Reviews (13)

Good, but the ending spoiled it.
I watched this movie after reading the book it was based on (also called The Chocolate War). The movie was good. The people who played Brother Leon and Archie Costello did terrific jobs, although tall and thin John Glover didn't look at all like the book's Leon. The dialogue was played almost word-for-word from the book. But the ending spoiled it all. The Chocolate War, the book, had a very unhappy ending in which Jerry was beaten to a bloody pulp by Emile Janza. In this case Archie drew the black marble and it was him that was defeated. Fine for some, but not for me, because I prefer the book's unhappy ending. The director of the movie attempted to make it a little unhappy after Archie was defeated, but it was a half-hearted effort and missed the mark. I wish they had just stuck with the ending they already had.

ANOTHER LOOK
HE FELL INTO A VAT OF CHOCOLATE.....
AND HE YELLED "FIRE!"
ASKED WHY HE YELLED FIRE,

HE SAID "WHO WOULD HELP ME IF I YELLED 'CHOCOLATE'"

smooth ride
The score was great, and the boy who played Archie was terrific.
If I had not read the book, however, I would not have been interested in this movie. The ending was completely different from that in the book. In the book, there was no resolution! The bad guys were not punished! No black marbel was pulled out! And Archie did win. I don't know how I feel about the film versions's ending. But I was very impressed with Archie's character's entire performance.

It's NOT what you think...
If you've read Robert Cormier's most famous foray into subtleties of teenage sadism(which his writing endlessly evokes)you WON'T be surprised other than by a "punch-pulling" finale...which remains,nonetheless,bitterly pessimistic. If you haven't read THE CHOCOLATE WAR,prepare to meet two(2!)of young adult literature's arch-villains: ARCHIE COSTELLO...superbly and smarmilly essayed by Wallace Langham; and BROTHER LEON...perfectly played by John Glover,SMALLVILLE'S smoothly repugnant,24/7/365 master of manipulation, LIONEL LUTHER.

The story begins harmlessly with typical prank/initiation ordeal engineered by VIGILS, a pseudo-tough band of preppie wanna-be's in a Milton,Massachusetts all-boys Catholic high school(scenery is shot at the Academy attended in boyhood by T.S.Eliot). Archie is leader of the Vigils; formulator of trials in petty perversion and punk violence foisted (primarily)on Freshmen to "edify" this rather effeminate band of Posers and Player-Haters. Brother Leon raises stakes (the Vigils comical if twisted self-regard)by enlisting them as pursuader/enforcers in the yearly CHOCOLATES Sale. Because of Leon's Head/Power tripping(he wants desperately to be School Rector)these boys...who if they tangled with real Down Town Homies would get hell whaled-out of them...become genuinely cruel and dangerous.

Their "target of opportunity" is Jerry Renault. Renault is sympathetically characterized by Ian Mitchell-Smith as average, somewhat withdrawn, student(because of recent death of his mother and alienation from his despairing,weak-sister widowed,father)who just wants to play football and "fit-in". After Assigner Archie initially presents him with ostracizing task of ritually refusing (until VIGILS "graciously"grant permission)to sell Chocolates...incurring genuinely fierce wrath of should-be priest and teacher,Leon...Renault surprises everyone--especially himself--by refusing to sell anything: What begins as exercise in(childish)petulance and cruelty evolves into REBELLION with serious moral(& financial)consequences.

Cormier cuts no slack in his book about Yuppie-puppie viciousness. The film tries(fails)to imply redemptive RENAU-el in Jerry's unsupported courage and subsequent fall. But THE CHOCOLATE WAR is successful in being annoying. Too much is real about these kids(misguided by a pathetic,tyrannical adult)"Will to Power" chocolate drive to blow-off as Mickey Mouse shenanigans. Real war requires courage...often heroism.(Bad men become worse;good men better)In the CHOCOLATE WAR there are no heroes. Deceit and shame,essentials of cowardice,are the only outcomes Cormier's work seems to allow and illuminate. Is this entertaining? Is it truth? Quien sabe? One thing certain about this cult classic:IT'S NOT WHAT YOU(first)THINK...

Lionel Luthor as a monk!!!
John Glover can play a nefarious villain whether it is the bearded Lionel Luthor of Smallville or here, as Brother Leon, a cleanshaven robed monk. In a Catholic high school in the 1980s, the school is having a fundraiser by selling boxes of chocolates. They have bought a bunch of Mother's Day chocolates at a bargain price, cut off the Mother's Day ribbons and assigned each boy to sell 50 boxes.

There is a sort of high school fraternity called the Vigils and they have assigned one boy, Renault, to NOT sell the chocolates for 10 days. Renault, whose mother has recently died, takes it even further and blatantly refuses to sell any boxes even after the 10 days is up. This starts a political battle of wills as the Vigils realize their name is tied to this one-man uprising, and the school is afraid of losing control.

There is a horrible climax at the end (you know it's coming).

I was a little annoyed by how Renault kept seeing his dead mother everywhere. It was cloying and a very clunky plot device, but keeping with the cheesiness of 1980s high school flicks. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

MIND ALTERING TV ¿ NOT FOR TECHNOPHOBES!
The Wild Palms Mini Series first aired a few years ago, it was made for TV and it is based on the comic strip by the same name that appeared in Details Magazine in the early 90's. Its main audience was Generation X'ers, but I've heard that the comic strip became very popular with aging hippies, potheads, and the "underground" in general because of its offbeat pace and cerebral content. I taped it off the TV when it first aired and have watched it many, many times. I will definitely buy it on DVD when it comes out. The film stars Jim Belushi as Harry Wyckoff; Dana Delaney as Grace, his wife; Angie Dickinson as Josie, Grace's mother; Robert Loggia as Senator Tony Kreutzer, Josie's brother; and a few others like Kim Catrall, Bebe Newirth , and Ernie Hudson.

Wild Palms is a story that takes place in the year 2065, and shows how technology has advanced to the point of being at the verge of making hollographic images physically interactive with human beings. Senator Kreutzer is about to launch a new sitcom on Channel 3 called Church Windows which will project the characters into people's living rooms. It will make people "feel" like part of the TV program. The dark side of the plan is that in order for people to interact with the hollograms, they have to take the drug MIMIZINE. Prolonged use of the drug has a side effect...it causes the user to see hallucinations of cathedrals and churches and it is ultimately fatal. But Senator Kreutzer wants the whole world to get hooked on hollographic TV for his own purposes, but you'll have to watch the film to find out what that is.

Wild Palms is the first major production concerning VIRTUAL REALITY, though there was a kind of predecessor in TRON and in other lesser known films. The concept of VR has been used in movies again and again since Wild Palms in varying degrees of benevolence and malevolence (e.i. THE LAWNMOWER MAN, VIRTUOSITY, THE MATRIX), but when Wild Palms first came out the idea of VR was pretty fresh and open to exploration. The premise of VR is that human beings can communicate, interact, copulate, and in essence live and die in VR which is an extension of the real world within a network of computers (like the internet).

The conflict in Wild Palms begins with Senator Kreutzer, he is the founder of a group called "The Fathers" who epitomize capitalism and right-wing, traditional politics (their corruption notwithstanding). Their antagonists are "The Friends" whose founder is a political prisoner named Eli Levitz. Eli used to be married to Josie...their daughter is Grace.

Chickie Levitz (played by Brad Douriff) has the secret to the GO CHIP, which is the thing that will allow Senator Kreutzer to achieve his final goal once everyone is hooked into the Church Windows Sitcom.

Throughout the film there's betrayal, seduction, incest, murder, and torture. None of it is overly graphic as it is not a "gore" film as such. The atmosphere of fear and impending doom is created more by what it implies than by what it shows. Like when Josie pokes the eyes out the artist. Not much is shown in the way of gore, but the scene is pretty disturbing.... Later in the film, as he prepares for revenge ,he says to Josie, "...once I was a painter, and mixing colors was my joy...", he then pokes her eyes out, and as she's screaming on the floor he shoots her a number of times.

The film is very textural and warbles in and out of psychological focus. It mixes Oriental mysticism, politics, philosophy, hi-tech drugs, and the American Dream in a mish-mash so weird, you just have to watch it to understand it. Many of the scenes are reminiscent of Peter Greenaway films (a.i. A Zed and Two Noughts, Drowning by Numbers, etc.)

Prescient View of Future?
I view this mini-series at least once a year and find it eeriely prescient to the world we live in today and possibly the world we're creating.

With it's strange and (sometimes) confusing mixture of technology, twisted family trees, megalomania and rampant drug use, the story seems to be converging on real-world relationships between people and machines in the 21st century. Add in that it was filmed prior to the Internet boom/bust years, the themes of social and economic disruption because of revolutionary technology and processes (i.e. Napster and globalization) makes WP seem positively visionary.

There are many things not to like about W-P (primarily because of the limitations of the mini-series format) but looking beyond those shortcomings, people can find an imaginative, daring and provocative story about the world we live in and possibly the world we're creating.

Great show
I was impressed with this mini-series when it was shown on Dutch television 10 years ago. Finally I got to buy a good version on DVD from somebody on eBay. I can hardly wait for the official DVD-version.

When will this be on DVD ?
This is one of the most interesting series made. The version that made it on Sci-Fi channel a few years later with commentary should go onto the DVD. I really wish someone would get this out soon... the feel of the society portrayed here becomes more like reality. The Bush II era in a post-bin Laden/WTC world has takes on the atmosphere of politics as in Fathers vs. Friends in the world of this series more and more.

To the people who doesn't get it.
If you can't see what is so good about this series then you either don't like the setting or you're just one of the guys that doesn't like anything that messes with your mind. You'll probably hate David Lynch too. If you give this one star...well, then you're just being silly. Go watch armageddon or behind enemy lines, it's the only movies you'll understand. ... Read more

Reviews (72)

A tragic love story you'll never forget
Writer-director Keith Gordon's "Waking the Dead" caught me off guard and - dare I say it? - moved me to tears. But what's almost as sad as the movie itself is that this 1999 release - which works beautifully as both a tragic love story and a psychological thriller - slipped in and out of theaters virtually unnoticed.

Based on the novel by Scott Spencer, the film opens in 1972, where we meet Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup), a young U.S. Coast Guard officer with big political ambitions. He meets Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), a secretary and political activist who works at his hippie brother's New York publishing house, and the two are smitten right away. But tragedy strikes ...

Without giving too much away, I will say that "Waking the Dead" cuts back and forth between the early '70s and the early '80s, producing a subjective, stream-of-consciousness narrative that manages to be compelling instead of confusing. Also, I liked the use of color and lighting to visually differentiate between the '70s scenes (warm earth tones) and the '80s scenes (cold, dark colors).

But unlike "The Matrix" and "Memento," which used subjective narrative to play head games with the audience as its central gimmick, "Waking the Dead" is after bigger game. The ambiguity surrounding Sarah underscores how deeply her memory haunts Fielding, the toll it has taken on his mental state, and how deeply they love each other, despite the cruel blow fate has dealt them.

The soundtrack also features lovely songs by Joni Mitchell ("A Case of You"), Lori Carson ("Snow Come Down") and Peter Gabriel ("Mercy Street"); alas, no soundtrack CD was ever made. The DVD also includes 45 minutes of deleted scenes, including a brief but engaging performance by Ed Harris, whose character only appeared onscreen (in TV footage, no less) for about 10 seconds in the final cut.

Just make sure you have a box of tissues and a wastebasket handy before you push "play." You have been warned.

"Words support like bone"
Both Jennifer Connely and Billy Crudup shine in this heart-wrenching film about lost love. I was particularly moved by Billy Crudup's amazing performance. It was filled with anger and confusion, longing and despair, but ultimately hope. His acting here is as good as any actor could possibly attempt; some of his scenes are so intense that they seem out of place with the rest of the movie, and only Jennifer Connelly ever keeps up with him. The remaining scenes show him numb with the loss of his true love. His performance is truly remarkable. There is also a "sex" scene between Jennifer and Billy that was pulled off so convincingly that it looked as though they actually were making love. The intensity they both bring to that scene is genuinely amazing. There is also another montage of scenes that takes place late in the film with the Peter Gabriel song "Mercy Street" played in full that is so perfectly placed it seemed as thought the song were written specifically for this film. Another remarkable moment. The pace is deliberately slow, the plot jumps back and forth in time, and some of the scenes seem staged for the benefit of Billy Crudup, but overall this is a moving experience. The writing is also excellent but sounds more like a play than a screenplay. However, this is a landmark event for Billy Crudup, and a completely different character than Russell Hammond in the film "Almost Famous." If you love great acting, look no further than this movie.

Superb, but as usual, less than the book it was based upon
I read "Waking the Dead" a few months before watching the movie. I was thus certainly biased in a certain direction in favor of the book.

Keith Gordon, who also directed the outstanding and under-appreciated films "A Midnight Clear" and "Mother Night", stays pretty much faithful to the original material by Scott Spencer. It's obvious that films are different than books and directors need a certain amount lattitude to change the story as needed. Gordon certainly left a lot of the story on the cutting room floor and that is, for the most part, not a problem.

What is the problem is that Gordon didn't flesh out Sarah's story and, as a result, offers a skewed ending that the book doesn't share.

Sarah and Fielding are not "opposites" as many suggest. They happen to agree politically. They're both "liberals." Where they disagree is on tactics. The problem with the film is that we don't really see enough of Sarah to understand just how different her tactics are compared to Fielding and why, ultimately, she chose to go away. The movie's ending is ambiguious about the fate of Sarah. Did she die or didn't she? The book shares some of this approach, but it strongly leans in the direction of Sarah having faked her death. In the book Fielding meets with a priest who states that Sarah is alive. And when Sarah and Fielding finally meet at the end Sarah explains how she is living underground and continuing her work. We're given, at least in the text, a reason why Sarah chose the path that she did. Gordon, however, mostly gives us Fielding's side of things. In the process he detracts from the central conflict and ends up with a rather wishy-washy ending.

I strongly recommend this film. The DVD has many interesting extras, including many deleted scenes and a commentary by Gordon. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything on the DVD from the original author, Scott Spencer. That's too bad because I think he could have added some really interesting insights about the story overall. And of course, read the book which is, as usual, even better than the movie.

Heartbreaking . . .
One of the few movies that caused me to burst into tears and weep like a baby. Losing someone you dearly love is rough and if you have experienced that this might be a tough movie to get through.

exquisitely heartbreaking
i find resonance with this movie. let's put politics aside. i find this movie beautifully and powerfully acted by both jennifer connelly and billy crudup. their pain and their happiness is a wave of emotion seldom seen on the screen anymore. i was truly taken and i cannot say that about many movies i have seen in my life. i rented it on a whim because i never had heard of it before. i am so lucky that i did. i find it a solid and sultry breath of thick air- life invigorating- an idealists and realists movie balancing on a fulcrum of believability. its two hours of antidote in a world sick with cynicism. ... Read more

Amazon.com

William Wharton's autobiographical novel of World War II becomes amoving portrait of war's madness in the microcosm of a small intelligence patrol on the German front in 1944. The unit, composed of high IQ soldiers, is sent to scout ahead. They discover a small platoon of Germans hiding in the forest, but these soldiers would rather fight with snowballs than guns and exchange Christmas presents instead of mortar fire. The young, rather unsoldierly Americans are offered the opportunity to "capture" the Germans without a fight--until a fatal misunderstanding plunges their efforts into tragedy. Director Keith Gordon, who also penned the screenplay, creates an unusually eloquent, offbeat platoon drama shot amidst the tranquil beauty of a snow-covered forest. His excellent cast includes future stars Ethan Hawke and Gary Sinise, with Frank Whaley, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross, and Peter Berg rounding out the platoon. Though little seen upon its 1992 release, this moving drama received high praise for its vivid characters and delicately wrought imagery and remains one of the most powerful pacifist dramas of the post-war era. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (73)

"The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing"
December 1944--A team of rookie American soldiers are put to the test as they go on a mission to the German Front. They don't really know whether they really believe in putting their lives at stake, and soon they happen upon a group of German soldiers in the forest. They discover, however, that the German soldiers don't want to fight any more than they do, and so a tentative truce is called between the soldiers as they spend Christmas together. One deadly mistake, however, soon leads to a terrible tragedy that will haunt young Private Will Knott for the rest of his life.

This is a deeply moving and highly underrated anti-war film that's not even available on DVD. It's a lot more complex and less grisly than "Saving Private Ryan". I was a little surprised at some of the similarities in this film to the classic anti-war novel __All Quiet on the Western Front__ by Erich Maria Remarque. But that's a good thing; all the characters are so well developed and do such a great job of displaying their emotions (my personal favorite was Gary Sinise as "Mother").

The dialogue is thoroughly thought-provoking, especially the lines spoken by "Mother" in the scene with the painting; how "somebody cared" and "somebody made something...probably not even for money, but for love" in a time when so many people "wonder if there is any love left." There are also a few humorous lines here and there (like when everyone started calling Private Will Knott by the name of "Won't"), and the scene with the bathtub is sure to tug at your heartstrings. Also, the ending isn't as predictable as you may think it might be.

If you're looking for an unusually non-violent and tender anti-war drama, and if you don't mind the unhurried pace, frequent dialogue, and relatiely little action, then I can't think of a better film for you to see this holiday season. "A Midnight Clear" is a masterpiece.

Rated R, mostly for language. There are a few brief images of war violence, but no prolonged gore. There is also a scene involving an encounter between the soldiers and a prostitute, but there's no nudity. I guarantee this film wil be unlike any other you've ever scene, and now is the perfect time to see it.

Merry Christmas to all.

A hands down GREAT movie!
his is a great film and if you enjoy war movies you'll love it. It is a non-traditional stary that doesn't have a lot of shoot em up action but is more of an emotional story set during the American advance through France. The lead character I felt was kinda weak in the actors performance but the story called for a very boyish soldier barely old enough to be in the Army who is made a leader. The small patrol is stationed on the outskirts of the American line and they encounter some very strange Germans. It is their dealings with the Garmans nearby that bring out their emotions and feelings and the story is unique in how it portrays the German Army as being little different than the Americans. Not every German was a Nazi and this film really touches on that point. The film is well done and great to watch. The end is a bit of a shocker and quite emotional.

A Midnight Clear
Not a typical war movie and difiniteley not a "feel good" story.
This is not a war movie crammed with unlikely battle scenes, heroic "citizen soldiers", or wisecracking warriors. The action is sparse and concentrated in just a few, brief minutes of the film. The casting is near perfect as is the acting and photography. It is definitely an anti-war movie, but the producer and writer do not hit the viewer over the head with this message. It is a very powerful movie in spite of what must have been a relatively low budget. Highly recommended for the serious, thoughtful, viewer.

A Great War Movie
This movie illustrates the power of subtlety and restraint in the screenplay and action. Of course there is gunplay, it is a war movie, but there is a point to it all. The message is much more powerful than the medium in this rare case. I heartily urge anyone who has not seen this movie to do so and buy it. It is one of the best of the best.

A Dreamlike Presentation of War's Harsh Reality
As I saw this film and Castle Keep again recently, I thought about Stanley Weintraub's book Silent Night in which he discusses a brief period prior to Christmas in 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, when German and British soldiers spontaneously agreed to declare a truce and suspend fighting, thereby defying their commanding officers. Centuries ago, knights and their attendants would work with their enemies to clear a field for combat the next day. Such cooperation had an obvious practical value. That's not what interests Weintraub as he examines a temporary truce during one of the bloodiest wars ever fought. It had little (if any) practical or tactical value but it did (and does) suggest a human need which transcends military obligations. However, war is war. After a brief respite, the carnage inevitably resumes.

A Midnight Clear was directed by Keith Gordon and is based on William Wharton's autobiographical novel. Rather than featuring a star such as Burt Lancaster (as in A Midnight Clear), the lead roles in this film are played by those normally seen in supporting roles. For example, Kevin Dillon, Ethan Hawke, and Gary Sinise. They and all others in the cast are first-rate. Basically, here's the situation. An elite U.S. Army intelligence unit is given a reconnaissance mission in the Ardennes Forest in December of 1944, just before the Battle of the Bulge. The men in the platoon may be far from home as Christmas approaches, lonely and miserably cold, but they retain a certain playful spirit comparable with what Robert Altman celebrates in M.A.S.H. They encounter a German unit and then....

While seeing this film the first time and then again recently, I felt as if I were dreaming that I had returned to the 1940s in a time machine, to Belgium near the end of World War Two. Credit Tom Richmond's cinematography with creating an uncommonly beautiful setting for the savage combat which occurs there, as does John Mathieson during the "Hell Unleashed" sequence early in Gladiator. The dreamlike atmosphere continues throughout as the men suspend and then resume their own involvement in the war. This is a haunting film, at times an exquisitely lovely film, but also one which raises some serious questions. Why not throw snow balls instead of grenades, then treat each other to a round of drinks? Why not celebrate Christmas together, exchanging gifts and singing carols, as their ancestors once did on Christmas Eve in 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders? Doesn't all that make much more sense than killing each other? Of course. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

An extraordinary candidate for DVD publication!
Fortunately I was able to tape this out-of-this-world mini-series. But it appears to have disappeared from circulation of late. I, for one, would revel in seeing it again in a glorious remastered DVD edition... Remember Oliver Stone's cameo in a TV show of the future interviewed about the (then solved) Kennedy mystery? Not to mention John Belushi being introduced to William Gibson in a party. I believe that this TV series definitely has historic elements and that it MUST be immortalized on a nice DVD edition!

THIS MUST COME OUT ON DVD!!!!!!!!
This is a masterpeace!
Everyone who haven't seen it is really missing out on something great. Guess SOMEONE doesn't like this..anyhow...all the more reason to get it out! Free Wild Palms!

This MUST come out on DVD!!
This is a masterpeace!
Everyone who haven't seen it is really missing out on something great. Guess Hollywood doesn't like this..anyhow...all the more reason to get it out! Free wild palms!

the most important miniseries ever made
"No Longer Available"? "The studio is no longer releasing videos of this title"? This sounds awfully fishy to me. "Wild Palms" attacks the hypocrisy and bloodthirsty nature of Scientology with barely a veneer of fiction on top. Nonetheless, you'll notice that it's really hard to find, it's never been repeated, it was critically panned although everyone who saw it was amazed and pleased. I SMELL A RAT! C'mon, clams, let us have "Wild Palms" back. Someone needs to tell the truth sometime.

FAVORITE MOVIE
deep themes might cloud the publics mind.... but for the perceptive an introspective and awesome look into a possible future ... Read more

Reviews (16)

Be careful what you pretend to be
Throughout his acting career, Nick Nolte has never particularly inspired my admiration. Until MOTHER NIGHT, that is.

In a film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel of the same title, Howard Campbell is an American playwright who grows to manhood in Germany before World War II. He marries Helga, a German actress. During the war, he elects to broadcast anti-Semitic speeches for the Reich Propaganda Ministry. Unknown to his Nazi bosses, he was recruited as an agent by the U.S. Defense Department shortly before the outbreak of the conflict, and Howard's radio sermons pass along coded messages to the Allies. Only three other Americans know of his role: his mysterious recruiter Frank (John Goodman), FDR, and the head of the OSS. Frank tells Campbell that the American government will eternally disavow his heroic actions as the Soviets would twist the story into some sort of anticommunist German-American plot.

By the war's end, Helga is dead. (Or is she?) Campbell is captured by the U.S. Third Army, but then released, apparently on the intercession of Frank, who also manages to spirit him to New York to restart his life. After 15 years living there unnoticed, Howard's role as Hitler's tame American is revealed to the public by an admiring neo-Nazi organization. Both the Israelis and Soviets clamor for his repatriation to stand trial.

MOTHER NIGHT plays more like a live stage production. It begins with Campbell being escorted to an Israeli prison to the song of Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". The film is a series of long flashbacks. At one point, Howard observes in a voice-over to the viewer that one must be careful what one pretends to be for that is what one truly becomes. Although MOTHER NIGHT has been criticized for its lack of a message, I rather believe that it's that an individual must in the end take responsibility for his/her actions in life regardless of the role, real or pretend, that's been played. For Campbell, realization of the consequences to humanity of his wartime persona comes at three widely separated points. The first, as the Red Army drives on Berlin's outskirts, Howard's father-in-law, the Chief of Police, tells Campbell that even though he (the Chief) suspected his son-in-law of being a spy, he now realizes that Howard served the Reich more than he might have ever served the enemy. Why? Because Campbell, with his broadcasts, made the Chief (and presumably other Germans) better Nazis. The second point comes in New York as Campbell views archival footage of one of his more rabid diatribes. And the last, in the Israeli prison, when Howard has a stunning insight during a conversation with Adolf Eichmann regarding the amount of self-credit the latter takes (or not) for the annihilation of 6 million Jews.

I can't give MOTHER NIGHT five stars for the simple reason that the neo-Nazis that Campbell eventually meets in New York are rendered as almost comic characters whose racist views don't come across as menacing as they truly are. Had they been portrayed with more seriousness, the overall impact of the film would have been, I think, greatly enhanced. Nevertheless, MOTHER NIGHT is well worth viewing.

Clearly fiction, and too clever. But still interesting.
This 1996 film, starring Nick Nolte, is based on a 1961 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Knowing the author's work, we can expect a few satirical scenes and this is what is both the strength and the weakness of the adaptation by John Gordon. The opening segment is in black and white and is set in an Israeli prison in the 1960s. Nolte has just been arrested for war crimes. He is put in a cell and told to write his memoirs. He is given a manual typewriter and a ream of paper. He begins to type.

Now we switch to color and we see Nolte's story. He's an American living in Germany in the 1930s. He's a successful playwright and is married to a famous German actress who he loves dearly. When John Goodman, an American agent asks him to spy for the Americans, Nolte accepts the challenge. It's a very unique challenge too. Nolte is to write anti-Semitic [news articles] and broadcast them over public radio, in English, to be heard around the world. However, every time he coughs or pauses or clears his throat, it's really a coded message to the Americans. The Germans love him and he holds a high status. At the end of the war, there is nothing but devastation for him.

At this point John Goodman returns and tells him the Americans will never acknowledge his work but they will bring him to America to get lost in the crowd. He now moves to Greenwich Village, and this is where the story goes a little out of control. Alan Arkin is cast as his neighbor. And his role is a mystery. There's also a neo-Nazi organization, which is so comical that I had to laugh out loud. And a silly story whereby a beautiful woman who might or might not be his former wife, comes into his life.

The story was interesting and moved quickly. But it was clearly just fiction, and sometimes taken to such extremes as to be silly. Nolte is one of the finest actors around and his acting is terrific. The role calls for him to not be really patriotic towards either of the regimes. He chose to do what he did because of a personal adventure. And therefore is not a sympathetic character. It's a film designed to be clever rather than one that pulls at your heartstrings in spite of the interesting theme. And it's done well.

The DVD has an interview with Nolte and Vonnegut during the filming. It didn't add much to my appreciation of the film, but its nice to see the work in progress. "Mother Night" is clearly a showcase for Vonnegut's talent and a good role for Nolte. I do recommend it but don't expect to be moved or enlightened.

One of the Best Adpatations Of A Novel To A Film
"Mother NIght" in not one of my favorite Vonnegut novels, but the film adaptation is superb. This is one of the best adaptations I've ever seen from page to screen, and extremely thought provoking. I give it my highest recommendation.

Fictional Fate of an American Nazi Collabotator
This is the story in which Kurt Vonnegurt tackles the heavy topic of a fictional character:- an American Nazi Collabotator, at least partially based on the true-life examples of 'Axis Sally' and Lord Haw Haw, American/British collaborator who worked for the Reich Broadcast Service and beaming out anti-Allies propaganda in WWII. A dangerous and difficult topic at best of times, an explosive one if it is not handled well. But the director pulls it off with great skill, sensitivity and panache with this adaptation, blending the tension of war, personal tragedy, picaresque twists of fate and "X-files" like paranoid conspiracy theory. A remarkably keen-eye and un-preachy treatment of the issue of Nazi collaborator and their subsequent lives living incognito amidst their arch-enemy, America. The director wisely avoided moralising, crude evil/good comparisons, and cut-out stereotyping of Nazis as ogres or monsters, but instead produced a thought-provoking & sensitive account of the picaresque twists of fates endured by the lead character, an American Nazi Collabotator who married the daughter of the Chief of Police of Nazi Berlin. If you are interested you may also wish to try 'Apt Pupil' (DVD also available on Amazon.Com), which is a uniquely insightful & tautly directed psychology thriller about an aged SS officer living under an assumed identity in idyllic American suburbia, whose true identity was discovered by a teenager and who was subsequently 'blackmailed' into telling the youth his true-life experience as a death camp commandant in Poland

As good as Vonnegut
This movie captured the essence of the novel in such a way that i really believed the actors read it. This is not typical of movies based on books. I truly believe that those involved with the production of this film were concerned with the ideas and intentions of the author. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

A great mix of film noir, musicals and human drama
Author Dan Dark is trying to recover from a severe case of psoriasis, which causes him immense physical pain and sometimes the occasional hallucination. As he re-works his first novel, "The Singing Detective," in his mind -- sometimes imaging the people surrounding him as characters in this book, sometimes breaking out in song -- Dr. Gibbon, a psychlogist, tries to help Dark get at the root of his ailment by examining the events of his past.

Writer Dennis Potter re-works his TV mini-series into a fine film, mingling musiclas, film noir and a good human drama. Robert Downey, Jr., is excellent as Dan Dark, suffering both with the terrible skin condition an with his deep-seated emotions behind the characters in his first book. His delivery of Potter's fast-paced dialogue as well as his finesse with the character are amazing. Probably one of his best performances. The supporting cast also gives fine performances that truly enhance the film: Mel Gibson as Dr. Gibbon; Adrien Brody and Jon Polito as the two bumbling hoods; Katie Holmes as Nurse Mills; Jeremy Northam as Mark Binney; and Robin Wright Penn as Nicola/Nina/The Blonde. The makeup is also wonderful, especially both the work done to give Downey, Jr. psoriasis, and the almost unrecognizable Mel Gibson.

My only gripe is that the editing is sometimes a bit choppy making some scenes not flow as well as they could. Other than that, this is a great movie, filled with fine performances and a sharp, strong script.

It's a Freudian Mystery Musical!
A disfiguring skin disease confines novelist Dan Dark (Robert Downey, Jr.) to a hospital bed for months. Embittered by his condition and paranoid about his wife's (Robin Wright Penn) fidelity, Dan hallucinates the plot of his first novel "The Singing Detective", replacing the characters in the novel with real people from his life. The resident psychiatrist (Mel Gibson) believes that the noir detective novel about a 1950's era "gumshoe that warbles" holds clues to Dan's paranoia and self-loathing. How much of the detective story reflects Dan's real life and how the two have become intermingled in his hallucinations remain to be seen as Dan slowly recovers.

"The Singing Detective" is adapted from the 1986 television miniseries of the same name, written by Dennis Potter, who also wrote the film's screenplay. The film defies categorization, and it may take the prize for the most genre-crossing film that I have seen. "The Singing Detective" is a mystery within a mystery, a comedy, a psychological drama, and a musical. Yes, a musical. The plot is nonlinear, jumping back and forth between Dan's ordeal in the hospital, his memories, and his hallucinations of various times and places. It takes the audience the better part of the film to figure out how it all fits together. In this way, the film is like a jigsaw puzzle of Dan's mind...a mystery to be unraveled. The other mystery is the one Dan's fictional detective is simultaneously trying to solve. I'm not sure why Dennis Potter made the detective a singer. This introduces a musical element into a story that is already so overcrowded that it can be difficult to decipher. "The Singing Detective" is the most overtly Freudian movie I've seen in ages. In fact, if there is any film to which it can be compared, it reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock's "Spellbound". Both films alternate between reality and stylized Freudian hallucinations. In both films, a man's past and his salvation, of which even he is not aware, are to be found in his hallucinations and the mystery solved with the help of a sympathetic psychoanalyst. Unlike "Spellbound", "The Singing Detective" could actually be called overbearing in its style, though.

