Yehuda Efroni Movies
This sequel to Noa at 17 revisits the same characters to see how they, and Israel, have changed. We find Noa older, wiser, and less optimistic-the kibbutz where she grew up is no longer the pinnacle of light and faith, and neither is her country. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dalia Shimko, Shmuel Shilo, (more)
- 1991
- R
After his twin brother is taken hostage in Beirut, a high school basketball coach (Michael Pare) heads to the Middle East to rescue him. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1990
- PG
During World War II, a sergeant tries to lead his division against German commander Rommel in the desert of North Africa. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Kroeger, Marc Singer, (more)
- 1989
- PG
Ten Little Indians, the classic mystery by Agatha Christie, is again adapted, with enjoyable results. The setting of the now familiar mystery is moved to Africa, where the ten guests of a mysterious host are killed one by one as they travel on safari. None of the guests, played with great fun by a cast including Donald Pleasence, Brenda Vaccaro, Frank Stallone and Herbert Lom, know why they have been invited, but as they begin to be murdered, one by one, they fear for their safety and begin to suspect each other. The ending of this wonderful mystery should never be divulged, and the story remains surprisingly fresh despite its many adaptations. This film, while only average, remains highly enjoyable because of the charm and surprise of Christie's wonderful plot and great surprise ending. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Pleasence, Frank Stallone, (more)
In this epic Italian fantasy a muscle-bound Sinbad and his sailors cross the seas to help a young prince regain his throne by battling it out with a powerful, wicked wizard. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno
- 1989
This, the third issue in the American Ninja series, stars karate expert David Bradley who goes to Japan for ninja training so he'll be able to avenge his father's murder. Once trained, he enters in an international karate contest held by some no-goods who'd like to get their hands on the world's toughest fella so they can try out a new artificial disease they've created. (They figure the best way to test the disease is upon the toughest guy they can find.) Most action occurs on a Caribbean island. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bradley, Steve James, (more)
Gaston Leroux's classic tale of love and suspense gets a face-lift in this horror story loosely adapted from Leroux's novel. Christine (Jill Schoelen) is a young classical vocalist who, in the midst of performing a recently discovered piece by an obscure composer, is struck on the head by a sandbag and wakes up in London in 1884. Eric Destler (Robert Englund) is a composer who is desperate to succeed -- so much so that he sells his soul to the devil in exchange for writing songs that people will love. However, the devil adds a twist to the bargain by horribly scarring Eric's face, which can only be disguised by flesh from a living victim. Living below the London Opera House, Eric works night and day on his music; when he hears Christine's voice he falls in love, he and lures her to his lair. Eric decides that Christine is the perfect woman to sing his music; he coaches her to a perfect interpretation of his work, and he kills anyone who stands between her and success. Future Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon made her film debut in a small role in the film's modern day sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Jill Schoelen, (more)
- 1988
- R
Vietnam veteran Colonel Braddock had believed his Asian wife to be dead since the war, but he hears from a missionary that she is not only alive, but has a son. Soon, he returns to Vietnam to rescue them and others from a prison camp. This is the third Missing in Action film starring the well-known martial artist, Chuck Norris, as lethal hero Braddock. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chuck Norris, Aki Aleong, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
Maruschka Detmers stars as Hannah Senesh, a real-life Hungarian Jew who became a martyr to the cause of freedom during WW II. Though safely ensconced in Palestine at the outbreak of the war, Hannah volunteers to venture behind enemy lines in Europe on a life-or-death mission. Unfortunately, she is captured, undergoing unspeakable tortures before the Germans are finished with her. The script, based on Hannah's diaries (as edited by Yoel Palgi), surprisingly downplays heroics in favor of sensationalism; the prison scenes could just as well have been lifted from a Linda Blair "babes behind bars" picture. Even so, Detmers is excellent in the title role, while Ellen Burstyn is likewise superb as Hannah's mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen Burstyn, Maruschka Detmers, (more)
Billy Barty, one of the world's biggest little people, stars in this musical children's fable from the Brothers Grimm. Rumpelstiltskin (Barty) promises the miller's daughter Katie (Amy Irving) that she will be able to spin straw into gold in order to win the love of the Prince (John Mouler-Brown). After the marriage, Katie gives birth to a son that the nasty gnome abducts. Rumpelstiltskin agrees to give the child back to Katie if she can guess his name. An excellent performance from Billy Barty who began his career in the silent film era. Amy Irving's brother David provides the direction. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Irving, Billy Barty, (more)
- 1986
This comedy about the "sanity" of those in an asylum focuses on popular Israeli comic Seffi Rivlin, who plays a bank manager who discovers that the inmates of a mental institution are running a counterfeiting operation from the basement of their hospital. Actors exaggerate their portrayals of the patients, and the plot zooms off in several directions at once. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seffi Rivlin, Arik Lavie, (more)
This WW II drama is set in a Czech village and centers on a strong 30-year-old Jewish woman who must marry a man she dislikes to avoid being sent to a work camp. Eventually the stress of the marriage, the racism, and the war itself builds up and begins to slowly erode the woman's will and mind. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Hartman, Rosemary Leach, (more)
- 1984
Glorifying military service as the true standard of manhood can create a violent society, according to the perspective of this somewhat confusing tale of a young man who kills a soldier in a secluded, wooded area. The murderer's subsequent affair with a waitress and his seeming disregard of the police out to find him further illustrate his total lack of moral principles -- partly the cause of a society that praises legalized killing committed in the name of military duty. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zeev Shimshoni, Iris Kaner, (more)
- 1983
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In this made-for-television drama, a widower travels to Israel for the 1981 World Gathering of Holocaust Survivors in order to search for the woman he once loved when they were interred in a Nazi concentration camp. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1983
- PG
The 12 labors of Hercules were not the objective of this film starring Lou Ferrigno as the semi-divine son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. Hercules must rescue Princess Cassiopea from her kidnappers, fight off grotesque laser-breathing monsters and in one case, jettison a giant bear up into space where it becomes Ursa Major, the Big Dipper or "Great Bear" constellation. Off-color (many scenes are in dim, bluish stage sets) and low-budget, this incarnation of Hercules may find unconverted viewers a difficult, 13th challenge to conquer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Ferrigno, Mirella D'Angelo, (more)
- 1980
- R
This is a crazy horror-film spoof in which the enthusiastic leads provide laughs just by the strength of their characterizations alone -- and because they are obviously having fun. Oliver Reed is Dr. Heckyl whose lumpy face is so ugly it has kept women away in droves. He works at a podiatrist's clinic and one day attempts suicide by quaffing a whole bottle of a weight-loss elixir. The result? Dr. Heckyl becomes Mr. Hype, the suave ladies man. The only problem is that Mr. Hype is evil incarnate, his urge to kill is greater than any other urge, and so he remains as virginal as ever as he leaves a trail of victims behind. When he goes after the woman he has loved as Dr. Heckyl, serious confusion is in store -- she prefers the good-hearted beast over the rotten charmer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oliver Reed, Sunny Johnson, (more)
- 1979
This speculative made-for-TV drama examines the courtship and early marital life of Mary and Joseph before the birth of their remarkable son, Jesus. The film is also known as the Beginning Was Love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Blanche Baker, Jeff East, (more)
- 1979
- R
This expensive production attempts to bring Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer's subtle philosophical novel The Magician of Lublin to the screen. In the story, Yasha Mazur (Alan Arkin) is a perfectionistic turn-of-the-century Jewish stage magician, con-man and mystic, who is touring through eastern Europe, at the same time managing to progressively sabotage his own career. In nearly every town Yasha has a girlfriend, from the youthful Zeftel (Valerie Perrine), to the feisty Elizabeta (Shelly Winters). His harassed manager/impressario Wolsky (Lou Jacobi) arranges for him to have one more chance at theatrical success, which requires that he pull off the trick of a lifetime in a Warsaw theater. Reviewers, fans of Singer's works, and ordinary filmgoers all expressed disappointment in this beautifully filmed and ambitious movie, which was a box-office failure. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, (more)
The made-for-television movie The Story of Jacob and Joseph tells the Biblical tale of Jacob (Keith Michell) and Esau (Julian Glover), who spend 20 years fighting over their birthright. They eventually reconcile and sell their younger brother, Joseph (Victor LoBianco) into slavery. Joseph is taken to Egypt, where he becomes the Pharoah's chief advisor, yet he still resents his family for selling him into slavery. Alan Bates narrates the film, which is expertly adapted by screenwriter Ernest Kinoy and director Michael Cacoyannis. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1974
- PG
Menahem Golan directed this low wattage heist movie enlivened by Robert Shaw in a dual role as twin brothers. Shaw plays a jaded British aristocrat who decides to become a jewel thief in order to get back at his brother (also played by Shaw), a security expert who has constructed an impregnable vault in Israel where a cache of diamonds are stashed. The tired plot concerns the intricate preparations for the diamond theft and the time-consuming task of cracking the safe. Shaw organizes a gang consisting of Richard Roundtree and Barbara Hershey. Shelley Winters is also on hand as an American widow who tries to seduce Shaw. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Shaw, Richard Roundtree, (more)
In this Israeli musical, shot in old Jaffa and Jerusalem and based on a popular stage show, a street-wise war hero inspires his neighbors to fight back against the developers endeavoring to destroy their neighborhood. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The ongoing plight of Russian Jewry serves as the backdrop for the Golan-Globus effort Escape to the Sun (Habricha el Hashemesh). Laurence Harvey is cast against type as Major Kirsanov, a nasty KGB officer who refuses to allow Soviet Jews Nina Kaplan (Josephine Chaplin, Charlie's daughter and Geraldine's sister) and Yasha Bazarov (Yuda Barkin) to emigrate to Israel. In desperation, Nina, Yasha and several others hijack a jetliner. Kirsanov foils the plan, but Nina and Yasha manage to escape--if you can call heading to the desolate Russian steppes an "escape." The actors are talented and the locations well chosen, but the script is a real let-down. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1972
When the state of Israel was formed, the city of Tel Aviv was built to accommodate the need for a port city. However, the city had great difficulty finding reliable Jewish dockworkers. The founders of the city searched the world over and finally found that Saloniki, Greece was the only port in the entire world where there were Jewish dockworkers. Workers from Saloniki were encouraged to come to Israel, and they established their own neighborhood community in Tel Aviv. Salamoniko (Reuven Bar-Yotam) is one of these men, and he worries about his children because the neighborhood they live in is going downhill. For their benefit, he moves them to a ritzier part of town, and the snobbish new rich who surround his down-to-earth family don't know what to make of them. In real life, actor Reuven Bar-Yotam's father was one of the Greek dockworkers who made Tel Aviv possible. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1968
A young boy is lonely when his family moves into a Jewish settlement in what will one day become Israel. His only playmate is his sister, as the two attend a small school set up for the children of the settlers. The community votes to bring in a doctor instead of another teacher for the older children, and the boy's parents send him to a Christian school run by missionaries. The move causes the neighbors to shun the family and accuse the couple of turning their backs on their heritage and religion. The boy returns home, but his mother is sick with typhoid fever and he runs away. He is befriended by children his own age at an agricultural school before his is discovered and returned to his family. The boy pleads to return to the farming school where he has finally made friends in this feature specially made for children and those who have not forgotten what it was like to be one. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michaél Shillo
