Liev Schreiber Movies
Displaying the kind of off-kilter charm that makes him a natural for leading roles in independent films and character parts in mainstream features, Liev Schreiber has made a name for himself on both circuits. Born October 4, 1967, in San Francisco, Schreiber was raised on New York's Lower East Side. A graduate of Hampshire College in Massachusetts, he initially wanted to become a writer, but later decided to try his hand at acting, training at both London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Yale School of Drama.Schreiber's first acting job was on Broadway, where he appeared in In the Summer House. More theater work followed and in 1994, the actor made his film debut in the Steve Martin comedy Mixed Nuts. The film was an unequivocal flop, although Schreiber's role as a rather muscular transvestite proved to be one of the picture's few memorable features.
His next project, the 1995 indie Denise Calls Up, fared a little better; despite almost non-existent box-office ratings, it was rewarded with critical approval. Following more minor film work, he landed the role of a British bouncer in the successful indie flick Party Girl (1995), which also starred nascent indie queen Parker Posey. Schreiber got an introduction to a more mainstream audience thanks to his role as killer Cotton Weary in Wes Craven's mega-hit Scream, a role he reprised in the film's sequel, Scream 2 (1997). The same year, Schreiber had leading roles in two more independent films, The Daytrippers (which again paired him with Posey) and Walking and Talking, as well as a secondary role in the bloated Mel Gibson thriller Ransom.
Deftly straddling the divide between Sundance and the studio, Schreiber went on to make three major mainstream pictures in 1998: Phantoms, with Rose McGowan and Ben Affleck; Twilight with Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman, and Gene Hackman; and Sphere with Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, and Dustin Hoffman. The following year, Schreiber returned to more familiar territory with his role in Tony Goldwyn's small but successful drama A Walk on the Moon. As the man Diane Lane cuckolds for Viggo Mortensen, Schreiber mined endless possibilities from what could have been a narrow role, giving his character the sort of charming, good-intentioned inadequacy that became one of the actor's trademarks.
In 2000, Schreiber returned to the role of Cotton Weary a third time to close out the Scream franchise. It was around this time that he also began doing a considerable amount of voice-over work, mainly for PBS's NOVA series. As the decade progressed, Schreiber continued to be a presence in bigger mainstream projects, such as the 2002 adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears. Two years later, he could be seen in another high-profile, politically tinged thriller, this time opposite Denzel Washington in director Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate.
In 2005 he made his directorial and screenwriting debut with Everything Is Illuminated, and appeared in the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe-winning HBO movie Lackawanna Blues, a life-affirming film about a selfless black woman (played by S. Epatha Merkerson) in 1950s segregated New York who provides a home and a guiding hand to the youths who come to live at her boarding house. His 2006 project would be quite a departure from this sweet, poignant tale, as Schreiber took the role of Robert Thorne in John Moore's remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen. Heavily publicized for its "666" release date (June 6th, 2006), the film pleased horror fans, as did Schreiber's performance as husband to Julia Stiles and father to the infamous Damien, a little boy who seems to harbor an evil that at best makes him disturbingly cold and at worst, places him at the crux of the devil's own plan for hell on Earth.
Schreiber next went into production on The Painted Veil, an adaptation of the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Playing the playboy whom Naomi Watts cuckolds her husband with, the actor immersed himself in the part for the drama.
Meanwhile, a return to the stage in the lauded revival of Glengarry Glen Ross not only earned Schreiber a Tony award, and in 2005 he made his debut as a film director and screenwriter with the indie Everything Is Illuminated. Always up for new challenges, he played the role of the comic-book supervillain Sabertooth in the 2009 summer blockbuster X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In addition to his acting, Schreiber also has a lucrative career narrating documentaries and commercials. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was convicted of murdering his wife, and his punishment was execution. Like other victims of capital punishment, DNA and forensic work later revealed that he was entirely innocent of the crime. What makes this case of particular interest is the fact that the Dr.'s execution occurred in 1910. This documentary presents this new evidence in the case, and makes the argument that turn-of-the-century justice may be full of unjustly convicted people like Crippen. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber
- 1948
- NR
In the fall of 1945, the first in a series of military tribunals took place in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany; the purpose of the investigation was to try members of the Third Reich for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Axis forces during World War II, and to document what had happened under their watch. The trials were filmed for posterity, and filmmakers Stuart Schulberg and Budd Schulberg were commissioned by American intelligence to make a film that would offer a concise but accurate summary of what had been revealed during the Nuremberg Trials. Incorporating footage from the trials with material from Nazi propaganda films and newsreel images of the consequences of the German pogroms, Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today was shown in German theaters in 1948 in an effort to educate German citizens about the full extent of their former leaders' crimes. However, the film fell out of circulation within a few years, and was never released in the United States. In 2005, Sandra Schulberg (Stuart's daughter) and Josh Waletzky spearheaded an effort to restore the documentary and create an English-language version; five years later, the restored print (featuring newly recorded narration by Liev Schreiber) was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto Jewish Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
A holiday comedy with dark overtones, Mixed Nuts presents a supposedly humorous look at the behind-the-scenes events at a crisis hotline on Christmas Eve. Philip (Steve Martin) runs Lifesavers, a Venice, California organization dedicated to helping the depressed and troubled. Unfortunately, Philip is a bit down himself, having learned that Lifesavers is on the verge of eviction. His staff isn't feeling particularly helpful either, with Mrs. Munchnik (Madeline Kahn) giving gruff, often insulting advice, and Catherine (Rita Wilson) obsessing over her own unspoken love for Philip. As the holiday approaches, various weirdoes of all shapes and sizes -- from to a pregnant clothing store owner (Juliette Lewis) to a disenchanted Santa Claus (Anthony LaPaglia) -- begin dropping in, throwing the already strained office into utter chaos. Director Nora Ephron followed her smash success Sleepless in Seattle with this remake of the cult 1982 French comedy Le Père Noël est une Ordure, co-authoring the script with her sister Delia Ephron. However, Mixed Nuts met with little box office or critical approval, with most viewers finding the film's manic farce disappointingly forced and abrasive. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Madeline Kahn, (more)
- 1995
- Add Biography: Mussolini - Italy's Nightmare to Queue Add Biography: Mussolini - Italy's Nightmare to top of Queue
Part of the Biography television series from A&E, this documentary reviews the career and personal life of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He quickly became one of Italy's most intelligent and menacing young Socialists. He broke with the Italian Socialist Party after advocating intervention in World War 1. In 1922, he became prime minister, and by 1925, he had established himself as dictator. His rule saw an official totalitarian system; the establishment of the Vatican state; the annexation of Abyssinia and Albania; and the formation of the Axis with Germany. His declaration of war on Britain and France was followed by a series of defeats in Africa and in the Balkans. Following the Allied invasion of Sicily, his supporters deserted him, and he was overthrown and arrested. Rescued from imprisonment by German paratroopers, he was placed in charge of the puppet Italian Social Repbulic, but in 1945 he was captured by the Italian Resistance and executed. ~ John Patrick Sheehan, Rovi
A star-studded cast appears in this made-for-television movie about Calamity Jane and her cohorts. Anjelica Huston stars as the infamous cowgirl Calamity Jane, a colorful Western character who, among other things, starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. The movie explores her unconventional lifestyle and friendship with brothel madame Dora DuFran (Melanie Griffith). Sam Elliott stars as Wild Bill Hickok, one of Jane's lovers, and country singer Reba McEntire appears as Annie Oakley. The film was nominated for many Emmy Awards (but won only one) and co-stars Elliott and Griffith picked up Golden Globe nominations. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
- 1995
- PG13
