Ben Dova Movies
This off-kilter German film attempts to tell a purely American story as filtered through European sensibilities. Joe Pesci plays Ruby Dennis, a Jewish bowling alley/nightclub manager in New Jersey. Despite his tacky surroundings, Ruby convinces himself that he's just about to hit the big time in Las Vegas. It takes him 100 minutes to realize that he's never going to be any better off than he is now. Just tap your bowling shoes together three times and say, "There's no place like Jersey." Tony Martin shows up in the film's highlight, a dream sequence in which a handful of songs co-written by star Pesci are featured. Dear Mr. Wonderful was released to video as Ruby's Dream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Karen Ludwig, (more)
- 1980
German director Hans Noever shot this crime drama in the U.S. in English, an unusual achievement at this time. The setting is Jefferson City, Missouri, and Joseph Randolph (Martin West), a VIP in a fictional electronics company, has just gotten the sack. The company bigwigs insist it is simply because of downsizing, but Randolph is not buying it. Enraged, he gets a handgun (this is the U.S.) and shoots five managers to death. Then he turns himself in and is eventually put in a psychiatric hospital by the police. His family suffers a series of tragedies that leave only his daughter to wonder about why her father was committed to an institution. She joins with a visiting reporter from Chicago and another interested man, and all three start digging deeper into the company's history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Martin West, (more)
Doc Levy (Roy Scheider) is an American secret agent who has been running interference between the U.S. government and escaped Nazi war criminal Szell (Laurence Olivier). Believing that Doc has stolen a valuable cache of gems, Szell emerges from his South American hiding place and heads for New York. He has Doc killed, then kidnaps Doc's in-the-dark brother, Babe (Dustin Hoffman). Repeating the phrase "Is it safe?" over and over, Szell, a onetime concentration camp dentist, tries to extract information from Babe by performing sadistic "oral surgery" upon him. Babe, who still doesn't know about the gems, escapes, breaking his own self-imposed rule of nonviolence to defend himself against his pursuers and gearing up for sadistic revenge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, (more)
