James Coburn

James Coburn Film Collection features over one hour of trailers for a variety of films that starred the movie star who scored his only Oscar nomination, and win, for his work in Paul Schrader's Affliction. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Two Oscar-winning actors add a family-oriented comedy to their resumes with this Disney-produced arctic adventure. Snow Dogs stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as Ted Brooks, a Florida-dwelling dentist with a successful chain of offices and a comfy, poolside lifestyle. All this changes, however, when he finds out that he was actually adopted as a child, and that his birth mother has died and left him an inheritance in her home state of Alaska, of all places. After arriving in the snow-bound clime, Ted learns that he has been willed a pack of cutely named sled dogs: Demon, Diesel, Dutchess, Nana, Mack, Scooper, Sniff, and Yodel. Problem is, the town's premiere sled-dogger, Thunder Jack (James Coburn), wants the pack for himself, and encourages Ted to go back to his tropical environs. But with a major sled-dog race looming, Ted's inspired to learn the ropes, as it were, and prove himself worthy of his birth mother's inheritance -- any way he can. Snow Dogs was directed by Jingle All the Way's Brian Levant and features some animatronic dog effects by Jim Henson's Creature Shop; the script was very loosely adapted from popular author Gary Paulsen's nonfiction book Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

James Coburn stars in this disappointing drama about a man who tracks the gun he believes killed his daughter. Living out his twilight years in a dreary, snowbound Vermont town, tragedy strikes when his beloved daughter (Virginia Madsen) returns home for the holidays. While out doing some last minute shopping, she is shot and killed, seemingly by a nameless local thug. Crushed by her tragic and sudden death Coburn's hard-working everyman falls to pieces and decides to set out on in search of the weapon that laid the final blow. Also in search of his estranged granddaughter, Coburn crisscrosses the country as he comes into contact with the various owners of the titular weapon, hearing each of their diverse stories. ~ Rachel Deahl, All Movie Guide

This three-hour miniseries adapts Marion Zimmer Bradley's feminist recasting of the Arthurian mythos into a big-budget cable television event. In ancient England, Christianity is spreading and the Saxons are invading. It's up to Viviane (Anjelica Huston) -- Lady of the Lake and high priestess of the kingdom's ancient pagan religion -- to make sure that the next king will honor both the old and new faiths and thereby banish the barbarian hordes. Viviane manipulates her sister Igraine (Caroline Goodall) into marrying King Uther Pendragon (Mark Lewis Jones) and bearing a son, Arthur (Edward Atterton) -- much to the consternation of Viviane's other sister, the power-hungry Morgause (Joan Allen). Arthur grows up happily with his older half-sister, Morgaine (Julianna Margulies), until Merlin (Michael Byrne) spirits him off for training and Viviane brings Morgaine to the mystical island of Avalon to develop her magical connection to the Goddess. Years later, the siblings reunite in a masked mating ritual, unaware that their union is incestuous -- or that their son, Mordred (Hans Matheson), will fall into Morgause's clutches and destroy the delicate balance that Viviane has sought to maintain. As Arthur gathers the knights of the round table and ushers in a golden age with Queen Gwenhwyfar (Samantha Mathis) at his side, the seeds of his destruction, and Avalon's, have already been planted -- by Arthur himself. Filmed on-location in Prague, The Mists of Avalon premiered on the TNT cable network July 15 and 16, 2001. Director Uli Edel, best known for his feature adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn, had previously helmed Purgatory for TNT. The titular mists -- developed by Edel and executive producer Mark Wolper -- utilized custom fluid dynamic software designed specifically for the project. Celtic musician Loreena McKennitt added her theme music to composer Lee Holdridge's score. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