Thanks to the technological marvels of wireless phones, answering machines, the internet, and e-mail, it is no longer necessary actually to see anyone you know, and seven friends have taken this notion to its logical extreme in this comedy. Linda (Aida Turturro) throws a birthday party and to her dismay, none of her friends show up. The next day, while making phone calls with several acquaintances (none of whom ever meet face to face), Linda hears the same excuse from everyone: they were busy with work and tied up on the phone. Denise (Alanna Ubach), meanwhile, is pregnant, and she decides to call the father, Martin (Dan Gunther), whom she's never met; he made what he thought was an anonymous donation to a sperm bank, and he isn't so sure he wants to be part of the parenting process. Gale (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) wants to set up a blind date between her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) and Jerry (Liev Schreiber), who exchange photos via fax machine. The group ends up having a wake via conference call when one of their friends dies in a car accident, while talking on a cellular phone, of course. Denise Calls Up was the directorial debut for screenwriter Hal Salwen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, (more)
A lonely teenager thinks that he's found love, but it turns out to be more than he bargained for. Matt Leland (Chris O'Donnell) is an intelligent but awkward high school student who is in the market for a girlfriend but not having much luck finding one. One night, while looking at the stars through his telescope, Matt accidentally trains his vision on Casey Roberts (Drew Barrymore), a high-spirited girl who lives on the other side of the lake near their home. Matt is smitten with her, and he maps out a scheme to meet her. He finds her brash and charming, and she seems just as fond of him. However, Matt doesn't know that Casey is manic depressive and has been in and out of mental institutions for most of her life. Her father Richard (Jude Ciccolella) wants to keep her in an institution, while her mother Margaret (Joan Allen) wants the best for her daughter but isn't sure what that is. Casey, however, wants to be with Matt, and she convinces him that her parents mean to harm her. They run away, planning to go to Mexico, but Matt begins to realize that Casey's mood swings are more serious than he imagined. Set in Seattle, Mad Love features an on-screen appearance by the Washington-based all-female hard rock band 7 Year Bitch; the soundtrack also features music by Nirvana, Luscious Jackson, Los Lobos, Cracker, and Grant Lee Buffalo. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chris O'Donnell, Drew Barrymore, (more)
The debut feature from director Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Party Girl pretty much cemented Parker Posey's status as the indie-film "it girl" of the 1990s. Posey stars as Mary, a fun-loving and irresponsible twentysomething New Yorker who prefers throwing bashes at her loft to pay the rent over getting a real job. But when one of her shindigs gets broken up by the cops, Mary lands in the slammer and is forced to enlist the help of her librarian godmother, Judy (Sasha von Scherler, the director's mother). In order to prove that she's not the layabout she seems to be, Mary begins working at the library with Judy. Party Girl was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and was later turned into a short-lived Fox sitcom. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Parker Posey, Omar Townsend, (more)
A Manhattan woman struggles with loneliness in the face of her best friend's imminent marriage in this well-received independent comedy from first-time writer-director Nicole Holofcener. Amelia (Catherine Keener) feels isolated because her friend Laura (Anne Heche) has been devoting all her time to preparing for her upcoming wedding. Desperate, she resorts to the unthinkable: dating the nerdy, Fangoria-obsessed clerk at her local video store (Kevin Corrigan). This discouraging encounter, along with some awkward conversations with her former boyfriend, leave her even more depressed and jealous of Laura's good fortune. However, Laura soon reveals that she is having her own doubts about her future. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Catherine Keener, Anne Heche, (more)
Scream is at once a slasher film and a tongue-in-cheek position paper on the "dead teenagers" movies of the late 1970s/early 1980s that plays as half-parody, half-tribute. Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is having a rough time lately: she's still getting over the brutal rape and murder of her mother a year ago, and now one of her friends (Drew Barrymore) has been killed by a lunatic who harassed her with terrifying phone calls, then stabbed her to death while wearing a Halloween costume. Soon Sydney is receiving similar phone calls, quizzing her on the arcane details of such films as Friday the 13th and Prom Night, and is attacked by the same cloaked maniac. With her father missing, she has hardly anyone on her side except her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's brother Dewey (David Arquette), a half-bright cop. As for the murderer, it could be any number of people: Syd's father; her cute but overly intense boyfriend Billy (Skeet Ullrich); Tatum's goofball boyfriend Stuart (Matthew Lillard); or Randy (Jamie Kennedy), who works at the local video store and seems to like horror movies just a little too much. Much like Halloween, Scream spawned a series of sequels and inspired a large number of similar films -- its original working title, Scary Movie, became the title of the 2000 parody film by Damon Wayans. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, (more)
Ron Howard directed this thriller which stars Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen, a former fighter pilot who built a ramshackle one-plane airline into a major multinational service fleet. Mullen has a multi-million dollar fortune, a beautiful wife, Kate (Rene Russo) and a nine-year-old son, Sean (Brawley Nolte) that he dotes on. However, Mullen's life comes crashing down around him when Sean is kidnapped. The FBI are called in, but Mullen is wary -- he was the recent target of an FBI investigation in which he was found to have bribed union officials while negotiating a contract. FBI Agent Hawkins (Delroy Lindo) advises Mullen to make the $2 million dollar drop to pay the kidnappers, which will make it easier to track the criminals, but when the tradeoff goes wrong, Mullen takes a new tactic -- he goes on television and offers a $2 million bounty for the heads of the people who kidnapped his child. Meanwhile, it becomes clear the kidnappers include Maris Connor (Lili Taylor), who once worked for the Mullens, and Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise), one of the cops who investigated Mullen for bribery. This remake of the 1956 Glenn Ford vehicle of the same name was scripted by Richard Price, who has a bit part as a police detective. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, (more)
- 1996
- R
The debut from writer/director Greg Mottola, The Daytrippers follows a Long Island family as they make a disastrous journey into New York City. The impetus is a love letter discovered by suburbanite Eliza (Hope Davis) which seemingly incriminates her publisher husband Louis (Stanley Tucci) in an extramarital affair. To solve the mystery, Eliza, her parents (Anne Meara and Pat McNamara), her oddball sister Jo (Parker Posey) and Jo's boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber) all pile into the family station wagon in a misbegotten attempt to track Louis down. Beginning as a playful, satiric look at family dynamics, The Daytrippers occasionally loses its way, becoming increasingly dark and venomous as it rushes towards the revelations of its final moments. For all of its flaws, however, it's often an engaging debut. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hope Davis, Pat McNamara, (more)
A year after the monstrous success of 1996's neo-slasher flick Scream, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson reunited for this follow-up. Since viewers last saw the characters, nosy newswoman Gale Weathers has written a sleazy best-selling book based on the events of the first film, a book that has been adapted into a Hollywood film called Stab, starring Tori Spelling as Sydney Prescott. The real Sydney (Neve Campbell) has since gone away to college in Cincinnati in hopes of leaving the horrific events of her past behind her. Unfortunately, at a showing of Stab, two college students are murdered in a fashion that is reminiscent of the slayings that took place back in Woodsboro. Suddenly, Sydney, her pal Randy (Jamie Kennedy), and dopy deputy Dewey (David Arquette) find themselves once again pursued by a ruthless masked killer. Among the other potential killers and victims are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laurie Metcalf, and Liev Schreiber. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Neve Campbell, (more)
- 1997
- NR
Neil Simon adapted this 1997 comedy from his 1972 play, first filmed in 1975 with Walter Matthau and George Burns as two feuding veteran vaudevillians reuniting to do a television special. For this new version, Simon updated the period and characters into a tale of two comedians (Woody Allen, Peter Falk), once popular in the 1950s. Their successful comedy team split up, but now Warner Brothers wants to bring them back together for cameos in a movie that's "funnier than Home Alone" -- so with salaries of $75,000 each, how can they refuse? Filmed in New York, this movie premiered December 28, 1997 on Hallmark Hall of Fame (CBS). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Peter Falk, (more)
Jealousy, infidelity, and a missing finger are the key ingredients in this dark independent comedy. Carol (Caroleen Feeney) and Glenn (Liev Schreiber) are a young couple whose first baby is due any day now. The last few months of her pregnancy have left Carol with little desire for sex, much to the annoyance of Glenn. As Carol is chopping carrots while making dinner, Glenn surprises her with a hug; she's so startled that the knife misses its mark and she instead slices off Glenn's pinky. The finger flies out the window, which sends both Glenn and Carol out into the street to look for it. The search for the lost digit leads to an argument, with Carol accusing Glenn of infidelity and Glenn accusing Carol of intending to hack off his penis instead. Carol finds the finger, but she holds it hostage until Glenn will name the other women he's been sleeping with. Eventually, the argument finds its way over to the home of Carol's best friend Pam (Cynthia Watros). It seems that Pam is also having marriage problems; she's jealous of her husband Nick (Michael Rispoli), but the truth is that Pam is the one who has been unfaithful. Nick, however, shows up just as Pam is making her confession to Carol. Glenn, meanwhile, just wants his finger back. His and Hers also marked the screen debut of noted actor and playwright Danny Hoch as Lenny. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Liev Schreiber, Caroleen Feeney, (more)
- 1997
CIA: America's Secret Warriors looks at those "Cold Warriors" who stood on the front lines of America's secret wars. Often called upon to operate outside and sometimes above the law, this series considers both the actions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the consequences of those actions on both the political future of the United States and the moral fabric of the world's most powerful democracy. Do the ends justify the often questionable means of this agency? It has been widely rumored that the agency itself was quite upset by this program. The third episode of the series, CIA: America's Secret Warriors, Part 3 - Blowback, considers the consequences of the CIA's involvement around the world. The program's assertions about the agency's involvement in the international drug trade are especially controversial. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 1997
CIA: America's Secret Warriors takes an in-depth look at those "Cold Warriors" who stood on the front lines of America's secret wars. Often called upon to operate outside and sometimes above the law, this series considers both the actions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the consequences of those actions on both the political future of the United States and the moral fabric of the world's most powerful democracy. Do the ends justify the often questionable means of this agency? It has been widely rumored that the agency itself was quite upset by this program. CIA: America's Secret Warriors, Part 2 - Betrayal examines those members of the agency who switched sides during the Cold War, including Kim Philby and Aldrich Ames. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 1997
CIA: America's Secret Warriors looks in-depth at those "Cold Warriors" who stood on the front lines of America's secret wars. Often called upon to operate outside and sometimes above the law, this series considers both the actions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the consequences of those actions on both the political future of the United States and the moral fabric of the world's most powerful democracy. Do the ends justify the often questionable means of this agency? It has been widely rumored that the agency itself was quite upset by this program. CIA: America's Secret Warriors, Part 1 - The Brotherhood presents interviews with several former high-ranking officials of the agency, including former directors William Colby, Stansfield Turner, and John Deutsch. These men speak about the mission of the agency. Also included are dissident voices such as that of Phillip Agee, a former agent who wrote a book critiquing the agency's methods. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi
- 1998
The American Experience presents Surviving the Dust Bowl, a one-hour account of the farmers of the Southern Plains who endured extraordinary conditions during the 1930s. This video traces the families as they traveled to the Plains in search of the good life. Finding rich topsoil, they felt they had hit gold and began plowing the land to sow their seeds of success. But unpredictable weather patterns and abusive farming techniques took them by surprise. Following a short-lived spell of bountiful crops, drought replaced the rains. Viewers learn about the unrelenting heat that turned the soil into dust because of overplowing. Then high winds whipped the dust into blinding storms so thick that people were coughing up dirt. Viewers experience the disillusionment that sent some packing for California, while others died of disease. But the majority of survivors stayed, their drive still thriving. Surviving the Dust Bowl explains the practical and drastic measures that kept these livelihoods and spirits afloat. ~ Brooke Hodess, Rovi
The Nobody's Fool (1994) team of Paul Newman, director Robert Benton, and scripter Richard Russo reassembled for this L.A. detective drama, beginning with a Puerto Vallarta prologue showing private eye Harry Ross (Newman) accidentally shot by 17-year-old Mel Ames (Reese Witherspoon) during his efforts to get her to return home. Two years later, the broke and divorced Ross lives in a garage apartment on the estate of Mel's parents, his movie-star friends Jack and Catherine Ames (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). The cancer-ridden Jack is not unaware that Harry is attracted to Catherine. Delivering a package for Jack, Harry encounters elderly Lester Ivar (M. Emmet Walsh), who shoots at Harry and then dies. Harry's curiosity is provoked when he discovers that Ivar was an investigator checking into the disappearance of Catherine's first husband, written off 20 years earlier as an unsolved case, but now reactivated as Harry's sleuth-work leads him on a trail of past crimes and cover-ups. The Ames residence is actually the former Cedric Gibbons-Delores Del Rio home, and a never-completed Frank Lloyd Wright house near Malibu served as the Ames' ranchhouse. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, (more)
Dean Koontz scripted this adaptation of his fantasy novel. The tale begins when two sisters, Lisa (Rose McGowan) and Jenny (Joanna Going) arrive for a ski vacation in the mountain resort town of Snowfield, Colorado, where they discover their landlady is dead and the town is deserted except for a single dead police officer. Lisa and Jenny are soon joined by Sheriff Bryce Hammond (Ben Affleck) and his deputies Stu Wargle (Liev Schreiber) and Steve Shanning (Nicky Katt). The five conclude that the entire town is missing or dead, but after they head for a local hotel, they hear a Patsy Cline tune emanating from the second floor -- where a scribbled message mentions "Timothy Flyte" and the "Ancient Enemy." After Wargle is attacked by a bizarre creature that sucks out his brain, Hammond radios for help. The Feds find Flyte (Peter O'Toole), a British professor who explains his theory of an Ancient Enemy, periodically emerging from inside the Earth to decimate civilizations. Human extinction looms, but Flyte and an Army commando unit arrive in Colorado with a plan of action. Directed by Joe Chappelle, who made Thieves Quartet (1994). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, (more)
Barry Levinson directed this $100+ million adaptation of Michael Crichton's science fiction novel about the investigation of a half-mile-long spacecraft sitting on the South Pacific ocean floor. Government functionary Barnes (Peter Coyote) assembles a crack scientific team -- psychologist Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman), who wrote a presidential report on alien contact; biochemist Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), once involved romantically with Goodman; mathematician Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson); and astrophysicist Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber). After descending a thousand feet, they set up housekeeping at their underwater Habitat base, suit up, and enter the craft, finding evidence that it's a U.S. ship from the future. However, the craft's cargo of a shimmering, golden sphere is definitely alien. After Harry contrives to enter the sphere, Norman notes his odd behavior. When the Habitat computer system receives an email message from the sphere ("I am happy"), it's not long before the messages from this entity take a threatening turn ("I will kill you all"), triggering fears to surface along with violent attacks to the Habitat. The film is divided into chapters, such as "The Ride Down," "The First Exchange," and "The Monster." Shot on soundstages at the abandoned Mare Island Naval Shipyard (Vallejo, California), the effects combine animation, miniatures, prosthetics, animatronics, and digital images. Ed Asner reads the Sphere audiobook. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, (more)
The personal turning points of a family in crisis are portrayed against the backdrop of one of America's most tumultuous summers in this drama. In 1969, Pearl Kantrowitz (Diane Lane) is spending the summer at a resort in the Catskills. Married to TV repairman Marty (Liev Schreiber) and the mother of two children, respectably middle-class Pearl feels trapped by domestic life and inwardly lusts after a traveling salesman named Walker (Viggo Mortensen). When Marty is called back to the city one weekend, Pearl impulsively arranges to meet Walker at a music festival going on in nearby Bethel, New York -- The Woodstock Music and Art Fair. However, Pearl doesn't realize that her teenage daughter Alison (Anna Paquin) has secret plans of her own, and when mother and daughter meet in the midst of hippiedoms's most celebrated moment, both have a lot of explaining to do, to each other and to Marty. A Walk On The Moon was produced in part by Dustin Hoffman, and premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Liev Schreiber, (more)
This remake of the 1975 German film Jakob der Lügner stars Robin Williams in a dramatic role as a man who uses his active imagination to bring a ray of hope where hope was all but unknown. Jakob Heym (Robin Williams) is the owner of a small café during the Nazi occupation of Poland; he has little money and is struggling to keep body and soul alive in the shadow of the Third Reich. One day, he overhears a radio broadcast, forbidden to Polish ears, that reports a major victory for Russian troops over the German army. Enthusiastic about this good news, Jakob begins spreading word of the Russian army's progress through the Polish ghetto. He notices that the story gives people hope and makes it easier for them to get through the day. So Jakob begins inventing stories and passing them along, creating fictional war reports that suggest that the occupation may soon be ending. However, when the occupation troops get wind of these stories, they become convinced that someone has communications equipment stashed away somewhere, and they're determined to find both the radio and its operator at all costs. Jakob the Liar was the first American feature for director Peter Kassovitz; the supporting cast includes Armin Mueller-Stahl, Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, and Liev Schreiber. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Alan Arkin, (more)
- 1999
- Add NOVA: The Killer's Trail - Murder Mystery of the Century to Queue Add NOVA: The Killer's Trail - Murder Mystery of the Century to top of Queue
With modern methods and precise science, Nova gets scientific to catch a killer. Nova: Murder Mystery of the Century takes the viewer behind the scenes of the case of Dr. Sam Sheppard. Accused of killing his wife Marilyn in 1954, Sheppard was tried not once, but twice. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Ten years later, Sheppard was released by the Supreme Court due to errors in the trial, but his reprieve was short-lived. He was set to go to court again only this time he would have the magnanimous F. Lee Bailey on his side. With a stronger defense and an unbiased jury, Sheppard finally won his freedom in 1966. Nova explores all angles of the case, from forensic evidence to the newly suspected limping culprit. Using the Sheppard trial as an example, PBS shows that criminology has come a long way. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi
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