Chandler spirit is kept faithfully intact, creatively filled out by excellent lighting & cinemetography, keeping the viewer involved in the neo-noir attitude as if the film was actually made in 1941.

the anne riordan character is replaced by a newspaper hawker who is a little out of place and unexplained, but perhaps charlotte rampling was all the femme fatale they could afford so...better just hire some young kid to float the story.

jack o'halloran is truly believable as moose malloy, and sylvester stallone performs some of his finest work. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Writer-director Paul Schrader is best known for dark examinations of the human soul; he wrote Taxi Driver and wrote and directed such austere character studies as Mishima and Affliction. So it's not surprising that when he made a comedy it turned out to be a little off kilter. What may catch fans off guard is the sweetness and gentle rhythms of Touch, adapted from Elmore Leonard's novel about an unassuming faith healer. Down-on-his-luck evangelist Bill Hill (Christopher Walken) discovers Juvenal (Skeet Ulrich), a former monk with a gift. Hill swiftly enrolls his former assistant Lynn (Bridget Fonda) to get close to Juvenal and discover if his healing touch is for real. After witnessing Juvenal's power--and the stigmata that accompanies it--Lynn feels drawn to and frightened of the low-key healer, who slowly courts her as he in turn is wooed by Hill and a number of other religious and media vultures, culminating in a confrontation on a talk show hosted by Gina Gershon (Showgirls). Touch features quirky cameos by Janeane Garofalo, John Doe, and Lolita Davidovich, but the real juice of the movie comes from the likeable, assured, and surprisingly subtle performances of Ulrich and Fonda; their chemistry gives them both a relaxed sexiness that some of their other movies lack. Despite being a bit miscast, Walken comes up with some surprising and very funny moments of mischief. The movie also gets a boost from a crackling soundtrack by Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Just A "Touch" Off Center
A sometimes amusing but somewhat dark satire of faith, miracles, fundamentalism, and media exploitation is served up by writer/director Paul Schrader in "Touch," adapted from the novel by Elmore Leonard. Laced with subtle humor that seems somewhat contradictory to the serious subject matter, this is a film that is quite interesting without being too compelling. After seven years in South America studying to be a monk, a young man returns to the States and the anonymity provided him by his work as a counselor at a Catholic rehab clinic. Far from your normal, would-be cleric, however, Juvenal (Skeet Ulrich) has a unique gift: he can heal people by touching them, at which time he exhibits the stigmata. It's something he cannot explain, and somehow manages to take in stride. Inevitably, word leaks out about it, and scam artist Bill Hill (Christopher Walken) is right on it when it happens. Currently an RV salesman, he is an ordained minister and former evangelist who once performed fake healings and had a huge, blue neon cross above his "church" that could be seen for miles from the interstate. And he sees great things in Juvenal's future, and a lot of money for himself. First, however, he must get close to the stigmatic, while sidestepping a friend of Juvenal's, one August Murray (Tom Arnold), a Catholic on a quest to revert the Mass to Latin and do away with guitar masses altogether. For help, Hill turns to his assistant, Lynn (Bridget Fonda), who must try to gain access to the elusive Juvenal; together, they concoct a plan to get her into the clinic, where she can make contact and put him together with Hill. To tell the tale, Schrader put together an excellent cast and seemingly has all the ingredients for a successful project; somehow though, it all comes off as fairly lackluster, but interesting nonetheless. Ulrich does a good turn as Juvenal, capturing the sincere ambiguity of the character's view of his own ability to perform miracles, and makes it convincing with his grounded approach and by underplaying rather than trying to make him into something more enigmatic than he really is. He makes it a very real study of how someone would possibly react upon being visited with the wounds of Christ. Walken does a passable job as Hill, but there's not a lot of depth to his performance, and for a character that should have been quite flamboyant, he seems rather subdued. Fonda, too, gives something of a one-note performance as Lynn, who is likable enough, but tends to come off as uninteresting. Tom Arnold comes away with the most memorable performance, playing the obsessive August in a straight forward manner that makes him convincing and humorous, while making you take pause to reflect about what kind of a guy this really is and wondering how many people like him are actually running around loose in the world today. The supporting cast includes Gina Gershon (Debra Lusanne), Conchata Ferrell, John Doe (Elwin), Janeane Garofalo (Kathy), Anthony Zerbe (Father Donahue), and Paul Mazursky (Artie). There are a lot of nice touches to this movie, and though it may not be one of Schrader's best, "Touch" is entertaining and somewhat thought provoking; one of the problems is that there are times when you don't know whether to laugh or simply ponder, which comes from the light approach to what is essentially a pretty heavy-duty subject. All in all, it's a decent movie and well worth a look; this is the kind of film that videos were made for.

Some good laughs...and Christopher Walken!
"Touch" is a funny movie with off-beat casting, such as Christopher Walken as a Televangelist and Skeet Ulrich as the recipient of Stigmata, not to mention Tom Arnold as the head of the Ultra-Conservative Catholic "Gray Army". Music by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters makes for a great soundtrack as well. This movie provides some good laughs and is as off-beat as another film by Paul Schrader..."Get Shorty."

Interesting...
This is not the kind of movie which is destined to break box-office records.

I'm going to start in a pessimistic sort of way, by saying that almost every character in the film is a caricature of some sort. There's Christopher Walken as a money-vampire who looks at a miracle and starts making plans to exploit it. There's Tom Arnold, the religious fanatical - enough said. There are Gina Gershon and Janeane Garofalo in supporting roles as an incisive talk show host and a cynical newspaper reporter, respectively. And then somehow, caught in the middle of all this is a shy, confused, tender young man with the power to heal.

