Phil Ramone Movies
Director Tim Hunter (The River's Edge) and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Casino) join forces for this fact-based crime thriller detailing the downfall of Miami's hottest nightclub. Chris Troiano (Jason Gedrick) owns the trendiest nightclub in all of South Beach; a place where the line always winds down the block and only the most beautiful people make it past the velvet rope. Andy (Donnie Walhberg) is Troiano's right-hand man, and whatever the boss says, goes. Lately, the local law enforcement has been snooping around the club, an unsettling fact that doesn't set well with the steroid shooting club owner. The cops know that Troiano is crooked, and it's only a matter of time before he slips. When he does, the storm that follows will blow in from a direction Troiano never anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2003
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Independent filmmaker Mark Moormann directs the feature-length documentary Tom Dowd and the Language of Music. Shot on color and black-and-white16 mm film stock, the biography is a personal portrait of legendary recording engineer and producer Tom Dowd. The man himself is featured in a series of interviews from 1996 (the year he won a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) until 2002 (the year of his death). Filmed at Criteria Studios in Miami, FL, he is shown both at work behind the soundboards as well as reflecting on his memorable career. Other interview subjects include artists Ray Charles and Eric Clapton; record producers Phil Ramone and Arif Mardin; and surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tom Dowd and the Language of Music premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Dowd, Ray Charles, (more)
- 2001
Harry Dean Stanton narrates this documentary that takes a look at the career of the musical group the Band. The group emerged in the late 1960s and their musical style was something new for the times -- a style that went beyond the psychedelic musical movement of the 60's. Go behind the scenes and see the private and professional lives of the band members. Hear how they became a group and what inspires their musical style. This video highlights music from the albums Music From Big Pink, and The Band. See film footage from performances of: "The Weight, "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," "Up On Cripple Creek," and "Life is a Carnival." ~ Beth Deki, All Movie Guide
- 2001
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This program presents an all-star musical cast at a live concert at Radio City Music Hall on March 29, 2001. The musicians gathered to pay tribute to the genius of Brian Wilson. The former member of the Beach Boys is widely regarded as one of the best songwriters America has ever produced. His songs are performed here by Carly Simon, Elton John, David Crosby, and Ricky Martin. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
- 2001
In the early days of rock & roll in the '50s, while the public knew the voices and faces of the folks who snag the tunes, it was often the people behind the scenes who truly held the talent that made a song a hit, and as the sounds of "teenage music" took over the charts, a new breed of young songwriters and producers became giants in the industry. Hit Makers: The Teens Who Stole Pop Music tells the story of the kids (mostly Jewish, mostly from Brooklyn) who wrote the tunes and brainstormed the sessions for some of the biggest hits of the era out of offices in New York City's Brill Building, where music publishing mogul Don Kirschner had the likes of Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Neil Sedaka under contract. Beginning with the start of the rock era and ending with the rise of hard rock and singer/songwriters at the dawn of the '70s, Hit Makers tells the story of some of the truly unsung heroes of American popular music, complete with interviews from the songwriters and producers, as well as the performers who helped bring their great songs to life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2000
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This special two-night October 2000 concert features pop legend Elton John at one of the only venues that can match his blend of glamour and sophistication, New York's Madison Square Garden. Guest stars like Bryan Adams, Kiki Dee, Mary J. Blige, and Billy Joel team with the star to showcase some of his biggest hits from the past four decades, including "Your Song," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Rocket Man," "I'm Still Standing," and "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Jon Bon Jovi and Bai Ling star in this culture-clash romance about a down-and-out ex-con and a lonely Chinese immigrant. Just out of Riker's Island for taking the fall for his thuggish brother Gil (William Forsythe), Jamey (Bon Jovi) lands low-paying work as a door to door census taker. On the job, he happens upon Chun Hua (Ling) who lives with her baby, her grumpy middle-aged husband, and her meddlesome mother-in-law. Taking advantage of her poor English, Jamey asks a series of increasingly personal questions under the guise of official necessity, learning that Chun Hua is desperately lonely in her unhappy arranged marriage. A slow, hesitant relationship develops between the two. Later, Gil stumbles back into Jamey's life, up to his neck in debt with a blood-thirsty Chinese gangster. As a result, Jamey finds himself and especially Chun Hua in danger. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Bon Jovi, William Forsythe, (more)
Recorded in front of a live audience at the Gershwin Theater in New York City, family-oriented singer Raffi once again took stage in front of a huge crowd of children and parents. Among the selection are old-time favorites "Baby Beluga" and "This Little Light," as well as several newer, lesser known songs about the Earth. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Jimmy Corona (James Lorinz) is related to a bunch of mafia types, sure, but he has always earned his living writing potboiler exposés on the killing of John F. Kennedy. Now his publisher insists that he write something gritty about society's underside instead. This makes the youngish man suicidal, but none of his amateurish attempts to end his own life succeeds. Eventually he decides to seek out his mobster uncle (Tony Darrow), who takes him under his wing. He is just getting into the swing of this new life when he is snared by the cops to get the goods on his uncle's second in command. However, Jimmy's competence and luck in this, as in everything else, soon turns sour, when his body mike starts playing that day's ball game. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Lorinz, Tony Darrow, (more)
- 1990
How to Get a Record Deal is a video made for musicians looking to break into the recording industry. Acknowledging the huge challenge unknown musicians face, the program arms viewers with insider information on the industry and advice on what it takes to succeed. Artists Michael Bolton, Phil Collins, Mark Knopfler, Kenny Loggins, Randy Newman, Phil Ramone, Jody Watley, and others offer tips and candid advice. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
Meant to cash in on the breakdancing mania of the early 1980s, this run-of-the-mill teen movie is undercut by casting Lorenzo Lamas in the role of Chilly D, a breakdancing king, while Magick (La Ron A. Smith) who teaches Chilly the fine art of the acrobatic moves is a real pro. Once Chilly has mastered his new talent, he gets an offer to perform in a high-class club. Lusting after fame and status, Chilly leaves his girlfriend, mother, and buddies behind to focus on a new lifestyle that includes an upscale apartment, a new girlfriend, and as one might guess, all the things he never really wanted. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lorenzo Lamas, Vicki Frederick, (more)
Jennifer Beals stars as Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel-mill welder by day, and bar dancer by night. Harboring dreams of a career in ballet, she is given financial support in this endeavor by her boss Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) and moral support by demanding but big-hearted instructor Hanna Long (Lilia Skala). The film's signature scene is, of course, Alex's water-drenched dance audition, largely performed in long shot by her dance double Marine Jahan. Essentially an old-fashioned backstage yarn, Flashdance was given a contemporary spin by its pulsating, musical score featuring the Oscar-winning Best Song, Flashdance...What a Feeling, (music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Irene Cara). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, (more)
- 1970
- R
Unwilling to claw his way to the top of the corporate ladder, the college-educated Jonathan (Jordan Christopher) prefers the carefree life of a cab driver. A rebel, he vents his daily frustration by kicking pigeons in the park. The film's rambling plot encompasses such eccentric characters as a naive motorcyclist, a gay interior decorator and a parent-subsidized hippie who embarks upon a bumpy romance with Jonathan, whose lack of commitment proves his downfall. Very much a product of its times (psychedelic camerawork and all), Pigeons was originally released under the strenuously "hip" title Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jordan Christopher, Jill O'Hara, (more)
Kevin Spacey serves as both director and star for this biopic based on the life and career of legendary entertainer Bobby Darin, which moves back and forth between his childhood and adult selves to tell the tale of his remarkable life. Born Bobby Cassotto and raised in the Bronx, young Bobby (played as a child by William Ullrich) was raised by his mother, Polly (Brenda Blethyn), his brother-in-law, Charlie (Bob Hoskins), and his sister, Nina (Caroline Aaron). At the age of 15, Bobby contracted a severe case of rheumatic fever, which was expected to take his life; while it left him with a weak heart, Bobby beat the odds and survived. Buoyed by a love of music passed along by his mother, Bobby learned to play several instruments and began singing as he recovered. Displaying a confidence and drive which stopped just short of arrogance, he adopted the stage name Bobby Darin and set his sights on becoming a star. After a string of hits as a rock & roll singer, Darin (played as an adult by Kevin Spacey) takes another gamble, and with the help of manager Steve Blauner (John Goodman) he reinvents himself as a supper-club vocalist in the manner of Frank Sinatra. All the more remarkably, he succeeds, and his swinging version of "Mack the Knife" tops the charts. Now a major singing star, Darin decides to take up acting; on the set of his first movie, he woos his female co-star Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth), and despite the stern objections of her mother (Greta Scacchi), Bobby and Sandra wed. But after a string of successful movies for Dee and hit records and an Oscar nomination for Darin, the shifting tastes of the 1960s throw their careers off-track. Bobby cautiously embraces the new sounds of the day, but his old fans don't want to hear him cover Bob Dylan or the Rolling Stones, while the younger audience isn't interested in his new sound, leaving Darin in a difficult place to make his way back to stardom. Kevin Spacey did his own singing for Beyond the Sea, recreating Bobby Darin's vocal style with uncanny accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, (more)
Based on the long-running Broadway play by Dennis Reardon, The Happiness Cage, a multinational filmmaking effort, is a drama about medical experimentation in the U.S. military. The experiment is a brain operation which removes pain, replacing it either with bliss or sensual satisfaction. It is at first attempted on terminal cancer patients, but finally the doctors receive permission to test the procedure on a healthy but thoroughly obnoxious subject (Christopher Walken). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
