John Malkovich Movies
One of the leading actors of his generation and an important figure in world cinema, John Malkovich made the term "icy calm" his trademark. After winning acclaim for his characterization of the scheming Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, he became associated with a series of roles that, to put it plainly, essentially required him to be an evil bastard.The product of a large, highly intellectual family, Malkovich was born December 9, 1953, in Christopher, IL. Initially a portly youth, he underwent a self-imposed physical transformation, emerging as a star high school athlete. He went on to attend Eastern Illinois University, where he originally aspired to be a professional environmentalist. With his friend Gary Sinise, Malkovich helped co-found Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 1976. Seven years later, he won an Obie award when the Steppenwolf production of Sam Shepard's True West was brought to New York. He next appeared on Broadway with Dustin Hoffman in the 1984 revival of Death of a Salesman; when it was transformed into a television movie a year later, Malkovich won an Emmy for his efforts. While he was working on Broadway, he made his film debut, playing a blind transient in Places in the Heart (1984), which earned him an Oscar nomination. He also had a starring role in The Killing Fields the same year.
Although certainly capable of projecting warmth and pathos, Malkovich became best-known for his ice-water-in-the-veins roles. In addition to praise for his performance in Dangerous Liaisons, Malkovich won recognition -- and Oscar and Golden Globe nominations -- for his portrayal of the chameleon-like political assassin in Wolfgang Peterson's In the Line of Fire (1993). Other sinister Malkovich characterizations include Kurtz in the 1994 TV-movie version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, the secretive Dr. Jekyll in Mary Reilly (1996), and Isabel Archer's dastardly husband in The Portrait of a Lady (1996). In 1999, Malkovich played what was undoubtedly his most unusual role -- himself -- in Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. Both the subject of the film and one of its stars, he had the surreal duty of letting the film's other characters into his mind, something many audience members had no doubt been dreaming of doing for years. The film provided Malkovich's career with a sort of popular resurgence, and the following year found him essaying the role of a wild eyed F.W. Murnau in the dark horror comedy Shadow of the Vampire. The second feature by experimental filmmaker E. ELias Mehrige, Shadow of the Vampire took a magic realism approach to documenting the production of Murnau's legendary 1922 classic Nosferatu.
In the years that followed Malkovich continued his trend of alternating roles in high-profile Hollywood fare with more artistically gratifying foreign films, and after turning up in the German miniseries Les Miserables (2000) and Je rentre a la maison Malkovich turned up opposite Vin Diesel in the box office flash Knockaround Guys (2001). In 2002 Malkovich picked up where Matt Damon left off in the thriller Ripley's Game before traveling back in time for the historical adventure drama Napoleon. After cracking up international audiences in Johnny English (2003), fans got to see Malkovich take on the role of a Stanley Kubrick imposter in the fact based Colour Me Kubrick.
After a string of decidedly small films, Malkovich surfaced in 2005 in the sci-fi comedy blockbuster The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Based on the cult novel by Douglas Adams, the picture cast Malkovich as an alien guru and gave him a chance to flex some of his sillier chops.
Maintaining his theatrical ties while tending to his successful film career, Malkovich appeared in the 1993 Broadway production State of Shock, and has periodically returned to Chicago to both act and direct in local presentations. For a number of years, he was married to fellow Steppenwolf alumnus Glenne Headly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Alex Karras and Susan Clark produced but did not star in the TV movie Word of Honor. Karl Malden plays a small-town newspaper reporter who receives a tip from a woman about the kidnap-murder of a teenaged girl. The woman implicates local banker Don Crane, but only on Malden's promise that he will never divulge the woman's identity. When it looks as though Crane will beat the rap, Malden steadfastly refuses to go back on his word, which earns him the enmity of everyone except his wife (Rue McClanahan) and a visiting "liberal" Manhattan journalist. The stack-the-cards setup of Word of Honor is just on the verge of credibility when the film blows the works with a too-convenient ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Malden, Rue McClanahan, (more)
- 1981
Officially premiering April 27, 1981, the weekly TV drama American Dream was preceded by a 90-minute pilot film, telecast April 26. The six-member Novak family, headed by Marshall Field employee Danny Novak (Stephen Macht), moves from the comfort of suburban Arlington Heights to inner-city Chicago (gosh only knows why). Danny's wife Donna (Karen Carlson) approves of the move, while sons Casey and Todd (Tim Waldrip and Michael Hershewe) want no part of it. The Novak's new neighbors include feisty, combatitive Paula Navarro (Helen Rubio), and old philosophical realtor Berlowitz (Hans Conreid). The American Dream series itself lasted two months; for details of the compromises and the broken dreams that led to its demise, see media critic Todd Gitlin's 1984 book Inside Prime Time. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Of the three "mortgage on the farm" films of 1984 (Country and The River were the other two), Places in the Heart is the only one set during the Depression. After her husband is killed, Sally Field is forced to take over the debt-ridden Texas family farm herself. Though slightly embittered by the fact that a black man was responsible for her husband's death, Field accepts the help of another African-American, Danny Glover. She is also given aid and comfort by her blind boarder, John Malkovich. Despite almost insurmountable odds, Field manages to bring in the cotton crop and to hold her farm and family together. Throughout the film, director Robert Benton stresses the importance of solidarity in facing down disaster, underlining this point with a remarkable surrealistic finale, in which the "live" members of the cast are seen singing a hymn with the characters who have "died" in the course of the film. Places in the Heart won Sally Field her second Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, (more)
The Killing Fields is a romanticized adaptation of an eyewitness magazine story by New York Times correspondent Sidney Schanberg. Covering the U.S. pullout from Vietnam in 1975, Schanberg (Sam Waterston) relies on his Cambodian friend and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) for inside information. Schanberg has an opportunity to rescue Dith Pran when the U.S. army evacuates all Cambodian citizens; instead, the reporter coerces his friend to remain behind to continue sending him news flashes. Although his family is helicoptered out of Saigon (a recreation of the famous TV news clip), Dith Pran stays with Schanberg on the ground. Racked with guilt, Schanberg does his best to arrange for Dith Pran's escape, but the Cambodian is captured by the dreaded Khmer Rouge. Accepting his Pulitzer Prize on behalf of Dith Pran, Schanberg vows to do right by his friend and extricate him from Cambodia. The rest of the film details Dith Pran's harrowing experiences at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and his attempt to escape on his own. The Killing Fields won Academy Awards for Hang S. Ngor (a Cambodian doctor who lived through many of the horrific events depicted herein), cinematographer Chris Menges, and editor Jim Clark; an Oscar nomination went to Roland Joffe, who made his directorial debut with this film. Spalding Gray, who played a small role in the film, later elaborated on this experiences in his one-man stage presentation Swimming to Cambodia. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Waterston, Dr. Haing S. Ngor, (more)
- 1985
- PG
Based on the autobiographical novel by Nicholas Gage, Eleni traces Gage's search for the truth behind the execution of his Greek mother Eleni. John Malkovich plays Gage (herein referred to only as Nick), a New York Times journalist assigned to cover a border war in Albania. Intimately familiar with his beat--it's where he grew up--Nick periodically flashes back to his childhood, and his memories of his late mother Eleni (Kate Nelligan). Not at all concerned with politics, Eleni goes to extreme lengths to shelter her children from the ravages of civil unrest. For attempting to smuggle her kids out of the country, Eleni is arrested and executed. Back in the present, Nick manages to locate local politico Katis (Oliver Cotton), the man who signed Eleni's death warrant. He wangles his way into Katis' confidence, then prepares to kill the man--but he's in for a surprise, and something of an epiphany. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Nelligan, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1985
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival, Christian Blackwood's Private Conversations is a behind-the-scenes look at the process of turning Arthur Miller's Pulitzer-prize winning stage-play Death of a Salesman into an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning made-for-television movie. Along with interviews with cast members Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, and Charles Durning, the documentary features on-set discussions that illustrate the collaboration between director Volker Schlondorff, cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and Miller. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Miller, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1986
A middle-aged dentist who is frustrated and bored with his commonplace life looks for greater adventure. This appeared on the PBS "American Playhouse." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1986
Originally aired on American public television, True West is a filmed performance of the Steppenwolf Theater Company's production of Sam Shepard's sibling rivalry play. John Malkovich plays a drifter who comes back home to patch up differences--as well instigate new ones--with his brother, a Hollywood screenwriter played by Gary Sinise. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Based on J.G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun stars Christian Bale as a spoiled young British boy, living with his wealthy family in pre-World War II Shanghai. During the Japanese invasion, Bale is separated from his parents. With the help of soldier-of-fortune John Malkovich, Bale learns to survive without a retinue of servants at his beck and call. By the time Malkovich and Bale are tossed into a Japanese prison camp, the boy has picked up enough street-smarts and developed enough intestinal fortitude to regard his imprisonment as an exciting adventure. The story ends during the 1945 liberation: on the verge of manhood, the 13-year-old Bale will never again be the pampered, privileged brat whom we met in the early scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1987
In this animated tale the little teddy bear Santabear sees that all the kids in the South Pole are not forgotten on Christmas Day. ~ All Movie Guide
This sci-fi comedy from Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) director Susan Seidelman stars John Malkovich along with several other actors from his Steppenwolf Theatre troupe in Chicago. Malkovich stars as Dr. Jeff Peters, a scientist for the Chemtech Corporation who has invented an affable robotic clone of himself named Ulysses (also played by Malkovich). Unfortunately, Jeff is long on brains but short on personality or warmth, leaving his double an empty vessel, emotionally speaking. Believing that if Ulysses only had a bit more spark he could be utilized as a publicity gimmick and fundraising tool, Chemtech sends public relations executive Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) to train him in the ways of the heart and human interaction. What Frankie ends up with, however, is her own personal version of the perfect mate. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Magnuson, John Malkovich, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Paul Newman directed this moving adaptation of Tennessee Williams' classic play The Glass Menagerie. Joanne Woodward stars as aging Southern belle Amanda Wingfield, whose domineering parenting has driven her shy, timid daughter Laura (Karen Allen) inward and has made her adventure-hungry son Tom (John Malkovich) miserable. Newman hasn't tried to open the original stage play up at all, preferring to keep all of the action within the Wingfield apartment. The cast performed the play in a Broadway revival prior to the filming. James Naughton appears as Laura's gentleman caller. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, (more)
Adapted for stage and screen several times over the past century, French author Francois Choderlos de Laclos' 1782 novel Les Liasons Dangeureuses was the basis for this Academy Award-winning Stephen Frears film. The plot is motivated by a cruel wager between the beautiful but debauched Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) and her misogynistic former lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovitch). The Marquise challenges Valmont to seduce the virginal Cecile de Volanges (Uma Thurman) before the girl can be wed. Valmont offers a more difficult counter-challenge: He bets the Marquise that he will be able to bed the very moral and very married Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer). In the course of carrying out his plan, Valmont is stricken with a sudden case of honor and remorse, while the Marquise becomes all the more vicious. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Glenn Close, John Malkovich, (more)
Director Lawrence Kasdan and Frank Galati adapted their screenplay for The Accidental Tourist from Anne Tyler's novel. William Hurt plays Macon Leary, a well-known "travel advisor" headquartered in Baltimore. The tragic death of Leary's son causes him to withdraw from the world, which in turn prompts his wife (Kathleen Turner) to walk out on him. Recuperating from a broken leg, Leary moves in with his sister (Amy Wright) and brothers (Ed Begley Jr., David Ogden Stiers)-staid middle-aged intellectuals all. Discipline problems with his dead son's dog lead Leary to hire flaky professional dogwalker/trainer Muriel Pritchett (Geena Davis, who won an Oscar for her performance). The only non-uptight person within shouting distance, Muriel begins to melt Leary's self-protective shell. Once his wife realizes that she has some competition, she makes moves to get him back. But he has by now become accustomed to Muriel's unfettered lifestyle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, (more)
- 1988
- R
Two brothers (Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson) have inherited a large farm (once voted "Farm of the Year") from their father, but cannot keep it afloat. When the farm goes bankrupt, the pair decide to torch the place and take off across the Midwest, fleeing the law to become folk heroes for many rural farmers in the area. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Kevin Anderson, (more)
- 1989
This 1989 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by John Malkovich and features musical guest Anita Baker. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Anita Baker, (more)
From director Bernardo Bertolucci, The Sheltering Sky is a filmed adaptation of the novel of the same name by Paul Bowles. Debra Winger and John Malkovich star as Kit and Port Moresby, a married American couple who globetrot to North Africa in the late '40s with the hopes of re-sparking their love and adding some zest to their lackluster lives. Along for the ride is the pair's friend George Tunner (Campbell Scott), who soon begins having an affair with Kit. As they struggle through the numbing heat of Africa amidst the sudden love triangle, each of the trio sees his and her beliefs and lives challenged. The Sheltering Sky earned a Best Director nomination for Bertolucci at the 1991 Golden Globe Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Debra Winger, (more)
