David Menachem Movies
Tumultuous Beirut provides the setting for this political drama that centers on a world-weary, lazy American reporter who has been reluctantly assigned to cover the latest war between the PLO and the Christian Phalangists. He could care less about the conflict and sends in stories stolen from other hard-working journalists until he begins getting more involved and interested after he humiliates himself by interviewing a bogus PLO leader. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Walken, Hywel Bennett, (more)
In this romantic drama set during World War II, David (Tom Hanks) is an American pilot serving with the Royal Air Force. While recovering from an injury in Jerusalem, David meets Sarah (Christina Marsillach), whose best friend is engaged to David's squadron leader. David and Sarah become fast friends and soon find they've fallen in love. However, Sarah's family are Sephardic Jews who are not enthusiastic about her seeing an American, particularly one whose father is a Protestant minister. While David and Sarah want to see their romance through, her family is just as determined to stop it, to the point of barricading her inside her room. Every Time We Say Goodbye marked the first English-speaking film role for Spanish star Christina Marsillach. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Christina Marsillach, (more)
A seat-of-the-pants militia attitude gets a boost from this conventional drama about the heroics of a teen son anxious to free his father from captivity in a small Middle Eastern nation. Doug's (Jason Gedrick) father is an Air Force pilot who was shot down on a mission near the border of an Arab country and is now held hostage. Failing adequate U.S. intervention causes a desperate Doug to enlist his school chums in a wild plan to essentially sneak away with two Air Force jets and take off on a mission to rescue his father. He convinces the veteran Chappy (Louis Gossett, Jr.) into flying one plane, while Doug himself flies another (he learned how to pilot from his father). Yes. If audiences believe all this, then the ending should come as no surprise either. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Louis Gossett, Jr., Jason Gedrick, (more)
The kibbutz setting to this standard love story between Gil (Joanna Pacula), an Israeli woman and Mike (Sam Robards), a visiting American pre-med student is not particularly relevant to the tale -- which is a twist away from the original stage play in which the two lovers do not even appear. Four Brits are also visiting the kibbutz: two complaining young men, a young woman who arrives for a stay after experiencing a nervous breakdown, and a soldier trying to assuage the psychic wounds of the past. As these people interact and the romance between Gila and Mike heats up, the story leads to several, simultaneous climactic moments -- including the kidnapping of Gila and a group of tourists and a dramatic rescue by the disenchanted Brits. Through all this, Mike must decide whether he will stay with Gila at the kibbutz or go back to the U.S. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Pacula, Sam Robards, (more)
- 1977
- PG
One of Cannon Films' two 1976 Italian-Israeli co-productions starring Lee Van Cleef and Leif Garrett (Gianfranco Parolini's Pistola di Dio was the other), this spaghetti western was actually shot in the Middle East by American director Joseph Manduke. Pop star Garrett plays Tom, a teenager who teams with a black gunfighter named Isaac (Jim Brown) to avenge his family. The culprit was McClain (Van Cleef), a sadistic outlaw who carried out the brutal rape-massacre, but his role is minor, as most of the film deals with Tom's maturation and coming to terms with his feelings. Omnipresent 1970s character actors Glynnis O'Connor and John Marley co-star. If there is anything remarkable about Kid Vengeance, it is Francesco Masi's fine musical score, but the film is otherwise anemic. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leif Garrett, Jim Brown, (more)
