Jed Curtis Movies
Set in Germany in 1946, Taking Sides tells the story of the investigation of Wilhelm Furtwängler (Stellan Skarsgård), the renowned conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, by the American occupying army. Major Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) has been told by his superiors that they want Furtwängler convicted of being a willing participant in the crimes of the Hitler regime, by virtue of his supposed support for and support from the Hitler government. They haven't got the time or resources to go after every ex-Nazi, so they want Furtwängler, as the biggest cultural target they can hit. Arnold does his loud, boorish best to first humiliate and then attack the conductor over the supposed favoritism that he was shown by Hitler, Goering, Himmler, et al. and his conducting of a concert at the 1934 Nuremberg rally and at Hitler's 53rd birthday. Arnold finds, to his eventual distress but not dissuasion, that nothing is as simple as he would like to make it. His civilian secretary, Emmi Straube (Birgit Minichmayr), a concentration camp survivor whose father was part of the German Army plot to kill Hitler, and Lt. David Wills (Moritz Bleibtreu), a German-born Jew representing the War Crimes Tribunal, keep trying to remind Arnold that life and politics in Germany only deteriorated gradually after 1933, and in ways that couldn't always be anticipated by those who were there. Germans who chose not to leave weren't necessarily casting their lot with Hitler, but with protecting what was decent or even great about Germany, including her orchestras and music. Arnold knows nothing about music and even less about Germany and her people, and won't be deterred from his goal. Wills and Straube wish to resign from working with him, until they realize that they're facing the same choice that Furtwängler faced -- to leave a horrendous situation and have no way of affecting its conduct or outcome, or remain and do their best to stand up for decency and truth. In the process of doing that, they find out that Furtwängler is not only a great artist -- which they knew already -- but a great and brave man, who also has his flaws. The latter include an outsized ego that may have caused him to participate a little too willingly at times in the dangerous game he played of maintaining the excellence of Germany's musical institutions while protecting them (and also many musicians) from the worst ravages of the Nazi regime, at the same time also keeping lesser, more compliant figures from usurping his control. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgård, (more)
- 1998
Widow Victoria Riddler (Kate Mulgrew) and her wheelchair-bound son Elias (Daniel Newman) live a meager existence on an Indiana farm that hasn't yielded a crop in years. Then one day Elias experiences a strange vision--and before long, the Riddlers' north land is fertile and bountiful. Astonished by this phenomenon, the locals suspect that Elias has somehow developed diabolical superpowers. Only town drunk George (Corbin Bernsen) knows that the answer lies not in Elias, but in the stars. A presentation of UPN's off-and-on Nightworld TV-movie anthology, Riddler's Moon originally aired on November 5, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Mulgrew, Corbin Bernsen, (more)
- 1995
This German comedy follows the laid-back existence of two young "slackers" who work as copy writers for an advertising agency. Their company is involved in a national competition to create an exciting campaign for Germany's postal service. Because Karl and Moritz are a little short on cash, the two decide to sell information about their firm's campaign to their rival. Unfortunately, they are not privy to their agency's plan, and so design their own campaign. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
Six years before this story begins, Rosemonde killed a would-be rapist. She was acquitted and returned to working part-time in a Geneva bar. Back in the present, a brand new television station seeks to create a television film about Rosemonde's life. The project is helmed by independent producer Kevin assigns his screen-writing pal Paul to interview Rosemonde and use it for the basis of a fictionalized teleplay. Unfortuantely for him, the taciturn and cynical barmaid wants nothing to do with project and refuses to speak to Paul. This satirical French-Swiss drama follows Paul as he simultaneously attempts to get her story and into her bed. Since Rosemonde refuses to speak to him, Paul decides to pay his ex-lover Marie, a serious stage actress, become the bar maid's friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Joel Schumacher inherited the Batman franchise from Tim Burton and began steering it in the campier direction of the Sixties television show with this third installment. First-time Batman/Bruce Wayne (Val Kilmer), in his only outing as the Caped Crusader, is effectively brooding as he ponders strange dreams about his parents' death and escapes his own near-demise at the hands of Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones), a former district attorney driven insane and turned into a master criminal when a gangster throws acid in his face. Meanwhile, as sexy psychologist Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) tries to analyze and seduce both Bruce Wayne and Batman, Wayne Enterprises employee Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) reacts badly to getting fired, using his self-invented mind-energy device to transform into the super-intelligent Riddler. The Riddler teams up with Two-Face to bring down Batman and drain the minds of Gotham City residents with his device, while Batman gets some much-needed help in the form of circus performer Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell), out for vengeance after being orphaned by Two-Face. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, (more)
- 1992
Shortly after his 1970 success with the film Stille Dage i Clichy (Quiet Days in Clichy), director Jens-Jorgen Thorsen started trying to get Jesus Vender Tilbage (The Return) made. For the next twenty years, he kept at it when the money was available but had to cope not only with shortages of money, but an legal ban on the film in his native country of Denmark which was not revoked until 1990. In the face of these obstacles, he has put together a smoothly professional-looking film which seems to be intended to offend the religious sensibilities of a great many people. This satirical drama follows Jesus' career after he returns to earth to save it from environmental pollution. After a little exploration, he decides that Paris suits him just fine as a base of operations. When he gets entangled with a group of terrorists attempting to hijack a plane, he gets into serious trouble with the authorities, but one compensation for his troubles is that Jesus, the still-virgin Demiurge, finally gets to sample feminine carnal delights, which are offered to him by a lovely hijacker (Atlanta). When the authorities capture the hijackers, they assume that Jesus is their leader, and he is condemned to death. However, somehow the Pope (a despicable child molester) and Billy Graham (a bewildered fool) hear of his presence on the planet, and they scheme for his release, in return for a few miraculous favors. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marco di Stefano, Jed Curtis, (more)
- 1991
In 1980, an Italian airliner was shot down accidentally by a poorly targeted NATO missile. At the request of Western governments, the Italian government covered up the incident. The persistence of the reporter Andrea Purgatori broke through the wall of silence surrounding the incident and enabled the processes of democracy, however flawed, to work freely once more. This political thriller is based on that incident and follows the reporter in his quest to piece together the unwelcome information and get this story out to the public. This movie was so popular that its title became a byword in modern Italian: now, whenever the truth is obviously being hidden, it is spoken of as being guarded by Il Muro di Gomma, a rubber wall. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angela Finocchiaro, Antonello Fassari, (more)
Bernardo Bertolucci was obviously influenced by the films of Jean-Luc Godard and the worldwide political upheavals of 1968 while assembling his feature-film Partner. This unorthodox adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Double studiously avoids traditional linear storytelling and exposition techniques. Pierre Clementi stars as a repressed young student who concocts a radical alter ego for himself. As the student's two faces argue polemics, Bertolucci uses the opportunity to take freewheeling critical potshots at all forms of political ideology. Not all of Partner makes sense, but the film will command the viewer's interest from beginning to end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Clémenti, Stefania Sandrelli, (more)
