Joe Pantoliano Movies
One of today's best character actors, the inexhaustible Joe Pantoliano boasts over 100 film, television, and stage credits. A favorite of directors Richard Donner, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Davis, and Andy and Larry Wachowski, he is also a dependable scene stealer with more than his share of memorable roles -- including killer pimp Guido in Risky Business (1983), bumbling criminal Francis Fratelli in The Goonies (1985), double-crossing bail bondsman Eddie Moscone in Midnight Run (1988), cynical U.S. Marshall Cosmo Renfro in The Fugitive (1993), turncoat Cypher in The Matrix (1999), and shady sidekick Teddy in Memento (2000). Born on September 12, 1951 in Hoboken, NJ, the actor is the only son of Dominic, a hearse driver, and Mary Pantoliano, a part-time seamstress/bookie. When he was 12, Pantoliano's mother left his father for her distant cousin Florio, though the couple never officially divorced. Pantoliano and his younger sister Maryann grew up throughout northern New Jersey with their mother and Florio, whom they eventually came to regard as their stepfather. Pantoliano suffered from severe dyslexia, and at age 17, he was still reading at the third-grade level. After seeing the youngster perform in his senior play, Up the Down Staircase, Florio convinced him to pursue acting professionally. Pantoliano moved to Manhattan, where he worked as a waiter while juggling acting classes and auditions. In 1972, he landed the coveted role of stuttering Billy Bibbit in the touring production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Four years later, Pantoliano moved west to try his luck in Hollywood. After making his television debut in the sitcom pilot McNamara's Band, he landed a recurring role in Rob Reiner's summer replacement series, Free Country. Reiner then tapped Pantoliano to co-star with him in James Burrows' television movie More Than Friends (1978). This led to the part of Angelo Maggio -- a role originated by fellow Hoboken-ite Frank Sinatra -- in NBC's miniseries adaptation of James Jones' From Here to Eternity (1979). After making his major feature-film debut in The Idolmaker (1980), Pantoliano guest starred on Hart to Hart, M*A*S*H, and Hardcastle and McCormick, as well as appeared on the Los Angeles stage in Orphans. He also landed a sizable part opposite a young Tom Cruise in the surprise hit Risky Business (1983). The comic ruthlessness with which Pantoliano's pimp tortures Cruise quickly earned the character actor a loyal cult following. He gave standout performances in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and the off-Broadway play Visions of Kerouac, before thrilling audiences again in the Spielberg-produced adventure The Goonies (1985). Scores of plum roles followed: Pantoliano joined Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines in Running Scared (1986), portrayed Lou Diamond Phillips' music producer in La Bamba (1987), re-teamed with Spielberg in Empire of the Sun (1987), and acted opposite Robert De Niro in Midnight Run (1988). He then topped these performances off with an unforgettable turn opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford in The Fugitive (1993), delivering a funny, fiery tour de force that was pure Pantoliano right down to the name he chose for his character, Cosmo -- his grandfather's name. By the mid-'90s, Pantoliano had a recognizable name and a devoted fan base. While making numerous television guest appearances, he starred with Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon in directors Andy and Larry Wachowski's debut thriller, Bound (1996). Pantoliano's edgy performance as a doomed money launderer impressed the Wachowskis so much that they created the character of Cypher in The Matrix (1999) exclusively for him. Shortly afterward, his co-star in the sci-fi spectacular, Carrie-Anne Moss, insisted that director Christopher Nolan hire Pantoliano for the third lead in his sleeper-hit Memento (2000). In 2001, at the behest of producer David Chase, Pantoliano joined the cast of the landmark HBO series The Sopranos. While portraying psychopathic mobster Ralphie Cifaretto on the hit show, the actor published Who's Sorry Now: The True Story of a Stand-Up Guy, a bittersweet memoir about his New Jersey childhood. He also put the finishing touches on his directorial debut, Just Like Mona (2002), and began filming his role as reporter Ben Urich in the comic book adaptation Daredevil (2003), which also stars Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Colin Farrell. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, All Movie Guide
Barbra Streisand returns to the screwball-comedy milieu of What's Up Doc? in the lightweight For Pete's Sake. As a Brooklyn hausfrau named Henry (!), our heroine will do anything to help her cabdriver husband Pete (Michael Sarrazin) get ahead. When Pete begins to play the stock market, Henry borrows three grand from a loan shark, thereby setting off a series of comic catastrophes. Molly Picon is perfection itself as a money-savvy madam who holds the key to Pete and Henry's happiness and well-being. For Pete's Sake was originally titled July Pork Bellies, a curious cognomen that makes perfect sense within the context of the plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, Michael Sarrazin, (more)
Two truckers struggle to stay financially afloat in economic hard times in his downbeat highway drama. But to do so, they must battle the cops and the major conglomerates that threaten to overtake them. While driving they pick up a prostitute who offers her services in exchange for a lift to New York. They give her a ride, but when they refuse her favors she punishes them with long, dull stories about her miserable life. Eventually the self-destructive, angry young woman destroys them all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
This made-for-TV ancestor to When Harry Met Sally stars the then-married Rob Reiner and Penny Marshall in what was essentially a replay of their own courtship. Covering a timespan from 1958 to 1971, the teleplay (written by Reiner and his frequent collaborator Phil Mishkin) asks the musical question "Should would-be novelist Alan Corkus (Reiner) and aspiring actress Maddy Pearlman (Marshall) become lovers, or merely remain good friends?" The whimsical nature of the plotline was carried over into the ABC network's ad campaign for the film, which was touted as "A Like Story." More Than Friends first aired on October 20, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Marshall, Rob Reiner, (more)
- 1979
Having previously spawned an Academy Award-winning film, which starred Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, and Frank Sinatra, James Jones' best-selling military novel From Here to Eternity was adapted into a six-hour miniseries in 1979. Set in Honolulu in 1941 in the days prior to the December 7 attack, the film concerns four principal characters: Sergeant Milt Warden (William Devane), who yearns for a promotion; Karen Holmes (Natalie Wood), the restless wife of Warden's CO, who enters into a torrid affair with the sergeant; Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt (Steve Railsback), a sensitive soul who loves the army but instinctively rebels against everyone wearing stripes; and prostitute Lorene Rogers (Kim Basinger), with whom Prewitt falls in love. The TV version is able to sidestep the censorship restrictions of the original movie, which means that the Warden/Holmes affair is conducted in bed as well as on the beach, and that Jones' indictments of military iniquities isn't subject to "official" approval. Originally telecast on three consecutive weeks in February 1979, From Here to Eternity led to a brief weekly series in 1980, with Devane and Basinger carried over from the miniseries, but with Don Johnson as Prewitt (who dies in the original novel) and Barbara Hershey as Karen Holmes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Wood, William Devane, (more)
The story of Philadelphia-based rock 'n' roll starmaker Bob Marcucci is given a pointed a clef treatment in The Idolmaker. Ray Sharkey plays Vincent Vacarri, who takes a couple of raw young kids (Peter Gallagher and Paul Land) and molds them into teen idols. If Gallagher and Land seem at times to be clones of Fabian and Frankie Avalon, then you've gotten the point. As played by Sharkey, Vacarri comes off as both maven and monster: he gives his boys everything they need professionally and everything they want personally, but it's subliminally clear that his interest is purely mercenary (incredibly, Bob Marcucci is the film's technical advisor). An excellent, clear-eyed view of show biz mechanics, The Idolmaker falters only in its anachronisms, notably the style of music performed by Vacarri's proteges. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Sharkey, Paul Land, (more)
- 1980
Filmed on location at Alcatraz Island, this two-part "whole story" actually concentrates on a handful of the denizens behind the cold grey walls of "The Rock". Michael Beck plays the real-life Clarence Carnes, an Oklahoma Choctaw Indian said to be the youngest man ever incarcerated in the notorious maximum security prison. Serving a 99-year sentence for a gas station holdup and murder, Carnes makes periodic attempts to escape, the final attempt being the most violent. Many of the subordinate characters are fictional (as are most of the details concerning Carnes' escape efforts); the one exception is Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz", here portrayed by Art Carney as a gentle, kindly philosopher. Telly Savalas, a costar of the Burt Lancaster vehicle Birdman of Alcatraz, also guest starred in the 1980 film. Originally titled Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes, this made-for-TV movie wavers between gritty realism and "I'm bustin' outta here!" artifice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Beck, Telly Savalas, (more)
This mediocre slasher film from director Andrew Davis is worth watching more for its cast than for its cliched story. The film is set in the usual isolated forest, where a ratty-looking killer (who seems to be covered with Spanish moss) makes survival difficult for some foul-tempered campers. Among the doomed are future luminaries Rachel Ward, Daryl Hannah, and Adrian Zmed. The leaders, played by Joe Pantoliano and Mark Metcalf, are some of the most irritating characters in any 1980s slasher film, bickering until they sound like tenderfoot versions of Barnes and Elias from Platoon. The characters' constant ill temper is designed to add to the tension, but serves only as a distraction. The murders are low-key and dull, save for Metcalf's well-handled death scene, and the obligatory "telling of the legend" is less spooky than obnoxious. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Friedrich, Adrian Zmed, (more)
- 1981
A young corporal who swapped his dog tags with a friend is consumed by guilt when that friend dies in battle. As the doctors of the 4077th wrestle with this problem, they must also deal with the crestfallen recipient of a "Dear John" letter. And friendly enemies B.J. (Mike Farrell) and Charles (David Ogden Stiers) joins forces to challenge a wheeler-dealer GI securities salesman who threatens to bankrupt the camp. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
- R
An ambitious priest discovers that honoring the Ten Commandments isn't as easy as he imagined in this drama. Father John Flaherty (Christopher Reeve) is a Catholic priest who was ordained during World War II, and soon found himself forced to fight enemy forces while serving as a chaplain in the Army. As his life and career in the church moves on, Flaherty finds himself frequently torn between his duty and devotion to the church and his ambitions, appetites, and the notion that the ends can justify the means. Flaherty eventually rises through the church hirarchy to win an appointment at the Vatican, where he helps to manage the church's finances. When the Vatican's books reveals a major cash flow crisis, Flaherty suggests a rather unusual plan to Cardinal Santoni (Fernando Rey) -- buy hard-to-find American goods at a discount, and then sell them at a profit to mafia kingpins, who will then sell them on the black market at premium prices. As Flaherty and Santoni debate the ethics of this scheme, Flaherty meets and finds himself becoming attracted to Clara (Genevieve Bujold), a postulant nun. Posing as an American businessman, Flaherty romances and seduces Clara, until she discovers his secret. Monsignor also stars Jason Miller, Robert Prosky, and Joe Patoliano.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Reeve, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
Risky Business is the film in which 19-year-old Tom Cruise dances around his living room in his underwear. He does this to celebrate the fact that his parents have left him alone while they go on vacation. Somewhere along the line, hooker Rebecca De Mornay, fleeing her vicious pimp, hides out in the Cruise manse. Things go from bad to worse to as Cruise inadvertently drives his father's Porsche into Lake Michigan and nearly scuttles his college recruitment interview. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, (more)
In the early 1960's, Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) and his band The Cruisers enjoyed a brief fling with success, but their career came to a halt when Eddie's badly damaged car was discovered in an accident on a bridge. However, Eddie's body was never found, and years later, a reissue of the group's only album sparks rumors that the mysterious Eddie might still be alive. Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), Eddie's former piano player and lyricist, finds himself trailed by Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin), a reporter trying to find out the truth about Eddie, as well as another former bandmate who wants Frank to join his revamped version of the Cruisers -- and is trying to track down the tapes for the Cruisers' unreleased second album. While not a box-office success on its original release, Eddie and the Cruisers developed a following after its showings on cable television and release on videotape; this led to the belated success of the film's soundtrack album, featuring a number of bombastic neo-Springsteen numbers by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Beaver Brown saxophonist Michael "Tunes" Antunes plays Wendell, the Cruisers' sax player and Eddie's best friend (despite the fact that we never hear him speak). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, (more)
Canadian actor/director Philip Borsos made a couple of interesting films before an untimely death in his early forties, including The Grey Fox (1982) and this crime thriller starring Kurt Russell as police beat reporter Malcolm Anderson. Happily abandoning the Miami Daily for which he's labored for years, he takes a job on a small town paper hoping to take life in the slow lane for a time. Of course, he's soon caught up in a career-making story, after a serial killer (Richard Jordan) likes his account of a murder he's committed and decides to use the journalist as his mouthpiece. As the killings continue, Anderson begins to receive national attention, and the Numbers Killer, motivated primarily by a desire for the limelight, becomes jealous, and decides to kidnap Anderson's girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) to teach him a lesson. As he has with Anderson, the killer soon develops a relationship of sorts with the woman, and slowly reveals the workings of his bizarre personality while the police search desperately for the pair. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Mariel Hemingway, (more)
Leonard Maltin wasn't alone when he noticed similarities between Goonies and the 1934 Our Gang comedy Mama's Little Pirate. Adapted by Chris Columbus from a story by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a group of misfit kids (including such second-generation Hollywoodites as Josh Brolin and Sean Astin) as they search for buried treasure in a subterranean cavern. Here they cross the path of lady criminal Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her outlaw brood. Fortunately, the kids manage to befriend Fratelli's hideously deformed (but soft-hearted) son (John Matuszak), who comes to their rescue. The Spielberg influence is most pronounced in the film's prologue and epilogue, when the viewer is advised that the film's real villains are a group of "Evil Land Developers." The musical score makes excellent use of Max Steiner's main theme from The Adventures of Don Juan, not to mention contributions by the likes of Richard Marx and Cyndi Lauper. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, (more)
Distinguished by a sharp, witty dialogue between its two cop protagonists, Ray and Danny (Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal), this entertaining crime drama is well worth a visit. Ray and Danny are nearly blown away by super bad guy Julio (Jimmy Smits), and their boss is peeved at them as usual. So the two are given a holiday from their beat in Chicago and travel to the sunny shores of Key West. They like it enough to retire from police work and open a business there. But when the duo returns to the Windy City, Julio is about to pull off a big drug deal and retirement may not be such a good idea. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Hines, Billy Crystal, (more)
- 1987
- R
In this drama, a lovestruck songwriter is invited to join the band. At first she is thrilled to be near the band's handsome leader. They even embark upon an affair and she is very happy until she figures out that he is stealing her song. During the performances, the actors really play and sing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Stewart, Cameron Dye, (more)
The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, Ralph Bellamy, (more)
- 1987
First telecast April 3, 1987,Destination: America is a "search for oneself" opus, spiced up with a bit of mystery and intrigue. Bruce Greenwood plays the disenfranchised son of billionaire Rip Torn. Unable to see eye to eye with his father, Greenwood takes to the road, hoping to find some purpose in life. Along the way, he becomes mixed up in the plight of battered wife Corinne Bohrer. Things really begin to heat up when Bruce's father is murdered by a serial killer. The topheavy nature of the plotline gives away the fact that Destination: America was intended as the pilot for a TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, 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
- PG13
In this comedy, artistic con man Harry (Michael Keaton) teams up with lady detective Rachel Dobs (Rae Dawn Chong) to trick a corrupt TV lottery-show host into revealing how he has been rigging the contest to benefit the Mob. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
Lou Diamond Phillips plays legendary 1950s rocker Ritchie Valens (born Ricardo Valenzuela), in this musical biography. Before scoring radio and concert success with hits like "La Bamba", "C'mon Let's Go", and "Donna", Valens was a 15-year-old migrant worker who worked with his mother Connie (Rosana De Soto). Valens' half-brother Bob Morales (Esai Morales) is a vitriolic ex-con who roars into the migrant camp on his Harley after his release from jail. Valens' musical talents are encouraged by his family -- though later various members of his family react to his fame with varying degrees of pride and envy -- and he soon earns an audition with legendary record producer and former Artie Shaw clarinet player Bob Keane (Joe Pantoliano). Valens soon appears in an Alan Freed rock n' roll teen exploitation film, lip-synching his blistering recorded version of "Ooh, My Head". When a romance with Donna Ludwig (Danielle von Zerneck) is forbidden by her conservative father, Valens pens the famous ballad that bears her name. Tours follow his chart success until the fatal plane crash that claimed the lives of Valens, The Big Bopper (aka J.P. Richardson), and Buddy Holly on February 3rd, 1959. The supporting cast is excellent with power-pop icon Marshall Crenshaw playing Buddy Holly singing "Crying, Waiting, Hoping". Brian Setzer accurately portrays rocker Eddie Cochran, and Howard Hunstberry plays Jackie Wilson and sings "Lonely Teardrops". Additional music is provided by Los Lobos, a band who traces their musical roots directly to Valens and other Mexican influences. Also making cameo appearances are the real-life Mrs. Connie Valenzuela and Bob Morales. Although not 100% historically accurate, La Bamba is much more accurate than 1978s The Buddy Holly Story. The feature turned a new generation on to the influential Tex-Mex rock that was an inspiration to such later rockers as The Bobby Fuller Four as well as Los Lobos. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, (more)
Director Martin Brest, of Going in Style and Beverly Hills Cop fame, was in charge of Midnight Run. Robert De Niro stars as Jack Walsh, a hard-bitten bounty hunter offered $100,000 to bring in embezzler Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin). Handcuffed to the wimpy Mardukas, Walsh assumes that the extradition trip from New York to Los Angeles will be an uneventful one. But the prisoner hasn't told Walsh the whole story: the embezzler owes $15 million to a mobster (Dennis Farina), and he's been targeted for assassination. It's a toss-up as to what is the most entertaining aspect of Midnight Run: the slam-bang action and chase sequences or the verbal byplay between DeNiro and Grodin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Perry Parker (Joe Pantoliano) is a Philadelphia dance-show host who hopes to take the place of Dick Clark after the world's oldest teenager takes his show to Hollywood in 1965. Del Green (Donovan Leitch) is a college-bound high schooler who crashes the Dance Party and becomes a favorite of the teen audience. He becomes the dance partner of Vicky (Jennifer Runyon), the pretty blonde star dancer of the popular show. Del soon must decide whether or not to remain a teen tube fave or attend an Ivy League college, and he must also deal with the trial of peer pressure. Plenty of music from the mid 1960s is provided, including "Land Of 1,000 Dances" and the well-crated instrumental "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" by Vince Guaraldi. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donovan Leitch, Joe Pantoliano, (more)
- 1988
Dyan Cannon plays the title character, a middle-aged housewife and mother who enjoys singing in local amateur contests. Almost overnight, she becomes a nationally famous rock star, with all the attendant trappings of glamour and adulation. But fame has its price: As Cannon rises to the top of her profession, she neglects her two teenaged children. Heather Locklear guest stars as a rocker who calls herself Darcy X; also in the cast is a pre-stardom Fran Drescher. Rock 'n' Roll Mom was originally telecast on The Disney Sunday Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dyan Cannon, Telma Hopkins, (more)
- 1989
Richard Donner's "Dig That Cat... He's Real Gone" is about a man with nine lives, who runs through each life without care -- in fact, he forgets how many lives he has left. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Father-and-son actors Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez star in the made-for-TV movie Nightbreaker. The film was first telecast March 9, 1989, two months after the debut of another TNT Cable Service "original", Finish Line. The earlier film also starred a father and son, James and Josh Brolin; but, whereas the Brolins were cast in parent-child roles, Sheen and Estevez portray the same character. Nightbreaker is based on the recent revelation that the US government, in the interests of scientific research, deliberately exposed servicemen to radiation during the Nevada atomic bomb tests of the 1950s. Sheen plays a former military doctor, inexplicably suffering from sterility in the 1980s. Searching for answers, Sheen flashes back thirty years, to the time that he was a witness to the A-bomb tests. Estevez plays the younger Sheen in the 1950s sequences. Nightbreaker was written with what Jonathan Swift used to call "savage indignation" by T. S. Cook. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, (more)
