John Norman Movies
- 1989
In this made-for-TV actioner, three rebellious black army officers disobey orders in Vietnam and refuse to destroy a village filled with innocent people. They are sent to Georgia where they undergo a court-martial. The officers know that they are going to be railroaded and so manage to escape. The fugitives end up in Riverbend, hiding in the home of a sympathetic widow. The town is controlled by a brutal, extremely racist sheriff who kills those opposing him and freely takes whatever he wants from the terrified residents. This doesn't set well with one of the officers who, with plans to usurp the sheriff's authority, convinces the others to help him create a secret training camp in the woods. They then begin recruiting the local black men and training them for combat. When they are ready, the angry rebels take over the town, incarcerate the sheriff and all his cohorts and hold the rest of the town hostage in a church until their demands for media attention and an end to racism are met. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve James, Margaret Avery, (more)
Harvey Fierstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit was adapted for the screen by Fierstein himself. The playwright also repeats his stage role of female impersonator Arnold Beckoff, aka nightclub entertainer "Virginia Hamm." The three-part plotline, whittled down to accommodate the film's 117-minute running time, concerns Arnold's seriocomic efforts to find a lasting relationship. We first meet Arnold in 1971, when his heart is broken by his bisexual lover (Brian Kerwin). Next we find Arnold in 1973, enjoying short-lived happiness with his true love (Matthew Broderick). The final act takes place in 1980: Arnold, still grieving over Broderick's sudden death and struggling to raise the young boy that the couple had adopted, has a long-anticipated showdown with his uncompromising mother, superbly played by Anne Bancroft. A witty film that is by turns touching and outrageous, Torch Song Trilogy works well despite its somewhat soft-pedaled approach to the material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, (more)
- 1987
- PG
In this sword and sorcery film, a wimpy college professor Tarl Cabot (Urbano Barberini) is mysteriously thrown into the world of Gor, where he must battle the evil Sarm (Oliver Reed) to save the innocent people of Gor. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Urbano Barberini, Rebecca Ferratti, (more)
