Sean Young

This thriller is the second film based on the novel of the same name by Ira Levin. Matt Dillon stars as Jonathan Corliss, a lethal schemer from the wrong side of the tracks. Now a student at the University of Pennsylvania, Jonathan has been obsessed since childhood with the fortunes of a company called Carlsson Copper. Jonathan plans to ingratiate himself with the wealthy family of magnate Thor Carlsson (Max von Sydow) and has begun secretly dating Carlsson's daughter Dorothy (Sean Young). When Dorothy learns that she's pregnant and informs Jonathan that she'll be cut off without her inheritance when her father learns the truth, Jonathan murders her, making it appear to be a suicide, and moves to New York. There, he makes the acquaintance of Ellen Carlsson (also played by Young), the late Dorothy's twin sister, and begins wooing her. This time he meets with success, winning Ellen's hand in marriage and a powerful position in his new father-in-law's company. However, Ellen has long nursed suspicions about her twin's death and as she probes deeper into the alleged suicide, she uncovers alarming facts about some other murders and the identity of her sister's unknown lover. Director James Dearden also wrote Fatal Attraction (1987), which contains similar themes. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

An extended short from painter-turned-filmmaker Robert Longo, who would later helm Johnny Mnemonic, Arena Brains consists of a series of interlocking vignettes set in New York City in the late 1980s. The stories -- created by five different screenwriters, including Eric Bogosian, Richard Price, and Longo himself -- are mostly loosely structured attempts at satirizing the neuroses and eccentricities of members of Lower Manhattan's art community. This superficial, affluent subculture is presented in contrast with the reality of life on the New York City streets, as the film moves from galleries to alleyways and back again. Actors like Sean Young and Ray Liotta play small roles, while appearances by Bogosian, Ron Vawter, and other Manhattan theater and performance-art figures reinforce the film's hip, insider feel. (R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe even makes an appearance, as a mostly silent, nameless character who wanders through the various segments, observing the film's action). The result is a rather dated, uneven film that is best viewed now as a prime example of the indulgent artistic culture it intended to satirize. The marketing of the video release misleadingly emphasizes a not-so-prominent soundtrack, featuring songs by Husker Du, The Cure, P.I.L., and others. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

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

Tom Whitus' psychological thriller Control comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. English and Spanish soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. There are neither subtitles nor closed-captions on this release. Supplemental materials include biographies of the cast, and a trailer. This is a fine release from Framework. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of a man whose scientific meddling has unexpected results gets a cross-gender update in this comedy. Richard Jacks (Tim Daly) is a research scientist trying to work his way up the ladder at a major perfume company when he inherits the notebooks of his great-grandfather, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Fascinated by Jekyll's ideas about the duality of man, Jacks starts performing experiments to refine his potion that would isolate man's good and evil natures. However, Richard's version has a very different result than the old Jekyll formula, instead of turning him into a snarling beast, the drug transforms him into Helen Hyde (Sean Young), a beautiful and powerfully sexy woman with a slight case of nymphomania. Jacks figures that a good looking woman willing to sleep with nearly anyone should have no trouble rising to a position of power within the company, so his alter-ego Helen may be his ticket to a room at the top. But this plan may require a bit of explaining to Jacks' girlfriend, Sarah (Lysette Anthony). The supporting cast includes Polly Bergen, Jeremy Piven, and Harvey Fierstein, who is so awestruck by Helen Hyde's allure that he's rendered heterosexual by the experience. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The idyllic existence of New York art director Mallory Jordan (Sean Young) is shattered when her ad-executive husband Andrew Keswick (Charles Shaughnessy) and their two daughters are brutally slain in a robbery. Suddenly alone, the devastated Mallory can see no reason to ever again emerge from her bedroom--or, for that matter, to go on living. Helping Mallory escape from her self-imposed shell is compassionate police detective Michael DeMarco (Jack Scalia), who makes it his personal mission to track down and prosecute the persons responsible for the tragedy (evidently, DeMarco is the only homicide cop in New York who works without a partner!) As part of her "therapy", Mallory is allowed to accompany DeMarco as he interrogates and arrests the prime suspect--and as the days pass, the couple spends more and more time together, ultimately falling in love. The best part of this made-for-TV drama is the depiction of Mallory's all-consuming grief, which lingers in the memory far longer than her ultimate (and inevitable) healing process. Originally telecast on CBS under the title Barbara Taylor Bradford's Everything to Gain, the film has since been released to video as part of a "Barbara Taylor Bradford Trilogy." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This juicy made-for-television drama provides the lurid details of a gem merchant's sleazy lifestyle. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Nicolas Cage stars in the below-par action film Firebirds -- a dying ember from Reagan-era nationalistic jingoism. In this Top Gun retread, Cage plays Jake Preston, a hotshot Army helicopter pilot who is being trained to use the U.S. Army's Apache aircraft to destroy the drug fields of a South American drug cartel. It up to his taskmaster instructor Brad Little (Tommy Lee Jones) to teach Jake humble lessons before he can be trusted to launch into the skies against the drug dealers. While Jake is trying to tame his egoism, he engages in a torrid love affair with flying ace Billie Lee Guthrie (Sean Young). The film was originally titled Wings of the Apache for the U.S. Army Apache assault helicopters that are prominently displayed in the film. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The full title of this direct-to-video enterprise is Forever: A Ghost of a Love Story. Though the title suggests that we're in the heart of rip-off country, the film actually has very little in common with either Love Story (1969) or Ghost (1990). Music-video director Keith Coogan prepares to film in a haunted house. Coogan quickly falls under the spell of beautiful female wraith Sean Young. He must also contend with flesh-and-blood females Diane Ladd and Sally Kirkland, who crave his attention, among other things. Forever is silly but effective, with an unusually strong supporting cast. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The drama Ghosts Never Sleep stars Tony Goldwyn as a struggling screenwriter who might have finally scored a successful sale with a screenplay that tells a story that might cost him his relationship with both his mother and his wife. The script is strikingly similar to a real tragic event that happened in his family, an event that his mother (Faye Dunaway) wants no one to know about. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A twenty-five year old man whose chance encounter with a mysterious stranger has found his intellect rapidly expanding finds himself at the center of a gruesome murder case in an award-winning horror thriller starring Olivia Hussey, Sean Young, Dee Wallace Stone, and Udo Kier. Alex Borden is rapidly becoming a genius, but as the power of his mind grows so does the mystery of a brutal series of murders. Now, as the killer seems to set his sights on Alex, the frightened genius must use his newfound brain power to put an end to the mayhem once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Ismail Merchant-James Ivory team generated this account of a pair of teachers battling for the rights to produce an unpublished Jane Austen play. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide