John Saxon Movies
John Saxon never intentionally set out to be a Brando clone, but his resemblance to Marlon Brando was something he was born with, so what was there to do? A student of Stella Adler at the Actor's Studio, Saxon's first film was Running Wild (1955). Thanks to "hunk" assignments in films like The Restless Years (1957), The Reluctant Debutante (1958), and Summer Youth (1958), Saxon was briefly the object of many a teenage crush. He shed himself of his heartthrob image in the early '60s with a string of unsympathetic roles, making a leading man comeback of sorts as Bruce Lee's co-star in the immensely popular Enter the Dragon (1973). Fans could watch Saxon's expertise as an actor increase (and his hairline recede) during his three-year (1969-1972) stint as Dr. Ted Stuart on the NBC television series The Bold Ones. He later appeared as a semiregular on the prime-time TV soaper Dallas. In 1988, John Saxon made his directorial debut with the low-budget feature Death House. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2009
Chi Kung is the art of developing one's energy in ways to heighten health, vitality, and spiritual enlightenment. John Saxon's narration adds a calming touch to this unique workout tape. Though students may not break out into a sweat after completing this workout, they are very likely to finish it feeling relaxed and soothed in many ways. Chi Kung: The Healing Workout contains beautiful background scenery that adds to the film's calming influence. Advocates of Chi Kung firmly believe that these exercises can cure illness and improve one's sexual performance. ~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi
A scientist with a perfect life is prompted to reevaluate his comfortable existence after his best friend dies, and he begins a torrid affair with a complete stranger. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Saxon
- 2007
An autistic boxer and a nomadic stripper form a tenuous friendship that helps them both to better understand the world that appears to have left them both behind. Noah Connelly (Michael Worth) is an aspiring boxer from Oakland, California. Most of Noah's days are spent cleaning the floors at his local gym, patiently waiting for the perfect moment when he'll finally step into the ring and his future will come into focus. To the casual observer Noah leads an entirely unremarkable existence, though exotic dancer Alexia (Margot Farley) is far from the casual observer. One day, after crossing paths seemingly by chance, Noah and Alexia begin to affect the way Alexia views the opposite sex. To this point in her life, Alexia has taken a somewhat transient approach to relationships. Now, as her friendship with Noah begins to show signs of becoming something more serious, Alexis discovers that her approach to love may hint at a deeper pain that she isn't sure she possesses the power to confront. Encouraged by the owner of the gym (John Saxon) to introduce Alexia to his family, Noah invites her on a journey that will take her out of her comfort zone while challenging her entire perception of love. Perhaps if Alexia can find the courage to confront her deepest fears, Noah can summon the self-confidence to strap on the gloves and prove himself as a true pugilist. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Worth, Margot Farley, (more)
A deviant fur trader in pursuit of the perfect pelt finds that sometimes glamour can come with a deadly price tag in director Dario Argento's adaptation of an original short story by author F. Paul Wilson. When it comes to furs, Jake Feidman (Meat Loaf) is a man whose outstanding reputation for quality precedes him. He knows that good fur doesn't come cheap, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to stay on top in the business. When the workday is done Jake frequently makes his way to the local gentleman's club to pursue a beautiful young dancer. Though she frequently spurns his advances, Jake is convinced that he can win her over if he only could find her the perfect gift. Upon receiving a call from a local trader (John Saxon) who frequently supplies him with pelts, Jake reluctantly journeys into the country to take stock of the latest acquirements. What he finds upon arrival are without question the makings of the most beautiful fur coat Jake could ever imagine. Unfortunately it appears as if the trader and his son have suffered a horrific fate while preparing the fleeces for pickup. Later, after attempting to win the heart of the dancer by presenting her with the pristine coat crafted from the pelts, Jake learns that sublime beauty doesn't come without a deadly price. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Meat Loaf, John Saxon, (more)
The traditional horror anthology makes a triumphant comeback in this collection of four frightfully horrific tales from directors Monte Hellman, Ken Russell, Sean S. Cunningham, John Gaeta, and Joe Dante. When seven strangers accept a mysterious invitation to tour a Hollywood studio lot, they become trapped in a room and discover that their only hope for escape is to reveal the most terrifying tale they know. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Henry Gibson, Jayce Bartok, (more)
- 2004
Edgar G. Ulmer was one of the most fascinating figures of Hollywood's Golden Age. While Ulmer directed the occasional big-budget major studio film (most notably The Black Cat starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and The Strange Woman with Hedy Lamarr), Ulmer was a maverick who valued his creative freedom and he most often worked for"Poverty Row studios, most notably PRC, where he was allowed to make films as he pleased as long as they were done fast and cheap. Ulmer made a handful of small masterpieces for the minor league studios, most notably Detour, The Naked Dawn, Bluebeard, and Ruthless, and he also directed several important Yiddish-language films as well as an early all African-American cast musical. However, Ulmer's own version of his life was often dotted with creative embellishment and stories that no one could verify (particularly pertaining to his early career in Germany), and despite his very real degree of ability and influence, much of Ulmer's story remains shrouded in uncertainty. Documentary filmmaker Michael Palm explores both the art and the illusion of this singular artist in Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen, which features interviews with some of Ulmer's more noted admirers (Peter Bogdanovich, Wim Wenders, Joe Dante), actors who worked with him (John Saxon, Ann Savage), and members of his family (Arianné Ulmer Cipes). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
College soccer star David Morales (Mario Lopez) loses his scholarship and is compelled to take a job as a courier for an experimental medical laboratory operated by shady Dr. Darabont (John Saxon). The money is terrific and the border crossings from California into Mexico are easy for the charming Latino. But events turn desperate when David is forced to make a hasty delivery of a small cooler that contains something needed by the evil Franco (Richard Lynch), who is being kept alive in a Mexican hospice by the renegade physician Dr. Drake (Nancy O'Dell). If David fails, his mother (Dyana Ortelli) dies. But then the FBI gets wind of the delivery. Now on the run from the Feds, with his mother held hostage by a sex maniac, David teams up with runaway rich girl, Bella (Ali Landry), to get the cooler and its contents to Dr. Drake to keep a villain alive. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez, Tava Smiley, (more)
- 1999
Originally released to video as Night Class, this actioner stars Sean Young as Claire Sherwood, a sexy burglar who persuades unwitting security guard Jake Franklin (Rick Peters) to help her cronies knock over the hotel where Jake works. Suspected of being the thieves' inside man, Jake is fired, whereupon he makes it his life's mission to track down the crooks and recover the stolen goods (consisting mainly of an ornament of sentimental value). At the same time, Jake hopes to qualify for the police force, undergo a rigorous training process to do so. Jake's diligence may pay off sooner than he expects: Claire and her confederates have been at each other's throats ever since the heist, and something calamitous may occur at any moment. When it began making the Lifetime cable channel rounds in early 2002, Night Class was retitled Seduced by a Thief. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Young, Ron Perlman, (more)
Philippe Mora's drama Joseph's Gift, adapted from the biblical story of Joseph, stars Freddy Rodriguez as Joseph Kellar. Joseph has long been the apple of his father's eye, making his brothers seethe with jealousy for years. When the father gives Joseph a gift of an expensive coat, the brothers decide to finally act on their base impulses. During a visit to New York City, the brothers strand Joseph and convince their father that Joseph is dead. Cut off from his family, Joseph is forced to start his life over again. Decades later, Joseph confronts his family, and must decide if he will sink to their level, or take the high road. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
A would-be filmmaker comes up with an exciting new way to finance his first feature film -- kidnapping -- in The Party Crashers, an independent black comedy. The writer (Phil Leirness, who wrote and directed this film) keeps getting rejection slips for his latest screenplay, but rather than compromise his creative vision, he and two of his friends -- his bisexual lover, who is an aspiring actor (Burt Bulos), and a mutual friend (Josh Randall) -- hatch a scheme to crash a party being thrown by some upscale Hollywood types and stage a robbery. By the time the three get to the bash, the plan has gotten more ambitious; they grab Carolyn (Shawnee Smith), knowing her parents are wealthy, and tell them they're holding her hostage, demanding $5 million for her safe return. However, most of the guests at the party hardly pay any attention to the uninvited guests, the ones that do are too ineffectual to do much about them, and Carolyn seems more amused than upset at the prospect of being kidnapped -- not to mention that she doesn't get along well with her family, so they're in no hurry to pay up. The supporting cast includes B-movie stalwart (and one-time U.S. Ambassador to Mexico) John Saxon as Carolyn's father. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Saxon, Max Parrish, (more)
