Martin Landau Movies

Martin Landau and Ellen Burstyn topline the debut of writer/director Nik Fackler in Lovely Still, a whimsical romance tale that follows an elderly grocery-store bagger (Landau) who experiences his first pangs of love in the form of Burstyn. Elizabeth Banks portrays the woman's daughter, while Adam Scott handles the role of the store's owner. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

As originally screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at the Cannes Film Festival, and on Turner Classic Movies, the mammoth, epic-length documentary Brando chronicles in encyclopedic detail (and with a consistently reverent overtone) the life and career of the man widely regarded as the most formidable American actor of the 20th century - famous for not only reshaping, but reinventing the craft of film acting and teaching audiences how to view a motion picture performance. Divided into chronological, thematically-unified segments, the film first treats Marlon Brando's dysfunctional upbringing - his alcoholic mother, his abusive father, his stint at a military academy - before charting his acting tutelage at the behest of Stella Adler and his early cinematic and theatrical roles, including work for Elia Kazan, who famously made many aggressive (and unsuccessful) attempts to discipline the headstrong actor onscreen. Throughout this segment, many Hollywood A-list actors appear - among them, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Robert Duvall - expostulating at length on Brando's influence over their approaches to performance, and attempting with great effort to define the elusive style known as "method acting" that Brando helped to create. The second half of the documentary moves into Brando's career during the '70s, '80s and '90s, covering the production of The Godfather, the actor's noteworthy political activism, and his tumultuous personal life. Francis Ford Coppola, who of course teamed with Brando for the first Godfather installment and for Apocalypse Now, is noticeably absent from the proceedings. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In the third-season finale, Ari takes evasive action when The Ramones project -- and his future -- are in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Vince taps an unlikely source to chart his career. ~ Joe Friedrich, All Movie Guide

The gimmick of the ABC procedural drama The Evidence was established at the beginning of each hour-long episode. It was explained via a videotaped police log that a murder had been committed, and that several clues were left behind by the unknown killer. As the camera froze on each clue, the viewer was treated to a flashback, placing that clue in context of the crime. Thus, the characters onscreen virtually competed against the viewers at home as to who would solve the mystery first. Orlando Jones and Rob Estes headed the cast as San Francisco police detectives Cayman Bishop and Sean Cole, who punctuated each investigation with kidding-on-the-square insults and clever quips, à la Robert Culp and Bill Cosby on the old spy series I Spy. Other regulars included Martin Landau as medical examiner Dr. Sol Goldman and Anita Briem as investigator Emily Stevens. The "backstories" of each character were revealed on a "need to know" basis in the course of each episode, showing how their personal experiences colored the direction of the investigation (much air time was devoted to the death of the wife of Sean Cole). Created by Sam Baum and Dustin Thomason, The Evidence made its network bow on March 22, 2006, only to be placed on hiatus after three episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gretchen Becker (Ed Wood, Hollywood Homicide) and Alex A. Quinn star in the erotic drama An Existential Affair, as Petra and Mark, a married woman and her younger lover who steal away together and conduct a series of kinky sex sessions in random hotels. When the partners grow increasingly jaded and routine clandestine sexual encounters prove too boring, Mark suggests that they both join a fetish club, which will enable them to repeatedly act out sadomasochistic fantasies. Over the years, the relationship runs hot and cold but persists nonetheless, until the two eventually attempt to transcend carnal desire, cultivating a normal, emotionally healthy and balanced relationship after years of mutual sexual depravity. Academy Award winner Martin Landau (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Ed Wood) co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Directed by Rick McKay, who traveled across five continents during the documentary's production, Broadway: The Golden Age is both a celebration of current Broadway stars and a tribute to Broadway legends past. Through a plethora of interviews and vast amounts of archival footage, McKay presents a variety of factoids, anecdotes, and memories from over 100 Broadway actors, writers, and directors. The careers of Laurette Taylor, Kim Hunter, Jessica Tandy, and Marlon Brando are all animatedly retold, as is some of the Broadway "lore of olde," such as Angela Lansbury's struggle to land a role in Mame and the shocked reaction to West Side Story on its opening night. In addition to footage and discussion regarding highly successful Broadway stars, a variety of actors recount their experiences and struggles in finding even a small amount of critical recognition. The cast includes Shirley MacLaine, Bea Arthur, Edie Adams, Alec Baldwin, and Kaye Ballard, and many others. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A crime caper that gaily spoofs such antecedents as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and nods its head more than a few times to the work of Quentin Tarantino, Very Mean Men opens in a bar, where a bartender (Matthew Modine) finds himself serving drinks to a tough-looking guy (Martin Landau) he pegs as a cheap drinker. In order to keep the miniscule tips coming, the bartender makes up a story about warring mob families in the San Fernando Valley. In one corner there are the Minettis, who are led by Gino (Ben Gazzara), a mobster who's mellowed with age. Gino wants to make amends when Big Paddy Mulroney (Charles Durning) complains that Gino's clan is invading his side of the Valley. Gino's temperamental son Paulie (Scott Baio, sporting peroxided hair and a goatee to match) gives Mulroney money, only to then stiff Mulroney's waitress daughter on a tip after having lunch at the family's diner. Soon ethnic insults are flying like bullets, and everyone is out for revenge. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV drama is based on the autobiography of one of the most notorious figures in American organized crime, Joseph Bonanno. Bonanno (played by Bruce Ramsay) left Sicily as a young man, eager to escape the tyranny of Benito Mussolini, but when he arrived in America, fate led him to a career on the wrong side of the law with the Castellamarese crime family. After his mentor was killed in a bloody feud with cadres of the Gambino family, Bonanno became the youngest man to lead a major crime syndicate in America. Bonanno's battles with Lucky Luciano (Vince Corazza) and his secret dealings with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Matt Norklun) helped cement Bonanno's reputation as one of the most powerful criminals in the world. It didn't take long, however, for the gangster kingpin to discover that power breeds treachery, and as the years passed, Bonanno (now played by Tony Nardi) learned that both the FBI and some of his most loyal allies were working to put him out of business. Martin Landau plays the elderly Bonanno, who tells much of his life story in flashback as he visits his hometown in Sicily for the first time in many years. The supporting cast includes Robert Loggia, Costas Mandylor, Patti LuPone, and Edward James Olmos. Bonanno: A Godfather's Story was originally produced as a two-part miniseries for the Showtime premium cable network, but was later edited down to 139 minutes for release on home video. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This television miniseries recounts the biblical story of Joseph, the 11th son of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob. Joseph (Paul Mercurio) has an extraordinary gift: the ability to interpret dreams. He also enjoys the special favor of his father. One day, Jacob (Martin Landau) presents his son a splendid coat as evidence of his deep affection for him. Envious, his brothers sell Joseph into bondage to an Egyptian. But Joseph eventually rises out of slavery after he interprets a troublesome dream of Pharaoh (Stefano Dionisi) as a sign that Egypt will experience seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. Impressed by Joseph's strange powers, Pharaoh elevates him to the highest government position in Egypt next to Pharaoh's. Then Joseph wisely directs Egypt to store grain during the years of plenty. Finally, after famine strikes, Egypt sets bountiful tables as before, but other lands suffer severe deprivation. Jacob sends Joseph's brothers to Egypt for grain. After gaining an audience with the esteemed Joseph, they do not recognize him. So much time has passed, after all. And who could imagine that their own brother, a mere Hebrew slave, could have cast off his yoke and ascended to such heights of power? As the film moves toward its conclusion, viewers wonder whether Joseph will hold his brothers to account for their wrongdoing -- or reconcile with them and renew familial relationships. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide

Based on a story by Richard Lupoff (a short filmization of the same story earned an Oscar nomination for 1990), 12:01 centers on a member of the personnel department in a science lab, who discovers that the world has become somehow trapped in a strange time warp that causes the same 24-hour period to repeat itself. During the course of that endlessly repeated day, Barry Thomas, the only one who seems to be aware of what's happening, must somehow figure out how to put time back on its normal course and solve the murder of a physicist, Lisa Fredricks (Helen Slater) with whom he is infatuated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Michael Ontkean stars as Zack Resnick, an honest Chicago cop drawn into a political assassination who discovers some shocking information about himself and his family. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Martin Landau plays legendary Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in this made-for-cable offering from director Philip Saville. Based on Wiesenthal's book, Treat Williams plays Max, a Jewish Holocaust survivor relating his story to Simon, who has tracked down the Nazi commandant in charge of the camp where Max and his fiancee Helen (Alice Krige) were held. While Max believes Helen to be dead, they are reunited after more than twenty years by film's end. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide