John Getz Movies

The second of three films by co-writer/director Oliver Stone to explore the effects of the Vietnam War (Platoon and Heaven and Earth are the others), Born On The Fourth Of July tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a patriotic, All-American small town athlete who shocks his family by enlisting with the Marines to fight in the Vietnam War. Once he is overseas, however, Kovic's gung-ho enthusiasm turns to horror and confusion when he accidentally kills one of his own men in a firefight. His downfall is furthered by a bullet wound that leaves him paralyzed from the chest down. He returns home, spends an appalling, nightmarish stint in a veterans' hospital, and follows an increasingly disillusioned and fragmented path that ultimately leaves him drunk and dissolute in Mexico. However, Kovic somehow turns himself around and pulls his life together, becoming an outspoken anti-war activist in the process. The film is long but emotionally powerful; many consider it Stone's best work and Cruise's best performance. Both were nominated for Oscars, as was the film itself, but only Stone, who co-wrote the film with Kovic from the latter's book, won for Best Director. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

In this crime drama, an exhausted vice cop finds himself teetering on the brink of an emotional and mental breakdown as he contemplates a failed love-affair, and the suicide of a good friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This riveting ABC Afterschool Special addresses the potent issue of children being kidnapped by non-custodial parents. Because of a nervous breakdown, divorcée Louise Sanders (Lindsay Crouse) has lost custody of her children, 13-year-old Mary Lou (Maddie Corman) and eight-year-old Tommy (yes, that's a young Seth Green). When her husband reluctantly lets Louise take care of the children on a two-week trial basis, the troubled woman skips town with the kids in tow. Thereafter, Louise and the children must remain on the run, forever telling lies, adopting new "identities," and covering their tracks -- an ordeal that has a particularly negative effect on little Tommy. ~ Rovi

After her home is burglarized, a married woman finds that the diary containing her sexual fantasies has been stolen. She doesn't put two and two together when an attractive man suddenly enters her life and becomes the man of her dreams. The thief's secret info works for awhile, and the woman is tricked into becoming a part of his sexual game-playing, but after quite a bit of drama, she and hubby are back in each others arms. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

In the first film of brothers Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, M. Emmett Walsh plays Visser, an unscrupulous private eye hired by Texas bar owner Marty (Dan Hedaya) to murder Marty's faithless wife Abby (Frances McDormand) and her paramour, Ray (John Getz), one of Marty's employees. But Visser is no more up-front with Marty than with anyone else; he makes some slight modifications of the original plan so that it better serves his own best interests. After a surprise double-cross and the murder of one of the important players, matters spiral out of control, and the plot gyrates through a complicated string of darkly humorous events. False assumptions, guilt, and fear all lead to a frantic attempt to conceal evidence and the heart-pounding, irony-filled denouement. Blood Simple was re-released in the summer of 2000 with a digitally-remastered soundtrack and -- at the Coens' behest -- a few minutes of dialogue trimmed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this marital drama, a divorcee moves in with a younger man and finds herself embroiled in a custody battle with her jealous ex-husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Bruce Dern stars in this disturbing shocker about a mentally unbalanced tattoo artist named Karl Kinski, who is hired to put a series of fake tattoos on fashion model Maddy (Maud Adams) as part of an advertising campaign. But Kinski becomes obsessed with Maddy and decides to kidnap her. Keeping her a captive, he uses her body as a living canvas for his tattoo designs. During its initial release, the film raised the ire of feminist groups because of the ad campaign that featured a naked woman bound at the ankles. The film was scripted by Joyce Bunuel, (Luis Bunuel's daughter-in-law). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The made-for-TV A Woman Called Moses stars Cicely Tyson as real-life escaped slave Harriet Tubman. A the risk of recapture, Tubman helped organize the underground railroad, which enabled hundreds of enslaved African Americans to make their way to the freedom of the Northern states. Adding to the tension are Harriet's frequent epileptic fainting spells. Orson Welles narrates this adaptation of Marcy Heidish's novel. Originally telecast in two parts, A Woman Called Moses first aired December 11 and 12, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi