Bob James Movies
The award-winning jazz ensemble Fourplay performs for a crowd in Cape Town, South Africa on this concert release that features renditions of "101 Eastbound," "Amazing Grace," "Chant," and "Bali Run." ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bob James, Nathan East, (more)
From Warner Brothers JazzSpace, it's an evening of live jazz performances by several of the genre's best. Casino Lights '99 features a total of 14 numbers, including "Mind Games" by Bob James Trio, "Wayne's Thang" by Kenny Garrett Quartet, "Yesterday I Had the Blues" by Kevin Mahogany, "Brazilian Love Affair" by George Duke, and "Westchester Lady" by Fourplay, Rick Braun, Boney James, and Kirk Whalum. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- 1994
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Soft jazz favorites Bob James on piano, Lee Ritenour on guitar, Nathan East on bass and Harvey Mason on percussion join forces as Fourplay in two hour-long live performances, with the band joined by special guest vocalists Phillip Bailey and Phil Perry. Selections include "101 Eastbound," "After the Dance," "A Summer Child," "Flying East," and eight others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Kevin Kline directed this television adaptation of the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1990 production of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, in which Kline also stars as the melancholy Danish prince. Deeply saddened by the death of his father, Hamlet (Kline) is shocked to discover his mother, Queen Gertrude (Dana Ivey), has already taken a new husband, Claudius (Brian Murray), the brother of the late King. Visited by the shade of his late father, Hamlet is told that Claudius rose to his new status through murder, and the son is soon torn over what action he should take; meanwhile, Ophelia (Diane Venora) descends into madness. This adaptation of Hamlet was originally produced for PBS, where it first aired in 1990. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1989
In this bizarre science fiction thriller, a woman is kidnapped by aliens who impregnate her, hoping the result will be a superior race that will right the wrongs committed by Earthlings. However, the woman soon dies mysteriously, and her sister is determined to get revenge on whoever has hurt her, not knowing that she'll be the next candidate for the alien repopulation project. Meanwhile, a government scientist and a newpaper reporter both get wind of the story and are determined to bring it to the people. Alien Seed stars Erik Estrada, Steven Blade, and Heidi Paine. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Heidi Paine, Steven Blade, (more)
Sidney Lumet directed this film version of E.L. Doctorow's novel The Book of Daniel (scripted by Doctorow) that deals in a thinly veiled (although dispassionate way) with the Rosenberg spy case of the 1950s, as seen through the eyes of their children. The Rosenbergs are the Isaacsons here, and the first image of the film is a close-up of their son Daniel's (Timothy Hutton) eyes as he recites a dictionary definition of the word "electrocution." Daniel becomes a detective as he seeks out friends and relations of his parents -- Paul (Mandy Patinkin) and Rochelle (Lindsay Crouse) -- to discover some meaning from his parents' conviction as Russian spies and their execution in the electric chair during the communist paranoia of the 1950s. Daniel is prompted to investigate the past by the near-suicide of his hysterical sister Susan (Amanda Plummer). The film weaves back and forth in time, recalling the period from the 1930s to the 1950s. In a strangely uninvolving way, Lumet's film takes no point of view, the only emotion derived from the almost continuous sounds of Paul Robeson's singing on the soundtrack. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, (more)
Adapted by Waldo Salt and Norman Wexler from Peter Maas's book, Sidney Lumet's drama portrays the real-life struggle of an honest New York City cop against a corrupt system. Neophyte officer Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) is determined not to let his job get in the way of his individuality. Despite his colleagues' leery reactions, he keeps one foot firmly planted in the counterculture, sporting a beard and love beads and living in bohemian Greenwich Village, while he performs his police duties with dispatch. Serpico's peers genuinely ostracize him, however, when he refuses to take bribes like everybody else. Appalled by the extent of police corruption, Serpico goes to his superiors, but when he discovers that they have ignored his charges, he takes the potentially fatal step of breaking the blue wall of silence and going public with his exposé. Serpico's revelations trigger an independent investigation by the Knapp Commission, but they also make him a marked man, permanently changing his life. Shot on location with a gritty emphasis on documentary-style realism, Serpico presents a city in decay both literally and morally, as everybody is in on the take, and the cops and criminals are almost interchangeable. Released in late 1973, after months of revelations of Presidential malfeasance in the breaking Watergate scandal, Serpico's true story of bureaucratic depravity touched a cultural nerve, and the film became a hit with both critics and audiences, particularly for Pacino's complex performance as the honest, long-haired whistleblower. One year after his star-making triumph in The Godfather, Pacino was nominated for an Oscar again, and lost again; Lumet and Pacino would reunite two years later for another true New York story, Dog Day Afternoon. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Tony Roberts, (more)
