Edward Herrmann

The Face: Jesus in Art provides a thorough lesson in art history, exploring the diverse and numerous artistic representations of Jesus Christ rendered over the last 2,000 years. The film discusses the influence these depictions of Christ have had on the world's aesthetic, and also analyzes the varying stylistic interpretations of the man millions call the son of God. Viewers feast their eyes on Michelangelo's revered work, the catacombs of Rome, the contents of Chartres Cathedral, and much more. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide

As helmed by Rick King and adapted from the memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman, the 2007 History Channel documentary Sherman's March recounts the details of the famous "march to the sea" by General Sherman in November 1864. The program details Sherman's mission, which involved destroying the Confederacy's ability to wage war successfully by carving a violent, bloody swath through the American southeast with the help of 100,000 Civil War soldiers. King reveals how Sherman and his men accomplished their goals with great aplomb by pillaging, burning and destroying everything in their path. In telling the story, King pulls from combination of dramatic reenactments and the written accounts of participants in the actual event. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Gilmore Girls begins its seventh season with a new executive producer David S. Rosenthal and a new network (CW, which of course was the successor to the series' former stamping grounds, WB. Alas, Season Seven will turn out to be Season Last: unable to come to financial terms with series stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel (Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, respectively) the network will bring the series to an end with its 153 rd episode on May 15, 2007. It is said by some observers that this move has been implemented so that CW can clear its decks of its "aging" properties to develop its own new series; others opine that the show never really recovered from the 6th- season defection of Gilmore Girls creators Dan Palladino and Amy Sherman-Palladino, and that its ever-declining (though still respectable) ratings are the true reason for the cancellation. Whatever the case, plans to extend the series past its seventh season with thirteen additional episodes will be quietly scuttled--though the "official" finale is open-ended enough to warrant a sequel or a reunion special somewhere down the line. It cannot be denied that, no matter what the future may hold for Gilmore Girls, the series is still both willing and able to deliver plenty of "bang for the buck." The seventh season begins right where the sixth season ended, as Lorelai agonizes over her one-night stand with her former lover (and father of daughter Rory) Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe) following her breakup with her foot-dragging fiance Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Though Lorelai will marry Christopher during a romantic Parisian getaway, it is clear that her heart still belongs to Luke--and he knows it. Meanwhile, Rory prepares to graduate with a journalism degree from Yale while carrying on a frustrating long-distance romance with Logan (Matt Czuchry), the son of millionaire publisher Mitchum Huntzberger (Gregg Henry). Rory also aquires a brace of new--and typically eccentric--friends in the form of Lucy (Krysten Ritter) and Olivia (Michelle Ongkingco). In other key developments, Lorelai's father Richard (Edward Herrmann) suffers a heart attack, which results in her mother Emily (Kelly Bishop) becoming even more insufferable than usual; Rory's friend Lane (Keiko Agena) returns from her disastrous honeymoon with musician Zach (Todd Lane) with the proverbial "bun in the oven"; Rory interviews for a prestigious reporting job with "The New York Times", but ultimate opts for what she considers a higher purpose in life; and, emboldened by the example of new parents T.J. (Michael DeLuise) and Liz (Kathleen Wilhoite), Luke demands that his former girlfriend Anna (Sherlyn Fenn) to be granted equal parental rights vis-a-vis their daughter April (Vanessa Marano). As all climaxes gather for the Grand Finale, Lorelei divests herself of her new husband Christopher just in time for a reconciliation with Luke, an event fueled by a drunken night on the town and a soulful karaoke rendition of a Dolly Parton tune. And just as all of Stars Hollow is celebrating Rory's graduation, who should appear from the blue but Logan Hertzburn, with a Very Important Question on his lips. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The true story of one woman's brief and ultimately tragic flirtation with fame in the 1960s provides the basis for this biographical drama. In 1943, Edie Sedgwick (Sienna Miller) was born to a wealthy and socially prominent family, and she grew up with beauty and money, but also a history of mental illness; she was hospitalized with an eating disorder in her late teens, and by the time she was 21, two of her seven siblings had died before their time. In 1964, Edie moved to New York City, and quickly made a splash on the Manhattan social scene; she became friendly with the famous pop artist Andy Warhol (Guy Pearce), who was fascinated by her gamine loveliness and her quirky personality. Warhol wasted no time in casting her in one of his underground movies, and she quickly became a crucial part of his retinue of "superstars." Fashion icon Diana Vreeland (Illeana Douglas) was convinced Edie had the looks and charm to also become a successful model, and soon she was gracing the pages of Life, Vogue, and Glamour. But Edie's instability was hardly helped by her new fast-lane lifestyle, and when she met Billy Quinn (Hayden Christensen), a folk rock singer-songwriter often cited as "the voice of a generation," he persuaded her that Warhol and his associates were simply using her fame and beauty for their own gain, and she found herself torn between two powerful mentors, one of whom had become her lover as well. Factory Girl also co-stars Jimmy Fallon, Mena Suvari, and Tara Summers as regulars at the Warhol "Factory." The character of Musician was inspired in part by Bob Dylan, who was romantically involved with Edie Sedgwick for a brief time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Picking up where the previous season left off, season six of Gilmore Girls begins as Stars Hollow innkeeper Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) takes the initiative in her love life by proposing marriage to taciturn diner owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Although he accepts, his subsequent hemming and hawing whenever the subject of a wedding date is brought up will dictate much of the action this season, culminating in a jaw-dropping cliffhanger finale involving Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe), who as everyone knows, is the father of Lorelai's college-age daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel).
Unfortunately, Lorelei and Rory aren't on speaking terms as the season begins, mainly because Rory has decided to drop out of Yale University -- and, incidentally, has run afoul of the law for the first time in her life, requiring her to perform 300 hours' community service. Happily, Rory finally agrees to return to Yale, taking over the editor's post at the campus newspaper when her roommate Paris (Liza Weil) is ousted in a "coup." Throughout the season, the relationship between Rory and her wealthy student boyfriend Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry) is a shaky one, especially after she learns of his various infidelities while speaking to the bridesmaids at his sister's wedding. Rory and Logan are reunited when she nurses him back to health after he is seriously injured in a stunt performed for the secret campus clique "The Life and Death Brigade." However, the couple's future is placed in jeopardy when Logan's father, powerful publisher Mitchum Huntzberger (Gregg Henry), forces the boy to take a job at his London newspaper. In other season six news, Lorelai's estranged parents Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Emily (Kelly Bishop) have decided to give their marriage a second chance -- and, much to their daughter's dismay, have elected to move to Stars Hollow; Lorelai's business partner Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) again copes with her responsibilities of new motherhood; Luke's ditsy sister Liz (Kathleen Wilhoite) becomes pregnant by her oafish husband T.J. (Michael DeLuise); and Rory's rock-musician friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), now reconciled with her conservative mother Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda), weds Zach (Todd Lowe), a member of her band, in the oddest ceremony of the 2005-2006 season. This year represents Gilmore Girls' last stand on the WB network; henceforth, the show would be seen on the brand new CW hookup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1789, only a few years after France helped colonists in America win their freedom from Great Britain, a band of Parisian rebels staged an attack on the Bastille, looting needed supplies of food and materiel after the increasingly callous French authorities ignored their pleas. The incident proved to be the first salvo in a civil war that raged in France for the next ten years, with the allies of freedom and democracy (mostly in the working or peasant classes) struggling to tear down the rule of the French aristocracy and their long-standing feudal system. The French Revolution is a documentary which offers a detailed look at this pivotal event in European history, created using historical re-enactments, classic painting and drawings, and interviews with authors and historians who share the story of the revolution and the major players in the tale, including Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI, Jean-Paul Marat, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Maximilien Robespierre. Narrated by Edward Herrmann, The French Revolution was originally produced for the cable television network The History Channel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the 20th century, Howard Hughes. The Aviator follows Hughes (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) as the twentysomething millionaire, having already made a fortune improving the design of oil-drilling bits, comes to Hollywood with an interest in getting into the picture business. It doesn't take long for Hughes, with his passion for airplanes, to jump from producer to director of his first major film project, a World War I air epic called Hell's Angels, which took three years to complete thanks to the shift from silent to sound filming and Hughes' relentless perfectionism. However, the film was a massive hit, and the eccentric inventor became a mogul in Hollywood, making Jean Harlow (Gwen Stefani) a star and enjoying a romance with Katharine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett). But Hollywood's old-boy network never fully accepted Hughes, and in time his passion for flying began to reclaim his attentions as he began designing new planes, setting air speed records, flying around the world, and risking his life testing aircraft. Hughes also found time to romance Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and founded his own airline, Trans-World Airlines, though as his ideas became bolder, his approach became more eccentric, and he gained many powerful enemies, including the head of Pan-American Airlines, Juan Trippe (Alec Baldwin), and Senator Ralph Owen Brewster (Alan Alda), who attempted to prove that Hughes' radical design ideas were actually part of an effort to bilk taxpayers for millions of dollars through government contracts. The Aviator's star-studded cast also includes John C. Reilly, Jude Law, Willem Dafoe, Ian Holm, and Frances Conroy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Season five of Gilmore Girls begins with Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) on the outs with her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), after Rory's brief tryst with her now-married former boyfriend, Dean (Jared Padalecki). Adding to the weight of woe on Lorelai's shoulders is the fact that her parents, Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard (Edward Herrmann), have separated and are planning to divorce. Even the possibility of romance between Lorelai and her longtime close friend Luke (Scott Patterson) is jeopardized when it is clear that neither one of them is certain in which direction their relationship should go. In other developments, Lorelai's business partner, Sookie (Melissa McCarthy), is pregnant again; Sookie's husband, Jackson (Jackson Douglas), challenges the provincial tyranny of local grocer Taylor Doose (Michael Winters) by running for the office of town selectman of Stars Hollow; Rory befriends fellow Yale student Logan Huntzberg (Matt Czuchry), the son of a billionaire newspaper mogul; Rory's dad, Christopher (David Sutcliffe), re-enters Lorelai's life, only to be told by Rory to get out and stay out; and in the series' 100th episode, Christopher and Luke come to blows over Lorelai, picking the worst possible occasion for their battle: the ceremony in which the reconciled Emily and Richard have chosen to renew their vows! Viewers will have to watch the fifth season of Gilmore Girls to figure out how guest star Norman Mailer fits into the proceedings -- or to watch as the relationship between Rory and Logan Huntzberg blossoms into something far more serious after the girl's umpteenth breakup with the ubiquitous Dean. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Returning home to Stars Hollow after a whirlwind European trip at the outset of Gilmore Girls' fourth season, single mom Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) is informed that her business partner, Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy), is pregnant, while Lorelai's daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), prepares for her freshman year at Yale University. Arriving on campus, Rory meets her new roommates: 15-year-old prodigy Tanna (Olivia Hack), sports jock Janet (Katie Walder), and -- surprise, surprise -- Rory's former prep-school nemesis Paris Geller (Liza Weil). Perhaps inevitably, Rory will become so involved in her roomies' trials and tribulations that she will begin neglecting her schoolwork. Back at home, Lorelai and Sookie encounter a number of formidable roadblocks, legal and otherwise, in their efforts to open their new bed-and-breakfast, the Dragonfly Inn; and Rory's friend Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) has severed all ties with her uncompromisingly traditionalist Korean mother by launching a career as a rock singer. In other season-four developments, Lorelai's close friendship with café owner Luke (Scott Patterson) is threatened by events that had occurred during his summer vacation; Sookie and her husband, Jackson (Jackson Douglas), nervously prepare for a "home birth"; Rory and Paris vie for the attentions of their professor, Asher Fleming (Michael York); Rory's troublesome grandma, Trix Gilmore (Marion Ross), suddenly dies; and as for Rory's high-school beaux, Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) tries to rekindle their romance, while Dean (Jared Padalecki) gets married to Lindsay Lister (Arielle Kebbel) on the rebound. The season ends with the grand opening of the Dragonfly Inn, yet another breakup between Rory and Jess, a disturbing turn of events concerning Rory and Dean, a hint of divorce in the offing for Lorelei's parents -- and a distinct deepening of the relationship between Lorelai and the newly divorced Luke. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As season three of Gilmore Girls gets under way, it seems apparent that single mom Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) must abandon all hope of marrying Christopher Haden (David Sutcliffe), the father of Lorelai's teenaged daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel). The pain of this realization is mitigated somewhat as Lorelai's attraction to café owner Luke (Scott Patterson) grows stronger -- even though she is less aware of this than the people around her. In other developments in the rural Connecticut community of Stars Hollow, Rory applies to Harvard, convincing her boyfriend, Dean (Jared Padalecki), that their relationship is doomed and driving him into the arms of another woman. Rory then gravitates to town reprobate Jess (Milo Ventimiglia), much to Lorelei's dismay. Equally dismayed is Rory's snooty classmate Paris (Liza Weil), who has a mini-breakdown when her own application to Harvard is rejected. As it turns out, Harvard is not on Rory's plate either; she decides to enter her dad's alma mater, Yale, even as Jess (who has flunked out of high school) and Dean (who has proposed to his current sweetie) drift out of her life...maybe. In the season-three finale, Lorelai and her business partner, Sookie (Melissa McCarthy), decide to open up a new bed-and-breakfast after the Independence Inn closes down, and Rory delivers an unforgettable commencement address at the Chilton Prep graduation ceremonies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The first in a week-long series of History Channel specials marking the first anniversary of the September 11th "Attack on America," this two-hour documentary concentrates on the destruction of the World Trade Center's twin towers. Combining TV news tapes, interviews, still photos, and computer graphics, the program re-creates the horrible moment when a jet crashed into Tower I, followed closely by another suicide attack on Tower II. The rest of the program concerns itself with the cleanup of the rubble, the forensic evidence found during this process, an analysis of why the towers collapsed so quickly, and reactions of those nearest to "ground zero." Originally telecast September 2, 2002, World Trade Center: Rise and Fall of an American Icon was followed in subsequent evenings by the related specials The Day the Towers Fell, Relics From the Rubble, Inside Islam, and War on Terror: A Year in Review. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide