Lee Strasberg Movies
European-born Lee Strasberg moved to the U.S. with his parents when he was seven. Born into an artistic family, Strasberg began his acting training at age nine; he studied at the Actors Laboratory Theater under such heavyweights as Richard Boleslawsky and Maria Ouspenskaya. A professional actor from 1925 onward, Strasberg was a member for many years of the Theater Guild. Together with fellow "Guild"-ers Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, Strasberg broke away to form the Group Theater in 1931, where he would direct such stars-to-be as John Garfield and Luther Adler. In 1949, Strasberg established the Actors Studio in New York, where he became the foremost proponent of "the Method," an introspective, sensory-recall acting technique founded in part on the teachings of Stanislavsky (the most famous disciple of the Method was, of course, Marlon Brando). Though extremely influential in the film, TV, and theatrical world of the 1960s, Strasberg was not always the favorite of his contemporaries. One of his severest critics was acting teacher Stella Adler, who on the occasion of Strasberg's death, asked her class for a respectful moment of silence, then lambasted Strasberg as the man who nearly "destroyed" the acting profession. In 1969, Strasberg set up a new school, the Lee Strasberg Institute of the Theater, with headquarters in both New York and Los Angeles. Five years later, director Francis Ford Coppola coaxed Strasberg into making his film debut as gangster Hyman Roth in The Godfather II. It was the first of five movie appearances for Strasberg, the last (and best) of which was in Going in Style (1979). Lee Strasberg was the father of actress Susan Strasberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1988
Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre profiles the career of celebrated director/producer Harold Clurman. A man known for his passionate commitment to working with actors, Clurman devoted his life to the theatrical arts, serving not only as a director and producer, but as a respected critic as well. The program features footage of Clurman on the job delivering thought-provoking lectures and helping actors construct roles. Meryl Streep narrates. Stella Adler, Karl Malden, and Julie Harris are interviewed. ~ Betsy Boyd, All Movie Guide
Skokie is the true story of a critical test of Constitutional rights in Illinois. In 1977, a small band of American neo-fascists calling itself the National Socialist Party of America plans to stage a swastika-dominated demonstration and rally. Their intended site is the Chicago suburb of Skokie, a town populated predominantly by Jews--many of them survivors of the Nazi holocaust. Jewish ACLU lawyer John Rubinstein is compelled to lobby for the National Socialists' freedom to express their views, despite his own inner turmoil over defending the very people who'd destroy him. The most vocal opponent to the planned rally is Skokie senior citizen Max Liebman (Danny Kaye), who spent five years in Hitler's death camps. Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for Skokie is fair-minded to a fault, presenting all points of view with equanimity, proving that there are no simple solutions when the fundamental right of Free Speech is involved. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Although the Actors Studio and Lee Strasberg have been famous for many decades in the U.S., this documentary is the first film to go into the studio and record sessions with actors, showing Strasberg in action. Aside from interviews with Strasberg, he is also seen responding to filmed performances of Eleonora Duse and other Hollywood giants of times gone by, and interacting with others as a mentor and friend. Even Strasberg's inspiration, Konstantin Stanislavsky himself, is shown talking about acting with two students toward the end of his life. Jane Fonda explains how she benefitted by Strasberg's instruction, and the results of his efforts are shown in clips of James Dean and Marlon Brando, two of his more famous students. By the time the final segment of the documentary has closed, viewers have a much better idea of why Lee Strasberg was so successful with hundreds of actors over the long span of his professional life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lee Strasberg, Ellen Burstyn, (more)
- 1979
In this drama, David Rosen (Lee Strasberg) and his wife Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut (Kim Delgado) has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for "protection" and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. When Becky dies, David decides that he can stand no more, and he plots his revenge against Strut and his underlings. Director Stephen F. Verona manages to combine a Death Wish-style revenge scenario with a mood piece that generates a very real nostalgia for what Coney Island once was -- and still is for many of the characters in this story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, (more)
- 1978
Lee Strasberg stars in this made-for-TV movie as a widowed senior citizen who suffers a stroke. Recovering in the hospital, Strasberg wants to return to his home, but refuses to have a housekeeper out of fear of being considered helpless. The notion of moving in with his grown children is also vetoed--by the children themselves, who chafed under Strasberg's arrogance and philandering when they were growing up and now prefer that he'd live elsewhere. The only alternative left is a nursing home, and Strasberg would rather die than resort to that. The Last Tenant was written by ABC Theatre Award-winner George Rubino. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1977
Originally screened as a mini-series on the NBC television network, this epic-length feature combines the entirety of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II with 15 minutes of outtakes from the two films, recutting the material into chronological order (clarifying the complex structure of The Godfather Part II, which jumped back and forth between events that occurred before and after the narrative of the first film). The Godfather 1902-1959: The Complete Epic tells the tale of the Corleone Family, from the arrival of Vito Corleone in the U.S. as a boy and his rise to criminal power as a young man (played by Robert DeNiro) to the decline of his empire decades later. While some of the original material was censored for television broadcast, when The Godfather 1902-1959: The Complete Epic was later released on home video, the altered footage was restored to its original content. However, this proved not to be the final and complete document of the Corleone saga, as Francis Ford Coppola added another chapter to the story nine years later with the release of The Godfather Part III. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, (more)
George Taylor (John Hodiak) is a war veteran suffering from amnesia with only two clues to his past: the bitter letter from a woman who hates him and another mysterious letter signed "Larry Cravat." Taylor goes to Los Angeles to meet Cravat. It turns out that Cravat is wanted for murder and the robbery of $2 million. George becomes involved with a singer, Christy (Nancy Guild) and is chased by mobsters while on a search for the stolen money. There ensue a series of chases, an interesting plot twist and a surprise ending as John learns the true identity of Cravat.Somewhere in the Night is the quintessential "amnesia victim" as protagonist film, somewhat slow, but nevertheless, engrossing and suspenseful. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Arnt, Richard Benedict, (more)
Norman Jewison's blackly satirical look at the American justice system has gained in stature as one of the more incisive social commentaries of its time. Al Pacino plays Arthur Kirkland, an incorruptible attorney who attempts to initiate reforms in the Maryland justice system. Kirkland is haunted by the fates of two past clients, one of whom committed suicide in jail; the other is still alive but is locked up on a trumped-up traffic violation. The ability of power and money to distort the pursuit of justice becomes all too clear as Kirkland finds out how deeply the rot has spread. He finally retaliates by representing a repulsive judge (John Forsythe) accused of rape. Pacino's and Forsythe's performances are intense and powerful. Many critics found the film biting and almost painful in its razor-sharp indictment of the justice system, while others declared the script too outrageous. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Jack Warden, (more)
This bizarre entry into the disaster film genre concerns a group of hapless passengers aboard a transcontinental luxury train who are infected with a viral plague by a group of terrorists. Burt Lancaster plays military man Mackenzie, who wants to send the train across a rickety bridge so all the passengers will die, with Mackenzie reasoning the tragedy will give the terrorist movement a bad name. Among the passengers on the train trying to build up antibodies are Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain (Sophia Loren); Nicole (Ava Gardner), who is embroiled in an affair with a younger man named Robby Navarro (Martin Sheen); and Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain (Richard Harris), a physician who wants to save the passengers but ends up duking it out with the terrorists. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophia Loren, Richard Harris, (more)
Francis Ford Coppola's legendary continuation and sequel to his landmark 1972 film, The Godfather, parallels the young Vito Corleone's rise with his son Michael's spiritual fall, deepening The Godfather's depiction of the dark side of the American dream. In the early 1900s, the child Vito flees his Sicilian village for America after the local Mafia kills his family. Vito (Robert De Niro) struggles to make a living, legally or illegally, for his wife and growing brood in Little Italy, killing the local Black Hand Fanucci (Gastone Moschin) after he demands his customary cut of the tyro's business. With Fanucci gone, Vito's communal stature grows, but it is his family (past and present) who matters most to him -- a familial legacy then upended by Michael's (Al Pacino) business expansion in the 1950s. Now based in Lake Tahoe, Michael conspires to make inroads in Las Vegas and Havana pleasure industries by any means necessary. As he realizes that allies like Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) are trying to kill him, the increasingly paranoid Michael also discovers that his ambition has crippled his marriage to Kay (Diane Keaton) and turned his brother, Fredo (John Cazale), against him. Barely escaping a federal indictment, Michael turns his attention to dealing with his enemies, completing his own corruption. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, (more)
Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney), and Willie (Lee Strasberg) are three senior citizens who share a small apartment in New York City. They live off social security checks and spend their days sitting on a park bench, reading newspapers, feeding pigeons, and fending off obnoxious children. It's a dull life, and finally Joe is driven to suggest something radical to break the monotony; why not go on a stick up? None of them have a criminal history (though Joe claims he "did some stealing during the war"), but just planning the bank robbery puts a new spring in their step. Al surreptitiously borrows some pistols from the collection of his nephew, Pete (Charles Hallahan), and the trio, disguised with novelty Groucho Marx-style glasses, pulls off their heist to the tune of 35,000 dollars. Unfortunately, the excitement is too much for Willie, who suffers a fatal heart attack the same day. At his funeral, Joe and Al decide to give the bulk of the dough to Pete and his family, and attempt to blow the rest of it on a whirlwind excursion to Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the eccentric robbery has become a colorful news story for the media and the police are closing in on the amateur criminals. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Burns, Art Carney, (more)