Woody Allen's black-and-white curiosity piece is a mixture of influences -- from German silent film expressionism to Franz Kafka's nightmare worlds to the contemporary fables of Wim Wenders. Woody Allen plays the nebbish clerk Kleinman (in a throwback to his characters from Sleeper and Love and Death), who is awakened in the middle of the night by a vigilante group who want him to help capture a serial killer on the loose. Kleinman reluctantly agrees, but when he gets to the street, the vigilantes are gone and Kleinmen spends most of the film wandering the shadowy back alleys in search of the citizen's brigade. Meanwhile, a circus is in town. When sword-swallower Irmy (Mia Farrow) catches her creepy clown husband (John Malkovich) getting familiar with trapeze artist Marie (Madonna), she packs her bags and heads for town, where she meets up with Kleinman. This meeting sets up a number of plot lines that has Irmy befriending a trio of prostitutes (Jodie Foster, Lily Tomlin and Kathy Bates) at the local brothel and accepting $700 from a university student (John Cusack) who wants to sleep with her. She finally meets up with her husband, and they then find an abandoned baby which they decide to raise as their own. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, (more)
Ray (Ken Olin) is a young adult and has a girlfriend whom he lives with quite happily. However, the agreed-upon date of their marriage is coming up, and he's not quite sure he wants to make that kind of commitment. His buddies Dennis, Elliot, and Vinny have their own commitment problems. Dennis (Kevin Bacon) isn't sure he wants to stay away from his buddies long enough to get his music career going in Hollywood; Elliot (John Malkovich) knows that he's homosexual but thinks that being gay means fitting all sorts of ugly stereotypes -- stereotypes he is determined to avoid at all costs; and Vinny (Tony Spiridakis) commits himself all too frequently and often to the nearest desirable female. Meanwhile, cousin Al (Joe Mantegna) is in trouble with his wife, and only the intervention of a well-intentioned psychotic (Jamie Lee Curtis) can put him back on the right track. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
Michael Lindsay-Hogg wrote and directed this cool and sleek comedy about a seemingly perfect combination -- an American couple staying at a chic London hotel whose pride doesn't permit them to recognize that they are broke, and a hotel staff so brimming with proper British reserve that they can't inform the American freeloaders they need to be paid. Jake (John Malkovich) and Tina (Andie MacDowell) are the American couple trapped in splendor at a London hotel after Jake's cocoa deal in a Third World County is stalled by revolutionary upheaval. Their plight is so dire they walk up the stairs to their luxurious suite rather than take the elevator and risk encountering the hotel manager. Hitting rock bottom, they take stock of their assets and find one -- a $50,000 Henry Moore bust. They decide to fabricate a robbery and collect the insurance money, but a deaf maid (Rudi Davies) has fallen in love with the bust and stolen it herself. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Andie MacDowell, (more)
Gary Sinese directed this respectful re-telling of John Steinbeck's classic novel, with Sinese as the wily George and John Malkovich as the brutish, simple-minded Lennie. Set during the Depression era, the film opens as George and Lennie are running from a woman with a torn dress, who has sent a gang of ruffians to chase the two out of the county. After a long bus ride and a ten-mile walk, George and Lennie arrive at a migrant farm in California's San Joaquin Valley, where they seek work. George dreams of putting together enough money to buy a small piece of land where he and Lennie can build a home; he hopes that in California the two can realize their dream. Unfortunately, the foreman of the ranch, Curley (Casey Siemaszko), enjoys tormenting Lennie, while Curley's frustrated wife (Sherilyn Fenn) entices Lennie with her sexual allure. George warns Lennie to steer clear of Curley's wife, but Lennie follows her to a barn where a tragedy occurs and George and Lennie's dreams are shattered. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, (more)
Stressed out LA detective John Berlin gets too near the edge following the destruction of his marriage and decides to leave the violence an un-ending hub-bub of the big city and take a job in the supposedly quiet northern tow of Eureka. Unfortunately, he isn't there long before he finds himself obsessed with pursuing a serial killer with a thing for blind young women. The case isn't new and Berlin's old-time buddy, Freddy Ross and his boys have spent the last six months investigating a string of seven murders. They have dubbed the case "Jennifer 8" because Berlin is positive that he knows the identity of the next victim. She is beautiful blind student Helena Robertson, the roommate of the latest victim. As he steps up his investigation, Berlin finds himself falling for Helena. Meanwhile, he has become so obsessed with finding the killer that pal Ross begins worrying that Berlin is having a breakdown and so goes with him on a late night surveillance of Helena's school. A tragedy ensues leaving Berlin to not only go it alone, but also to clear his own name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, (more)
In this animated children's film from Amblin Entertainment, a group of four dinosaurs, including a tyrannosaurus rex, a triceratops, a hadrosaur, and a pterodactyl, are brought forward in time to New York City to entertain and befriend the children. However, when the dinosaurs are threatened by an evil circus owner, it is up to their young friends to save the day. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Goodman, Blaze Berdahl, (more)
- 1993
This 1993 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by John Malkovich and features musical guest Billy Joel. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Billy Joel, (more)
