Peter Coyote Movies
There are several theories as to why Peter Cohon chose the stage name of Peter Coyote; for his part, the actor is reluctant to discuss an event that apparently was the end result of an evening's experimentation with controlled substances. In the late 1960s, Coyote quit his job as a dockworker to "turn on, tune in and drop out." With hair so long that he could sit on it (by his own admission), Coyote was a "fringie" with such varied organizations as the Grateful Dead and the Hell's Angels, and also worked for a while with a guerilla mime group. After years of deprivation, Coyote dropped back into society in 1975, accepting a job as a drama teacher at a public school. Rapidly approaching middle age, Coyote entered films with 1980's Die Laughing. Throughout the 1980s, he alternated between good guys, villains, and a vaguely defined stereotype known as "loser boyfriends." As the vengeful public prosecutor in The Jagged Edge (1985), Coyote turns out not to be the film's principal heavy; even so, we leave the picture disliking his character more than anyone else's. Leading roles came his way in such films as Exposure (1991), but even here he could not completely escape an aura of slime (his ostensibly heroic character burrows through the seamy underside of Rio in search of a prostitute's murderer). One of Coyote's few unconditionally "nice" roles was as the enigmatic scientist Keys in the champion moneymaker E.T. (1982). In the late 1990s, Coyote published Sleeping Where I Fall, a candid memoir of his years as a cultural drop out. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Both a classic movie for kids and a remarkable portrait of childhood, E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that strange moment in youth when the world is a place of mysterious possibilities (some wonderful, some awful), and the universe seems somehow separate from the one inhabited by grown-ups. Henry Thomas plays Elliott, a young boy living with his single mother (Dee Wallace), his older brother Michael (Robert MacNaughton), and his younger sister Gertie (Drew Barrymore). Elliott often seems lonely and out of sorts, lost in his own world. One day, while looking for something in the back yard, he senses something mysterious in the woods watching him. And he's right: an alien spacecraft on a scientific mission mistakenly left behind an aging botanist who isn't sure how to get home. Eventually Elliott puts his fears aside and makes contact with the "little squashy guy," perhaps the least threatening alien invader ever to hit a movie screen. As Elliott tries to keep the alien under wraps and help him figure out a way to get home, he discovers that the creature can communicate with him telepathically. Soon they begin to learn from each other, and Elliott becomes braver and less threatened by life. E.T. rigs up a communication device from junk he finds around the house, but no one knows if he'll be rescued before a group of government scientists gets hold of him. In 2002, Steven Spielberg re-released E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in a revised edition, with several deleted scenes restored and digitally refurbished special effects. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, (more)
- 1982
- R
Based on a true story, Endangered Species stars Robert Urich and JoBeth Williams. Urich plays vacationing ex-cop Ruben Castle, while Williams portrays Harriet Purdue, a small-town sheriff. Intrigued by Purdue's investigation of a rash of cattle mutilations, Castle begins following the evidence trail himself. What has been attributed to a religious cult or extraterrestrials by the locals turns out to be a covert operation conducted by a corrupt cartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, JoBeth Williams, (more)
- 1982
- R
Released to cable TV in 1985, Breach of Contract was completed at least three years earlier. Starring in this domestic drama are Michael Margotta, Cindy Pickett, and George DiCenzo. Margotta and Pickett play a husband and wife, both of whom are career-oriented and want to continue pursuing their pre-nuptual jobs. They agree never to step on the other's ambitions. Unfortunately, both become too ambitious for their own good, and, true to the film's title, their verbal "contract" is shattered. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on a novel by Ronald Sukenick, this off-beat, slyly satirical road movie chronicles two decades in the life of a traveling mercenary who philosophizes about American culture and hopes to find himself while carrying out the orders of his enigmatic employer, who gives him assignments via bowls of vegetable soup. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Coyote
A handful of part time soldiers unwittingly turn a field exercise into a miniature war in this offbeat action drama from writer and director Walter Hill. A group of National Guard reservists are sent to Louisiana on a chilly weekend for war games exercises. None of these weekend warriors seem especially happy to be there, especially laid-back Spencer (Keith Carradine), tightly-wound macho man Reece (Fred Ward) and transplanted Texan Hardin (Powers Booth). While making their way through swamp country, the reservists discover their maps are out of date and they've become lost. Rather than march back to camp and start over, they decide to "borrow" several canoes they've found by the banks of the bayou, which should put them back on track. When a Cajun local catches the soldiers stealing his canoes, Stuckey (Lewis Smith) fires a few rounds in his direction; for the purposes of their exercises, the Guardsmen have been given blank shells, so Stuckey imagines this is a harmless way to scare the man off. However, the Cajun soon returns fire -- with real bullets. After Poole (Peter Coyote) is killed by a shotgun blast, the Guardsmen find themselves lost in a place they do not understand, surrounded by angry men determined to drive the unwelcome visitors off their land at all costs. A taut and atmospheric action film which is also serves as an intelligent and evocative metaphor for America's role in the Vietnam war, Southern Comfort also features an excellent score by guitarist (and frequent Walter Hill collaborator) Ry Cooder. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, (more)
The videotaped TV movie The People vs. Jean Harris premiered May 7, 1981-five weeks after the outcome of Jean Harris' trial. Ellen Burstyn plays Jean, the 57-year old headmistress of a Virginia girl's school. Jean was also the longtime lover of Scarsdale Diet author Dr. Herman Tarnower. On March 10, 1980, Jean was arrested for the murder of Dr. Tarnower. She never denied her guilt, but insisted that the court hear out her reasons. Those reasons form the dramatic core of this two-part, four-hour film (its second half was aired May 8, 1981). Martin Balsam and Peter Coyote co-star as, respectively, the defense and prosecuting attorneys. It was difficult for contemporary reviewers to assess The People vs. Jean Harris, since it wasn't completed until virtually the eve of its television premiere. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Martin Balsam, (more)
- 1981
Isabel (Jean Stapleton), a widowed executive secretary, is forced into early retirement by executive Lymon Jones (Richard Kiley), whom she herself trained. Actually, Jones has an ulterior motive; he's fallen in love with Isabel, and wants to marry her. Now Isabel must choose between Jones or keeping her job in order to train Jones's successor Peter Coyote. For her work in Isabel's Choice (working title: A Life of Her Own), Jean Stapleton won an award from the National Commission for Working Women. The made-for-TV film was first telecast December 16, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Featuring Lila Kedrova and Melvyn Douglas as elderly couple Eva and David who, after forty years of a less-than-satisfying marriage, find the lost love they once had for each other as they travel to San Francisco to visit their grandchildren. Actress Lee Grant's first directorial feature, this drama is based on a novella by Tillie Olsen. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvyn Douglas, Lila Kedrova, (more)
- 1980
Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Beck, Telly Savalas, (more)
- 1980
- PG
In this black comedy, a humble cab driver spends his days daydreaming of becoming a rock-star. His blissful reverie is one day interrupted when ends up inadvertently blamed for the assassination of a world-renowned nuclear scientist. Soon afterward he finds that he has a stowaway, the late scientist's chimpanzee, the only one who knows his master's secret formula, which if ever written down could cause the destruction of the world. Now the hapless taxi driver must evade both the cops and two villainous Russian Spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Linda Grovenor, (more)
The first-ever American Indian-produced documentary to air on a major television network, The World of American Indian Dance premiered on NBC on April 19, 2003. Filmed at the Crow Fair in Montana with high-definition video, it features a cast and crew from various tribal groups, including the Oneida, Ponca, and Lakota. Narrated by Peter Coyote, this program introduces the unique styles of Native American dance traditions across different tribes and nations. Includes separate chapters for each dance, including the Indian Wheel, Crow Hop, Grass Dance, and Fancy Dance. Also includes separate chapters for men's and women's traditional dances. These ancient dances have proven to have a lasting influence on many contemporary American Indians. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
