Armand Assante Movies
Relegated to a series of low-budget thrillers in his later years despite impressive appearances in such films as Paradise Alley (1978) early on, Emmy-winning actor Armand Assante can always be relied upon to turn in a solid performance despite the fact that full-fledged stardom has eluded him throughout his long and varied career. A New York City native and a graduate of Cornwall Central High School, the handsome Irish-Italian actor got an impressive start to his acting career when he was awarded one of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts' highest honors while still a student at the renowned school. Assante is well versed in both stage and screen, and after he cut his teeth on such television dramas as How to Survive a Marriage and The Doctors, the fledgling actor got his big break opposite Sylvester Stallone in 1978's Paradise Alley. High-profile roles in Private Benjamin (1980) and Unfaithfully Yours (1984) found Assante gaining screen momentum in the early '80s, though the dedicated thespian continued to moonlight with numerous stage roles throughout the decade. From 1984 on, the majority of Assante's screen work was of the television variety, and in 1989 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in the made-for-television feature Jack the Ripper.Assante started off the 1990s with a bang, and after gaining momentum with such efforts as Q & A (1990), The Mambo Kings (1992), and Hoffa (1992), an unrelentingly goofy performance in Fatal Instinct (1993) proved that he did indeed have a sense of humor despite his suave composure. With Judge Dredd (1995), Assante's feature career came to something of a head in the mid-'90s, and upon returning to the small screen he would take home an Emmy for his chilling performance as the eponymous character in the 1996 crime drama Gotti. Kudos would continue to roll in when Assante took the lead role in the television production of The Odyssey (1997), and after a strong few years onscreen he would usher in the new millennium with a voice role in the animated adventure The Road to El Dorado (2000). After taking the lead in the made-for-television remake of Stanley Kramer's nuclear war drama, On the Beach (2000), Assante spent the following few years appearing in such obscure action thrillers as Federal Protection (2001) and Partners in Action (2002). Despite his low profile, the tireless actor was in fact busier than ever as he appeared in no less than five films in 2003 alone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Anthony Hickox directs Armand Assante in the espionage-laced action thriller Last Run. Assante plays Frank Banner, a man who spent much of his career helping Soviet spies make their way safely away from Mother Russia. This difficult task has left him hollow and bitter, as well as a widower. His next assignment, assisting a former leader of the KGB, will land him face-to-face with many of the people who have made his life the dead-end he feels it has become -- including the man who murdered his wife. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante
Dreamworks SKG's second feature-length animated film blends comedy and drama in an unusual historical adventure. Two genial swindlers working as stable hands stow away with Cortez, the legendary Spanish conquistador, as he searches for El Dorado, the lost City of Gold. Luck smiles on the two con men, and they happen to find a settlement in Mexico that they believe is El Dorado; however, while the two exotic strangers are at first embraced by the Mayan people, they've also arrived just in time to be offered up as the next human sacrifice. The Road to El Dorado was directed by Don Paul, who helmed the first DreamWorks animated feature, The Prince of Egypt; Will Finn, a featured animator on Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin; Bibo Bergeron, who worked on Ferngully: The Last Rainforest; and David Silverman. It features new songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, and the voice cast includes Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Rosie Perez, Edward James Olmos, and Armand Assante. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, (more)
- 1999
This animated children's film introduces kids to the life and times of Rashi, history's most studied Biblical commentator. Besides his work as a groundbreaking scholar, Rashi was a rabbi, lawyer, and vintner. This film takes children into the life of this remarkable man. Children will hear the voices of Leonard Nimoy and Armand Assante among others. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 1999
- R
Co-writer director Martin Davidson, who previously made a name for himself in rock-fuelled features such as The Lords of Flatbush (1974) and Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), creates this wistful melodrama about a middle-aged widower looking back with tinges of regret at his abandoned musical career. Armand Assante stars as Vince, a former neighborhood idol and lead singer in his moderately successful doo-wop band. But instead of pursuing stardom, he married and got a job as a bartender in order to support his three kids; his eldest son is a cop with a family of his own, his middle child is a 20-something trying to start out with his band, and his youngest, Tina, spends her days in and out of hospitals suffering from leukemia. Though Vince has not dated since his wife died of cancer, he finds himself attracted to motor mouth nurse Joanne (Diane Venora). Later, Vince and his old friends from his defunct group visit the glitz and glamour of Atlantic City and reminisce about old times. Looking for an Echo was screened at the 1999 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Diane Venora, (more)
- 1999
- NR
The true story of the world's first submarine and its maritime usage by the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Donald Sutherland, (more)
Utilizing an exceptional international all-star cast and excellent special effects, Hallmark entertainment and American Zoetrope productions created this fun-filled adaptation of Homer's most-famous epic poem. It was originally broadcast as a four-hour miniseries on the NBC network. The story faithfully chronicles the many adventures of sailor Odysseus (Armand Assante), his colorful crew as they encounter a variety of mythical figures, including Odysseus's spiritual guide Athena (Isabella Rossellini), the seductive Calypso (Vanessa Williams) and the treacherous Eurymachus (Eric Roberts). Highlights include the Trojan Horse (made to original scale and filmed on location in the ruins of Troy) sequence. Much of the miniseries was filmed in Europe and on the Mediterranean, making it a feast for the eye. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Greta Scacchi, (more)
Gotti is the semi-biographical tale of John Gotti, the infamous crime boss of the Gambino mob family. This drama chronicles not only the bloody rise of Gotti, also known as the "Dapper Don", but the FBI's struggle to bring him to justice. His refusal to play by the normal "rules" of the mafia ultimately became the mobster's achilles heel; the FBI eventually persuaded assassin Sammy "The Bull" Gravano to testify against his ungrateful, paranoid boss, who was finally imprisoned in 1982. Gotti is based in part on a book written by Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain titled Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti. Gotti, directed by Robert Harmon stars Armand Assante as the complicated mafia lord, and also features actors Anthony Quinn and William Forsythe. The drama aired on HBO in 1996, unwittingly serving as a precursor to what would later become the wildly popular mob drama The Sopranos. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Anthony Quinn, (more)
Based on Carl Hiaasen's satirical novel, Striptease tells the story of Erin (Demi Moore), who has just gotten a divorce from Darrell (Robert Patrick), the sleazy ex-con she foolishly married. However, the judge's memories of Darrell's days as a football hero win him custody of their daughter, and Erin, concerned for her child's safety, is determined to fight the decision. Erin has just lost her position as a secretary for the FBI, so, to cover her legal bills, she takes a job as an exotic dancer at a strip club called the Eager Beaver. While she has no experience taking off her clothes in front of an audience, Erin soon makes friends with the fellow dancers and finds a protector in the club's burly but good-hearted bouncer, Shad (Ving Rhames). She also makes a few fans among the regulars at the club, most notably David Dillbeck (Burt Reynolds), a drunken lout with a bottomless appetite for sleaze -- who also happens to be a conservative congressman with ties to right-wing religious groups. One of Erin's admirers snaps a photo of her with the congressman when a brawl breaks out at the club, and he suggests that it would make fine blackmail material. However, when the man with the photo turns up dead, Erin discovers that Dillbeck's people play a bit rougher than she expected. The home video version of Striptease contains two minutes of footage that was clipped from the theatrical release in order to win the film an R rating. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Armand Assante, (more)
A violent, effects-heavy science fiction adventure, Judge Dredd depicts a nightmarish future in which overcrowded cities are terrorized by brutal gun battles and policed by "Judges," law officers who act as judge, jury, and executioner. Sylvester Stallone stars as Judge Dredd, a punishing enforcer with an unswerving dedication to law and order. Little does Dredd know that a nasty villain (Armand Assante) and a corrupt Judge (Jurgen Prochnow) are plotting to take over the city and plan to frame Dredd for murder in order to prevent him from interfering. Dredd winds up in prison, but he fights back with the help of Judge Hershey (Diane Lane), his partner and romantic interest, and Fergie (Rob Schneider), his friend and comic relief, developing a plan to clear his name and stop the bad guys. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1995
This adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale of valor and derring-do is set in the late 18th century during the time that England was ruthlessly trying to vanquish Scotland's bloody bid for independence. Young Scottish nobleman David Balfour would have inherited his family's estate had not his conniving uncle arranged for him to be abducted and put to sea as a slave. There he meets fugitive rebel Alan Breck, and together they have many adventures while trying to return home to claim David's birthright. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Brian McCardie, (more)
Joanne Whalley-Kilmer stars as a woman corrupted by the criminal justice system in this courtroom suspense thriller. She plays a civil servant named Valerie Alston, a single mother living in New York City, who gets placed on a jury trying the case of mob boss Rusty Pirone (Armand Assante). A former homicide detective gone bad, Tommy Vesey (William Hurt), is now working for Pirone. He kidnaps Valerie and threatens her and her son with more harm if she votes to convict Pirone. At the trial, District Attorney Daniel Graham (Gabriel Byrne) proves himself to be willing and able to stoop to unethical means to convict Pirone. In the jury room, Valerie skillfully exploits factions among the jurors in order to win an acquittal. Now cynical and corrupt herself, Valerie seduces mob boss Pirone to extract her own rewards for her service. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joanne Whalley, Armand Assante, (more)
- 1994
Armand Assante continues his vigilant quest into the mythos surrounding the man/messiah Jesus Christ with The Last Days of Jesus, which examines the crucifixion and the resurrection. Assante addresses the contradictions and the many difficult questions surrounding these seminal events while trekking through the Holy Land, talking to great scholars and examining ancient texts. ~ Ed Atkinson, Rovi
- 1994
Part of a three-tape series on the historical figure of Jesus, The First Christmas attempts to unearth the secrets of Jesus' birth. What is the relationship between this Christian story and virgin-birth myths in other cultures? Why do only two of the four gospels even mention Jesus' birth and early years? How did Christmas come to be celebrated in the way that we know today? Armand Assante hosts this investigation into ancient lands, ancient texts, and modern beliefs. ~ Rovi
In this off-beat western, a gunfighter single-handedly takes on a band of ruthless bandits and prevents them from stealing a cache of government silver from a beleaguered little town. The gunslinger (Armand Assante) is not only remarkable for his quick draw and deadly aim, but also for the fact that a Civil War injury left him nearly blind. He carries with him the little baby he vowed to rear and protect after the war. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Elisabeth Shue, (more)
- 1994
Following the trend of re-examining the enigmatic life of Jesus, The Life and Times of Jesus series gives yet another objective view into the life of the man from Galilee. Who Was Jesus is a journey into the "real" life of Christ our Lord. Taking into account the numerous recent scientific and historical discoveries, this documentary attempts to flesh out the man that maintains a following two thousand years after his death. Walk along the same dusty trails as Jesus till you come to the Jordan River where John the Baptist submerged the messiah, then follow the road to Jerusalem where Christ's fate as a martyr was sealed. As you are led through the Holy Land, narrator Armanda Assante attempts to determine how the people of Jesus' time saw him. Did they see him as a mystic? A magician? Or as the messiah? It is then up to you to decide what role this man played in history. ~ Ed Atkinson, Rovi
Fatal Instinct is an Airplane-style spoof of the late-'80s, early-'90s cycle of erotic crime thrillers. Setting the plot in motion is a kinky murder. Armand Assante plays the cop assigned to the case; he's also the prosecuting attorney; the "Sharon Stone" part is essayed by Sean Young. A dash of Body Heat is thrown in the pot as Assante's wife Kate Nelligan plots her hubby's demise. Tony Randall has a bit as a judge, while the film's semi-mocking jazz score is provided by Clarence Clemmons -- who shows up on screen to toot his sax at various crucial plot junctures. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
New York art dealer Arne Glimcher took his first crack at film directing with this florid, high-energy romance about two brothers who flee Cuba in the early 1950s to make it as musicians in the United States. Cynthia Cidre wrote the literate screenplay adapted from Oscar Hijuelos's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Cesar (Armand Assante) and Nestor Castillo (Antonio Banderas) are popular musicians on Havana's club circuit, but when they make enemies of the wrong people, they are forced to leave for New York City, the moody Nestor leaving behind his true love. In New York, the brothers work as meat-cutters during the day as Cesar tries to organize a band and make inroads into the lively New York music scene. Soon, as The Mambo Kings, they get club bookings and Cesar falls in love with a sharp-tongued cigarette girl, Lanna Lake (Cathy Moriarty), and Nestor with the beautiful Delores Fuentes (Maruschka Detmers), who wants to be a teacher. Cesar concentrates on singing and managing the band, while Nestor plays the trumpet and writes emotional songs of love. All seems to be going well until Cesar antagonizes the moneymen on the Latin nightclub circuit and they finds themselves playing bar mitzvahs. But after they're discovered by Desi Arnaz (Desi Arnaz Jr.), the group is prominently featured on I Love Lucy. Their popularity soars and they cut a successful album called "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love." Cesar is glorying in his success, but Nestor is disappointed and longs to return to Cuba. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
This, the second of 1992's 500th anniversary Christopher Columbus films (the first being Warner Bros. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery), adheres to the historical facts of Columbus's (Gerard Depardieu) possessed quest to discover the New World, and his solicitation of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding. Despite travelogue-quality footage replete with beautiful scenery of Caribbean islands and a massive cast, this film tends to plod along with too predictable a plot and a mis-cast Columbus. Depardieu -- a very capable French actor speaking English and playing an Italian -- becomes perhaps the movie's bright spot (even if at his own expense) as he laughably struggles with line after line. Michael Wincott puts forth a worthy performance as a nasty Spanish nobleman whose mistreatment of the natives results in an open rebellion. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Armand Assante, (more)
The life of powerful union leader Jimmy Hoffa is the subject of this biographical drama. The focus is strongly on Hoffa's public and political life, from his early days as a labor organizer to his later conflicts with the Federal government -- and, eventually, his mysterious disappearance. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, (more)
Neil Simon forgoes his typical urban East Coast kvetchers and replaces them with sunny Californian kvetchers in The Marrying Man, a film which became a beacon of gossip in 1991 due to the alleged shenanigans of stars Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, who fell in love during production. Simon based his script on a true story concerning the love affair between shoe tycoon Harry Karl and actress Marie (The Body) McDonald during the 1950s. Married to each other four times, McDonald still managed to carry on an affair with mobster Bugsy Siegel. In this Simon-ized version, Baldwin plays Charley Pearl, a sharp and handsome Hollywood millionaire, engaged to Adele Horner (Elisabeth Shue), the daughter of dyspeptic movie studio executive Lew Horner (Robert Loggia). The day before their wedding, Charley heads off to Las Vegas for a bachelor party, and in a sleazy casino on the outskirts of town, he sets his eyes on sexy singer Vicki Anderson (Basinger) and falls for her hard. He wants her immediately and even though she warns him she's the property of Bugsy Siegel (Armand Assante), he crawls into her bedroom window to be with her. Caught with his pants down by Siegel, Bugsy, instead of killing him, forces him to marry Vicki ("I was about to dump her anyway," he says). But after their marriage, Charley and Vicki discover they're more attracted to the danger of their relationship than in each other. Charley's friends -- Phil (Paul Reiser), Sammy (Fisher Stevens), Tony (Peter Dobson), and George (Steve Hytner) -- form a Greek chorus commenting on the crazed love affair and are reportedly inspired by Phil Silvers, Sammy Cahn, Tony Martin, and Leo Durocher. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kim Basinger, Alec Baldwin, (more)
- 1990
- R
In this blend of fantasy and romantic comedy, a man isn't sure if he's stuck between past and present or if his imagination is simply working overtime. Edward (Jon Voight) is a prince in Medieval Europe, where his greatest rival is his brother Roni (Armand Assante). Roni wants to declare war on neighboring kingdoms, while Edward believes in keeping the peace, and both are in love with a beautiful gypsy named Dahlin (Eileen Davidson); only the frequent intervention of their father, the King (Wilford Brimley), keeps the two from killing each other. Or at least that's how it seems until Edward wakes up. It seems that his name is really James, he's the host of a talk show in Los Angeles, and he keeps having a recurring dream in which he and his co-workers are characters in a tale of knights in shining armor. Eric, his boss, looks just like the King, and Roni is a dead ringer for Sean, a high-powered businessman who is organizing a hostile takeover of James' company. However, things really start to get interesting for James when he meets Valerie, who is directing a television commercial at James' studio. She bears a striking resemblance to Dahlin the gypsy girl, and James can't help but tell her that she's the girl of his dreams. But are they really dreams, or memories of a past life? Eternity was Jon Voight's first film in three years; he also co-wrote the screenplay with director Steven Paul and Dorothy Koster Paul. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Armand Assante, (more)
Following Serpico (1973) and Prince of the City (1981), veteran urban crime film director Sidney Lumet completed a thematic trilogy about New York City police corruption with this noir drama. When New York City cop Mike Brennan (Nick Nolte) shoots an unarmed Hispanic drug dealer in cold blood, he quickly plants a gun on his victim and manufactures some eyewitness testimony. D.A. Kevin Quinn (Patrick O'Neal) calls in his assistant district attorney, Al Reilly (Timothy Hutton), to conduct a perfunctory investigation of the incident, but Brennan's obvious guilt during a question and answer session makes Reilly dig deeper. The crusading lawyer is soon uncovering a web of corruption that reaches from Brennan into Quinn's office. At the same time, Reilly learns that his ex-girlfriend Nancy Bosch (Jenny Lumet, the director's daughter), is now dating his chief witness, Puerto Rican drug dealer Bobby Texador (Armand Assante). Q&A (1990) was based on the novel by Edwin Torres, a New York State Supreme Court judge whose two other novels were later adapted into the film Carlito's Way (1993). Lumet would again return to the subject of New York's corrupt criminal justice system with Night Falls on Manhattan (1997). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton, (more)
The four-hour TV movie Passion and Paradise traces the rise and fall of real-life British playboy Alfred de Marigny (Armand Assante). Little better than a gigolo, de Marigny finds himself in the Bahamas during World War II, where he romances the daughter (Catherine Mary Stewart) of fabulously wealthy Sir Harry Oakes (Rod Steiger). None of the "right people" can stomach de Marigny, but they're stuck with him once he marries Oakes' daughter. During the next few years, de Marigny manages to antagonize the Duke of Windsor (Andrew Ray), who is governor of the Bahamas; he also alienates local businessmen and infuriates a group of mobsters who want to set up a gambling casino in Nassau. As Part One of Passion and Paradise draws to a close, Sir Harry Oakes is murdered--and Alfred de Marigny is the most convenient (though not most likely) suspect. Part Two opens with the murder of Oakes in 1943. The higher-ups of the Bahama Islands sincerely hope that de Marigny is the killer, if only to get rid of the dreadful man. So anxious are certain parties to hang de Marigny that an official conspiracy to cover up vital evidence takes shape. De Marigny's only hope for salvation is an American private eye (Wayne Rogers). Filmed in Jamaica, Passion and Paradise painted so damning a portrait of Bahaman high society that several scenes (including most of those featuring the Duke of Windsor) had to be rewritten and reshot before the film's British television release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Catherine Stewart, (more)
- 1989
- PG
In this enjoyable, lighthearted "he's fallen for her" situational, a music professor finds a science department faculty member too deeply engrossed in her inter-species communication studies (she talks to chimps) to even notice him. Since he can't get her mind off her studies, he decides to work part-time for her in the university laboratory. In this way he becomes aware of her dilemma: she's found that her research funds are set to be axed. He's there to help her figure out a way to prove their worth, and maybe spike her interest in him at the same time. There's plenty of clean fun and a satisfying outcome to be had here. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Karen Allen, Armand Assante, (more)
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