Juvenal (Skeet Ulrich) is not one of the booming, preaching images that many people have come to associate with saints. We don't learn how he got his powers - which makes sense, because he doesn't know either. He is not flawless; he is attracted to women and does not necessarily agree with the philosophies of the church. And rather than being a pure white winged angel with a golden touch, he bleeds profusely from the marks of the stigmata as he performs his miracles.

We meet him as a woman named Lynn (Bridget Fonda) is roped in by money-grubbing Bill Hill (Walken) to try to find out if Juvenal is for real. He sees through her straight away, remarking casually that she was going to tell him that she had a tumour in her breast. Their relationship blossoms, which angers church leader August (Tom Arnold) who would prefer Juvenal to remain pure and holy.

We could perhaps have done without some of the supporting characters. Wonderful as Gina Gershon is, especially as you watch her accent become suddenly cultured when the cameras switch on, both her and Janeane Garofalo's characters would probably not have been missed. I'm not sure whether to recommend this film or not. If you're looking for a raucous comedy or a big-action thriller, this isn't the one for you. I loved it - but rent it first, and make up your own mind.

A Refreshing Look at God, Faith, Love and Media
Don't be fooled by the subject matter - an ex-monk, who can heal the sick by touching them, but suffers stigmata each time, gets caught up in a whirl of religious fanatics, big-business evangelists and ratings-hungry media - this is a sweet and touching romantic comedy! Leave it to Paul Schrader to find a way to do some heavy soul-searching without getting heavy-handed, yet always remaining quirky as we know him from his dramas. A wonderful supporting cast (Christopher Walken, Tom Arnold, Janeane Garofalo, Lolita Davidovich and Gina Gershon) adds color and texture to the story without detracting from the quiet chemistry going on between Skeet Ulrich and Bridget Fonda. When Ulrich says without grandeur that he believes in God and miracles, you don't even think twice about it - you believe every word he says at face value. A rare performance.

I finally found what I was looking for and Love it!!!
I have been looking for this movie since I saw it on a cable channel some time ago. I was looking for a movie titled "Hands", I had no idea it was called "Touch". A perfect title for a perfect movie. I love Skeet Ulrich in all his performances. Just one date. :)~ I enjoyed the way that Skeet had to portray a "Holy" man and yet he wasn't a "Holy" man. This leads to the idea that "The Powers that Be" could use anyone at anytime. The movie offered hope and faith. This is a must see if you haven't!! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Mikhail Baryshnikov made his film debut in this lightweight but entertaining drama about the relationship between a renowned ballerina (Anne Bancroft) and the woman (Shirley MacLaine) who had trained with her but had given up dance to become a wife, mother, and teacher. Between MacLaine's envy over her friend's career and the attention her own ballerina daughter (Leslie Browne) is getting, MacLaine's character goes through a complicated crisis. The two actresses carry the story very well and probably camouflage its thinness; they even make a somewhat condescending climax involving a catfight seem like a good idea. A subplot involving a developing romance between the virginal Browne and Baryshnikov's womanizer makes for pretty window dressing. More memorable are dance sequences featuring each in splendid performance. Baryshnikov's leaps are something to behold. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Worth seeing for the dancing
The plot is silly, the "cat fight" near the end is embarrassing, but the dancing is a beautifully filmed record of some of the great ballet dancers of the 1970s. Most of the various pas de deux and other dances, however, were only shown in short excerpts. Actually, a lot more dancing was put on film than made its way into the final version of the movie (I spent a day watching them shoot parts of the Gala Performance sequence on the stage of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 1976). If all that never-released dance footage still exists in a vault somewhere, it would be great to put it all together either by itself or as a bonus in a special edition wide-screen DVD release of the movie.

TERRIFICALLY ENTERTAINING
Combining soapy suds and exhilarating dance sequences with the formidable acting skills of lead players Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft, Herbert Ross creates a winner in The Turning Point. Baryshnikov is every bit as magnetic onscreen, in a well-chosen role as a dance lothario, as he is every second he is dancing; he defies gravity and sends your spirit soaring. Leslie Browne, a novice (to put it kindly), in the acting department, is no less spectacular on the dance floor. Rarely has a big, old-fashioned, commercial film been so successful at making classical ballet so tangible and electric. The score, punctuacted throughout with the obvious classical scores of the many pieces we get glimpses of, adds a resonance to the story. MacLaine and Bancroft, as rivals in romance and once, in their careers, have a grand old time with our emotions, as they traverse the entire wide range of jealousy, humiliation, aging, love, friendship -- and eventually combust onscreen, which provides the movie with its most dazzlingly entertaining moments of drama. Tom Skerrit is terrific as Shirley's dancer-gone-husband, and the portrait of MacLaine's character has surprising moments of reality sprinkled throughout the screenplay. A wonderful big, overlong, old-fashioned movie, and a great way to introduce your family to classic dance, not only painlessly, but engagingly.

Why isn't this movie on DVD????
'The Turning Point' was one of the best movies of the late 70's, I can't believe it hasn't been issued in DVD! It had 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and, in a rare instance, two leading actresses (Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft) were both nominated for Best Actress from the same film. It's about two women closing in on middle age, once good friends, both having been promising, competitive ballet dancers with the same company in their youth. Anne Bancroft's character proceeded on to become a successful, internationally celebrated prima ballerina, while Shirley MacLaine's abandoned the ballet scene on the verge of her career breakthrough to marry and raise a family. After twenty-one years, the Ballet company finally comes to MacLaine's Oklahoma City home on tour, and the women are reunited. MacLaine, now the mother of three young teens, begins regretting what she might have been and what she gave up. In addition to envying Bancroft's success, she envies her own eldest daughter's (Leslie Browne's) promising dance talent, and the chummy relationship her daughter and Bancroft begin cultivating as a result of the girl's acceptance into the company.

