Raul Julia Movies

A young boy attends a concert and is captivated by the conductor. He uses sounds from all over his house as his orchestra as he fantasizes about becoming a conductor. This charming video teaches children that even the ordinary sounds around their house can be interesting. And as the boy in the story finds out, they are only limited by their imaginations. Raul Julia narrates this story by Claudio Abbado. ~ Amy Lewis, All Movie Guide

The valor and anguish of the Alamo is resurrected in this '80s effort that features a considerably accomplished cast. Brian Keith plays Davy Crockett and James Arness is Jim Bowie who, although at odds at times with his leader Colonel William Travis (Alec Baldwin), is able to focus upon the battle against the Mexican soldiers. Highlights of this film are the battle action scenes. ~ All Movie Guide

La Gran Fiesta is set in 1942, when relations between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico were delicate at best. Casino de Puerto Rico, a lavish San Juan nightspot, is about to be turned over to a recreational center for US troops. To celebrate their last night as a "civilian" nighterie, the staff members of the Casino stage one final all-stops-out Grand Ball. Everyone is invited, even those "undesirables" who would normally be shut out of the black-tie establishment. The names of the film's stars will probably be unfamiliar to a non-Latino audience; most filmgoers, however, will quickly recognize Raul Julia and E.G. Marshall in their brief guest appearances. Though many American films and TV programs had previously been lensed in Puerto Rico, La Gran Fiesta was the first feature-length film to be produced by the Puerto Rican film industry itself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the Reading Rainbow series, Raul Julia is the guest narrator of Mystery on the Docks, a story by Thacher Hurd about the dramatic rescue of an opera singer kidnapped by a group of rodent thugs. Host LeVar Burton heads for the waterfront to try to solve a mystery. Tugboats and giant cranes are part of the scenery at the docks, and Burton provides a close-up look at both. The enthusiastic board of child book reviewers scrutinizes The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg, Nate the Great by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, and Big City Port by Betsy Maestro and Ellen Del Vecchio. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with the 1986 TV miniseries of the same name, Strong Medicine is the bizarre tale of a bizarre young woman, played bizarrely by Kate Manheim. Shunted aside by society in general, she loses all touch with reality. It helps not at all that she comes in contact with several equally "lost" souls. For an avant-garde exercise, Strong Medicine has a remarkably high-profile cast; it also features Raul Julia and My Dinner With Andre's Wallace Shawn. Filmed in 1979, Strong Medicine lay on the shelf unreleased for nearly six years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Raul Julia guest stars as orthodontist Jerry Robinson's younger brother, Greg. Fresh out of dental school, Greg accepts Jerry's invitation to move in with him. Before long, Greg has not only taken over Jerry's life, he has also stolen most of his older brother's patients. Rhoda Gemignani rounds out the guest cast as Miss Rossi. Written by Martin Cohan, "Oh, Brother" made its first network appearance on January 5, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Richard Farina's late-1960s "alienation" novel Been Down So Long it Looks Like Up to Me was given a belated, and somewhat anachronistic, screen treatment in 1971. Though set in 1958, the original novel spoke most loudly to the post-Beat Generation hippies of the next decade. The film spoke to no one, except perhaps a few ageing hipsters who couldn't shake off the past. Barry Primus plays the central character, a sixties activist in the making on an uptight college campus. Amidst the jive-talk and the scrungy clothing, the film contains a few obligatory sex scenes, indicating perhaps that it was this element of beatnik life that most attracted the filmmakers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The life and death of Isabel LaNegra (Miriam Colon), a woman who rose from poverty to become a famed Caribbean madam, is the subject of a South American reporter's investigation. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

In return for Warner Bros. greenlighting his pet project White Hunter, Black Heart (1990), Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this more commercial film, an action caper about a mismatched pair of auto theft cops. Eastwood is grizzled veteran detective Nick Pulovski, who's determined to bring down the chop-shop operation being run by a pair of German crooks, Strom (Raul Julia) and Liesl (Sonia Braga). Although he's been officially removed from the case and partnered with a green, recently promoted detective, David Ackerman (Charlie Sheen), the hard-drinking Nick's not about to let the car thieves get away with murder. David, in the meanwhile, is dealing with his own issues, including the death of his brother (for which he was responsible), his unhappy girlfriend Sarah (Lara Flynn Boyle) and his estrangement from his wealthy father Eugene (Tom Skerritt). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Legendary low-budget mogul Roger Corman made a somewhat inauspicious return to the director's chair for the first time in nearly twenty years (unless one counts his uncredited participation in "pickup" shoots for several New World Pictures productions) for this quaint sci-fi/horror outing, based on the popular novel by Brian Aldiss. Opening in the year 2031, the story begins with scientist Joseph Buchanan (John Hurt) working on a top-secret military project that creates a rift in time in space, hurtling him and his ultra-high-tech hotrod backwards through time to the early 19th century. Buchanan manages to adapt quite well to his new surroundings, particularly after making the acquaintance of fellow scientist Baron Frankenstein (Raul Julia). Curiously, the Baron is presented here as an authentic historical figure, and his monster-making efforts the basis for the famed book by Mary Shelley (Bridget Fonda), which was a work of fiction. After ruminating about his situation with Mary and her future husband Percy Shelley (late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) at the villa of mad poet Lord Byron (Jason Patric), Buchanan is approached by the Baron to help construct a mate for his intelligent but homicidal creature (Nick Brimble). Unfortunately, things do not go according to plan, leading to an ironic denouement that finds Buchanan pondering the apocalyptic results of his life's work. The film boasts solid production values and some beautiful location photography (most of the film was shot in Italy); however, the classy look and high-profile casting can't disguise the overall feel of an early New World outing, albeit with a much larger budget. The script, adapted by Corman and writer F.X. Feeney, eliminates many of the novel's intellectual twists and turns; much of the remaining dialogue comes off as merely pretentious. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

For his first directorial project in six years, Robert Towne selected a timeworn romantic-triangle yarn, injecting the material with subtlety and conviction. Tequila Sunrise stars Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell as two lifelong friends who, in true James Cagney-Pat O'Brien fashion, grow up on the opposite sides of the law. One is a retired drug dealer (at least he says he is), the other a "celebrity" cop. Both fall in love with gorgeous restaurateur Michelle Pfeiffer. Veteran movie buffs will enjoy spotting director Budd Boetticher as a judge, and will welcome the presence in the production credits of cinematographer Conrad Hall, who earned an Oscar nomination for his richly textured color camerawork. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Political prisoner Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia) and homosexual pederast Luis Molina (William Hurt) share a Brazilian prison cell in this fantastical drama from the book by Manuel Puig. Sensitive and flamboyant, Molina helps pass the time by recounting memories from one of his favorite films, a wartime romantic thriller that just may also be a Nazi propaganda film. He weaves the characters into an ongoing narrative meant to spur Valentin's imagination and distract him from the brutal realities of political imprisonment and separation from the woman he loves. Hard around the edges, and willing to die for his political principles, Valentin nonetheless allows Molina to penetrate some of his defensive shell. An odd friendship forms between the two vastly different prisoners, the dreamer and the activist. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that Valentin is being poisoned by his captors, to compel him to reveal names and secrets, and that Molina may have other agendas that belie his honesty and openness with Valentin. The intense character study builds toward a surprising conclusion. Kiss of the Spider Woman received Oscar nominations for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, and Hurt took home the best actor trophy for his portrayal of the soulful and conflicted Molina. The film was later adapted into a Broadway musical. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide