Tony Jay Movies

One of the most notorious deviants in the history of crime is profiled in H.H. Holmes director John Borowski's docudrama-style account of the reprehensible transgressions of cannibalistic child murderer and molester Albert Fish. His dark rampage fueled by distorted interpretations of Biblical tales, Fish ritualistically tortured and murdered scores of children in Depression-era New York before being arrested by authorities and executed for his crimes in 1936. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When the two-part Dynasty: The Reunion first aired, it rated a cover on TV Guide. The photo depicted Dynasty regulars Linda Evans (Krystal) and Joan Collins (Alexis) grinning at one another, while their true feelings were conveyed in comic-strip thought balloons reading "Hussy" and "Hag." This pretty much sums up the overall ambience of Dynasty: The Reunion. In part one, first telecast October 20, 1991, oil mogul Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) is released from prison. Hoping for a reunion with estranged wife Krystal -- and, incidentally, to recoup his financial empire -- Blake must now deal with a shady international consortium, headed by old nemesis Alexis. Part two, first telecast October 22, 1991, gets off to a good start with a desperate escape from the henchmen of an international consortium. The big money act, however, is the long-awaited catfight between Alexis and her longtime foe, goody two-shoes Krystal Carrington (Linda Evans). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

True crime buffs who thought they knew it all will be proven chillingly wrong with this unforgettable account of murder and madness from filmmaker John Borowski. H.H. Holmes was a master manipulator whose handsome exterior and disarming charm masked a psychotic soul bent on torture and dismemberment. The clean-cut killer's deceptively inviting outward appearance made it easy for him to lure women back to his mammoth castle in Chicago's burgeoning Englewood neighborhood -- a trip from which many would never return. In addition to his career as a serial killer, Holmes was also a skilled con artist. When the owner of Chicago-based drug store at which he was employed mysteriously disappeared in 1887, Holmes took over the shop and purchased a large lot directly across the street for the supposed purpose of building a hotel that would house guests attending the massive 1893 Chicago World's Fair. A complex maze of blind hallways, treacherous chutes, and air-tight rooms in which Holmes would gas his intended victims, the foreboding structure also housed a sub-level torture chamber complete with stretching rack, quicklime pits, and an incinerator that was perfect for disposing of human bodies. Though the structure, commonly known by locals as Holmes' "Murder Castle," was eventually burned to the ground, to this day no one truly knows the number of victims who suffered within the confines of its dark walls. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The "FYI" anchor team agrees to compete against a group of brilliant Yale students on a popular "intellectual" TV quiz show. During a dress rehearsal, the Yalies reveal the length and breadth of their intelligence--and also reveal the mental shortcomings of Murphy (Candice Bergen) and her coworkers, who apparently have forgotten a great deal since their school days. Rather than settle for the "lovely parting gifts", the FYIers decide to put their heads together and cram for the Big Show--which is only a few hours away. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this sports-oriented drama from South Africa, a former Olympic marathon champion pushes his sons to be as successful in competition as he was and emphasizes victory above all else. However, one son is killed and another severely injured in an auto race, and the family turns against him. In the film's climax, the father races his son and loses, learning a valuable lesson. ~ Steve Huey, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable adaptation of Roderick Thorp's crime thriller, Peter Weller stars as a Hollywood cop whose murder investigation runs into a wall of police corruption. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Whenever Deanna Troi's freewheeling mother Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) pays a visit, she's always certain to leave a lot of emotional turmoil her wake. This instance is no exception, as Lwaxana takes Worf's contentious son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) under her wing. As both Worf and Deanna bristle at Lwaxana's well-meaning maternal advice, the rest of the crew must contend with a nasty species of parasites which has attached themselves to the Enterprise. Written by Peter Allan Fields, the Emmy-nominated "Cost of Living" originally aired April 25, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After the critical and commercial success of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, the Walt Disney Pictures animation studio embarked on their most serious and ambitious animated feature to date with this adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel Notre Dame de Paris. Quasimodo (voice of Tom Hulce) is a grotesquely deformed but kind-hearted young man who was abandoned by his parents as an infant and thrown down a well; he was rescued by the priests of Notre Dame, the massive cathedral in the heart of Paris, and he lives there, earning his keep as a bell ringer. Quasimodo has become the ward of Judge Frollo (voice of Tony Jay), an outwardly pious but deeply hateful man who treats Quasimodio with indifference and violently loathes the Gypsies who spend their days in the cathedral's courtyard. Frollo hopes to clear the Gypsies out of Paris with the help of Phoebus (voice of Kevin Kline), leader of the troops under Frollo's command. However, Phoebus does not share Frollo's racist views and harbors no ill will against the Gypsies. When Quasimodo is crowned King of the Fools after leaving Notre Dame during the annual festival of Topsy Turvy Day, the hunchback is ordered beaten by the guards as punishment, but Esmerelda (voice of Demi Moore), a hot-blooded but compassionate gypsy beauty, shows pity on him and helps free him from his chains. The lovely Esmerelda is the first woman to show kindness to the unfortunate Quasimodo, and the hunchback soon falls in love with her. However, the dashing Phoebus is also infatuated with her, and Esmerelda is attracted to Phoebus as well, though she feels a motherly affection for the hunchback. Judge Frollo finds that he also desires Esmerelda, which only inflames his hatred for the Gypsies when she refuses his proposals. Darker and less outwardly comic than most of Disney's features, The Hunchback of Notre Dame does feature comic relief in the form of Victor (voice of Charles Kimbrough) and Hugo (voice of Jason Alexander), a pair of gargoyles who befriend Quasimodo, as well as several songs from Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young boy joins a group of renegade dwarves on an unpredictable journey through time in this humorous fantasy. Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam mostly achieves a tricky balancing act in his second feature as sole director, creating a dark, irreverent comedy disguised as a family adventure. Particularly amusing are the boy's encounters with various historical figures, including an entertainment-starved Napoleon (Ian Holm), a powerful Agamemnon (Sean Connery), and a surprisingly stuffy Robin Hood, embodied by Gilliam's Python cohort John Cleese. Episodic by nature, the film is less successful when dealing with the larger narrative, which concerns the pursuit of the dwarves and their time-traveling map by the Supreme Being. However, the combination of Gilliam's visual exuberance and the witty script (by Gilliam and Michael Palin) ensures an entertaining, if erratic, journey. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of adventure Treasure Island gets a science fiction update in this animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures. Jim (voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young man who grew up reading tales of pirates and adventures on the high seas, and longs for similar excitement in his own life. One day, Jim happens upon a dying man who hands him a map and warns him to "Beware the cyborg" shortly before he passes on. Upon careful examination, Jim realizes the map charts the course to Treasure Planet, a distant world where hundreds of space pirates have stashed their loot. Jim is certain this is the adventure he's been dreaming off, and joins the crew of the spaceship R.L.S. Legacy and Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson) as they set out to find the fabled Treasure Planet. While Jim signs on along with his friend Dr. Doppler (voice of David Hyde Pierce), he soon becomes close friends with John Silver (voice of Brian Murray), who works in the galley but has big plans. Jim discovers just how big his plans are when Silver reveals he's part cyborg and all pirate, instigating a mutiny and attempting to take control of the ship. Despite his friendship with Silver, Jim refuses to take part in the mutiny, and soon finds himself attempting to defend law and order against a spacecraft full of reckless men. Treasure Planet's voice cast also includes Michael Wincott and Martin Short; Johnny Rzeznik from the rock group The Goo Goo Dolls contributed new music for the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide