Chuck Workman Movies
- 2008
Chuck Workman's documentary In Search of Kennedy analyzes the highlights and lowlights of John F. Kennedy's presidency, and asks the question of how different our world might be had he not been assassinated that fateful day in Dallas. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2001
A retired architect returns to work at the behest of unlikely patrons in this low-key drama. Richard and Kate Banks (Jack Conley and Rebecca Staab) are a well-to-do couple who want to buy a home in Southern California. While house-hunting, Kate discovers the charred remains of a house that was never completed -- and she is highly intrigued by what she's found. Kate discovers the property belongs to Mercedes (Shirley Knight), who informs Kate that the unfinished house was one of the last works from Harry Mayfield (Philip Baker Hall), a once-famous architect who left his career behind when his marriage broke up years before. Kate and Richard buy the unfinished house and contact Harry, inviting him to complete his project for their new home, and Harry agrees. Sensing this could be a major event in contemporary architecture, Kate persuades her friend Gaby (Laura San Giacomo), a filmmaker, to make a documentary about Harry and his new project. As Gaby speaks at length with both Harry and his younger assistant Arthur (Henry Rollins), she and Kate discover just how strong-willed (and how difficult) Harry can be, and as Harry struggles to complete a difficult and deeply personal work, Kate finds a new personal strength through his efforts. A House on a Hill marked a return to dramatic filmmaking for director Chuck Workman after directing a pair of acclaimed documentaries about iconoclastic artists, Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol and The Source. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philip Baker Hall, Laura San Giacomo, (more)
Director Chuck Workman, who documented the life of pop culture icon Andy Warhol in his 1990 film Superstar, here explores the lives, works and influence of four leading lights of the "Beat Generation" of the 1950s: William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady. Cutting back and forth between archive footage of his subjects, readings of selections from the three authors by Johnny Depp, Dennis Hopper and John Turturro (Cassady was an associate and inspiration to the Beats), and film clips that in both serious and farcical fashion document the impact the Beat culture had on American society, Workman creates a fast-paced collage of sounds and images that attempts to show how the Beats became the dominant counter-cultural movement of the last half of America's 20th Century. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Dennis Hopper, (more)
- 1990
- NR
Fascinating documentary of artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol, combining rare footage with interviews with his friends and colleagues, including Dennis Hopper, David Hockney, Taylor Mead, and Sylvia Miles. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide
- 1990
Shirley Jones: Lite Aerobic Workout features, as the title suggests, Shirley Jones, the singer and former movie (The Music Man) and television star (The Partridge Family). Jones and fitness expert Sheila Acuff lead the viewer through an easy-to-follow, low-impact workout. The aerobic portion runs a half-hour, with an additional ten minutes of simple exercises. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
When porn-star Roxy Du Jour (Sally Kellerman) dies with her clothes off while filming her latest project, Saint Peter (Al Waxman) informs her she must do a good deed before she is allowed to pass through the gates of heaven. Roxy's ghost is sent back to Earth to be the patron saint of sex to Rudy (Patrick Dempsey), the dorky virginal teenager who longs for his first sexual encounter. Roxy gives Rudy several tips that only serve to further frustrate Rudy. He has his eye on The Love Goddess (Shannon Tweed) while turning down the continual advances of Wendy (Isabelle Mejias). Kellerman's performance is the only bright light in this insipid sex comedy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Kellerman, Patrick Dempsey, (more)
- 1985
- PG
This comedy fuses Three Stooges clips with a storyline about a "Stooge Maniac" who is so obsessed with the comedians his sanity comes into question. Josh Mostel plays Stooge devotee Howard F. Howard, and Melanie Chartoff is Beverly, the woman of his dreams. Howard's condition is analyzed by Dr. Fixyer Minder (Sid Caesar) and for awhile the Stooge fanatic spends some time in a mental institution. Will this damage his love affair with Beverly? And will he know it if it does? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Mostel, Melanie Chartoff, (more)
A young thug needs money, so he visits his girlfriend while she's baby-sitting. While there, he plans to tie up the girl, kidnap the child, and hold him for ransom in the hope that his wealthy father will pay up. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laurence Luckinbill, Graham Beckel, (more)
- 1918
Van Twiller Yard (Wallace Reid) has drifted from his well-to-do roots and landed on the skids. Along with several other derelicts, he is shanghaied and taken off to a lumber camp, where he is put to work. The superintendent's daughter, Svea Nord (Ann Little), snubs Yard when he is knocked out by the foreman, Langlois (James Cruze). But Yard toughens up and vanquishes Langlois when he tries to start a revolt. This impresses the camp's owner, Beaumont (Theodore Roberts), and he puts Yard in charge of making sure a shipment of logs reaches its destination. But Langlois, who is secretly involved with a pro-German company (this film was made during World War I), plans to stop Yard with the use of superintendent Nord (Noah Beery). Yard discovers Nord's involvement and fires him, keeping him on the payroll only for Svea's sake. With the help of his faithful men, Yard brings down a dam built by Langlois' forces and gets the shipment in. Beaumont promotes Yard to general manager, and Svea, who now understands his actions toward her father, is there for his return. This film was based on a Saturday Evening Post serial by Clarence Budington Kelland. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