"The Singing Detective" is genuinely hilarious at times. It elicited more than a few loud guffaws from the audience in my local theater. It's also to be commended for being clever and surprising. And Robert Downey, Jr. gives an impressive performance, as always. But the film's first act unfortunately does nothing to draw the audience into the story. On the contrary, it introduces some unattractive characters in a confusing manner and does more to put the audience off than anything. This may be attributable to the fact that "The Singing Detective" contains too much material for a film of this length, so it is obligated to dive right in instead of easing the audience into its frenetic mix of fantasy and reality. But if you get past the first half hour or so, it improves. Another element that is likely to alienate some of the film's audience is Dan's misogynistic tirades, which wore on my patience after a while. So I'm giving "The Singing Detective" a marginal recommendation. If you don't like non-linear methods of story-telling, garish imagery, and Freudian inferences, you won't like this film. If, on the other hand, you like (truly funny) cynical, vindictive, occasionally obscene humor and the aforementioned characteristics appeal to you, you might want to give "The Singing Detective" a try.

An Abridged Version That Works
This film is not anything like the 1986 British mini-series. This shorter version is a daring and mostly successful attempt by director Keith Gordon to fuse all the elements of the story into a madcap collection of tough reality and odd hallucinations. Dan Dark (Downey) is a bedridden author severely disabled by the worst case of psoriasis imaginable. He refuses any medication and thereby experiences hallucinations - or reality - or stories for his next book? Director Gordon teases us through out the movie. Downey is exceptional as the acid tongued, highly emotional, screaming patient who has a wisecrack quip for any lowly doctor or nurse that comes his way. He verbally abuses his wife who can barely keep up with attacks, but sometimes shines through when needed. There's a lot of paranoia in this story and the 40's film clips where Dan Dark is the detective investigating some murders is part tongue in cheek and part possible reality. The scenes are chunks of 40's detective clichés thrown into a series of sentences. It's masterfully amusing. When Downey gets nearly unbearable to watch as the pain stricken patient, the film switches to a hallucinatory dance and signing number driven by Dan Dark's imagination. Sometimes it seems like a diversion and other times it's sheer brilliance. All the actors, Robin Wright Penn, Adrien Brody, Katie Holmes and Mel Gibson (as the nearly unrecognizable psychiatrist) do masterful jobs and Dennis Potter's dialogue is amazingly crisp. It's a good story, albeit sometimes disjointed, but the entire experience is well worth the time.

What's all the fuss about?
This was no great movie. After suffering through the first half hour (but determined to see it through), I managed to do my ironing, balance my checkbook, and finish a crossword puzzle while this film droned on (and on, and on) in the background. Even the lovely Katie Holmes couldn't save this movie. I was disappointed, to say the least, after reading all the glowing reviews. The cuts between reality and musical/fanasy were handled much better in "Chicago." I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone as it it tedious and horribly uninteresting.

SOMETIMES SINGS
When Robert Downey is in session with his psychiatrist to cure his depression from a rare disfiguring skin disease, this movie truly 'sings' The quick witty banter between the two could have justified the whole film. But when the 'singing detective' imagines his new detective yarn we're treated to what looks like a long Robert Palmer music video from the '80s. Real empty-headed stuff. Also, childhood trauma lies at the root of this mystery and that goes way against the grain of the detective film noir style the movie was certainly aiming at. Uneven is the word. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The edgy, intense Homicide: Life on the Street earned its reputation as the best show on TV from the very beginning. In the pilot episode, "Gone for Goode," rookie detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) walks into the squad room of Baltimore's elite and smack into his first case, the murder of 11-year-old girl Adina Watson, a crime that will haunt Bayliss throughout the series. Oscar-winning director and series executive producer Barry Levinson helms this episode himself, establishing the nervous, energetic camera work, the bickering camaraderie of the homicide squad, and the meticulous attention to police detail that defined the series. He won an Emmy for his efforts. The third season episode "Every Mother's Son" guest stars Sean Nelson (Fresh) as a cold juvenile killer who couldn't care less that he murdered an innocent boy, while the mothers of victim and killer unknowingly meet in the station waiting room. The final episode in the set, "A Doll's Eye" from the fourth season, is a quiet, introspective look at the parents of a boy left brain-dead by a stray bullet who are dealing with their grief while under pressure to make a decision that could save another child through the organ donor program. Mandy Patinkin make an uncredited cameo as his Chicago Hope doctor. This set lacks the coherent thread that pulled the episodes together on a weekly basis, but it displays the series' range like a candy sampler, and the uniformly excellent episodes are worth seeing under any circumstance. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (16)

DVD?
Simply put, Homicide was a flawless series. The cast, scripts, cinematography...it all just came together. I think it was cancelled because of poor scheduling choices, and because it was so intense. That said, there is a huge number of diehard fans out there...so when is somebody going to wake up and start releasing the episodes (all of them!) on dvd as is done for The Twilight Zone? Court TV is a start, but I want the whole series at my fingertips...I think the series, and we, the fans, deserve it.

The crash-course on Homicide: Life on the Street
Typically if I want to get a friend's reaction to my favorite drama ever, I'll have them sit down and watch these three episodes with me. They represent some of the finest acting and cinematography I've seen in quite some time.

1) The Pilot: "Gone for Goode" - It's Tim Bayliss' (Kyle Secor) first day on the Homicide Unit commanded by Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and the introduction to the cast of characters begins: John Munch (Richard Belzer), the cynical jaded but dedicated cop partnered with the "close to retirement" Stan Bolander (Ned Beatty), Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) is partnered with Steve Crosetti (Jon Polito) and Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) is partnered with Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin). The wildcard in the unit is Frank Pembleton, the unit's best detective who likes to work alone. Lewis and Crosetti investigate a shooting that might lead to solving 5 more murders (and making them look like heros), Munch is coerced into opening up an accidental death that Bolander thinks was a murder. And Bayliss gets paired up with Pembleton during a murder of an older guy in a hotel and learns firsthand that what he's taught in the classroom doesn't hold up in the real world.

Some famous lines:
Bolander: "She was murdered John, you have to speak for her"
--
Howard: "Homicide? We work for God"
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Munch: "I've been murder police for ten years. If you're going to lie to me, you lie to me with respect."
--
Crosetti: "That's the problem with this job. It's got nothin' to do with life."

2) "Every Mother's Son" - Bayliss and Pembleton investigate the murder of a 14 year old boy at a bowling alley to find out another 14 year old boy shot him. The shooter thinks he should go because he killed the wrong guy. The mother's killer and the mother of the victim unknowingly meet up and talk for a long period of time in the squad room. Pembleton gets disillusioned about ever having children if they grow up in a world like this.

