David Chandler Movies

A talented young man's idyllic life is shattered when he learns the truth about the small town he calls home in this independent drama. Sperry Rock School is a well-respected progressive school in Athens, VT, a small town that seems the picture of propriety on the surface. Sperry Rock's instructors encourage their students to follow their own path and create their own study plans, which has worked out well for Charlie (James Martinez), a gifted science student who has already earned a full scholarship to the college of his choice. However, his best friend Vernal (Paul Sado) lacks Charlie's intelligence and discipline, and is caught in a self-destructive spiral of disruptive behavior. Of even greater concern to Charlie is his girlfriend, Joy (Autumn Dornfeld), who dropped out of school for no apparent reason before leaving town without notice. As a difficult year wears on, Charlie and his friends learn some startling truths about the underside of Athens, the rivalry between the city's privileged and blue-collar communities, and a shocking secret that leads to an ugly act of violence. The Undeserved was the first feature film from writer and director Brad Coley. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor, writer, and director Tim Blake Nelson adapts this grim look at the Holocaust from his own play, based on Miklós Nyiszli's book, Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account. The film centers on the Sonderkommando: Jewish concentration camp prisoners whose job was to herd their fellow Jews into the gas chamber, and to dispose of the bodies following the execution. In return, these prisoners received food and a little more time before their own executions. As the members of the sonderkommando struggle to orchestrate what would be the only armed insurrection in Auschwitz, a group of them discover a 14-year-old girl who somehow survived the gas chamber. The girl becomes a symbol for their own spiritual salvation and they become obsessed with keeping the girl alive, even if it endangers the uprising that could save thousands. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) are visibly shaken by their latest investigation, centering around the murder of a retired cop. When it turns out that the victim trafficked in illicit sex and murder, the trail leads to a pair of interior decorators who "moonlight" as prostitutes. Once the ball is in the D.A.'s court, McCoy (Sam Waterston) and Ross (Carey Lowell) must again deal with feminist lawyer Lanie Stieglitz (Elaine Stritch). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

When a councilman is mugged, detectives Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) follow a trail of evidence leading to Anthony Scalisi (Paul Guilfoyle), a prominent mobster. Typically, this is not the end of the case -- not when the D.A.'s office decides to use Scalisi as bait to trap some supposedly "respectable" city officials. The fact that assistant D.A.'s Logan (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) are shown meeting for the first time, not to mention the conspicuous absence of series regular Steven Hill as D.A. Adam Schiff, is proof enough that "Everybody's Favorite Bagman" was the pilot episode for Law & Order -- though it was not the first episode to be telecast. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Klaus Maria Brandauer stars in this drama as Alek Neuman, a one-time boxing champion in the Soviet Union. While he was one of the top-ranked Russian fighters of his day, he was never allowed to box in the Olympics, because the Soviets would not permit Jews to compete on their national teams. Many years later, an elderly Alek is able to emigrate to the United States; he settles in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, New York, where he makes ends meet as a dishwasher. Alek is depressed and starts sinking into alcoholism until he meets Timmy Boyle (Adrian Pasdar) and Roland Jenkins (Wesley Snipes), two up-and-coming amateur boxers. Alek thinks that the two young fighters have potential, and he offers to coach them. While Timmy and Roland aren't sure at first if they trust Alek (or each other), in time they grow to respect each other, and it looks as if they may make the United States Olympic team -- where they may fight against the Russian team that wouldn't accept Alek years before. Brandauer won critical acclaim for his performance in Streets of Gold, which also featured Wesley Snipes several years before his breakthrough role in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the conclusion of "Timelash," the Borad Robert Ashby, mutant dictator of the planet Karfel, declares war on the Bandrils, the better to wipe out his own followers so that he can create a new, "superior" race. Meanwhile, the Doctor (Colin Baker) attempts to rescue Vera Rennis (Jeanane Crowley), an old friend of Peri (Nicola Bryant), whom the Borad has exiled to the Timelash, a spectral time corridor. Yet another dilemma arises when Peri is chosen to replace the Borad in the long-ago accident which so horribly disfigured him. This episode was initially titled "Conquest of the Daleks," but the Daleks were ultimately written out of the story. Scripted by Glen McCoy, the two-part "Timelash" originally aired March 9 and March 16, 1985; it has since been edited into a four-part serial for American television. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In 1984, actor Dustin Hoffman starred in a critically-acclaimed Broadway revival of playwright Arthur Miller's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Death of a Salesman. A year later, Hoffman and most of his fellow cast members starred in this made-for-TV production, the first English-language film by German director Volker Schlondorff. Hoffman stars as Willy Loman, an aging salesman who has lost his job because of encroaching senility. Now living on handouts provided by his friend Charley (Charles Durning), Willy's lifelong delusions of success and greatness awaiting just around the corner for he and his family have been shattered, and he's considering suicide. As he reflects on his life and the failed promise of his sons Biff (John Malkovich) and Happy (Stephen Lang), Willy finally confronts some unpleasant truths about both sons, particularly Biff, a one-time athlete who has become a kleptomaniac. One of the best of the many filmed versions of Miller's seminal work, Death of a Salesman (1985) won several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Hoffman. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

This Sunn Classics documentary and docudrama examines the nature of the soul and the question of life after death. Sunn is the company which brought In Search of Noah's Ark to the screen. The near-death experiences of resuscitated patients are dramatically re-enacted, and in the narration by Brad Crandall, it is revealed that the soul weighs a sizeable fraction of an ounce. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi