Amos Poe Movies

In the fall of 2002, singer, songwriter and political activist Steve Earle released an album of songs written in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, entitled Jerusalem. One of its songs, "John Walker's Blues" -- written from the perspective of John Walker Lindh, a Muslim from America who was discovered fighting alongside Taliban forces -- triggered off a flurry of controversy, and Earle found himself having to defend his views, his patriotism, and his right to free speech in the press. Steve Earle: Just an American Boy is a documentary which follows Earle as he tours in support of the Jerusalem album, speaks to journalists about his songs and the looming war in Iraq, writes and directs his first play (Karla, a dramatization of the life and death of Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman ever to be executed by the Texas penal system), discusses his outspoken opposition to the death penalty, and, with his band, shows why he's become one of the most critically acclaimed singer/songwriters of his generation. Steve Earle: Just an American Boy was directed by Amos Poe, who previously helmed the groundbreaking document of New York's nascent punk rock scene, Blank Generation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This "neo-noir comic thriller" from director Amos Poe focuses on struggling actress Eva (Barbara Hershey), a waitress who moonlights by making collections for her ex-husband, loan shark Al (Robbie Coltrane). Her day job is at a Lower Manhattan diner owned by Quint (Ian Hart). Others on the scene are Eva's new boyfriend Zip (John Leguizamo), aspiring actress Myrna (Lisa Marie), Al's girlfriend Simone (Debi Mazar), tough thug Gascone (Ron Perlman), and Al's driver U.B. (David Deblinger). Eva is ready to drop both collecting and acting, dreaming of a picket-fence lifestyle with her son Augie (Zak Kerkoulas), but Al needs her for just one more job -- locating the missing $600,000 stolen from him by Flav (Justin Theroux). Al also plans to stage a production of David Mamet's American Buffalo, and he offers a role to U.B. -- if he will kill Zip. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Richard Edson stars as the title character, a New York talent agent who takes little interest in the world outside of the entertainment industry. Then he falls for Cyan (Cedella Marley), a Jamaican waitress working to put herself through nursing school. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

On the occasion of wealthy patriarch Burt Lancaster's 77th birthday, his Long Island home is invaded by well-meaning family members. Lancaster is bored by the well-meaning interference of his grown children, but he thrives on the company of his grandchildren, especially 5-year-old Macaulay Culkin (in a terrific pre-star performance). To the kids, Lancaster reveals what he really wants as a birthday present: an old-fashioned Viking funeral! From this point on, the ending of Rocket Gibraltar is a "done deal", but getting there is all the fun. A superb, hand-picked cast--including Suzy Amis, Sinead Cusack, John Glover, Bill Pullman and Kevin Spacey -does full justice to Amos Poe's whimsical, often deeply touching script. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally aired live in color on New York City's Channel J (a public access "commercial station") this episode of TV Party from June 13, 1982 found the producers of the show growing increasingly desperate as producer/host Glenn O Barr announces, "Everything here is for sale." He's missing a tooth, and he hasn't had a haircut in quite some time, and while the energy is there, it's obvious that the crew isn't functioning at full capacity. Lenny Ferrari, Karen Geniece, and Charles Rocket join the TV Party Orchestra, the latter plugging into a stack of Marshall amps and running his accordion through a variety of guitar pedals in order to achieve a "heavy metal accordion" sound. Recently fired from Saturday Night Live for uttering the "F" word during a live broadcast, Rocket later launches into a droll, post-modern version of the radio hit "Wild Thing". While at first it appears as if Gun Club's Jeffrey Lee Pierce won't be able to perform due to a broken guitar, he quickly gets a lender and offers a soulful rendition of a Robert Johnson song. The episode winds to a close with a thirty second meditation led by O'Barr, a punk rock poem read by a Russian poet, and a live performance of the original composition "Why Can't I Get Laid" by German new waver Lothar Manteuffel, featuring accordion accompaniment by Rocket. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Nadja Vidal (Tina L'hotsky) has arrived in New York City to avenge the murder of her sister Sasha, something that seems well within the grasp of her cool and remote personality. As the story unfolds, Sasha's murder in a nightclub is shown in flashbacks, and there are glimpses of Nadja's inexorable path to the killers before she takes the actions shown. Combining past and present, and scenes of violence captured without recourse to the usual focus on blood and guts, Nadja's immunity to violence becomes a chilling force in itself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

While the punk-new wave musical revolution was brewing on the Bowery and in downtown New York in 1976 and 1977, a new breed of underground filmmakers were beginning to emerge, whose work reflected the same rough textures and emotional immediacy as punk rock. One of the leading filmmakers of New York's New Wave was Amos Poe, and his feature Unmade Beds was one of the first features from this movement to receive any significant attention outside the underground music and art scene. To the rest of the world, Rico (Eric Mitchell) appears to be a photographer living in New York City in the mid-'70s. But in his mind, Rico is a character in a French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, living a bohemian life of danger and flinty glamour, and he's both a photographer and a hired gun, living a life straight out of one of the film noir classics he loves. Rico's fragile hold on reality and his mingled feelings about his art begin to collide when he falls in love with a beautiful woman. Unmade Beds also features Duncan Hannah and Patti Astor; musicians Deborah Harry and Robert Gordon highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

TV Party: The Heavy Metal Show features appearances by famous musicians Chris Stein and Lenny Ferrari as well as popular New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In 1976, Ivan Kral was a Czech exile who was struggling to make a name for himself as musician and filmmaker when he joined the Patti Smith Group and became friendly with underground filmmaker Amos Poe. Poe and Kral were both interested in the punk rock scene that was just beginning to emerge in New York City at venues like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, and they began bringing cameras to shows, shooting silent footage of bands who were beginning to develop potent reputations in the rock underground, including Talking Heads, Blondie, the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, and of course, the Patti Smith Group. Poe and Kral married their silent footage with live tapes or demo recordings of the bands (most of whom had yet to release a record) to create a deliberately rough audio-visual record of the burgeoning punk scene. The result, Blank Generation, is a fascinating bit of musical archeology, preserving for the ages the earliest moments of what would become one of the most important and influential movements in the history of rock & roll. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide