Lex Van Delden Movies
- 1985
- PG
This period drama about the American Revolution has an overlay of rhetoric that thwarts the action, flattening out the story about a man and his loved ones caught up in the events of the time. Tom Dobb (Al Pacino) falls in love with Daisy McConnahay (Nastassja Kinski), an aristocrat who deserts her class to fight alongside the rebels. Tom teaches his son Ned (Dexter Fletcher) everything he needs to learn, though the growing rebellion consumes most of his attention. Eventually, the Redcoats are mowed down in large battle scenes, as the ragtag Colonialists go to war. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Donald Sutherland, (more)
- 1985
Based on a true story, the three-part British miniseries Operation Julie detailed a massive drug "sting" conducted by British authorities in the mid-'70s. Colin Blakely and David Swift headed the enormous cast as, respectively, Detective Inspector Richard Lee and Detective Superintendent Gosling. The target for the authorities was a covert operation specializing in the manufacturer and worldwide distribution of LSD. As a faithful retelling of the largest undercover drug investigation of its kind in the United Kingdom, the series garnered a huge audience in both England and Europe. After its initial British TV run from November 4 to 6, 1985 (courtesy of Tyne Tees Television), Operation Julie was re-edited and reissued as a 100-minute feature film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Psychiatrist Alex (Art Garfunkel) becomes sexually obsessed with Milena (Theresa Russell), a woman whom he meets at a party. The pair become involved in an intense and mutually destructive love affair. The drama unfolds in a series of flashbacks, as Alex tells his story to police Inspector Netusil (Harvey Keitel) who is investigating Milena's apparent suicide attempt. Alex's obsession grows, but Milena stays slightly out of reach. Originally rated X, but somewhat toned down to accommodate an R rating, Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession is an interesting exploration of the nature of sexual passion and jealousy. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, (more)
Over the course of one night and many miles, the lives of three passengers aboard a trans-European train are changed forever. English businessman Peter (Michael Kitchen) finds to his amazement that the friendship he's struck up with a carefree American woman called Lorraine (Wendy Raebeck) is quickly turning into something far more involved. Meanwhile, an older and demanding Viennese woman named Frau Messner (Dame Peggy Ashcroft) seems to have every intention of trying Peter's patience until they all witness its end. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
Set in a remote seaside village somewhere in the Netherlands, this drama centers on the increasingly bizarre behavior of a tourist who has become romantically obsessed by a local beauty. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Sylvia Kristel, (more)
With this fact-based World War II drama and the equally memorable The Fourth Man (1983), Dutch director Paul Verhoeven gained an international following, eventually translating his reputation into Hollywood fame as the director of bloody science fiction spectacles and prurient sex thrillers. Rutger Hauer stars as Erik Lanshof, an aristocratic Dutch student, one of six carefree friends who don't care much for politics. When the Nazis invade Holland, however, the group is drawn inevitably into the conflict. While Alex (Derek de Lint) joins the German army, the suave Gus (Jeroen Krabbe) becomes a resistance leader, eventually escaping with Erik to England, where they become pawns in a much larger underground movement to restore their country's Queen Wilhelmina (Andrea Domburg) to her rightful throne. Based on an autobiographical novel by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Soldaat van Oranje (1978) also features early work by another Dutch master who went on to success as a director of big budget Hollywood films, cinematographer Jan De Bont. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, (more)
It's late 1944, and the Allied armies are confident they'll win the World War II and be home in time for Christmas. What's needed, says British general Bernard Law Montgomery, is a knockout punch, a bold strike through Holland, where German troops are spread thin, that will put the Allies into Germany. Paratroops led by British major general Robert Urquhart (Sean Connery) and American brigadier general James Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) will seize a thin road and five bridges through Holland into Germany, with paratroops led by Lieutenant Col. John Frost (Sir Anthony Hopkins) holding the most critical bridge at a small town called Arnhem. Over this road shall pass combined forces led by British Lieutenant Gen. Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox) and British Lieutenant Col. Joe Vandeleur (Michael Caine). The plan requires precise timing, so much so that one planner tells Lieutenant Gen. Frederick Browning (Dirk Bogarde), "Sir, I think we may be going a bridge too far." The plan also has one critical flaw: Instead of a smattering of German soldiers, the area around Arnhem is loaded with crack SS troops. Disaster ensues. Based on a book by historian Cornelius Ryan, A Bridge Too Far is reminiscent of another movie based on a Ryan book, The Longest Day. Like that movie, it is loaded with more than 15 international stars, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Hardy Krueger, Gene Hackman, Maximilian Schell, and Liv Ullman. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, (more)
Produced by Billy Graham's Evangelistic Association and based on an autobiographical novel by Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place is an account of a Dutch family who risk their lives by offering a safe haven for Jews during World War II. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Harris, Eileen Heckart, (more)
