James Redford Movies
James Redford, the son of actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, made his directorial debut with this independent coming-of-age drama set in the 1950s. After his parents are killed in the wreck of a light plane, young Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is left in the care of his uncle Frank (Stanley Tucci), an emotionally removed man who was once a major in the air force. When Frank decides to take an extended leave of his ranch in Arizona, Eddie is left behind with caretaker Ernesto (Rubén Blades) and his wife, Margaret (Dana Delany), a schoolteacher. Ernesto and Margaret are caring and capable surrogate parents to Eddie, but the boy has grown into a troubled and hot-headed teenager (now played by Ryan Merriman) by the time Frank comes back. As both Ernesto and Frank try to put Eddie back on the right track, the young man struggles with his decisions about his future, his love for his classmate Francesca (Paula Garcés), and some unanswered questions about the death of his parents. Spin was adapted from a novel by Donald Everett Axinn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Merriman, Stanley Tucci, (more)
- 2002
Adapted from Tony Hillerman's best-selling novel by James Redford (stepson of Robert Redford), Skinwalkers was the vanguard of the proposed PBS anthology American Mystery. Returning to the Navajo reservation of his birth after many years, police detective Joe Leaphorn (Wes Studi) investigates a series of bizarre murders. Though Leaphorn has no doubt that the killer is a human being, his young FBI-trained partner, Jim Chee (Adam Beach), has an entirely different theory. A medicine man-in-training, Chee believes that the murders have been committed by a mystical figure called the Skinwalker, who according to Navajo legend is an amalgam of all murdered Native Americans. Symbolic clues left at the scene of each murder -- some written in paint, some in blood -- confirm Chee's conclusion that the shapeshifting Skinwalker is seeking revenge on the modern-day despoilers of the Navajo's sacred land. Skinwalkers was filmed on location in Utah and Arizona by Native American director Chris Eyre, of Smoke Signals fame. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Beach, Wes Studi, (more)
The exciting and dangerous world of professional bull riding provides the backdrop for this drama about the pull between romantic love and a brother's loyalty. Ely Braxton (Marcus Thomas) dreams of being a star on the professional rodeo circuit, and even though he's learned from experience that bull-riding is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening sport, a long hospital stay after an accident in the ring hasn't dulled his enthusiasm. Ely's father was a champion rider, and his older brother Hank (Kiefer Sutherland) is a rodeo clown who looks after Ely as best he can. But family bonds are tested when Ely falls for a woman Hank is in love with (Daryl Hannah), and Ely isn't sure if he can count on his brother's support as he prepares for the most important ride of his life. Ring of Fire also features Pete Postlethwaite, Melinda Dillon, Bo Hopkins, Russell Means, and Molly Ringwald. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcus Thomas, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
