Dan Gordon Movies

A pregnant teenage runaway ends up in a New Mexico trailer park, where her new friends and neighbors form a support system that gradually evolves into a makeshift family. Gene Simmons, Della Reese, Elliot Gould, Linda Gray, Fred Willard, and Cloris Leachman co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The prophecy of a worldwide spiritual awakening gradually begins to come into focus in director Armand Mastroianni and screenwriters James Redfield, Barnet Bain, and Dan Gordon's sweeping adaptation of James Redfield's best-selling novel. John Woodson (Matthew Settle) was a high-school history teacher before the loss of his job left him disillusioned and facing an uncertain future. When John is contacted by ex-girlfriend and journalist Charlene (Robyn Cohen), who is currently in town on a brief layover after covering a story in Peru, the pair arrange to meet for dinner and Charlene explains that she has just returned from a remote Eden known as Viciente, where scholars are currently studying a mysterious set of eight ancient scrolls. It was there, continues Charlene, that she came into contact with a priest named Father Jose, who explained to her that the scrolls contain a prophesy written before the birth of Christ and foretell a coming time of enlightenment that will redefine life in the 21st century. Though at first skeptical, John is compelled to book a flight to Peru when Charlene states that she appears to have been drawn to him by a higher power, and a travel brochure on Peru appears in his mailbox the following day. A subsequent encounter with a professor who is also on John's flight and has been studying the scrolls reveals that the scrolls were written in 5 or 6 B.C. and buried in a wooden box that was assembled in the 1600s. Though there was, according to legend, a ninth scroll, it has yet to be recovered. A late-night stroll on the streets of Lima soon leads John into the company of Father Jose, who later disappears after a frightening encounter in which a high-ranking operative holds the priest at gunpoint while insisting that he reveal the location of the lost scroll. Later led to Viciente by the guide who was with Father Jose when the cleric discovered the scrolls, John is haunted by dreams of a remote paradise and a young child, setting into motion a spectacular series of events that will ultimately culminate in a transformation of light that promises to reveal the future of humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this drama, a naval officer named Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn) is vacationing in Israel when he's arrested and questioned by Israeli agents, led by Amos (Ben Kingsley). Unknown to Annibal, he bears a striking resemblance to Carlos Sanchez (also played by Aidan Quinn), a famous and feared international terrorist wanted in several nations. Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) is a CIA operative who witnessed one of Sanchez's most brutal attacks in the 1970s and is obsessed with bringing him to justice. Shaw persuades Ramirez to join his team and to pose as Sanchez, convincing the nations who work with him that he's an unreliable traitor. While this would give Ramirez a chance to serve his country, it would also take him away from his wife Maura (Claudia Ferri) and his children, not to mention putting his life in grave danger. Carlos Sanchez was the name of an infamous terrorist (also known as "The Jackal") who was active in the 1970s and 1980s; while the "Carlos Sanchez" character is based on his fearsome exploits, the rest of the story is fiction. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, this epic version of the legendary western sheriff-gunslinger's life story stars Kevin Costner as Earp, who lived from 1848 to 1929. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Earp tries to run away to join the Union Army in the Civil War, but he is turned away because of his youth. Instead, he studies law and marries Urilla Sutherland (Annabeth Gish). But Urilla dies of typhoid fever before they can have children. Earp grows despondent and descends into drinking and petty thievery, but his father Nicholas (Gene Hackman) finds him, sobers him up, and sets him straight. Earp becomes a buffalo hunter and a close companion of Bat Masterson (Tom Sizemore) and his brother Ed (Bill Pullman). With his brothers, Virgil (Michael Madsen) and Morgan (Linden Ashby), Earp sets out to clean up the violence-plagued towns of the old West -- by using his own guns to settle scores. Earp takes up with Mattie Blaylock (Mare Winningham), a drug addict and prostitute, then discards her for actress Josie Marcus (Joanna Going). In Tombstone, Arizona, the Earp brothers and their comrade Doc Holliday (Dennis Quaid), who is plagued by tuberculosis and a compulsion for gambling, meet their match in a ruthless gang led by Ike Clanton (Jeff Fahey). ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

An engineer tries to save people trapped on a nuclear-war-ravaged planet in this made-for-cable science-fiction fare. Stephen Baldwin stars as Adams, an engineer who is dumped onto a sand planet of the future, where the harsh conditions lead to constant fighting and brutality. The inhabitants have reverted to primitive tribal societies. He tries to teach the those left about farming and irrigation in hopes of saving them from destruction, but soon learns that peace cannot be had so easily. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

Following up the goofy big-screen comedies Dragnet and Delirious, director Tom Mankiewicz delivered this made-for-cable thriller starring Tony Goldwyn and Lynn Whitfield. After witnessing a murder, Goldwyn finds himself pursued by a group of thugs led by mafia boss Alan Arkin. Whitfield stars as the detective assigned to ensure that Goldwyn not only doesn't flee out of fear for his life, but stays alive long enough to testify at the murder trial. Along the way, as the two spend more time together, a romance ensues. Peter Boyle, George Segal and Will Patton round out the cast, and the film was scripted by Dan Gordon who would later gain noteriety as a scribe on 1999's The Hurricane. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

This fast-paced action picture plays like Die Hard (1988) on an airplane. Grieving over the death of his wife at the hands of an armed robber and blaming himself for her death, anti-terrorism expert John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is retiring from his dangerous job. The flight he's on is occupied by a coterie of FBI agents escorting the lethal terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), but as the aircraft is taking off, Rane's associates, who have also boarded the plane, take the vehicle by force and free their leader. With the aid of a sheriff on the ground, a pair of stewardesses (Alex Datcher and Elizlabeth Hurley) and his old friend, airport manager Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore), Cutter puts his special training and martial arts skills to good use combating the kidnappers. The clever, dapper Rane has several surprises in store for his nemesis, however, including killing a hostage and an ally who's only pretending to be on Cutter's side. His options becoming increasingly limited, Cutter devises a dangerous plan that involves dumping the airplane's precious fuel reserves. Director Kevin Hooks cast his father, actor Robert Hooks in the role of federal agent Dwight Henderson. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this made-for-TV thriller, a sportscaster engineers a daring escape from a Soviet prison camp after being snared by a KGB scheme. Mickey Almon (David Keith), a sports star-turned-journalist, arrives in Moscow to cover an international tournament. Soon, though, he's tempted to play the hero once again, this time not as an athlete, but as a smuggler of repressed scientific research. Against the advice of his wife (Nancy Paul), Mickey agrees to help the Russians who've approached him, but the entire intrigue turns out to be a set-up. Physically neglected and emotionally tortured in a stinking hole for several weeks, Mickey agrees to sign a confession after being told that it will guarantee his release. Instead, he receives a ten-year sentence and soon finds himself on a train bound for Siberia. Sewing rough-hewn gloves with the other foreign prisoners and living for the day each month when his care package arrives, Mickey soon resolves to escape or die trying. To that end, he enlists a cynical British spy (Malcolm McDowell) and a group of Soviet prisoners in a plan to escape via a supply train that can get them within reach of the West -- if only they can find a way to get onto it undetected. Gulag was directed by Roger Young, who previously helmed such lauded TV movies as Bitter Harvest and would go on to direct the original televised version of Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Identity. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Highway to Heaven closes out its first season with episode one of a two-part story. Angel-in-training Jonathan Smith (Michael Landon) is assigned to a horse-breeding farm, owned by fabulously wealthy Mr. Armstrong (Stephen Elliott). The good news is that Armstrong's playboy son Garth (John Hammond) has fallen in love. The bad news, at least so far as Mr. Armstrong is concerned, is that Garth's sweetheart is Lizzy MacGill (Helen Hunt), the daughter of the farm's "lowly" horse breeder. Two regulars from Michael Landon's previous series Little House on the Prairie, Richard Bull and Noble Willingham, appear in supporting roles. ~ Rovi

An unconscious Mark (Victor French) is hurtled "forward into the past" as the result of a traffic accident. Ending up in the West of his childhood, Mark comes faces to face with his own younger self (Sean de Vertich), who lives on his grandfather's ranch. Not long afterward, our misplaced celestial hero is enmeshed in an effort to save his family's ranch from foreclosure. In many ways, this episode harks back to another Michael Landon-Victor French collaboration...something about a little house on the prairie. ~ Rovi

Elderly screenwriter Martin Lamm (Jon Lormer) hopes that his latest script, all about the old and disenfranchised people living in his tacky beachfront neighborhood, will be made into a movie. When Martin's calls to the major studios go unanswered, he advertises for the assistance of "angel" -- that is, a wealthy benefactor who is willing to bankroll his film. Misunderstanding Martin's request, genuine angels Jonathan (Michael Landon) and Mark (Victor French) fly to the old man's rescue...with unexpected results. The incomparable Stella Stevens guest stars as Mark's improbable love interest! ~ Rovi

Probationary angel Jonathan (Michael Landon) and his sidekick Mark (Victor French) to reconcile young construction-firm heir Arthur Krock Jr. (Jonathan Frakes) with his eccentric widowed father Arthur Sr. (Ron Moody). It seems that the elder Krock likes to fantasize that he is King Arthur -- and that his latest "quest" is to rescue the residents of an old building complex that Krock Jr. plans to demolish. In the course of events, "King Arthur" meets his "Guenevere" in the form of veterinarian Gwen Halstead (Jean Allison), one of the tenants whom Krock Jr. intends to evict...after seeing to it that his dad is declared mentally incompetent, that is. ~ Rovi

Angels Jonathan (Michael Landon) and Mark (Victor French) are assigned to a seedy Hollywood neighborhood populated by former movie action stars that is being held in thrall by a vicious street gang. Taking jobs at a local boxing ring, our heroes befriend the owner's grandson Joey (Chip Allister), who has it in him to be a terrific boxer. With Jonathan's help, Joey joins forces with the elderly, hasbeen actors living in his neighborhood to rid the area of the gang members. The plot's resolution is built around a championship boxing match between Joey and Thumper (Darin Taylor), the leader of the gang--who has kidnapped Joey's granddad, Morton Clay (John Agar), to "fix" the fight's outcome. ~ Rovi