Bancroft, on the other hand, is an aging prima ballerina whose star has all but faded, and whom the company is slowly but surely putting out to pasture in favor of younger, fresher dancers. She begins regretting the things she's forsaken for her career, such as marriage, motherhood, and a meaningful romance with a special man. In turn, she starts stewing a jealousy of MacLaine's having these things that is as strong as MacLaine's resentment of her career success. To fill in the void, she seeks to endear MacLaine's young dancer daughter to her in a mentor/friend/mothering relationship that she hopes will overshadow and upstage the girl's devotion to her own mother. All these emotions build and build and build till they end up climaxing in a screamfest of accusations and insults between the two leads, that progresses to a classic physical cat fight in the parking lot of Lincoln Center.

Meanwhile, MacLaine's daughter is having problems of her own. She falls for the company's primary male dancer (a handsome young Mikhael Baryshnikov) who turns out to be a ladies man and stomps on her heart. The music, the moods, the gauzy views of MacLaine's drowsy family life in Oklahoma City and the disciplined New York Ballet world in summer, all have the quality of a golden fairy tale, and the dancing sequences performed by some of the best professional dancers in the world at the time are breathtaking. MacLaine and Bancroft are unmatched as the competitive friends, Leslie Browne is flawless as the somewhat airheaded but magnificently gifted daughter, Barishnikov is perfectly believable as the devil-may-care loverboy, Tom Skeritt does a fine job as MacLaine's patient husband, and even the boy and girl who play MacLaine's two younger children are captivating as typical opinionated adolescents.

I hope a DVD for this beautiful film is issued SOON and it is not a case of having to wait till 2007 for the 30th anniversary!

DOUBLY RICH: CAPTIVATING THEME, BREATHTAKING CHOREOGRAPHY
A very fitting title for this "Terms of Endearment" meets "Footloose" offering...a delicate, if somewhat idealistic, treat for people who like subtle emotional vectors.

The theme is sensitive: daughter becomes successful ballerina, makes mother hark back to her own difficult decision to give up her dancing passion to raise a family.

Envious angst and catty remarks ensue, but of course all is patched up towards the end. The performances are sterling all round but the dialogue could have been a little more taut, it is hit-on-the-head-obvious when things get sappy.

But that doesn't matter because it's the choreography that the movie will be remembered for, the ballet sequences are simply stunning. Minor gripe: a couple of ballet scenes have overbearing voiceovers which recap all that the dancer has gone through in life, which interrupts the lyric of the moment a bit. Again, editing may have been in order.

Nonetheless, it makes for an engaging, luminous portrait of dance and its various twists and turns as apt metaphors for the quirky vagaries of life, loves, ambition.

Very decent rental, but a great must-own if you dig chickflicks.

TOADS AND FROGS
how many times I have used that line when things have popped out of my mouth without thinking them through. This is a GREAT movie. The dancing will "wow" you and the acting by MacLaine and Bancroft is wonderful. This should be released in DVD with lots and lots of extra dance footage. My husband even stayed awake throught it. PLEASE release it! ... Read more

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Star Trek fans were decidedly mixed in their reactions to this, the ninth big-screen feature in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise, but die-hard loyalists will appreciate the way this Next Generation adventure rekindles the spirit of the original Trek TV series while combining a tolerable dose of New-Agey philosophy with a light-hearted plot for the NextGen cast. This time out, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his executive crew must transport to a Shangri-la-like planet to see why their android crewmate Data (Brent Spiner) has run amuck in a village full of peaceful Ba'ku artisans who--thanks to their planet's "metaphasic radiation"--haven't aged in 309 years.

It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard & crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up."

Some fans scoffed at these humorous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their forties portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (393)

Is This Supposed To Be A Film? Write A Good Film For Once!!
Granted this film had the best morals and provoking thoughts than any film to date but who does paramount think they are making this cheese wagon of a film and trying to pass it off for a movie? Everyone associated with star trek need to be fired away from it except for ira stephen behr as someone wrote earlier who made ds9 one of t.v.'s greatest series. Yes folks-special effects have a lot to do by making a movie or episode entertaining-and so do battles in space or on the ground. People like war-look at 2, 6, and 8- duh! the best films in th series. As for Paramounts plans to dump all of the current casts for the next movie and series, dont do it or you will kill off whats left of your fan base. I had so much expectations for this film especially when i saw the trailers-- and now I cant forgive paramount for disappointing me so badly. Well- Jar Jar Episode 1 wasn't all that good either but at least it was entertaining unlike Trek 8 with its "here take this humor and like it no matter what" attempt at comedy. Action? What action? And what the heck is the deal with the Joystick Frakes?! Talk about embarassing to be a trek fan! If Voyager doesnt come around like DS9 Did in its 3rd season this upcoming Fall- I'm a Trek fan no more. Heres a story idea Paramount: Borg/Dysons Sphere/Dominion/make like Starwars and destroy the Federation and bring it back stronger than ever in a 125year later from the current timeline movie. Duh!! and Paramount, get rid of Berman and Moore and Braga- they ruined this saga and so are you if you dont wake up!!!!

Lighten up, fellow Star Trek fans!
In a TV series, especially a sci-fi series, you expect a certain number of shoot-em-up shows. You expect to see our heroes conquer evil aliens while overcoming seemingly impossible odds. but will someone please show me where in the rulebook it says every show should be about this? Some of the original series and TNG's best shows were about political, romantic, and/or humorous exploits of our favorite characters. "The trouble with Tribbles" is almost always in a listing of the top 5 shows whenever TV guide or simply a group of trekkies talk about their favorites, and "The city on the edge of Forever" won a Hugo for crying out loud and neither one of them were slashed with phaser fire. Yes, Insurrection may have been a little uneven in spots plotwise but I've not seen any you could drive a semi through. And the central theme of the displacing of a small group of people to satisfy the demands of a larger group as being a terrible injustice as well as a clear violation of Trek's prime directive is right on par with the overall vision of Star Trek. I don't think Roddenberry will turn over in his grave because of this one and neither should a true Trek fan get all disappointed just because the Borg, the Romulans, the Dominion or any other "traditional" Star Trek villian is not involved. In fact, I think this film breaks the so-called legacy of "odd-numbered" trek films being not so good as "even-numbered" films. No, Insurrection is no "Wrath of Khan" but it is a solid entry in the series. After all, Johnathan Frakes himself said they wanted to have to have some fun with this one and I think they accomplished that while still making an entertaining movie that lives up to Star Trek's ideals.

STAR TREK Lightens Things Up A Bit, To Mixed Results...
For STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998), unfortunately famous for Data saying the ultimate cheesy one-liner, "Lock & Load" (*cringe*), Jonathan "Two-Takes" Frakes, back in the director's chair, makes the atmosphere decidedly lighter. That's a good thing; however, after all is said and done in this, the ninth installment in the legendary STAR TREK film saga (and the third one featuring the "Next Generation" cast of characters), there is really not much meat on the bone. In this episode, which begins jarringly with a sudden murderous rampage by a malfunctioning android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner, in not one of his finer moments as an actor here), the crew of the Enterprise "E" have beamed down to Planet Ba'ku and rather quickly become familiar with the peaceful residents of this planet. This planet is nicknamed "Paradise," correctly so because it has magical regenerative powers which prevent its people from aging and dying. These people, numbering only 600, are peaceful and seem to have a kind of neo-religious quality to their personalities, as they live in total harmony with nature and openly reject any kind of technology. (This leads to what is probably the best scene in the entire movie, as the Enterprise is revealed to be camouflaged to blend in with the lush surroundings!)

Anyway, as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (the always-wonderful Patrick Stewart) begins to get friendly with one of the eligible female Ba'ku residents, and Commander Will Riker (Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) get friendlier with each other (leading to a surprisingly sensual hot-tub scene), there is trouble brewing in Paradise: an incredibly ugly band of aliens known as the So'na, led by the especially monstrous Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham), who intends to displace the peace-loving Ba'ku residents and take over the planet for themselves, so as to de-uglify themselves (I'm not making this up). Not only that, but they are given full authority to do so by a suspicious Federation admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in his final film role). Because this order clearly violates the Prime Directive (which forbids the interfering of any sovereign planetary civilization), this puts Capt. Picard & crew into a conundrum: do they follow orders like good little Starfleet soldiers or do they uphold the Prime Directive to protect these peacemongers? Put it to you this way: Based on the title alone, plus what you know about the Next Generation characters, what do you THINK they will do??? Duh...Lock & Load!!!

Jonathan Frakes had an obviously daunting task: following up the incredible STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996), one of the very best in the entire STAR TREK film saga. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION looks really nice (the visuals are, once again, truly amazing), but alas, there is not really much to care about here. F. Murray Abraham is one of the finest actors of our time, but he must have really needed the money in order to agree to fill a role in which he's not only unrecognizable, but also the recipient of the worst movie makeover in recent big-screen history. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION is certainly not the worst STAR TREK film ever made (that honor would unquestioningly go to the William Shatner-directed misfire STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER), but it's definitely not among the best. See it if you're a fan.

MODERATELY RECOMMENDED; AGES 10 & UP

It Takes Six...
The rule of odds and evens continues to apply in Star Trek Insurrection. Being the second true Next Generation film it is a must-see for fans.

The film opens with scenes on a tranquil, agricultural planet. Then things heat up as we run into Data and some Federation personnel. It seems they are observing the tranquil society in what is called Operation Duck Blind (the inhabitants don't know they are being looked at). From there we run into the rest of the main cast and the plot begins to develop. It involves a malfunction Data experiences while assisting at Operation Duck Blind that results in the mission being compromised.

As the crew of the Enterprise investigate what went wrong with Data they begin to raise more and more questions. As the main plot is revealed the crew must band together and stand up for what they feel is right. In the end the crew triumphs (did we really think it would be otherwise?).

This is really not a film for people who are not already fans of the show as it is the way the characters act and their personal interactions that makes the film so entertaining. Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis seem to have a tremendously fun time with this film. Fans are treated to some great scenes of their favorite characters (although Gates McFadden was not particularly important). We even learn some more about Data's design and operation. But do not be misled by the title and the trailer, the scenes are all there but in the trailer they tell a much different story.

There are a few technical problems in the movie but you don't really think about them until afterwards. These include small things like not being able to count (claiming two slave races and showing three), the Federation is pretty stupid (giving membership to a race that has just managed warpdrive but only has been around for less than a hundred years, has only six members and seems to have better ships). There is the inevitable total ignorance of nebulae and what they are and just how not dense they are. But these are all minor things that don't jump out as the movie progresses.

So if you are a Next Generation fan and want to see the crew back together in a story that is really just a long, but very good, episode, then you really should take the opportunity to see this one. On a final note it passes Lynch's Law for a successful Next Generation episode in that it does not rely on techno-babble to drive or advance the plot but uses situation, character and emotion for fuel instead.

Star Trek Takes a Nap
Star Trek:
Insurrection

If your looking for a movie to watch in your spare time, Star Trek Insurrection is a decent movie but definitely not one of my favorites. Starring Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard and directed by Jonathan Frakes, this movie goes face first into face stretching action,literally.

Though not as exciting as First Contact, it still provides the cheesy action of an old guy [ Jean Luc] climbing in dangerous places with a big phaser rifle shooting aliens. I think it's funny because in this movie, two gramps meet and fight to the finish. One's got a facial problem [the bad guy], the other a mental problem, what kind of 70 year old man would think himself strong enough to fight wars?

I might suggest this movie to people who like to watch people from a nursing home duke it out. They never learned not to play with guns either. It's pure entertainment for people that like to watch strange movies and laugh at them.

The camera work could have been better. Towards the end, it doesn't show much of the enemy ship, there isn't much of an inside of a ship to see though. The special effects were all right, but the phasers looked kind of fake to me.

One scene made the movie purely messed up to me. Jean Luc runs around an enemy ship firing a phaser, right after that he says, " If you fire your phaser, you risk igniting your ship, you wouldn't risk that would you?" [The guy he was chasing is one of the old gramps I mentioned earlier]. Isn't that stupidly cheesy?

I don't under stand why everybody except the captain always wears the same stuff. The captain wears a dress suit and regular clothes but the rest of the crew always wears the same old red suit. All the Ba'ku wear different stuff.

Star Trek Insurrection is rated PG-13. I say a lot of people would like this movie. For other people though, it gets really annoying.

Anomynous ... Read more

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Timothy Dalton's second and last shot at playing James Bond isn't nearly as much fun as his debut, two years earlier, in the 1987 The Living Daylights. This time Bond gets mad after a close friend (David Hedison) from the intelligence sector is assassinated on his wedding day, and 007 goes undercover to link the murder to an international drug cartel. Robert Davi makes an interesting adversary, but as with most of the Bond films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s--and especially since the end of the cold war--one has to wonder why we should still care about these lesser villains and their unimaginative crimes. Still, Dalton did manage in his short time with the character to make 007 his own, which neither Roger Moore did nor Pierce Brosnan did. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (172)

One of the Series Best!
I have seen where a few critics have down-graded this movie and that is a shame as "License to Kill" has a lot going for it. The concept of Bond as a rogue was a refreshing change, and one of the best concepts in any of the Bond films. Essentially, the plot goes as follows: A renown drug dealer Sanchez (Robert Davi) is arrested in Miami with help of the DEA and Felix Leiter (Bond's CIA contact and good friend). Following the arrest, Felix gets married. Sanchez escapes and commits a brutal act of revenge before returning to Isthmus City. James Bond (Timothy Dalton), determined to take Sanchez down, enlistes Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) to help him. One problem for Bond is that Sanchez is well guarded and has numerous contacts. Bond will have to have to be careful in infiltrating Sanchez. The other problem is that he is now a rogue agent, having his license to kill revoked by the British government.

The only real weak points of this movie would be the occasional weak acting from Talisa Soto (Sanchez's girlfriend), and a little bit more swearing than some of the other bond films, but many other elements more than make up for these two minor shortcomings.

Timothy Dalton is superb as James Bond. Dalton is a great, capable actor, and he is perfect for the movie and its concept. Dalton did a superb job and this is a key factor to the success of the film. As a side note, Dalton needed to make a change in the approach from Roger Moore, just as Moore needed to make a change from Connery. This change between actors is important, otherwise comparisons are made, and usually it is the incumbent who loses (in the minds of the general audience). Dalton did the right thing by changing the Bond to a darker persona. The contrast is important because of Roger Moore's 12-year tenure as Bond, which spread over seven films. Carey Lowell makes a very capable Bond woman as it nice to see a tough woman pairing up with Bond. The central villain, Sanchez, is very strong and well acted -- and also a nice change away from villains who want to destroy the world. Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Zerbe are well cast and well-acted as Sanchez's henchmen. Also, it was nice to see Q, played by the late Desmond Llewelyn, get more to do than his usual brief cameo or two. He certainly deserved it and rose to the challenge admirably. It was also nice to see David Hedison return to play Felix Leiter (he previously played Leiter in "Live and Let Die").

Other elements that make this a very enjoyable, memorable Bond film to watch are the location work, great special effects, and great stunts. The stunts with the semi-trucks toward the end are great fun! Michael Kamen's score adds a lot to the movie as well.

VHS or DVD? The VHS version simply contains the movie. The DVD version is a special edition that includes two different audio commentaries which let you watch the movie and hear commentary by some of the cast and production members. They comment about the actors, work on the set, the scenes, and how certain scenes were shot/created. Two music videos are included: "License to Kill" by Gladys Knight is the opening theme, and "If You Asked Me To" by Patti LaBelle marks the closing theme. A promotional feature on the stunt footage at the climax and a documentary on the film itself are also included. Finally, two theatrical trailers and a photo galary with over 100 stills are included.

If you are a fan of the Bond series, I highly recommend this movie, and the same goes toward Timothy Dalton and spy/action movie fans. This movie is also included in the first volume of a Bond Collector's set. If you like extra features, I would recommend the DVD. Overall, I happen to think that "License to Kill" is one of the best Bond movies. Major re-evaluation required.

[Darn] shame Dalton STILL isn't playing Bond....
I loved The Living Daylights, and feel that, with this movie, Dalton was, without a doubt, the best replacement for Connery as 007 so far! He had Connery's look, the purposefulness, mixed with a softheartedness when it came to action and the ladies respectively. He was a DEFINITE improvement over the bland, too-pretty Rogie Moore. (I wonder how many Brits made light of that first name!) "License" takes an unresolved issue from "Daylights": the fact that Bond didn't destroy that opium shipment that the Afghanis were going to ship to the West, and finally does something, as he destroys a major cocaine kingpin's operation in a vendetta to avenge the maiming and death of his friends Felix and Della Leiter. Bond goes undercover, posing pretty much as what he is, a FORMER British agent, after he quits MI6 over his attitude toward the Leiter incident. The villain, Franz Sanchez, in fact, is RESPONSIBLE for the death of Leiter's wife and the mangling of Leiter himself, since Leiter was responsible for Sanchez' capture.

Along the way, Bond runs into an old associate of Felix', played by Carrie Lowell, and together, they work their way into Sanchez' organization, which is fronted by a bogus religious organization and the Bond luck works its magic from there.

This is probably the third best of the Bond movies, along with "Goldfinger" and "Daylights" and the series lost a good Bond in Dalton, who was actor enough to give the character the dimension it needed after FIFTEEN YEARS of Roger Moore's Matt-Helm-ization of the franchise. In some ways, he was actually better than Connery.

BIG improvement over Roger Moore
Moore simply could not make Bond seem real. Perhaps it was the appearance (blond hair) or his - how to say this politiely - advancing years in which some of the babes appear as daughters rather than gal pals. Dalton was great. It was different in that Bond was not on a government-sanctioned mission but a personal vendetta. It was exciting and yes, violent, but it did reinstill some much-needed reality back into the series. With Moore, everything - from plot to dame to prize - was a joke. Here one realizes that the spy game is more than a game - it is dangerous and dirty. Great villians but the romance side was rather weak despite the lurid (for Bond) scenes.

Super performance by Wayne Newton!!

Not Your Average Bond Again
I loved this story. Unlike the other Bond films, it is more like an action drama then an action adventure. Dalton's performance is again wonderful and real. The apperence of Q on the battle field is priceless.

Effective immediately - your LICENCE TO KILL is revoked!
The 16th James Bond movie. Producer Albert R. Broccoli and screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson had nearly 30 years of success behind them with 15 smashing James Bond adventures. For the next film a major challenge was faced in inventing a new story with a darker, hard-edge, and sense of danger in the character of 007! For this an epic tale of revenge, passion, and greed set a blueprint of the South American drug trade. The idea of James Bond being thrusted out of his Secret Agent Spy network, licence to kill revoked, and setting foot on a journey of revenge against the drug lord villain and his henchman. This, plus many explicit scenes, would qualify this the first James Bond film to receive a PG-13 rating. A spectacular supporting cast includes Carey Lowell and Talisa Soto as the essential beautiful Bond girls, and LIVE AND LET DIE's David Hedison returning as Felix Leiter, and many surprise appearances by popular stars today in the making. Also featured is a thrilling Michael Kamen score, and exotic locations in Key West, Mexico, Acapulco and Vera Cruz. This would be the final James Bond screenplay from Richard Maibaum, who passed away in 1991. A true Summer blockbuster, LICENCE TO KILL proves you just can't keep a good 007 series down, but why would you want to?

THE ASSIGNMENT: For the first time since ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, there is no official assignment for Bond to undertake. After the arrest of drug kingpin Franz Sanchez in the Bahamas, Bond's good friend Felix Leiter is happily wed to his bride Della Churchill. Tragedy strikes when Sanchez escapes from prison with help from a traitorous FBI Agent and his fellow henchman. Della is murdered, and Felix horribly mutilated from being tortured in a shark-infested tank. M is aware of Bond being personally involved with Felix and Della, and takes Bond off the case. When Bond refuses, M has no alternative but to ask 007 to submit his licence to kill and weapons. Bond defiantly continues his investigation and determination to bring Sanchez down. Now a private citizen with a personal vendetta, his acting outside the secret service results in British, American, and Hong Kong services on his trail. The consequences can be dangerously unexpected!

THE VILLAINS: Robert Davi as Franz Sanchez, Anthony Zerbe as Milton Krest, Everett McGill as Killifer, Wayne Newton as Professor Joe Butcher, Anthony Starke as Truman-Lodge, Benicio del Toro as Dario, Don Stroud as Heller, Alejandro Bracho as Perez, and Guy de Saint Cyr as Braun.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BUY IT! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Franklin J. Schaffner (Patton) directs this true story of Henri Charriere (better known as "Papillon" or "the butterfly"), a prisoner so determined to escape the notorious Devil's Island, he attempted it multiple times until he reached old age. Steve McQueen plays Charriere, and Dustin Hoffman is very good as the hero's anxious, defenseless friend. Based on Charriere's own memoir and uncompromisingly adapted by screenwriters Dalton Trumbo (Johnny Got His Gun) and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Three Days of the Condor), the film is tough going (it is set, after all, on Devil's Island) but not gratuitously violent. There are sequences that stay with one for a long time, such as Papillon's brief stay at a leper colony and the long periods of starvation and solitary confinement he endures after each attempted flight. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (38)

One of McQueen's finest
Papillon is a great movie based on fact that contains many scenes that will stick with you for a long time. Henri Charierre is a safecracker framed for the murder of a pimp and sent to French Guiana, the prison system in South and Central America. Along the way, Papillon meets counterfeiter Louis Dega played to perfection by Dustin Hoffman. The two men struggle to survive amidst the horrible conditions in the prisons. However, the only thing that keeps Papillon alive is the thought of escape and freedom. This is a very bleak movie, at times you might not even recognize McQueen with all the makeup, but the ending does offer hope. The scenes of Papi's solitary confinement and the hallucinations he has while there are very effective and not easily forgotten. Also, the film decides to show prison life as it is. This is not a whitewashed version of it, but instead a fairly graphic depiction of the horrors of the French prison system. Nonetheless, this is still an excellent movie that will keep you interested throughout.

Papillon is up there with The Sand Pebbles as Steve McQueen's finest performances. His role as Henri "Papillon" Charierre is fully believable as he attempts over and over again to escape to freedom. Dustin Hoffman is just as good as Louis Dega, the prisoner who hires McQueen to protect him. The two become friends as they try to adjust to their new lives. The friendship between the two men is very good and some of the better parts of the movie involve their relationship. Don Gordon plays Julot, a veteran prisoner who tries to help them adjust. Robert Deman and Woodrow Parfrey are also very good as Maturette and Clusiot, two fellow prisoners who attempt escape with Papillon. I have to add about Jerry Goldsmith's very good score that perfectly fits the film. The DVD offers a widescreen presentation that looks great, a documentary made during filming that contains interviews with cast, crew, and even Henri Charierre, and also the theatrical trailer. This is a very dark movie, but it is still a great character study that never really slows down. McQueen fans will love this classic!

A Great Prison Escape Film
Franklin J. Schaffner felt that the obligation of motion pictures is to entertain, it's as basic as that, and that is exactly what Papillon does. It is also a movie that really triggers your emotions from start to finish. I feel this is one of Steve McQueen's best acting roles. It was probably the most physically demanding and emotionally challenging role of his career. Dustin Hoffman is simply magnificent as Louis Dega, a role that demonstrates how versatile the actor really can be. It eventually earned him a best supporting actor nomination. Unfortunately, McQueen was overlooked by the Academy that year. Another example of their stupidity!!

The film is emotionally draining, but I find myself watching this film time and time again because of its portrayal of one man's quest to gain his freedom no matter what it takes. Freedom always comes at a price. It is not something that is handed to us or exists freely. It must be earned and that is exactly what his character does by the time the credits role on this film. The viewer will not believe what the character of Papillon had to endure to gain his freedom. The trials he goes through are unforgettable and often left me wondering if I would persevere if I had to undergo the trials he faced.

For me, Steve McQueen is one of those actors who really has a great on screen presence. I will almost always watch a movie just because he appears in it, good or bad. Papillon is no exception. Although Papillon is a character driven film, the movie must be viewed for more than just the characters. It also has wonderful cinematography, direction and a memorable, and at times haunting, musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. It is right up there with the best of the prison escape films.

Henri Charrière, the real life Papillon and author of the novel, talked about society and his real life experiences in this way:

"Society does not want free men. They talk freedom, democracy, anything you want, but they do not want free men. Society wants conditioned men, men who march in step." It's up to the viewer to agree or disagree with that statement while viewing the film.

I highly recommend you watch this film today!

Compelling in every respect
Steve McQueen stars as "Papillion" a French safe-cracker whose butterfly tattoo earned him the title nickname. Framed up on a murder charge he is packed off to the infamous Devils Island prisoner colony. On the ship over he meets Dustin Hoffman, a notorious counterfitter with the means (money) to stay alive but not the muscle to back him up, that is where McQueen comes in. Papillion however has a single-minded outlook on life - freedom. He quickly devises escape plans by any means possible. The settings are exotic, the stories of friendship heart-rendering, the brutality of the prison shocking, the stories of escape, attempt, capture, escape, defiance and the soaring human spirit timeless. Simply a classic of cinema that will stand the test of time, could have been made yesterday and been a blockbuster smash.

One of the greats!!
I dont normally take the time to write these reviews... but this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The struggle these guys have to go through is monumental. This is a must see. I have watched this many times and it never gets old!

A great escape
A movie that made a big impression on me in my early teens, "Papillon" holds up surprisingly well on DVD. The picture and sound quality are more vivid than they ever were on VHS tape (although the vividness also has its drawbacks--a brief "storm at sea" scene during one of the escape sequences looks much more artificial than it did on the big screen 30 years ago), and the star turns of Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are as vivid as they first seemed. The movie's depiction of life and death in France's South American prison camps looks as harrowing and grim as it did when the movie was in theatres.

Yet even as a teenager I had a couple of qualms about the movie--namely, that it didn't follow the book closely enough (and would have been better characterized if it did), and how did Hoffman's character magically regenerate a limb that developed gangrene and apparently had to be amputated? Over the years, despite my nostalgic soft spot for this flick, I've also come to wonder whether a younger actor would have been more appropriate for the role than the 40-ish McQueen (Henri Charriere, on whose memoirs the movie was based, described himself as a young-looking 25 when he was shipped off to the French prison camps), and whether a more gritty approach wouldn't have been more appropriate. The movie is pretty violent for a PG rating (it would probably be PG-13 today), but even with slashings, shootings, stabbings and an execution by guillotine (in close-up, no less), it's somewhat prettified by those grand, leisurely camera moves that were favored by director Franklin J. Schaffner.

On the other hand, I've also got something of a soft spot for those grand, leisurely camera moves, which now seem like relics of an age in which filmmakers didn't assume their audiences suffered from attention-deficit disorder.

In passing, a TV documentary from a few years ago about the French penal colonies (it may have aired on the Discovery Channel or the History Channel) questioned whether Charriere's description of his years as a prisoner was factual. Apparently, none of the former prisoners or guards interviewed could remember a guy named Papillon who managed to escape from Devil's Island. So maybe any questions about the movie's accuracy are moot. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

One of Wilder and Pryor's best!
I saw this movie when it was in the theater in 1989. I liked it so much that I had to buy it on VHS. Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor star as two innocent guys-one deaf, one blind, and both are on the run for a murder they didn't commit! Add the wonderful talents of Joan Severance and Kevin Spacey, and you have the makings of one well scripted and very funny movie! Oh, and let's not forget Alan North as the police chief. The film's plot makes for a cops and robbers type of suspense. Of all of Gene Wilder's and Richard Pryor's works, "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" is as equally funny as "Silver Streak", which makes it a must buy!

Hilarious look at being handicapped
Has there ever been a greater pair than Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder? This may be their best movie ever! Anybody watching this movie can remember having a conversation like the one where Pryor and Wilder are pushing the polic car into the Arthur Kills ("you swear a lot" - Wilder "F--ing A I swear a lot" - Pryor) This lighthearted comedy will make you laugh until you need to change your drawers!

Harmless
* Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder have to be regarded as one of the
classic comedy teams of sorts. I was a fan of Pryor's ever since I
had the enforced opportunity -- while sweating in a barracks bay in
the middle of Texas during 1974 -- of virtually memorizing every word
of Pryor's album THAT N****R'S CRAZY while other members of my platoon
played it several times a night for a period of months. (Actually,
except for the monotony, I didn't mind: Pryor's skewering of
hopelessly square white people was not without justice, and was
balanced by a no-less-unjust and much more brutal skewering of his
brethren -- but I digress.) And though I am not a big Gene Wilder
fan, somehow he makes a perfect foil to Pryor.

In SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL Pryor plays Wally, an excitable blind
man, who becomes extricated with Dave, a cranky deaf man played by
Wilder. Through a series of coincidences, the two are implicated in a
murder, and must cooperate to clear themselves and bring the real
killers to justice.

Now, anybody who has ever studied the least amount of statistics
(which roughly describes the level of my knowledge on that score)
knows that the distribution of almost anything follows what is called
a "normal" curve: there's a few things on the low end, there's a few
things on the high end, and there's a big bulge in the middle. This
movie falls clearly into the bulge. What can I say about a movie that
I can't have the pleasure of getting excited about or the satisfaction
of taking an axe to? Not that much.

To be sure, SEE NO EVIL has its fine moments -- a lunatic fistfight
scene is good for some very big laughs -- but there are slow moments
as well -- a most improbable impersonation tries to be funny but
merely seems stupid. Pryor occasionally reaches a pitch of lunacy,
but while his foul mouth (which actually seems a little tame after
getting used to Eddie Murphy) is sometimes good for a laugh, at other
times it seems ... well, foul. The plot is a thrown-together
contraption that adds no interest to the movie. (I think they must
have a computer program that generates such plots. Probably runs on a
kiddie PC.) It's a bit sad to put give such stars as Pryor and
Wilder such a weak vehicle.

In summary, what can I say about this movie? The HITCH-HIKER'S GUIDE
TO THE GALAXY had the right description in a single word: HARMLESS.
[Minor update of review from 1989.]

Simply The Best!!!!
One of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time! Pryor and Wilder are golden in this one of a kind comedy. Joan Severance has to be one of the hottest women in Hollywood!

A Dynamic Duo
This is, without a doubt, one of the funniest films I've ever seen. It walks the line between clever and juvenile as far as humor goes, but what a flick! Pryor and Wilder's chemistry is fantastic, as usual. These two have got to be the best comedy duo ever. They're both hilarious on their own. Sure, it might be a little un-pc to get laughs from handicapped characters, but I really don't think the film exploits that angle all too much. Most of the humor basically comes from alot of incidents of miscommunication. Richard Pryor's performance of the blind man is scarily realistic and well done. Wilder's once again the sarcastic wise guy he does so well. Most people have seen this before, but if you haven't, you shouldn't wait another minute. If you have seen it, see it again. Why not? ... Read more

Reviews (11)

MITCHUM IS MARLOWE
Director Richard Rush presented us a valentine with this incredible film, the third version made from the the 1940 Raymond Chandler novel. At least seven actors have portrayed Philip Marlowe. Robert Mitchum, played the part twice. The first time, in this film, he was nothing short of brilliant; just world-weary, battered, meloncholy, and tough enough to spark this tale into a full flame. His voice-over narrative hit perfect pitch; all gravel, too many smokes, and cheap booze. Mitchum, himself the veteran of several Noir classics, played the gumshoe as comfortable as one's favorite overcoat; a perfect fit. He shuffled lazy-lidded yet irascible and alert, as ready for a sap behind the ear, as he was to be the recipient of the sexual energy radiated off of Charlotte Rampling as Helen, the femme. She, likewise, postured perfectly in the Noir 1940's clothes and hairstyles. John Alonzo, fresh from shooting CHINATOWN, presented us with an LA bathed in just the right mix of golden light and shadow. Jerry Goldsmith delivered another spectacular score, overlapping jazz, blues, and swing, underscoring the action and dial