After exploring the worlds of toys and bugs in the two Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, the award-winning computer animation company Pixar delves into the realm of monsters with its fourth feature. Hulking, blue-furred behemoth James P. "Sully" Sullivan (John Goodman) and his one-eyed assistant Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) are employed by Monsters, Inc., a scream processing factory. It seems that the denizens of their realm thrive on the screams of kids spooked by monsters lurking under their beds and in their closets. It's the job of Sully, Mike, and their co-workers, including sarcastic Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), crab-like CEO Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn), and lovely snake-headed receptionist Celia (Jennifer Tilly) to keep the frights flowing. When Sully and Mike are followed back into the monster world by a very unafraid little human girl named Boo (Mary Gibbs), they are exiled to her universe, where they discover that such a modern-day mythological specimen as the Abominable Snowman is a fellow refugee. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, Rob Lowe is a prison inmate who hears more than he was meant to when the convict in the next cell is murdered. The inmate discovers that the murder is just one of a series of killings meant to thin out the inmate population, with the guards working in collusion with members of a victims' rights group seeking their own brand of justice against criminals who escape the death penalty. Proximity also stars James Coburn, Fred Ward, and Jonathan Banks; it was the first feature from Zinc Pictures, a company formed by noted producer Joel Silver to produce quality low-budget films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this two-part miniseries, the formative days of rock & roll are relived through the experiences of a fictional musical quartet called the Heartaches. The group is led by the handsome Tyler (Brad Hawkins), whose heart belongs to Lyne (Bonnie Somerville), the female member of the band. Along the bumpy road to fame, Tyler achieves enormous success, his ego swelling with every new gig -- and the chasm between himself and his three fellow band members growing ever wider. Eventually Lyne breaks up with Tyler, finding success of her own in a most unexpected fashion. The soundtrack reverberates with expert re-creations of vintage rock & roll tunes, while B.B. King shows up to offer a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Fur Slippers." Shake, Rattle & Roll: An American Love Story was telecast on November 7 and 10, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Porter (Mel Gibson) is pulled into a heist by his old friend, Val (Brian De Palma regular, Gregg Henry). As they're stealing $130,000 in laundered drug money from Chinese Triads, no one is going to call the police. Everything goes smoothly until Porter's wife, Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger), shoots Porter in the back. After Val had shown Lynn a photo of Porter in the arms of another girl (Maria Bello), the two planned the double-cross together to pay off Val's mob debts so he could return to "The Syndicate." They didn't plan well enough, though, because five months later Porter's back, a complete sociopath who wants his $70,000. Brian Helgeland, the screenwriter for L.A. Confidential and Conspiracy Theory, makes his directing debut with this adaptation of the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake writing under the pseudonym, Richard Stark. The same novel served as the basis for John Boorman's Point Blank starring Lee Marvin. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide

A group of special Navy officers are assigned to a cruise ship to look out for the daughter of an important man. Their mettle is put to the test once the voyage is underway when a band of terrorists take over the liner and capsize it. The situation is further exacerbated by the presence of a nuclear warhead set loose in the seas around them. The film's eclectic cast includes Costas Mandylor, Finola Hughes, and James Coburn. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable black-comedy stars Beau Bridges as a governor in a future United States, with an unusual plan for his state. Bridges stars as Jim Farley, the Governor of Idaho, who decides that the only way to keep the new immigrants out of his state is to close down the borders. Defying the President (Phil Hartman), he gets some help implementing his plan from some zealots in militias. Bridges won the Emmy for his performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Entrepreneur and aspiring film producer Kevin Johnson is presumed dead when his car is pulled out of the harbor after an accident, and a British documentary film crew comes to Los Angeles to trace the story of his rise and fall in this mockumentary. While Johnson rubbed elbows with movie stars and Hollywood power brokers, most of whom remember him fondly on camera, his greatest talent seems to have been his gift for schmoozing and his willingness to tell people what they want to hear (and get them what they want for the evening). He got his start by bribing a travel agent, Fred Barrett (Guy Siner), to put him next to the right people on flights to and from L.A., and with the help of agent Ricky Ryan (John Hillard), he begins pitching his script idea to anyone and everyone who might listen. However, it was Kevin's willingness to find female companionship for men in power (and eagerness to blackmail his new "friends") that helped get him financing for his project just before his car hit the water. James Coburn, Pierce Brosnan and Dudley Moore appear as themselves, and director Francis Megahy plays the leader of the documentary film crew. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide