James Earl Jones Movies
Possessing one of the most instantly recognizable voices in entertainment history, James Earl Jones is one of America's most distinguished and versatile actors. Although best-known to many people as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars or as the booming "Voice of CNN," Jones has led a decades-old career encompassing film, television, and the stage.Born Todd Jones on January 17, 1931, in Arkabutla, Mississippi, Jones was the son of prize-fighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones, whom he would not know for many years. At a young age, he moved to Dublin, Michigan, where he was raised on the farm of his mother's parents. Ironically enough, given that his voice would one day make him famous, Jones suffered from a severe stutter as a child, and he seldom spoke as a result. It was with the help of a high school teacher that he began to use his voice to its full potential. After entering the University of Michigan, where he went to study medicine, Jones continued to develop his voice with acting lessons. The lessons gave Jones an appetite for further theatrical experience, and he quit medicine to devote his attentions to drama study. He made his stage debut in a community theatre production in Manistee, Michigan, his last appearance for a while, as he subsequently served time in the military.
After his discharge, Jones moved to New York, where he attended the American Theatre Wing to further his training and worked as a janitor to earn a living. In 1957, he made his Broadway debut, and during the subsequent decade, he became one of the stage's most in-demand African-American actors. His best-known stage role was as a boxing champion in The Great White Hope, which in 1969 won him the first of two Tony Awards (the second was for August Wilson's Fences in 1987). During this time, Jones began working on television, appearing as a doctor on the daytime dramas Guiding Light and As the World Turns. In doing so, he became one of the first black actors to perform regularly on soaps. Jones also crossed over to the big screen, making his film debut as one of Slim Pickens' flight crew in Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). In 1970, he reprised his role in The Great White Hope for the screen, earning Best Actor Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of the proud yet conflicted boxer.
Jones continued to work on the stage, screen, and television throughout the '70s, appearing in everything from documentaries about Martin Luther King, Jr. to the 1974 comedy Claudine to King Lear (1977). In 1977, a few days of uncredited voiceover work for the character of Darth Vader led to a measure of screen immortality, as part of the enormous success of Star Wars was the iconic menace of the screen villain's voice. Jones also gave life to Vader's vocal chords for the next two films in the Star Wars trilogy.
During the '80s and '90s, Jones continued to work steadily on the stage, screen, and television. For the latter, he found particular acclaim in 1991, winning both a Best Actor Emmy for his work in Gabriel's Fire and a Best Supporting Actor Emmy for his role in Heat Wave. The acclaim he earned on TV was ably complemented by that he found in film, as he appeared in an impressive scope of work by diverse directors in disparate genres. In the late '80s, he could be seen doing some of the best work in his film career, first as an oppressed coal miner in John Sayles' Matewan (1987), then as an embittered, Salinger-like author in Field of Dreams (1989). Jones spent the next decade branching out into the blockbuster action genre with his work in The Hunt for Red October (1990) and its two sequels, Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994). He also did strong dramatic work in such films as Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) and A Family Thing (1996), the latter of which cast him as Robert Duvall's estranged half-brother. Somewhat ironically, it was the actor's voice that endeared him to a new generation when he voiced the character of lion patriarch Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King (1994).
In addition to the entertainment industry awards he has received over the course of his career, Jones has been the recipient of a number of other honors, including The National Medal of Arts (awarded to him by President George Bush in 1992) and honorary doctorates from Yale, Princeton, and Columbia Universities. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Actor James Earl Jones narrates this installment of the series Forces of the Wild that shows how wind and water work together to create rainforests and deserts. These two forces carry the heat and cold with them, creating the temperature movement on our planet. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to fully explain these natural forces. The series is appropriate for grades seven and up. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild presents the history of water and fire on our planet. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this explanation of how volcanoes are formed and how our atmosphere was created. Learn why the earth is warm and discover the wonders created by the temperature changes of our planet. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to further illustrate the concepts. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild introduces the people who study volcanoes and earthquakes. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this look at the scientists and filmmakers who put their lives in peril to give us important information about these powerful forces. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to further explain these phenomena. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild explores the beginning of our solar system and our planet. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this journey to comprehend how we came to be. The same forces that created our planet also affect how life was created. Look into our own planet to find some of the answers. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to help illustrate the concepts that are presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild shows the effects of the moon and the sun on earth. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this program about how these celestial bodies influence the cycles of earth. See how their passage through space create our days and nights, the change of the tide, and the change of our seasons. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to help illustrate the concepts presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Actor James Earl Jones narrates this installment of the series Forces of the Wild that follows the journey of wind and rain. View the path of the Gulf Stream, the Trade Winds, and the Jet Stream. These forces can bring life, or destruction and death. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to help illustrate the concepts presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild is about spring. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this view of how our planet comes to life during this season. Because of the sun's energy, plants come to life, animals travel to their summer feeding grounds and reproduce, and the rivers rise. Each program in this series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to illustrate the concepts that are presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This installment of the series Forces of the Wild is about the effect man is having on our planet. Actor James Earl Jones narrates this view of how we are changing the Earth to meet our needs. The program addresses the changes brought by cities, dams, and overgrazing. Each program in the series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequences to help illustrate the concepts presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Actor James Earl Jones narrates this installment of the series Forces of the Wild that addresses the dangers of life near volcanoes and fault lines. These dangers increase as human population increases. The program gives an overview of the way humans affect global change. Each program in this series includes natural history footage, computer animation, and time-lapse sequence to help illustrate the concepts that are presented. The series is appropriate for grades seven and higher. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
Two brothers (Jake LeDoux) and Brendan Fletcher) are still reeling from the traumatic death of their father when their mother (Wendy Crewson) decides they'll spend the summer at the family's cottage by a Georgia lake. A retired back physician (James Earl Jones) is also spending his summer by the water, and he strikes up a friendship with the younger of the two boys. However, a ugly racial incident from the village's past comes to light, and the siblings find themselves at odds over the doctor's friendship. Summer's End marked the directorial debut for actress Helen Shaver. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Earl Jones, Brendan Fletcher, (more)
- 1997
Jamie (Helen Hunt) reveals her pregnancy to boss Lance Brockwell (Harry Groener) and the rest of the City Hall staff. The question: Can she still maintain the hectic pace of her job? Meanwhile, Ira (John Pankow) takes over the financing of Paul's (Paul Reiser) epic documentary "Buchman" -- and manages to secure the services of a moderately famous narrator. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This humorous and insightful documentary is composed exclusively of movie trailers promoting films which depict the lives of African-Americans. From the patronizing promotion for 1946 Disney film, The Song of the South to the hip, tongue-in-cheek promo for Putney Swope, the range of attitudes from the '40s through the '90s is clearly and entertainingly shown. Surprisingly, in the comparison, the promotions for the much-despised "blaxploitation" films of the seventies come off well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, civic leader Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) goes on TV to offer a reward for information pertaining to the murder of the Wilson family's maid -- never mind that both Felix and his son Hal (Jeffrey Wright) are prime suspects. An embarrassed Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) demands that the homicide unit solve the murder immediately, forcing a reluctant Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to amass damaging evidence against their longtime friend Wilson. Meanwhile, Falsone (Jon Seda) still thinks that his fellow detectives are withholding the facts surrounding the death of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, while a recorded phone message leads Stivers (Toni Lewis) to believe that a crooked cop in the narcotics division is supplying inside information to Mahoney's henchmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
In the second episode of a three-part story arc, the investigation of the murder of civic leader Felix Wilson's (James Earl Jones) housekeeper yields two possible suspects -- one of them a member of Wilson's immediate family. The rest of the homicide unit begins to suspect that Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) and Pembleton (Andre Braugher) will go to any lengths to protect their friend Wilson from scandal, especially after he reveals that he was having an affair with the dead woman. In other developments, Falsone (Jon Seda) launches a potentially embarrassing investigation into the questionable circumstances surrounding the shooting of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney; and the management of the Camden Yards baseball park asks the squad to be discreet as they look into the murder of a Yankees fan during an Orioles-Athletics game -- a difficult task, inasmuch as there are some 48,000 "suspects." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
Season six of Homicide: Life on the Street is marked by several changes in the Baltimore homicide unit, not least of which is the exit of two main characters, Sgt. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) and videographer J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich). Several of the remaining unit members are still being rotated to other departments, though detectives Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) have been returned to the open arms of their longtime skipper, Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). New faces in the squad room include Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda), late of the auto-theft division; Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety), formerly a uniformed officer; and Detective Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), fresh from of tour of duty with the Seattle homicide department. All three of the newcomers face a hectic initation as they dodge the bullets of a sniper running wild in Baltimore. But the main story line in this first episode of the new season gets under way as Giardello attends a formal reception for his longtime friend, black businessman and community activist Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) -- only to be swept into an unsettling murder investigation when the body of the Wilson family's maid is found in the men's room of the reception hall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
A lonely man receives some not entirely welcome attention from his children in this drama written by Horton Foote. John Webb (Hume Cronyn) is an aging farmer from Texas who recently lost his wife and is coming to terms with spending the rest of his days on his own. An oil company believes that there may be oil on John's property and is willing to pay him handsomely for drilling rights. However, John isn't certain he likes the idea, and he soon comes into conflict with his family, who thinks that John could be letting a fortune slip through his fingers. Produced for the Showtime premium cable network, Alone boasts a superb supporting cast, including James Earl Jones, Shelley Duvall, Chris Cooper, and Frederic Forrest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hume Cronyn
- 1997
- PG
Scripter Robert W. Lenski adapted G.D. Gearino's novel What the Deaf-Mute Heard for this Hallmark Hall of Fame comedy. It was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, by director John Kent Harrison. During the '40s, single mother Helen (Bernadette Peters) boards a bus for Barrington, Georgia, with her 10-year-old son Sammy (Frankie Muniz). She tells him not to say a word. The two are separated when she exits the bus and is carried away, leaving the sleeping Sammy to travel to Barrington by himself. Because Sammy won't speak, bus-station manager Norm assumes he's mute and deaf. Norm gives Sammy a cot in the back of the station, and he's fed by widower Norm's friend Lucille (Judith Ivey), owner of the adjacent cafe.
Years pass, but the grown Sammy (Matthew Modine), working as a handyman, still remains silent. Well-to-do widow Tynan (Claire Bloom) orders him about when she has him clean porch furniture. Her snobbish son Tolliver (Jake Weber), who steals church money, treats Sammy with contempt. Tolliver's sister Tallasse (Anne Bobby) likes Sammy, and she confides in Sammy, thinking he can't hear what she's saying. Her father and Sammy's mother, they learn, both loved the Weill-Gershwin song, My Ship. Throughout Barrington, the locals have learned to trust Sammy, but eventually, joyful junkman Thacker (James Earl Jones) stumbles onto Sammy's secret. Bernadette Peters is heard singing My Ship during the closing credits. What the Deaf Man Heard first aired November 23, 1997 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Years pass, but the grown Sammy (Matthew Modine), working as a handyman, still remains silent. Well-to-do widow Tynan (Claire Bloom) orders him about when she has him clean porch furniture. Her snobbish son Tolliver (Jake Weber), who steals church money, treats Sammy with contempt. Tolliver's sister Tallasse (Anne Bobby) likes Sammy, and she confides in Sammy, thinking he can't hear what she's saying. Her father and Sammy's mother, they learn, both loved the Weill-Gershwin song, My Ship. Throughout Barrington, the locals have learned to trust Sammy, but eventually, joyful junkman Thacker (James Earl Jones) stumbles onto Sammy's secret. Bernadette Peters is heard singing My Ship during the closing credits. What the Deaf Man Heard first aired November 23, 1997 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Claire Bloom, (more)
- 1997
The SG-1 team heads to Cimmerica, in hopes of enlisting the aid of the legendary Norse Gods in their battle against the Goa'ulds. Because team member Teal'c (Chrsitopher Judge), like all Jaffa men, carries a larval Goa'uld within him, he is prohibited from entering Cimmerica and trapped in a beam of light. When O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) attempts to release Teal'c, both men are whisked underground to the labyrinthine home of Unas (Vincent Hammond), the original Goa'uld host body. Unas' subterranean prison has been designed to protect his civilization from the Goa'ulds, and as such is all but inescapable. SG-1 team members Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Carter (Amanda Tapping) must rely upon another former Goa'uld host named Kendra (Galyn Gorg) to save their comrades. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Billed as a prequel to the 1995 family film Casper, which in turn is based on an enduring Harvey cartoon character "Casper the Friendly Ghost," this direct-to-video entry is aimed at younger kids (though some of the scenes may be inappropriate for really young children). The story begins as Casper, who is new to the ghostly plane, rides a death train towards Ghost Central Station where he is to attend a camp to train him to scare people. Instead, he irritates another passenger and is tossed off the train. The bewildered little spirit lands in Deedstown where he becomes friends with 10-year-old Chris Carson, a troubled boy whose mother is gone and whose work-obsessed father ignores him. Chris sees that Casper is troubled too and so decides to show him how to be a real ghost by taking him to Applegate Manor, the town's haunted house, and introducing him to the riotous Ghostly Trio. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Guttenberg, Lori Loughlin, (more)
- 1997
Roz (Peri Gilpin) has an almost pathological fear of growing old. Hoping to help her overcome this, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) suggests that Roz use the "community service" time forced upon her by a traffic violation to volunteer at a local retirement home. Needless to say, this situation only serves to make things worse, as the oldsters begin dropping like flies after Roz's visits! James Earl Jones guest stars as one of the home's more outspoken residents. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this pivotal episode, Monica (Roma Downey) may lose her angelic powers after missing her evaluation-day appointment with her stern and unforgiving Heavenly supervisor Ruth (Cloris Leachman in her first series appearance). In an effort to cover for Monica, Tess ($Della Reese) and Andrew (John Dye) recall her previous triumphs as an angelic caseworker via film-clip flashbacks to earlier episodes. Meanwhile, Monica has a showdown with her longtime nemesis, fallen angel Kathleen--usually played solely by Jasmine Guy, but here portrayed by no fewer than two TV-sitcom favorites. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A pair of corrupt police officers discover the hard way that crime really doesn't pay in this action drama. Divinci (James Belushi) and Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur) are two New York undercover cops with serious money problems: Rodriguez owes a huge gambling debt, while Divinci wants to retire to Hawaii but lacks the cash. To stretch their paychecks, the partners pose as drug dealers, using narcotics confiscated as evidence; they sell the dope, and after receiving payment, they kill the buyers in carefully arranged drive-by shootings, always collecting the drugs afterward so that they can be sold again. The men try to morally justify their actions by claiming that they only kill people who need to be taken off the street anyway. Divinci's girlfriend, an exotic dancer named Cynthia (Lela Rochon), helps set the cops up with their latest victim, but after they've made the transaction, Divinci and Rodriguez discover the tables have been turned -- the purchaser is actually an undercover DEA agent. The DEA man winds up dead, and Divinci and Rodriguez are assigned to investigate the killing. Needing a fall guy, they try to frame a homeless man for the murder, but before long, their web of deception begins to collapse like a house of cards. Gang Related was the final film completed by rapper-turned-actor Tupac Shakur; he himself was the victim of a still-unsolved shooting in Las Vegas 13 months before the film was released. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, (more)
This made-for-cable black-comedy stars Beau Bridges as a governor in a future United States, with an unusual plan for his state. Bridges stars as Jim Farley, the Governor of Idaho, who decides that the only way to keep the new immigrants out of his state is to close down the borders. Defying the President (Phil Hartman), he gets some help implementing his plan from some zealots in militias. Bridges won the Emmy for his performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, James Coburn, (more)
- 1996
This made-for-TV drama is a prequel to the 1995 feature The Christmas Box, which starred Maureen O'Hara as the formidable dowager Mary Parkin. Set in the '40s, Timepiece stars Naomi Watts as the much-younger Mary, a British transplant not yet married to her widowed boss, small-town businessman David Parkin (Kevin Kilner). By way of explaining how the older Mary came into possession of the priceless watch which figured so prominently in Christmas Box, Timepiece unfolds the story of Lawrence Flynn (James Earl Jones), an old black clock-maker who is accused of murdering the bullying white bigot who'd been tormenting him. As the town's legal authorities are poised to throw the book at Flynn, David Parkin steps forward to make a statement that will win him the undying love and fidelity of the impressionable Mary. Weaving in and out of the proceedings is a poignant subplot involving Parkins' daughter, Andrea (Mercedes Villamil), a victim of meningitis. Adapted from a novel by Richard Paul Evans, Timepiece made its first CBS network appearance on December 22, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Kevin Kilner, (more)
