Madeleine Stowe Movies

The daughter of a California-based civil engineer and a Costa Rican émigré, Madeleine Stowe attended the University of Southern California, but cut classes to watch plays. Her life as a waitress came to an end when she was fired for being "too spacey," but she was anything but spacey when it came to pursuing an acting career on the California theater circuit. Stowe eventually attracted the attention of Richard Dreyfuss' agent -- not for her stage work, but because the agent spotted her watching one of Dreyfuss' performances. This serendipitous turn of events enabled Stowe to get a bit part in the TV series Baretta, which led to more substantial roles on other shows. While working on the mid-'80s miniseries The Gangster Chronicles, the actress met her husband, future Dream On star Brian Benben. Stowe's screen career during the 1980s and '90s was not exactly a string of blockbusters, but she usually garnered excellent reviews and positive audience response, so that when she was in a bona fide hit, such as 1992's The Last of the Mohicans, reviewers were often inclined to credit her for at least some of the film's success. Stowe also starred in Robert Altman's critically-acclaimed Short Cuts in 1993 and Terry Gilliam's sci-fi cult film 12 Monkeys in 1995. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
1978  
 
The Nativity is just what it says it is. This low-key retelling of the Biblical story of the birth of Christ stars Madeline Stowe as Mary and John V. Shea as Joseph. The network publicists assured the viewers that there would be as much emphasis on the "human love story" as the Birth itself. Also in the cast are Leo McKern as Herod, Jane Wyatt as Anna, Paul Stewart as Zacharias, Audrey Totter as Elizabeth, George Voskovec as Joachim and Julie Garfield (daughter of John Garfield) as Zipporah. The made-for-TV The Nativity premiered on December 17, 1978; one day later, Madeline Stowe showed up in a small role in another TV movie, The Deerslayer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1978  
 
The James Fenimore Cooper classic is given an abridged polishing, but still recounts the adventures of Hawkeye (Steve Forrest) and Chingachgook (Ned Romero) while saving a Mohican princess and avenging the death of Chingachgook's son. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

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1980  
 
Future film star Madeleine Stowe (here billed as "Madeline") is cast as Annie Crane, a blind woman who miraculously achieves fame as a painter. An emotional crisis develops when Annie's long-lost biological mother shows up in hopes of a reconciliation. The embittered Annie refuses to have anything to do with the woman who abandoned her -- until she learns the real reason that she was abandoned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Michael LandonKaren Grassle, (more)
1980  
 
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Beulah Land is an edited, movie-length version of the three-part TV miniseries adaptation of Lonnie Coleman's multi-part novels. The film is set in the Old South, with a time span ranging from 1827 to the postwar Reconstruction Era. Lesley Ann Warren stars as Sarah Kendrick, young belle of the Beulah Land plantation, who finds herself in love with a "damn Yankee." Sarah must also contend with a weakling brother (Paul Rudd) and a former slave (Dorian Harewood) who demands freedom as a right rather than a privilege. Beulah Land took forever to get before the cameras due to protests from black historical organizations; when it was finally telecast on October 7-9, 1980, NBC conducted a low-pressure ad campaign, as though the network was still fearful of stepping on toes despite the testimonial of a black Yale history professor, who commended the production for its "special sensitivity." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lesley Ann WarrenMichael Sarrazin, (more)
1981  
 
This action film follows the childhood alliances of "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and "Bugsy" Siegel and their reign as the kings of the 1920s crime scene. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

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1984  
 
This made-for-TV fantasy was directed by former Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser. In one of her earliest roles, Madeleine Stowe plays Dr. Sharon Fields, who stumbles upon a secret plot by a covert organization of women to take over the world and execute all the men. The veteran cast of this silly timekiller includes cult favorites Stella Stevens, Tamara Dobson, and William Schallert, as well as more mainstream performers such as Peter Scolari, Nicholas Pryor, and Jennifer Warren. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

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1986  
 
Blood and Orchids was adapted from Norman Katkov from his own fact-based book. The scene is Hawaii, 1937. The wife (Madeline Stowe) of a naval officer (William Russ) is beaten nearly to death by her lover (Matt Salinger)--her husband's best friend. Four native Hawaiians find the woman and take her to the hospital, then flee out of fear of being blamed for the assault themselves. The aristocratic mother (Jane Alexander) of the beaten woman knows the truth, but, coldly insistent upon maintaining white supremacy on the islands, orders her daughter to claim that the Hawaiian boys had abused her. A trial follows, complicated by an honest police officer (Kris Kristofferson), who doesn't believe the victim's story. This two-part TV movie digresses from the source novel by hoking up a romance between the cop and the young wife (Sean Young) of the prosecuting attorney (Jose Ferrer). Blood and Orchids was originally telecast in February of 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1987  
R  
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Though John Badham's Stakeout doesn't flinch in the violence department, the film concentrates primarily on characterization. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez play a pair of Seattle detectives, assigned to capture escaped hood Aidan Quinn. The twosome spends much of the film on stakeout in a lonely, deserted house; the object of their scrutiny is Madeline Stowe, Quinn's former girlfriend. Pretending to be a telephone repairman, Dreyfuss plants a bug in Stowe's apartment--thereby inaugurating a romance that compromises the detective's objectivity. In the climax, Quinn gets the upper hand--at least until the fists start flying. Perfect as it stood, Stakeout didn't need to be elaborated upon with a sequel, but Another Stakeout was produced all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Richard DreyfussEmilio Estevez, (more)
1988  
R  
Funny how neither David Carradine nor Madeleine Stowe list Tropical Snow on their resumes. The title refers to the Colombian drug trade, which looms large in the film's climactic scenes. Madeleine and Nick Cori play Maria and Tavo, a South American couple who can't seem to make an honest living. Drifting into crime, Maria and Tavo attempt to become pickpockets. When this fails, they tie up with drug kingpin Oskar (Carradine). From this point on, a tragic denouement is a "done deal". Filmed largely on location, Tropical Snow is, at the very least, energetic. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Nick CorriMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1989  
PG13  
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A self-centered womanizer makes a wager that he will be able to propose to three women in a three month time and have each one accept in this romantic Philadelphia-set comedy. His three victims are an icy concert pianist, an innocent blonde receptionist for the Philadelphia Eagles, and a rich, horny hausfrau. The fellow plans to prove his success by videotaping each proposal. Sure enough he succeeds, but things quickly sour when the ladies find out that he's duped them. They then team up to get revenge and teach him a thing or two about real love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Mark HarmonMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1990  
R  
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Kevin Costner plays an ex-pilot who visits the posh Mexican estate of an old associate (Anthony Quinn) "Tibey" Mendes, for a bit of R & R. Tibey has turned into a very powerful Godfather type who rules his world and those who touch it. Costner can't help but notice his old friend's incredibly beautiful young wife (Madeleine Stowe) and before long they're involved in some sizzling hoochie-coo at the risk of being discovered by Mendes. Mendes eventually catches on and exacts a painful and cruel punishment on the reclusive lovers caught in their lustful liaison. Costner vows a pay-back and the last part of the movie involves his attempt to achieve it. ~ All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kevin CostnerAnthony Quinn, (more)
1990  
R  
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The Two Jakes is the much-delayed and rather convoluted sequel to the 1975 classic Chinatown. Released in 1990 after an abortive stab at shooting that began in the mid-'80s, the film was the subject of a creative feud between its principals, star Jack Nicholson, producer Robert Evans, and screenwriter Robert Towne. Private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is a middle-aged war hero, paunchy, snobbish about his golf game, and about to marry a lovely and much younger woman. Then a fleeting reference to a woman he once loved that he heard on a wire recording plunges him into a past he has tried to escape. It comes while he was spying on a philandering wife (Meg Tilly) and her paramour in her motel room for her husband, Jake Berman (Harvey Keitel). Then Berman shocks Gittes when he shoots his wife's lover. Gittes is doubly stunned when he learns that Berman was partners with the dead man in a subdivision that may contain huge oil deposits. So now Gittes wonders, was it justifiable homicide or murder? The answer lies in the wife (Madeleine Stowe) of the dead man, her shady oil baron friend (Richard Farnsworth), and in the past he has tried to avoid. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Jack NicholsonHarvey Keitel, (more)
1990  
R  
Indian-born, American-educated director Radha Bharadwaj based her allegorical thriller on the work of her husband with Amnesty International. The story concerns The Woman (Madeleine Stowe), a children's book writer who, in an unspecified country, is abducted from her bed in the middle of the night and imprisoned for writing subversive literature. She declares her books to be pure fantasies, but her well-dressed inquisitor The Man (Alan Rickman) sees the books as allegorical attacks on the State. In the form of a long dialogue between The Man and The Woman, The Man, through psychological and physical torture, attempts to get The Woman to confess. But The Woman endures, refusing to buckle under to The Man's relentless interrogation. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Madeleine StoweAlan Rickman, (more)
1992  
R  
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After their Los Angeles suburban house is burglarized, Karen and Michael Carr (Madeleine Stowe and Kurt Russell), are assisted by policeman Pete Davis (Ray Liotta). At first, Davis seems helpful and polite, even helping the Carrs when he is off duty. Soon, it becomes apparent that the policeman has developed an obsession for Karen, and he begins terrorizing the couple, with the intent of killing Michael and running away with Karen. Though the plot is fairly predictable, Unlawful Entry is highlighted by fine performances by all three lead actors. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kurt RussellRay Liotta, (more)
1992  
R  
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Director Michael Mann based this lushly romantic version of the James Fenimore Cooper novel more on his memory of the 1936 film version (starring Randolph Scott) than on Cooper's novel (in fact, Philip Dunne's 1936 screenplay is cited as source material for this film). Set in the 1750s during the French and Indian War, the story concerns Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), the European-born adopted son of Mohican scout Chingachgook (Russell Means). Hawkeye and his party, which also includes the Mohican Uncas (Eric Schweig), joins up with a group of Britons who have recently arrived in the Colonies. The group consists of Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her younger sister, Alice (Jodhi May), who are rescued from a Huron war party by Hawkeye. Hawkeye's band accompanies them to the British Fort William Henry, which is being besieged by a French and Huron force. The fort falls to the French, and Colonel Munro (Maurice Roeves) surrenders to French General Montcalm (Patrice Chéreau). The terms of the surrender are that the British merely abandon the fort and return to their homes. However, the French's bloodthirsty ally, the Huron warrior Magua (Wes Studi), has made no such agreement, and, as the British retreat from the fort, he plans to massacre them in a terrible Huron attack. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Daniel Day-LewisMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1993  
 
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In Stakeout, cop Richard Dreyfuss fell in love with Madeline Stowe, the woman he and his partner Emilio Estevez were watching during a police stakeout. Stowe's back in Another Stakeout, but her part is fleeting and unbilled. On the other hand, we get plenty of Dreyfuss and Estevez, still both as cantankerous and obnoxious as ever. This time, our two heroes are in search of a Mafia witness who has disappeared after an attempt on her life. While holed up in a judge's mansion, staking out the apartment where the woman may or may not return, the pair are subject to the comic aggravation of DA's assistant Rosie O'Donnell, who's brought her "darling" little rotweiler along for company. Another Stakeout works a little harder for its laughs than its predecessor; the best scenes go to Ms. O'Donnell and to nonplussed supporting players Dennis Farina and Marcia Strassman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Richard DreyfussEmilio Estevez, (more)
1993  
R  
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Based on stories by Raymond Carver, Short Cuts follows 22 Los Angeles residents whose lives intersect over the course of a few days. Ann and Howard Finnegan (Andie MacDowell and Bruce Davison) are preparing for their son Casey's birthday party when the boy is injured in an auto accident and falls into a coma. Meanwhile, Andy (Lyle Lovett), a baker, seethes with anger over the birthday cake that wasn't claimed, and Howard's father, Paul (Jack Lemmon), decides that a visit with his ailing grandson is a good time to discuss his infidelities. Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a new mother who watches over her baby when not making money doing phone sex, which bothers her husband, Jerry (Chris Penn), though he knows they need the money. Pilot "Stormy" Weathers (Peter Gallagher) takes a very literal approach to dividing up community property with his ex-wife (Frances McDormand). Doreen (Lily Tomlin) is trying on to hold her marriage with Earl (Tom Waits), who is a good man on the rare occasions that he's sober. Zoe (Lori Singer), a classical musician, is trying to find some way to connect with her mother, Tess (Annie Ross), a jazz singer. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife, Marian (Julianne Moore) put their bickering on hold while they have dinner with another couple, Stuart and Claire Kane (Fred Ward and Anne Archer). Stuart and his pals Gordon and Vern (Buck Henry and Huey Lewis) earlier went on a fishing trip where they discovered the body of a drowned woman but decided not to report it until the end of the weekend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Andie MacDowellBruce Davison, (more)
1994  
 
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In Blink, a woman regaining her eyesight after a double cornea transplant operation glimpses the killer of her upstairs neighbor and then must fight for her life as the killer stalks her. Emma Brody (Madeline Stowe), a musician in an Irish folk-rock band was blinded as a result of childhood abuse by her mother. Her doctor, Ryan Pierce (Peter Friedman) performs an operation to restore her vision, but soon Emma is suffering from retroactive hallucinations in which she sees things that have happened hours, or even days, before. As she was the only witness to the murder, her credibility soon comes into question, but she is believed by Detective Hallstrom (Aidan Quinn) who has been tracking what he believes to be a serial killer. Hallstrom also believes that Emma may hold the key to the murderer's motives. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Madeleine StoweAidan Quinn, (more)
1994  
R  
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China Moon is a slick noir thriller, nice to look at, well-acted and directed, but ultimately predictable, even to its "surprise" ending. Kyle Bodine (Ed Harris) falls in love with Rachel Munro (Madeleine Stowe), the unhappily married wife of a drunken Southern aristocrat Rupert (Charles Dance). One night, tired of his beatings and abuse, Rachel kills Rupert, apparently in self-defense. Kyle helps her cover-up the crime and establish an alibi. However, Kyle's young partner Lamar (Benecio Del Toro) suspects Rachel of the murder and begins an investigation. In fairly predictable plot twists reminiscent of the far superior Body Heat Kyle finds his life falling apart. While the plot is contrived, the performances are convincing, particularly that of Madeline Stowe as the treacherous Rachel. Ed Harris gives the character of Kyle depth and complexity. Cinematographer-turned-director John Bailey gives the film a great, dark, rain-slicked noir look and feel and lingers on details which take an otherwise predictable mystery/thriller and make it seem like a game of wits. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Ed HarrisMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1994  
 
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Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell, and Drew Barrymore are the stars of this Western whose main gimmick is making heroes into heroines. They all start out as prostitutes, as Cody (Stowe) shoots a drunken colonel who attempts to molest Anita (Masterson). She is about to be lynched for defending her friend when the other "bad girls" ride in and rescue her, pursued by detectives. The rest of the film follows their adventures as they get caught up in hostage situations, bank robberies, shootouts, and romantic interludes with handsome young cowboys with never a hair out of place or an unsightly smudge of Western dust. Amazingly, all four former prostitutes are able to ride, shoot, rope, and fight as well. Bad Girls is not likely to be thought of as a realistic view of how women lived in the Old West. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Madeleine StoweMary Stuart Masterson, (more)
1995  
R  
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An intense film about time travel, this sci-fi entry was directed by Terry Gilliam, a member of the comedy troupe Monty Python. The film stars Bruce Willis as James Cole, a prisoner of the state in the year 2035 who can earn parole if he agrees to travel back in time and thwart a devastating plague. The virus has wiped out most of the Earth's population and the remainder live underground because the air is poisonous. Returning to the year 1990, six years before the start of the plague, Cole is soon imprisoned in a psychiatric facility because his warnings sound like mad ravings. There he meets a scientist named Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe) and Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the mad son of an eminent virologist (Christopher Plummer). Cole is returned by the authorities to the year 2035, and finally ends up at his intended destination in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly in order to enlist her help in his quest. Cole discovers graffiti by an apparent animal rights group called the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, but as he delves into the mystery, he hears voices, loses his bearings, and doubts his own sanity. He must figure out if Goines, who seems to be a raving lunatic, holds the key to the puzzle. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Bruce WillisMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1998  
PG13  
This drama about the efforts of an upper-class couple to have a child takes place in 1935 Boston. When Father Michael McKinnon (Kenneth Branagh) arrives from England to join the St. Jude's clergy, he avoids wealthy parishioners Arthur and Eleanor Barret (William Hurt, Madeleine Stowe). Attorney Arthur, an FDR adviser, and successful author Eleanor, want a child, but Arthur is sterile. Eleanor asks Arthur to pay someone to impregnate her, and Harvard law student Roger Martin (Neil Patrick Harris) is hired. He profits considerably, since he is required to return for several attempts. However, he becomes obsessed with Eleanor, infuriating Arthur, who threatens to kill him. Emotions and events escalate, as McKinnon reveals he's the son of Arthur's Nazi-leaning brother, Eleanor loses the baby, McKinnon becomes attracted to Eleanor, and there's a mysterious' murder. Shown at the 1998 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kenneth BranaghMadeleine Stowe, (more)
1998  
R  
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Sophomore writer/director Willard Carroll weaves together an all-star cast in interlocking stories about finding love in Los Angeles. The film's theme is spoken by young club-hopper Joan (Angelina Jolie). Taken by the mysterious Keenan (Ryan Phillippe), she tells him that "talking about love" is like "dancing about architecture" (the original title until the studio thought it would be confused with Dancing at Lughnasa), meaning speech is not the medium to adequately express the details of love. They all try, anyway. Others up for the dance include a TV cooking-show hostess (Gena Rowlands) and her husband (Sean Connery) who still fight over his one brief infidelity 25 years earlier; two lovers (Madeline Stowe, Anthony Edwards) who discuss their unhappy marriages; and a theater director (Gillian Anderson) and her architect, Mr. Right (Jon Stewart). Also searching are Dennis Quaid, Nastassja Kinski and Patricia Clarkson. For a familial sort of love, there's Ellen Burstyn as the estranged mother to her son (Jay Mohr) dying of AIDS. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Gillian AndersonAngelina Jolie, (more)
1999  
R  
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A murder on a military base unearths a netherworld of corruption in this thriller based on the novel by Nelson DeMille. General Joe Campbell (James Cromwell) is a respected military leader with a flawless reputation; he's due to retire from the Army soon and is headed for a Vice-Presidential nomination. However, Campbell finds himself in both a personal and political crisis when his daughter is brutally murdered. Captain Elizabeth Campbell (Leslie Stefanson) was beautiful, intelligent, disciplined, and well-regarded, the very model of an ideal female officer; she was also stationed at the same base as her father. Paul Brenner (John Travolta), a warrant officer of the Army's Criminal Investigation Division, is assigned to look into the case alongside CID officer Sara Sunhill (Madeleine Stowe). Brenner and Sunhill were once romantically involved, complicating an assignment that soon offers more than enough complications of its own. Brenner and Sunhill come to realize that, for all her accomplishments, Elizabeth carried a lifetime of emotional scars from emotional abuse and sexual harassment, and that, despite the General's reputation, his relationship with his daughter was not always a happy or healthy one. It also seems possible that the General's second-in-command, General George Fowler (Clarence Williams III), a likely candidate for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, may also be implicated in the crime. The General's Daughter was the second feature film for director Simon West; his full-length debut was Con Air (1997), after a long string of successful television commercials and music videos. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
John TravoltaMadeleine Stowe, (more)
2000  
PG13  
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This long-delayed science fiction thriller from director Gary Fleder was actually filmed prior to his box-office hit Don't Say a Word (2001), which preceded it in theaters by several months. Based on a 1953 short story by Philip K. Dick, the film shares that schizophrenic author's long-running obsessions with concealed identity and humanity's potential inferiority to alternative life forms. Gary Sinise stars as Spencer John Olham, a respected government scientist in the year 2079 trying to devise a secret weapon that will help his fellow humans win a decade-long war with invading aliens that are cloning human subjects and using the replicas as walking time bombs. Suddenly, Olham is accused of being an alien spy and a nationwide manhunt to capture him ensues. With even his doctor wife (Madeleine Stowe) unsure that she can trust him, Olham must uncover the truth on his own, even as he's relentlessly pursued by Hathaway (Vincent D'Onofrio), a federal agent charged with destroying the clones. Imposter has a complicated history, originally produced in early 2000 as a 30-minute short to be included in an anthology entitled "The Light Years Trilogy," a project that never got off the ground. So impressed was Dimension Films with the completed piece, however, that the footage was incorporated into a new feature version. That film was then shuffled around the release schedule for more than a year as effects were completed, reshoots were ordered, and the film was recut for a PG-13 rating instead of its original R. The R-rated "director's cut" was later released on DVD. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Gary SiniseMadeleine Stowe, (more)

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