David Cryer Movies
- 1991
In this concluding episode of the first two-part Law & Order, the case against mob boss Frank Masucci (Charles Cioffi), aka "the Dandy Don," ignominiously collapses in a heap. Frustrated, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) vows to put Masucci in prison by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, this may require the D.A.'s office to place their confidence in Masucci's brother-in-law Harv Beigel (Bruce Altman), whose "cooperation" has already resulted in disaster. Meanwhile, detectives Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth), likewise anxious to get rid of Masucci, turn up the heat on a "small fish" named Joe Pilefsky (Stephen McHattie). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
A frozen corpse, dressed in a tuxedo, is found in a dumpster. It soon develops that the dead man was killed five years earlier, and that he was a prominent Broadway producer. The detectives and the DA's office move quickly to prosecute the most likely suspect, the victim's hated show-biz rival. Frank Converse, star of the 1967 "cult" TV series Coronet Blue, appears as Gary Wallace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The omnibus film New York Stories is the product of three powerhouse filmmakers. The film is divided into three stories, each exploring a different aspect of life in the Big Apple. Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorcese, is a Dostoevsky-like tale of the rarefied Art World, with Nick Nolte as a self-indulgent abstractionist who loves Rosanna Arquette, but can't bring himself to lie to her about her negligible artistic talents. Life Without Zoe, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is more than a little reminiscent of Kay Thompson's Eloise stories, with 12-year-old Zoe (Heather McComb) running amok at the Sherry-Netherland hotel while her parents are embarked upon a world-girdling vacation. The last and is Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks, wherein a schnooky lawyer (guess who?) inadvertently "creates" the Jewish Mother From Hell: thanks to a misguided magic trick, Allen's mama (the incomparable Mae Questel) becomes a huge spectral vision on the New York skyline, telling everyone within earshot about her son's inadequacies. The cinematographer lineup on New York Stories includes Nestor Almendros, Vittorio Storaro and Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
- 1986
Robert Conrad stars in One Police Plaza as a New York homicide detective. A case on which he's working, involving the murder of a beautiful woman, is ordered closed by Conrad's superiors. Refusing to give up, the detective probes deeper, and unearths a hotbed of crooked cops, dirty "brass" and illegal weapons. Made for television, One Police Plaza was initially telecast on November 29, 1986, easily outrating a Jack Paar "comeback" special. The film was based on the bestselling novel by William J. Caunitz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Though purportedly set in Argentina, Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Call Without a Number was rather obviously filmed in and around New York. Roy Scheider stars as the real-life Timerman, a Jewish Argentinian journalist who speaks out against the repressive government. In response, the authorities imprison and torture Timerman, then place him under house arrest for 18 months. Liv Ullman costars as Timerman's wife, who gives him the courage to persevere. Veteran scenarist Budd Schulberg was so taken aback by the changes made in his script that he had his name removed from the credits, in favor of the alias "Oliver P. Drexell Jr." The viewer will be likewise put out; advertised as a sociological masterpiece in the tradition of The Life of Emile Zola, Jacobo Timerman looks more like a cheapjack, cardboard product from the Dark Ages of live television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A slick Los Angeles callboy finds love and redemption in Paul Schrader's ultra-stylish drama. High-living prostitute Julian Kay (Richard Gere, stepping in for John Travolta) has it all: the Mercedes, the clothes, access to Beverly Hills' swankiest establishments, and a stable of rich, older female clients. But it all falls apart after he does a favor for his former pimp (Bill Duke) and the trick turns up dead a short while later; Julian's actual client won't give him an alibi, and police detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) doesn't believe the gigolo's denials. The one person who can help him is frustrated politician's wife (and sole non-paying bedmate) Michelle (Lauren Hutton), if only Julian could let down his defenses and accept her gesture of love. Mixing his admiration for European art cinema with a voyeuristic view of the seamier side of sex and affluence, Schrader renders Julian an inscrutable, emotionally disengaged purveyor of pleasure, decked out in Giorgio Armani clothes coordinated with Ferdinando Scarfiotti's meticulous production design. Amid critical doubts about its artiness and distanced eroticism, American Gigolo surprised everyone by not dying on the box office vine. With some audiences reportedly showing up for repeat viewings of Gere's seductive charms, it became a moderate hit, turning Gere into a star and Armani into the new fashion sensation. Whatever reservations one may have about the movie, it provided two indelible images of 1980s decadence to come: Gere's perusing his "artist's palette" of shirts, ties, and jackets, and Gere's cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in his convertible to the New Wave strains of Blondie's "Call Me". ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, (more)
No one can escape from Alcatraz, right? Try telling that to lifer Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood). This Donald Siegel-directed nailbiter is a reenactment of Frank Morris' 1962 attempt to bust himself and two other cons out of The Rock. Eastwood, as Morris, tilts with nasty warden Patrick McGoohan for a while, befriends several fellow prisoners, and picks the guys with whom he'll make his escape. Among his break-out buddies are the Anglin Brothers (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau), with whom he'd served in other lockups, and several others who've got their own special reasons to despise the sadistic McGoohan. Filmed on location at the newly renovated Alcatraz, Escape From Alcatraz was another box-office winner for the Eastwood/Siegel combo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