Disgraced ex-cop Joey Randall (Richard Grieco) is framed for the murder of Sharon Moreno (Priscilla Barnes), who happens to be the unfaithful wife of the police chief, George (John Saxon). Randall had the opportunity to kill her, and perhaps a motive as well since he was having a hot affair with her before her death. Moreno dispatches corrupt police captain James (Martin Kove) to avenge her death -- that is, to kill Randall -- but Randall is innocent. The hot-headed Randall has to focus himself to find a way to prove his innocence, confirm the guilty parties, and avenge Sharon's death. This isn't going to be easy with the entire police force looking to bring him back dead or alive. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi
Catherine Bach, Charlene Dallas and John Saxon star in this thriller about a reporter investigating a series of strange disappearances and deaths. She soon discovers a mysterious predator is living in a network of catacombs under the city, and uncovers a link to a sinister web of slave labor and murder, all taking place under the city. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1997
The Arthurian legend gets a few new twists in this time-travel fantasy. Merlin the Magician wants to make sure the young Arthur is being looked after properly before he becomes King, so he sends Lancelot (Marc Singer) through a window in time to act as his bodyguard. However, Merlin's enemy, the wicked sorcerer Wolvencroft (John Saxon), gets wind of this scheme and instead sends Arthur and Lancelot forward into the future, to Los Angeles near the end of the 20th century. There, Arthur and Lancelot meet an author and a computer expert who help them find a way to foil Wolvencroft's plot and return Arthur safely to Camelot. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marc Singer, Claudia Christian, (more)
- 1996
Adapted from N. Scott Momaday's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, House Made of Dawn tells the story of Abel, a young Native American who returns home from a foreign war and is caught between two worlds. One is the world of his father, where humans live in harmony with nature. The other is that of industrial America, where Abel is encouraged to live a dissolute life of disgust. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
In this action-horror flick from director Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino, Tarantino stars with George Clooney as a pair of bad-to-the-bone brothers named Seth and Richie Gecko. After a string of robberies that left a river of blood in the Geckos' wake, the sadistic siblings head to Mexico to live the good life. To get over the border, they kidnap Jacob Fuller, a widowed preacher played by Harvey Keitel, and his two children, Kate (Juliette Lewis) and Scott (Ernest Liu). Once south of the border, the quintet park their RV at a rough-and-tumble trucker bar called The Titty Twister, where Seth and Richie are supposed to meet a local thug. After a couple of drinks, they realize that they're not in a typical bar, as the entire place begins to teem with vicious, blood-sucking vampires. With the odds stacked greatly against them, the Fullers and Geckos team together in hopes of defeating the creatures of the night. Makeup artist Tom Savini and blaxploitation star Fred Williamson appear as allies against the vampires, and Cheech Marin fills three different roles. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, (more)
- 1996
Actor John Saxon narrates this T'ai Chi video as instructor Jerry Alan Johnson demonstrates some of the elements that allow T'ai Chi students to increase their strength and sense of well-being. Viewers can learn how to perform ten T'ai Chi movements by watching and imitating Johnson. Viewers are encouraged to allow the program's nature footage and John Serrie's music help them relax. The first section of the video provides basic information about why T'ai Chi is so effective and the second section aims to help loosen up the body's joints. The third section concentrates on helping viewers clear their minds so that the positive effects of T'ai Chi can benefit their entire bodies. ~ Elizabeth Smith, Rovi
- 1995
The life of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor is told in this made-for-television drama. Sherilyn Fenn stars as Oscar-winning actress Liz Taylor, whose career began when her mother pushed her into acting as a child in the 1940s. Her tumultuous career ups and downs, and her turbulent personal life are chronicled in the film, which was based on the book by C. David Heymann. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1994
With a nod to Sergio Leone, this film, bills itself the first "borscht Western," It was photographed in Russia with a cast of Russians, Italians, and Americans. The story follows the past and present life of Jonathan. When he was only six, Jonathan watched while thieves killed his parents. The orphan found a playful friend in a bear-cub. He was then found and adopted by an Indian chief who preferred Jonathon to his own son, Chatow. The rivalry between the boys continued into adulthood. The adult, Jonathan became a legend for his prowess with the bow and arrow and his gallant rescues. He still searches for his parent's killers. Fred Goodwin leads a gang of greedy oil-claim jumpers who terrorize a town. When Goodwin finds oil in the Indian burial ground where the chief lies buried, a vicious war begins. Jonathan comes to town trailing a captured Indian maiden and ends up being crucified by Goodwin. He is saved by a former member of the gang. Jonathan exacts his bloody revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, John Saxon, (more)
- 1994
- R
In this suspense thriller, Albert (John Savage) is a psychopath who, after brutally murdering a woman, becomes obsessed with her 11-year-old daughter Annie. Twenty-one years after being sent to prison for his crimes, Albert is freed over the strenuous objections of Dr. Sachs (John Saxon), the psychiatrist who has been overseeing Albert's case all these years. Sachs is convinced that Albert is still a very real threat to the community, and it turns out that he's right; desperate to find Annie, but not knowing what surname she uses today, Albert begins contacting every Annie he can find in the phone book, leaving a bloody trail of murdered women in his path when they turn out not to be the little girl he's looking for. The supporting cast includes Bobby DiCicco, Hank Cheyne, Hyapatia Lee, and Beverley Mitchell as Annie. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Savage, John Saxon, (more)
- 1994
Racketeer Paul Avensino (Tony LoBianco) buys a controlling interest in a popular restaurant, but he finds that he exercises no control over the establishment's egotistical chef Bernard Bonelli (John Saxon). Shortly after a confrontation between the two men, Bonelli is murdered--and lest anyone suspect Avensino of the crime, he turns up dead as well. Jessica (Angela Lansbury) becomes involved in the case when her friend Lorna (Heidi Swedberg), host of a TV cooking show, is charged with one of the murders. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
The third entry in the popular Beverly Hills Cop series finds Detroit cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) returning yet again to Southern California, this time on the trail of two car thieves turned murderers. As he teams up again with L.A. cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Foley's investigation leads him to Wonder World, a theme park that is also the front for a major counterfeiting ring. More action and less wit are the trademarks of this film, which features Murphy dishing out his usual wisecracks, but with less flair and freshness than in the original film. Alan Young plays the old man who runs the amusement park, an interesting setting that still adds little to the tired premise. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, (more)
Veteran horror director Wes Craven was responsible for the hit 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street, which introduced the character of Freddy Krueger. After Craven sold the rights to his character, Krueger became filmdom's top grossing monster, with five sequels by 1991. In this post-modernist horror film, Craven plays himself, a filmmaker working on a script for a movie that seems to be spinning out of control. Also playing himself, as well as playing his customary character Krueger, is Robert Englund. The original teenage hero of the first Nightmare film, Heather Langenkamp, also plays herself. She is still haunted by Freddy dreams, but Craven convinces her to make another Krueger film to exorcise her demons. Unfortunately, her son Dylan (Miko Hughes) is being taken over by Freddy himself, who materializes and kills Dylan's beloved nanny, Julie (Tracy Middendorf). Dylan, possessed by the evil spirit, escapes from the hospital and tries to cross a freeway with his mother in pursuit. Craven finds that his character has literally become a creation out of his control. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp, (more)
A ruthless drug lord must be stopped, pronto. Three able-bodied cops go undercover to bring the drug dealer to justice -- or, preferably, to kill him. Once in a while, the bad guys call a halt to the film's bloodshed to allow a sex scene to play itself out. Otherwise, this is essentially cable-TV stuff, blown up (sometimes literally) for the Big Screen. A good cast, headed by Michael Nouri and John Saxon, is the film's most tangible asset. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
Released in 1993, this direct-to-video melodrama is a followup to Frame-Up (1992), with a handful of the same cast members. Wings Hauser returns as Sheriff Baker, who once again butts up against local corruption. The first "frame" didn't work in the first film, so the bigoted, cigar-chomping town boss has to use more drastic measures. Baker's wife is once more played by Frances Fisher, who seems to be marking time between better assignments. The fat-cat villain is played by John Saxon this time, replacing Frame-Up's Dick Sargent. Patty d'Arbanville and the late Margaux Hemingway also appear in Frame-Up 2: The Cover-Up. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1992
- R
This crime thriller concerns three cops (Jason Carver, Sam J. Jones, Sherrie Rose) and their quest to stop a criminal kingpin (Richard Lynch) and the corrupt chief of police (Mickey Rooney). ~ John Bush, Rovi
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.