William Fuller Movies

This controversial political drama semi-fictionalizes the history of the radical Black Panther Party, an African-American organization that polarized America from 1966-70. Huey Newton (Marcus Chong) and Bobby Seale (Courtney B. Vance) are a pair of Oakland, California, men who form a new political party dedicated to protecting Blacks from bigoted cops through violent means. Their "Black Panther Party for Self-Protection" serves free lunch to kids, educates the community in African-American awareness, gets drug dealers off the streets, and has gun battles with the Oakland police. Two members of the Panther Party are Tyrone (Bokeem Woodbine) and Judge (Kadeem Hardison). When FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Richard Dysart) suspects that the Black Panthers' leftist leanings are an indication of communist involvement, Judge, an affable Vietnam vet, agrees to become a double agent, reporting to both the Feds and the Panthers. After the Panthers storm the State Assembly in Sacramento, political paranoia grows, and Hoover conspires with the mafia to flood urban streets with cheap heroin, thus destroying the party. Director Mario Van Peebles, who also appears in the role of Stokely Carmichael, worked from a script written by his father, Melvin Van Peebles, based on his book about his real-life experiences with the Black Panthers. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In the first episode of a three-part story, Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) are ordered to participate in a police task force to curb a recent upsurge in urban violence. McCall goes undercover as a phy-ed instructor at a tough neighborhood school, replacing a teacher who has been murdered. Though it would seem that the killing has something to do with the various unsavory intrigues within the school itself, the real culprit is an escaped murderer who intends to eliminate all of her enemies in chronoligical order--with Hunter at the top of her list. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The highlight of this sometimes humorous horror film is the performance of Louise Lasser. Maddy (Lasser) is the mother of ten-year-old twins Todd and Terry (Mark Soper). Terry sneaks out of the car at a drive-in movie and slashes the throat of an innocent victim. The evil twin blames it on his innocent brother Todd, who is sent off to a mental institution. Ten years later, Maddy is about to get married again and plans to make the announcement of Thanksgiving Day. She receives a phone call saying that Todd has escaped, and the thrilled Terry begins to make secret plans to begin another killing spree. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Controversial Nicaraguan leader Somoza is treated with inordinate kindness in the propagandistic adventure The Last Plane Out. As played by Lloyd Battista, Somoza is a pussycat compared to those "nasty" insurgents. The story is based on the somewhat slanted memoirs of former journalist Jack Cox, who produced the film and is personified herein by Jan-Michael Vincent. Even at its best, the film runs a distant second to its obvious inspiration, Under Fire. The Last Plane Out is energetically directed by David Nelson--who, as we all may know, is the non-singing son of Ozzie and Harriet. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She has remarried and has risen to social prominence in her community. She wants the same for T.J. Determined to keep his son with him, Billy decides to train properly in order to be a success instead of just a washed-up punching bag. This gorgeously photographed drama is a remake of the 1931 film, which won its star Wallace Beery an Oscar. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi