Jean-Paul Vignon

Gladiator duo Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe re-team for this adaptation of author Peter Mayle's best-selling novel about a London-based investment banker who relocates to Provence in hopes of selling a small vineyard he has inherited from his recently deceased uncle. As a child, Max Skinner (Freddie Highmore) was taught to appreciate the finer things in life while wandering the vineyard estate of his sophisticated uncle Henry (Albert Finney). Life has a strange way or turning out how you least expect it to though, and 25 years later, Max (Russell Crowe) is now a prosperous moneyman wheeling and dealing in the cutthroat world of London business. When Max learns that Henry has recently passed away and that he has been named the sole beneficiary of his late uncle's modest estate, the keen businessman hastily arranges a flight to France in order to assess the value of the old property and get it prepped for sale. After Max arrives to find the vineyard in a crumbling state of disrepair, his troubles are further compounded by the stubbornness of gruff estate winemaker M. Duflot (Didier Bourdon) and the unexpected arrival of a determined California beauty named Christie (Abbie Cornish), who presents herself as a long-lost cousin while making a dubious claim to Henry's estate. Meanwhile, the overstressed Max reluctantly finds himself falling for local café owner and town siren Fanny (Marion Cotillard), whose formidable guard is quickly worn down by the smitten beneficiary. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As indicated by its title, this Next Generation episode deliberately evokes memories of the film classic Casablanca, right down to a romantic Parisian flashback (courtesy of the Holodeck). Investigating a series of time disruptions, Picard and his crew trace the problem to an isolated planetoid. The disruptions have been caused by Dr. Paul Manheim (Rod Loomis), who has been conducting experiments in time and space travel. While attempting to rescue Manheim (and the Enterprise) from the consequences of his actions, Picard is unexpectedly reunited with his lost love, Manheim's wife Jenice (Michelle Phillips). First telecast May 7, 1988, "We'll Always Have Paris" was written by Deborah Dean Davis and Hannah Louise Shearer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When private eye Joe Ellis is killed while investigating a San Francisco suicide, Hunter (Fred Dryer) and McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) travel to the City by the Bay in hopes of solving the murder. Entering the jurisdication of Frisco police detective Valerie Foster (Laura Johnson), Rick and DeeDee meet Casey Hendricks (Philece Sampler), who accuses Ellis' son (and Casey's stepson) David (Mark Winters) of committing the crime. But when David himself turns up dead, it becomes painfully obvious that a hitherto unsuspected third party is the real culprit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Jim (James Garner) is hired by his ex-con pal Eddie Lopresti (George Loros) to locate Brian Charles, the missing business manager of rock star Tim Richie (Kristoffer Tabori). Ostensibly, Eddie is doing this on behalf of Richie, who needs backup during a messy palimony trial; but in fact, Eddie is less interested in impressing the singer than in declaring his love for gorgeous music journalist Whitney Cox (Marcia Strassman). Whatever the case, Jim soon finds himself entangled in a web of intrigue involving crooked business dealings, drugs, and the Mob--and worse, there's someone out there who is willing to kill both Jim and Eddie to get them off his (or her?) back. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this routine melodrama by director Herve Bromberger, Francoise Arnoul stars as a somewhat confused young woman from an impoverished family who marries well out of her economic class. Life on the leisurely side eventually becomes boring, and so she decides to cruise back to her old neighborhood one night and check up on the action there. She discovers that her former boyfriend is living a shady existence and then circumstances, including a blackmail plot, place her precariously on the fence as she is forced to decide whether to return to her old life or continue with her marriage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide