Bill Sadler Movies
If you're a fan of movies, you've no doubt seen William Sadler's face countless times. With a versatile career that has spanned from long-haired, small-town rock star to banjo-plucking entertainer to Shakespearean actor to his role as Death in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991), William Sadler attacks all roles with equal gusto with his characters never ceasing to leave an impression on viewers, even if they can't recall the name of "that guy in that movie."Born in April of 1950 in Buffalo, NY, Sadler's imagination was fueled from a young age on his family's sprawling farm where he would pass the time with friends reenacting scenes from their favorite television and radio programs. Around the age of eight, Sadler's father's interest in music sparked a passion in the young boy as well with his father's gift of a ukulele. The two frequently performed at family functions together: Sadler Sr. on the guitar and Jr. on the uke. Later taking interest in a number of stringed instruments, after following in his father's footsteps and taking up the guitar, Sadler quickly learned that the mystique of the musician's life was difficult to resist. Forming a cover band with his Orchard Park High schoolmates, he began to gain popularity and a surprising amount of attention from the opposite sex. Armed with a banjo and a fistful of jokes, Sadler soon took on the persona of "Banjo Bill Sadler" for the school's annual variety show, and the result was an instant success. The students and teachers loved the performance, and English teacher Dan Larkin soon persuaded Sadler to audition for a role in Harvey, the senior play. Winning the lead and igniting a fire within the young performer, Sadler would soon follow his dreams and enroll in the drama program at State University College in Geneseo, NY. After spending two intense years in Cornell University's Fine Arts following his tenure at State University College, Sadler was finally prepared to be humbled in the grueling trials of the aspiring actor.
Sadler took his first post-school role in Florida and soon relocated to Boston, moving in with his sister while scrubbing the floors of a lobster boat by day and cutting his acting chops at night. Slowly working up the nerve to take a shot at the big time in New York, a chance meeting with an old schoolmate on a trip into the city resulted in Sadler's casting in an off-off-Broadway production of Chekhov's Ivanov. After a brief turn at the Trinity Square Repertory Company in Providence, RI, Sadler moved back to New York and rented an apartment in the East Village, beginning a grueling 12 years in which he appeared in over 75 productions. It was here that Sadler would meet Marni Bakst, the woman who would soon become his wife, and a young actor named Matthew Broderick, in a Broadway production of Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues, who would kick-start Sadler's film career with a role in Project X (1987).
After memorable turns in such films as Die Hard 2 (1990), Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, and The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Sadler found himself becoming one of the most sought-after character actors working in Hollywood. His friendly demeanor and warm sense of humor standing in stark contrast to his usually villainous onscreen antics, Sadler has gained a reputation among actors as a helpful and good-natured craftsman, always willing to offer advise and assistance without being pushy or overbearing. Increasingly busy in both television and films in the latter '90s, Sadler gained widespread recognition with his film roles in Disturbing Behavior (1998) and The Green Mile (1999) and on television with his role as Sheriff Jim Valenti on Roswell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
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Part of the PBS American Masters series, this documentary is a portrait of American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born in St. Paul, MN, he wrote short stories and novels about the empty morals of rich Jazz age partygoers in the 1920s. Considered his finest achievement, The Great Gatsby questioned the values of success and the American dream. Troubled by alcoholism and his marriage to the ailing Zelda, F. Scott Fitzgerald remains one of the leading 20th century American literary figures. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Campbell Scott, Laura Linney, (more)
Having grown up in Roswell with only a few close friends aware of their alien origins, Max, Isabel, and Michael have finally come of age. Uncertain about what lies ahead of them after graduation, they are suddenly forced into action when it becomes clear that the incidents in which they have used their alien powers to help others have finally caught up with them. As the Air Force and FBI close in, the trio realizes that Roswell is no longer the safe haven it once was. As they prepare to leave their friends and families behind, Liz has a shocking vision which makes everyone realize that it is not only the aliens who are in danger but their human friends as well.
- Starring:
- Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, (more)
- 1997
Can a beautiful starlet find happiness with a overly confident fool? Well, the fool certainly hopes so in this offbeat comedy. Skippy (Joe Convery) is a twentysomething guy who is cheerful and well-meaning; however, he's not terribly bright, socially inept, and the unfortunate possessor of one of the worst fashion senses in the history of Western civilization. Skippy hears an interview with lovely movie star Julie Fontaine (Paget Brewster), in which she says she's tired of dating actors and wants to settle down with an ordinary guy. Mistakenly assuming he'd fit the bill, Skippy heads for Hollywood, where with the dubious assistance of his friend, Larry (Timothy Patrick O'Brien), he sets out to meet and win the heart of Ms. Fontaine. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Convery, Paget Brewster, (more)
- 1994
Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi) was a last-minute replacement for Showtime's Rebel series and after the first viewing, his Roadracers was immediately bumped to the top of the list. This melodramatic tale of rebel youth fighting to get out of a dead-end town is often times enjoyable and disturbingly humorous but lacks the break-neck pacing of Rodriguez' other films. ~ Sean D. MacLaggan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In this sequel to the 1992 made-for-TV crime drama Deadly Matrimony, police detective Reed (Brian Dennehy) returns, this time to bring in a murderous sociopath. He soon discovers, however, that this routine case is complicated by the U.S. government as they are using the killer as an informant and are therefore willing to go to great lengths to protect him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Dennehy, Susan Ruttan, (more)
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey find the two obtuse pals battling The Grim Reaper, God, robots, great philosophical questions, and girls -- although not necessarily in that order. In this loose parody of the Terminator movies, directed by Peter Hewitt, the ultimate has happened -- at Bill and Ted University of the future, for many years now the people of the world have been "excellent to each other." But fed-up with Bill and Ted's peaceful world and even more fed up with heavy metal, the evil De Nomolos (Joss Ackland) decides to do something about it. De Nomolos creates a cyborg Bill and Ted, who travel back in time to kill the original Bill and Ted, win the Battle of the Bands and pave the way for the hellish reign of De Nomolos. In the past of 1990, Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) are immediately dispatched by the time-traveling cyborgs. And while the cyborgs Bill and Ted make time with the real Bill and Ted's girls (Sarah Trigger and Annette Azcuy) and prepare to take the real Bill and Ted's place in the Battle of the Bands, Bill and Ted are forced to deal with Hell ("Just like an Iron Maiden album cover"), the Grim Reaper (William Sadler), and God himself. When Bill and Ted are asked the secret of the universe, they get it right and as a reward a pair of Martians construct a set of "good" Bill and Ted robots to go head-to-head with the "bad" Bill and Ted robots at the Battle of the Bands. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, (more)
- 1991
Tyne Daly ages and ages (courtesy of a sympathetic makeup staff) as the matriarch of an upper-class Connecticut family. This TV movie traces the progress of that family--mother, father, three kids--from 1962 through 1984. We watch the children go through all the joys and heartache of maturity, and we see Ms. Daly's husband (Terry O'Quinn) stray from the fold in the company of another woman. The one unifying factor throughout the years is the family's well-appointed suburban house. The title The Last to Go refers to Tyne Daly, who is the final person out of the house when it is finally put up for sale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The TV-movie thriller Face of Fear is a real cliffhanger--or rather, skyscraper-hanger. Lee Horsely plays a psychic mountaineer who's been afraid of heights ever since stumbling off Mt. Everest. Pam Dawber costars as Horsely's patient fiancee. Less patient is neo-Nazi leader Kevin Conroy, who for reasons dictated by the plot chases Horsely and Dawber around and up a 40-story building. The climax finds hero and heroine dangling by their fingertips, and Conroy all prepared to do a little prying loose. The only people watching Face of Fear upon its September 30, 1990 airing were those who'd had their fill of David Lynch's Twin Peaks--which was resolving a cliffhanger of its own for its second-season opener on a rival network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Horsley
- 1990
A disabled ex-Green Beret who served in Vietnam begins getting clues of his forgotten past via flashbacks and attempts to make sense of it. Apparently, he makes somebody uncomfortable in doing so, and soon is a target for a more complete cover-up. This story of intrigue and dangerous political games was made for cable TV. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Once again, Murphy (Candice Bergen) lets her temper get the better of her during a TV interview, which ends when she storms off the set and leaves her guest--a prominent military officer--hanging in the lurch. Finally building up the gumption to put his foot down, producer Miles (Grant Shaud) suspends Murphy and orders her to spend two weeks resting up at home. The situation reaches the crisis stage when network executive Eugene Kinsella (Alan Oppenheimer, in his first series appearances) begins dropping "subtle" hints that perhaps Miles overreacted...but by this time, Murphy may not be all that keen about returning to work. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Walter Hill's "The Man Who Was Death" concerns an electric-chair executioner who delves too deeply into his job. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Private Eye was the pilot for the 1987 TV series of the same name. The setting is the Los Angeles of 1956. Ex-cop Jack Cleary (Michael Woods), embittered over his brother's death, becomes a Spillanelike private detective, principally to solve his sibling's murder. A Rock 'n' roll idol (John Brolin) becomes Cleary's largely unwelcome partner when the trail of evidence leads to a scandal in the record industry. The film is partly inspired by the "Payola" imbroglio of 1959, which (so far as we know) resulted in very few murders. Bill Sadler and Lisa Persky costar, while Jay O. Sanders has a fall-on as Cleary's unfortunate brother; the background music was provided by Joe Jackson. Private Eye was first telecast September 13, 1987, while the series proper commenced five days later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Based on a story by Jimmy Breslin, The Neighborhood takes place in an all-white, blue collar neighborhood in an unspecified big city. A "blockbuster" real estate agent begins selling houses to black families (among the new neighbors is recent Oscar nominee Howard Rollins Jr.), resulting in mixed emotions (most of them leaning towards hostility) from the white residents. There are isolated incidents of terrorism, including a burning cross, before wiser heads prevail and the neighbors learn to live together in harmony. The nicer white residents include Christine Belford and Ron Masak, playing the sort of altruistic types that seem to exist exclusively in TV movies. The contrived upbeat ending of The Neighborhood is a sure giveaway that the film was intended as the pilot for a weekly series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Masak, Christine Belford, (more)
- 1982
In this carefree children's adventure, a grandfather and his grandson fulfill the former's life-long dream and embark upon a cross-country ballon flight. Back on the distant ground, the flyers are pursued by the boy's mother, the cops, the Feds, and others. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1978
Lloyd Bridges stars as stubborn high-wire artist Karl Wallenda in the made-for-TV The Great Wallendas. The famed family aerialist troupe suffered a tragic setback when, during a performance in Detroit on January 30, 1962, an accident caused the death of Karl's son-in-law and nephew, and the crippling of his own son. With grim determination, Karl insists that the Wallendas recreate their fatal "pyramid" routine. Despite several near-disasters, the Wallendas make a triumphant comeback in Fort Worth, Texas on November 19, 1963, which is faithfully recreated in this film under the supervision of the real Karl Wallenda. Also starring in this 2-hour film are Britt Ekland, Taina Elg, and genuine gymnast Cathy Rigby. The Great Wallendas premiered (in the timeslot usually reserved for The Wonderful World of Disney) on February 21, 1978. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Frequent Stephen King collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) teamed with the celebrated horror author once again for this tale of terror concerning a small town engulfed by a malevolent mist, based on a story originally published in King's 1985 horror anthology Skeleton Crew. When a thick fog descends upon a rural community and claims the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside, a small band of survivors seeks refuge in a local grocery store. Now trapped in a darkened cloud of pure horror, the frightened denizens of the town are forced to fend off an advancing horde of murderous monsters. Punisher star Thomas Jane heads up an ensemble cast that includes Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, William Sadler, and Marcia Gay Harden. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, (more)
Make-believe murder becomes all too real in this high-tech tale of terror. Jake Cummings (Jensen Ackles) is a stressed-out college student and computer technician who gets an unusual birthday present from one of his best friends -- an interactive video game called "The Pathway," which allows players to take part even when they aren't at their monitors. However, the nightmarish visions of the game begin haunting Jake's dreams and then taking over his waking hours as the violence of "The Pathway" stops being play and starts becoming reality. Has the game become possessed by malevolent spirits? And how can it be stopped? Devour also stars Dominique Swain and Shannyn Sossamon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist who taught at Indiana University and had a keen interest in an area of human behavior that had seen little scholarly research -- human sexuality. While the courtship and reproductive patterns of animals had been carefully documented, Kinsey believed that most "established facts" about human sexual behavior were a matter of conjecture rather than research and that what most people said about their sex lives was not born out by the evidence (a subject that had personal resonance for him given the troubles he and his wife Clara Kinsey had in the early days of their marriage). After introducing a course in "Marriage" at Indiana University which offered frank and factual information on sex to students, Kinsey began an exhaustive series of interviews with a wide variety of people from all walks of life in order to find out the truth about sex practices in America. When he published Sexual Behavior and the Human Male in 1948, his findings were wildly controversial, indicating that most men had a wider variety of sexual experiences than most people imagined, including a number of practices commonly thought to be dangerous or perverted (including pre-marital sex, same-sex contacts, and masturbation). An even greater outcry greeted Kinsey's next volume, Sexual Behavior and the Human Female, which contradicted common notions than most women went into marriage sexually inexperienced. Kinsey is a film biography written and directed by Bill Condon which examines Kinsey's life and work from his strict childhood until his death in 1956. Liam Neeson plays Alfred Kinsey, and Laura Linney co-stars as Kinsey's wife and colleague Clara. John Lithgow highlights the supporting cast as Kinsey's repressed and moralistic father, while Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Timothy Hutton play members of Kinsey's research team and Tim Curry appears as an IU faculty member at odds with Kinsey's teachings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, (more)