3) "A Doll's Eye" - Bayliss and Pembleton get involved in a shooting of a boy at a mall. The boy ends up brain dead and the parents struggle with taking the boy off of life support and placing his organs in the organ donor registry to save other children's lives. Marcia Gay Hayden's portrayal of the little boy's mom will have you in tears. It's a quiet episode that focuses on the victims and the struggles that they have to face.

Nothing Else Like It On TV Or The Big Screen!
Anyone that has ever seen this top quality crime drama would agree that there has never been anything else like HOMICIDE on television or the big screen!

This show, in reruns, is as powerful, moving, thought provoking, and at times humorous, as it was during its first run on NBC during the 90's.

EVERY...and I do mean EVERY character leaps off the page with realism and charisma, thanks in part to those who put pen to paper and wrote the lines, and also to the amazing actor who breathed life into the well written scripts.

The early shows are by far the best! And that you will see on this video. Pembelton and Balis, Andre Braugher and Kyle Secor, were televisions definitive dynamic duo. I believe that they, and the other cast members, set a standard for ensemble casts that will never be beat. (A few of the cast members that joined the show towards the end of its run were not as powerful as the original actors, but that didn't stop the show from delivering quality episodes.)

Others have suggested NBC release all of the episodes on DVD and I agree! This was truly MUST SEE TV and for what ever reason the network couldn't see it. (This show is timeless and I would love to see it resurrected, perhaps on cable TV! Are you listening HBO?)

HOMICIDE - Life On The Street is without a doubt is the best television show to date! Kudos to all responsible for bridging it to life, to Court TV for airing it in reruns, and to Amazon.com for bring the series to its fan via VHS and DVD!

Great TV, Great Location
I moved to Baltimore by about Homicide's 3rd season. I had seen a few episodes and was annoyed by the jittery camera work. After living in Baltimore for a few months, and after being forced to watch a few episodes, I was entranced by both the show and the city. Homicide transcends the typical "place-less" show (TV or cinema--is Frasier really a Seattle show? I think not) because it weaves people, events, and emotions in a solid geography. I believe people were--and are still--hooked on this show because it has so much personality and charisma. Baltimore is a town with history, charm, quirks, character, meloncholy, cynicism, evil, joy, and warmth. Homicide captured that and slowly spoon fed it to viewers episode by episode. I don't think most viewers were aware of it, but it happened and it was addictive. To me, the drama, joy, and pain of Homicide is the drama, joy, and pain of the City of Baltimore and its citizens. Only one question remains: where are the Homicide DVDs??

The Best of the Best
After HILL STREET BLUES and ST ELSEWARE I thought network TV had lost it, the came HOMICIDE:LIFE ON THE STREET. It is the best of the best, my only regret is that ther aren't more of the episodes available. Someone tell NBC that they are missing out on a gold mine. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Good, but the ending spoiled it.
I watched this movie after reading the book it was based on (also called The Chocolate War). The movie was good. The people who played Brother Leon and Archie Costello did terrific jobs, although tall and thin John Glover didn't look at all like the book's Leon. The dialogue was played almost word-for-word from the book. But the ending spoiled it all. The Chocolate War, the book, had a very unhappy ending in which Jerry was beaten to a bloody pulp by Emile Janza. In this case Archie drew the black marble and it was him that was defeated. Fine for some, but not for me, because I prefer the book's unhappy ending. The director of the movie attempted to make it a little unhappy after Archie was defeated, but it was a half-hearted effort and missed the mark. I wish they had just stuck with the ending they already had.

ANOTHER LOOK
HE FELL INTO A VAT OF CHOCOLATE.....
AND HE YELLED "FIRE!"
ASKED WHY HE YELLED FIRE,

HE SAID "WHO WOULD HELP ME IF I YELLED 'CHOCOLATE'"

smooth ride
The score was great, and the boy who played Archie was terrific.
If I had not read the book, however, I would not have been interested in this movie. The ending was completely different from that in the book. In the book, there was no resolution! The bad guys were not punished! No black marbel was pulled out! And Archie did win. I don't know how I feel about the film versions's ending. But I was very impressed with Archie's character's entire performance.

It's NOT what you think...
If you've read Robert Cormier's most famous foray into subtleties of teenage sadism(which his writing endlessly evokes)you WON'T be surprised other than by a "punch-pulling" finale...which remains,nonetheless,bitterly pessimistic. If you haven't read THE CHOCOLATE WAR,prepare to meet two(2!)of young adult literature's arch-villains: ARCHIE COSTELLO...superbly and smarmilly essayed by Wallace Langham; and BROTHER LEON...perfectly played by John Glover,SMALLVILLE'S smoothly repugnant,24/7/365 master of manipulation, LIONEL LUTHER.

The story begins harmlessly with typical prank/initiation ordeal engineered by VIGILS, a pseudo-tough band of preppie wanna-be's in a Milton,Massachusetts all-boys Catholic high school(scenery is shot at the Academy attended in boyhood by T.S.Eliot). Archie is leader of the Vigils; formulator of trials in petty perversion and punk violence foisted (primarily)on Freshmen to "edify" this rather effeminate band of Posers and Player-Haters. Brother Leon raises stakes (the Vigils comical if twisted self-regard)by enlisting them as pursuader/enforcers in the yearly CHOCOLATES Sale. Because of Leon's Head/Power tripping(he wants desperately to be School Rector)these boys...who if they tangled with real Down Town Homies would get hell whaled-out of them...become genuinely cruel and dangerous.

Their "target of opportunity" is Jerry Renault. Renault is sympathetically characterized by Ian Mitchell-Smith as average, somewhat withdrawn, student(because of recent death of his mother and alienation from his despairing,weak-sister widowed,father)who just wants to play football and "fit-in". After Assigner Archie initially presents him with ostracizing task of ritually refusing (until VIGILS "graciously"grant permission)to sell Chocolates...incurring genuinely fierce wrath of should-be priest and teacher,Leon...Renault surprises everyone--especially himself--by refusing to sell anything: What begins as exercise in(childish)petulance and cruelty evolves into REBELLION with serious moral(& financial)consequences.

Cormier cuts no slack in his book about Yuppie-puppie viciousness. The film tries(fails)to imply redemptive RENAU-el in Jerry's unsupported courage and subsequent fall. But THE CHOCOLATE WAR is successful in being annoying. Too much is real about these kids(misguided by a pathetic,tyrannical adult)"Will to Power" chocolate drive to blow-off as Mickey Mouse shenanigans. Real war requires courage...often heroism.(Bad men become worse;good men better)In the CHOCOLATE WAR there are no heroes. Deceit and shame,essentials of cowardice,are the only outcomes Cormier's work seems to allow and illuminate. Is this entertaining? Is it truth? Quien sabe? One thing certain about this cult classic:IT'S NOT WHAT YOU(first)THINK...

Lionel Luthor as a monk!!!
John Glover can play a nefarious villain whether it is the bearded Lionel Luthor of Smallville or here, as Brother Leon, a cleanshaven robed monk. In a Catholic high school in the 1980s, the school is having a fundraiser by selling boxes of chocolates. They have bought a bunch of Mother's Day chocolates at a bargain price, cut off the Mother's Day ribbons and assigned each boy to sell 50 boxes.

There is a sort of high school fraternity called the Vigils and they have assigned one boy, Renault, to NOT sell the chocolates for 10 days. Renault, whose mother has recently died, takes it even further and blatantly refuses to sell any boxes even after the 10 days is up. This starts a political battle of wills as the Vigils realize their name is tied to this one-man uprising, and the school is afraid of losing control.

There is a horrible climax at the end (you know it's coming).

I was a little annoyed by how Renault kept seeing his dead mother everywhere. It was cloying and a very clunky plot device, but keeping with the cheesiness of 1980s high school flicks. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"The Subway" became the most celebrated episode of the sixth season of Homicide: Life on the Street. A showcase for Andre Braugher's Frank Pembleton, the squad's tetchy, intense, brilliant detective, it takes place almost entirely in the subway and focuses on the relationship between Pembleton and the dying victim of a gruesome subway platform accident (guest star Vincent D'Onofrio), who's not expected to live out the hour. It garnered lavish praise from TV critics across the U.S., earned two Emmy nominations (including one for D'Onofrio), and won the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting. Little did documentary director Theodore Bogosian know what was in store when he began his made-for-public TV special Anatomy of a Homicide, a detailed look at the creation of the episode from idea through script and production to broadcast. You get it all: script conferences, location scouting, special-effects challenges (how do you portray a man convincingly trapped by a tram and twisted like taffy?), the clip from the HBO series Taxicab Confessions that inspired the story, and a privileged look at network politics. It's an inspired pairing for the video debut of the series, a fine introduction for new viewers, and the equivalent of a coffee-table video album for the faithful. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Television drama at its very best!
If you're reading this, chances are you're already a fan of Homicide to some degree. Some early fans of the show became disenchanted with the program as its run on NBC progressed, feeling that it became more conventional. While it's true that the show's later seasons used less of the stirring camera-work which was the show's visual trademark in the early episode, the stories told were no less compelling.

A case in point is season six's "The Accident" or as it's commonly known "the subway episode." When a commuter becomes pinned between a subway train and the platform, detectives Tim Bayliss and Frank Pembleton are called in, because the accident victim is alsmost certainly going to die. As Bayliss tries to determine what caused the accident, Pembleton (as played by Emmy-winner Andre Braugher) forms an uneasy bond with the victim (played by Vincent D'Onofrio). With Homicide, the focus was always less on what the detectives revealed about their cases and more on what the detectives revealed about themselves as human beings.

Of all Homicide's detectives none showed us more of what was good and bad about human beings than Frank Pembleton. In the context of the show, Pembleton was not only the best investigator in the squad, he was also the moral center, a good man whose sense of right and wrong never fails, soemone who will always remain on the right side of that line even if it means offending those who care about him. As he tries to comfort the victim whom he knows is about to die, Pembleton confronts his own beliefs and notions of faith and goodness. The interplay between the two characters is as insightful, gripping and well-written as anything committed to film in years, and more than anything this is probably the episode which earned Andre Braugher his Emmy award.

This episode also went on to win the Peabody award and was the subject of a fascinating documentary called "Anatomy of a Homicide." In addition to focusing on the specifics of writing and producing "the subway episode," it is also an intriguing window into the politics of television network programming. That documentary is available on this tape along with the full episode. Homicide never quite got its due during its network run, but the availability of these two productions may help redress that balance.

A phenomenal study in human behavour
This episode alone is the best HOMICIDE I've ever seen. Barring the undeniably brilliant perfomances by Vincent D'Onofrio and Andre Braugher, the story is captivating and the tensions sweet torture! The difficulty of knowing a man is going to die and the struggle to do his job as a cop and so much more... What an episode! That aside, as I said, the documentary is a real view of the politics of network television and the complete bliss of getting what you want. They had a great guest star, a script that worked, and a producer/writer determined to get what he wanted! Just great, a MUST for HOMICIDE or D'Onofrio fans!

Stunning Work!
This is extraordinary acting - vincent D'Onofrio, Andre Braugher (always fabulous in this series) and the other great "Homicide" cast - but this story is amazing. Seemed almost more like a stage production than film/television. I saw the story as a metaphor - life, death, the meaning, the randomness versus design of it all, responsibility/lack thereof, the train....all of it. Extremely powerful in every way. Original, powerful, brilliant work.

An episode worthy of inclusion in anyone's video library!
"Homicide: Life on the Streets" was always a favorite of the critics, but it never garnered the ratings success that it so fittingly deserved. Featuring one of the most gifted ensemble casts ever put together (especially the brilliant Andre Braugher with exemplary support from Yaphet Kotto, Kyle Secor and Clark Johnson), "Homicide" should still be on NBC's schedule, right there with the respective "Law & Order's" and "ER".

If one episode clearly exemplifies the intensity and the quality of the series' writing, as well as the skills of the actors, it is "Subway". Braugher gets to run the gamut of his emotions as he deals with the hopeless situation of guest star Vincent D'onofrio, also giving an award winning turn as the trapped commuter.

The episode is a nail-biter and a prime example of what television should be.

Most compelling dramatic anything I've ever seen
I have never had such a visceral reaction to any piece of drama, live or on big screen or small.

I'd long been a Homicide fan, so I was well aware of Andre Braugher's skill, but Vincent D'Onofrio's performance was a revelation. His character is Everyschmuck, the Bud Lite-swilling blowhard found in any bar on any Saturday night, under-tipping the bartender and copping a feel from the cocktail waitress.

But as he slowly discovers his fate, he strips away his schmuckness in layers, like an onion, with Braugher's Pembleton as Father Confessor and keeper of the knowledge that he is doomed. Together they reveal the character's essential humanity and vulnerability.

Pembleton is our surrogate, I think, because he doesn't like this guy much either, but goes in to do his job, and is eventually touched by him, as we are.

My words are feeble. Just see it. ... Read more