Zachary Mott Movies
Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic French thriller gets a Hollywood makeover in this glossy remake. Guy Baran (Chazz Palminteri) is the dull, loutish headmaster of a private school that has seen better days. While Guy oversees the day to day operations, the school is actually owned by his wife Mia (Isabelle Adjani), whose spirit has been crushed by Guy's casual cruelty and whose health is frail. Guy has been openly having an affair with one of his teachers, Nicole Horner (Sharon Stone), who has almost as much contempt for Guy as Mia. Mia and Nicole eventually join forces against their common enemy and plan to murder him and conceal the evidence. However, while the killing goes as planned, Guy's body mysteriously disappears from the carefully chosen spot where it was dumped, and when a chatty detective, Shirley Vogel (Kathy Bates) begins asking questions, both women begin to wonder who knows what about their murderous scheme. This was the third remake of Les Diaboliques, following two made-for-TV adaptations, Reflection of Murder and House of Secrets. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Stone, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
Frank Pierson's made-for-cable adaptation of Nicholas VonHoffman's biography, Citizen Cohn stars James Woods as the controversial lawyer Roy Cohn. The film is structured as a series of flashbacks while Cohn lies in a New York hospital dying of AIDS. In the 1940s and early '50s, Cohn became one of the most powerful men in the country after becoming an important associate of Senator Joseph McCarthy (Joe Don Baker) and his Communist witch hunts. The film recounts those turbulent times and features portrayals of such real-life figures as J. Edgar Hoover (Pat Hingle), Dashiell Hammett (Frederic Forrest), Cardinal Spellman (Daniel Benzali), and Walter Winchell (Joseph Bologna). ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Joe Don Baker, (more)
Marking the first collaboration between horror legends George A. Romero and Stephen King since 1982's Creepshow, this moody, atmospheric adaptation of King's novel was actually completed in 1991, but the highly-publicized bankruptcy of its distributor Orion Pictures in that same year nearly doomed The Dark Half to distribution limbo. King's story revolves around successful author Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), whose popularity on the college circuit owes a great deal to the financial success of a series of violent pulp thrillers written under the pseudonym of "George Stark." When he decides to cast aside his disreputable alter-ego by "killing" Stark off in a mock ceremony, it precipitates a string of sadistic murders matching those in his pulp novels, which are discovered to be the work of Stark himself (also played by Hutton). Looking like a maniacal white-trash version of his counterpart, Stark is not so willing to quit the writing game -- even if it means coming after Thad's wife (Amy Madigan) and their baby. It's only a matter of time before suspicions turn to Thad, who is the only one who knows the real origins of his hideous twin. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Amy Madigan, (more)
- 1991
Guilty Until Proven Innocent is a TV-movie dramatization of a an actual miscarriage of justice. Young Bobby McLaughlin (Brendan Fraser) is accused of murder when a teenager is killed during a Brooklyn drug deal. The arresting cop knows that Bobby didn't do it, but is so eager for a conviction in this otherwise unsolvable crime that he strongarms an eyewitness into fingering Bobby. The boy's foster father Martin Sheen is assured by the defense attorney that the truth will out in court. When Bobby is convicted, Sheen continues through legal channels to secure the boy's release, confident that someone will be willing to open their eyes to the facts. But despite common knowledge that he is innocent, Bobby languishes for years in prison. Featured in the cast of Guilty Until Proven Innocent is Martin Sheen's daughter Renee Estevez. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Caroline Kava, (more)
- 1991
Karen Arthur, the Emmy-winning director of Cagney and Lacey, was in the driver's seat for the made-for-TV psychological terror film Bump in the Night. Meredith Baxter-Birney plays a onetime famous reporter who's drunk herself into near-oblivion. Her turbulent life takes a desperate turn when her 8-year-old son (Corey Carrier) is kidnapped by a dangerous pedophile (Christopher Reeves). The boy has escaped from his captor, and now his mother must find him before the kidnapper does. Richard Bradford plays the cop on the case, who'd rather do without the interference of Ms. Baxter-Birney. Bump in the Night is commendably subtle and straightforward in handling the potentially lurid details of its story. Historical note: In March of 1995, Bump in the Night became the first feature film ever telecast on the E! Entertainment Cable Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Iron Maze updates the Akira Kurosawa Rashomon tale and works it into a story involving the Japanese corporate takeover of a Pennsylvania steel mill. When Junich Sugita (Hiroaki Murakami), the son of a Japanese businessman, is found beaten to death in the steel mill just purchased by the father, the film examines four different points of view as Junich's murder is reconstructed. Barry Mikowski (Jeff Fahey), a steelworker angered by the shutdown of the steel plant, immediately surrenders to local police-chief Jack Ruhle (J.T. Walsh). Barry claims it was self-defense, because Junich attacked him when he found out he was having an affair with his wife Chris (Bridget Fonda). But Chris has her own version of the murder, Junich and Chris's versions are later both heard, and finally a young boy, Mikey (Gabriel Damon), appears with a story of his own that ties up all the loose ends. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Fahey, Bridget Fonda, (more)
- 1990
- R
Most of this provocative made-for-cable television drama, takes place in the courtroom where a young white, female attorney tries to prosecute an African American ex-con for the assault of a prostitute. He is not only the prime suspect, he is also the only witness. Unfortunately, he may not get a fair trial, for the prosecutor may be using the case to settle a personal score. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Grey, (more)
Makeup wizard Tom Savini's color remake of George A. Romero's 1968 classic follows the original almost shot-for-shot, so quality comparisons are somewhat pointless. The film was clearly made for younger viewers who refuse to watch black-and-white films, no matter how good they may be. The result is passable, but the very fact that the original was made 22 years before makes this version seem almost dated in its restraint. By the time of its release, Romero had already geometrically raised the gore quotient with Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985), so Savini's starting back at square one further lessened the impact of this pointless retread. If this version has anything to offer, it is Patricia Tallman's engaging lead performance as a gun-toting independent woman, one of this film's few elements not lifted wholesale from Romero. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Todd, Patricia Tallman, (more)
