Werner Pochath Movies
Lead actor, onscreen from the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide
In this action adventure tale, Professor Braun (Ernest Borgnine), an expert in weapons technology, is kidnapped by Soviet terrorists who intend to force him to make a high-tech laser cannon for them. Intelligence agents Michael Gold (Brandon Lee) and Alissa (Debi A. Monahan) are sent in by the CIA to rescue him and recover a cache of stolen diamonds before it's too late for Braun and the world at large. Laser Mission marked Brandon Lee's first starring role in a U.S. feature film, three years before his tragic death while shooting The Crow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brandon Lee, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
- 1989
- R
This actioner offers a little bit of everything, ranging from voodoo to karate, as it follows the attempts of a mercenary and a lovely female photographer who team up to take on a murderous druglord/slaver who runs his own little country in the middle of the South American jungle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
All Thunder wants is to live peacefully on his native land with his little family. Unfortunately, there are those who are hell-bent on harassing, threatening, and harming him. They go too far when they kidnap Thunder's wife. This actioner chronicles his revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
Detective Jon Bogdan (Peter Maffay) becomes wheelchair-bound when he is injured in a restaurant bombing perpetrated by the notorious Dr. Proper (Michael York). He rolls into action trying to track down the bomber. When he regains the use of his legs, Jon stays in his chair to give his enemies the illusion he is paralyzed. Elliot Gould has a forgettable role in this equally forgettable film-noir styled crime thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Maffay, Tahnee Welch, (more)
- 1985
This fast-paced film stars (Conrad Nichols) as the tough Captain Williams, head of a crack commando squad who goes into Afghanistan to save the U.S.S.R. -- and indirectly, the U.S. -- from some very bad publicity. A journalist and his daughter have evidence that the Russians are using biological and chemical weapons in their war in Afghanistan. The unit of five commandos smuggle themselves into Afghanistan through its neighbor Iran, bribing the leaders of that country with some spare parts for its war planes (shades of Iran-Contra!). Once inside the country they discover that the journalist has already died from exposure to nerve gas, and his daughter is already getting sick. Williams starts to guess that they are all being set up because everything is going just a little too well, and he adjusts his plans accordingly. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nichols, Kiwaku Harado, (more)
Arthur Penn takes a crack at subverting the espionage film genre in Target. Walter Lloyd (Gene Hackman) is a quiet and unassuming lumberyard owner in Dallas, Texas. Chris (Matt Dillon) has dropped out of college to pursue a career as a race car driver. But all mundane tasks come to an end when Walter's wife Donna (Gayle Hunnicutt) is kidnapped while on a European trip. Walter flies to Paris with Chris to see what can be done. Once in Europe, Chris is shocked to discover that his dad was once a top CIA agent. Together, the two visit all of Walter's old CIA contacts in an effort to locate Donna. Finally, Walter discovers that Donna has been kidnapped by a rogue spy seeking revenge for an incident that happened eighteen years earlier. Now Walter must apply his old and vicious CIA tricks to save his wife from an old and vicious CIA operative. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gene Hackman, Matt Dillon, (more)
- 1984
Set in a post-nuclear society, Rage concentrates on a band of refugees in search of the elusive-and possibly inhabited--Alpha Base. Tooling about in 1940s-vintage automobiles, the survivors steal a map from the resident villain and embark on a perilous journey. In On the Beach fashion, they learn that the radio signals emanating from Alpha Base are not of human origin. Still, they find an unexpected source of salvation for mankind. Conrad Nichols stars as Rage, head of the ragtag group, while Taida Urruzola is the underclad heroine. The "Anthony Richmond" credited with the direction is actually Tonino Ricci. Completed in 1984, Rage was released in the US two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Nichols, Stelio Candelli, (more)
- 1979
- PG
In this film, a tough shark hunter races to beat a group of gangsters to a fortune in sunken treasure. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franco Nero
- 1979
- R
The West German Just a Gigolo has little to do with the popular song of the same name. Its central character, played by David Bowie, is a World War I-era Prussian aristocrat. Living by his wits throughout Europe, Bowie uses his sexual prowess with beautiful women (and powerful men) to advance himself. The leering lothario eventually comes to grief in the decadent Berlin of the 1920s. We don't know how he did it, but director David Hemmings managed to corral some of the most stellar sex goddesses in film history to play cameos in Just a Gigolo: Kim Novak, Maria Schell, and even Marlene Dietrich. The film was originally released as Schoner Gigolo, Armer Gigolo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Bowie, Sydne Rome, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Also released as Sergeant Steiner, Breakthrough is a German war flick helmed by western specialist Andrew McLaglen. Richard Burton stars as Sgt. Steiner, a German who doesn't subscribe to the Nazi party line. When the plot to kill Hitler is hatched, Steiner is persuaded to join the conspiracy by General Hoffman (Curt Jurgens). Robert Mitchum and Rod Steiger costar as American officers peripherally involved in the storyline. Intended as a sequel to the successful Cross of Iron, Breakthrough failed to match the box-office performance of the earlier film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, (more)
- 1978
Flatfoot was also released as The Knock-Out Cop. By any name, this Italian crime meller stars Baldwyn Dakile as Bodo, a tough, no-frills police officer. Determined to bring a gang of drug smugglers to justice, Bodo is ordered to lay off by his superiors. It's not likely that he will obey orders, of this one can be sure. The larger-than-life escapades of the "flatfoot" are made palatable by director Stefano Steno's tongue-in-cheek approach to the material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
A co-production between Italy and Monaco, this steamy study of sexual obsession was directed by Carlo Lizzani (Crazy Joe). It takes place in a Berlin hotel where Penthouse pet Corinne Clery is an architect's wife who becomes overwhelmed by her attraction to a leftist guerrilla (Bruce Robinson), a fugitive from the government because of his terrorist activities. Clery begins her obsession with mere voyeurism, but grows emboldened enough to practically fling herself at Robinson, leading to the expected tragic consequences. Michele Placido co-stars with Katja Rupe and Werner Pochath, and the film features several familiar names behind the camera, including composer Giorgio Gaslini and editor Franco Fraticelli, both frequent collaborators of genre luminary Dario Argento. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
In a way, the title of Some Like It Cool was a piquant comment on the career of star Tony Curtis, whose stardom had chilled since his 1959 appearance in Some Like It Hot. This time around, Curtis plays famed 18th-century lover Giacomo Casanova. The plot would have us believe that Casanova has suddenly turned impotent, and is deploying all manner of subterfuge to hide the fact. One of Casanova's stratagems is to hire a look-alike (also Curtis) to uphold his reputation between the sheets. The stellar supporting cast -- Marisa Berenson, Hugh Griffith, Britt Ekland et. al. -- seem far more embarrassed by their tawdry, topless surroundings than Curtis, who steamrolls his way through the film with the same dogged determination that he'd demonstrated in his "Yonda lies the castle of my fadduh" formative years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Marisa Berenson, (more)
- 1976
- PG
In Sky Riders, the off-camera tale behind the film cast a more interesting story than the film itself: when a Greek electrician died during an explosion, the film's producer, Terry Morse Jr., was arrested by the Greek government, and executive producer Sandy Howard was detained in Greece for several weeks. Finally, an out-of-court settlement was reached with the Greek government to release the film producer. The plot of the actual film has nothing to do with international incidents, although it does deal, on a comic-book level, with terrorism. The wife, Ellen (Susannah York), of an international industrialist (Robert Culp) and her two children are kidnapped from their Athens home by a terrorist group and taken to an abandoned monastery on an imposing, needle-shaped crag. The police immediately snap into action. Inspector Nikolidis (Charles Aznavour) attempts to free them, but the police force fails. Coming into the picture is Ellen's ex-husband, Jim McCabe (James Coburn). Pondering the situation, he notices a couple of crows in flight and gets a brainstorm. McCabe tracks down a flying circus of hang-gliding riders and requisitions them for the rescue. The hang gliders teach McCabe to fly, and McCabe teaches them to fight. Then, on the night of a full moon, the group glides off to the monastery to save Ellen. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Coburn, Susannah York, (more)
- 1974
- R
A brave German Shepherd defends an elderly gold-mine owner against greedy baddies in this Arctic adventure. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
Jed (Tomas Milian) is an unlikely hero in this Italian western. As thoroughly unlikeable a robber as ever walked the West, he nonetheless robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Not only is he a murderous, ill-tempered sort, he is bad-mannered, too. When Sonny (Susan George) decides he should be her man and teach her how to be a proper outlaw, sparks fly. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
In this flawed mystery-thriller from flamboyant horror director Dario Argento, Karl Malden portrays a blind man who joins forces with a reporter (James Franciscus) to catch a killer with an extra chromosome. Much of the action occurs at a research hospital, where the killer seeks to conceal the original crime with still more murders. Easily the least interesting of Argento's early thrillers (which include the superior L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo and Quattro Mosche di Velluto Grigio), this film seems almost a parody of the genre at times, with preposterous coincidences and bogus Freudian analysis substituting for genuine mystery. Those familiar with the director's work may find it difficult to believe that Argento was responsible, but some undeniable stylistic touches -- such as one victim's wallpaper resembling a blood-splattered wall -- reveal that even a genius can make bad films. Ennio Morricone's soundtrack and a cast including Catherine Spaak and Pier Paolo Capponi offer little relief. The American version is missing approximately twenty minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- 1968
In this spaghetti western, a nameless stranger begins looking for revenge against the man who brutally murdered his friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Harrison
