Harris Yulin Movies

A workshop of William Shakespeare's Richard III inspires actor-director Al Pacino's breezy documentary, which aims to make the playwright accessible to contemporary American audiences. Though a noteworthy cast of stage actors and Hollywood stars (including Kevin Spacey, Winona Ryder, and Alec Baldwin) gathers to work on the play, Looking for Richard does not present a straightforward filmed version of the scheming, deformed king's rise and fall. Instead, Pacino turns the cameras on the rehearsal process and his own exploration of Shakespeare's history and meaning. Scenes in full costume alternate with readings in street clothes, while interviews gather the opinions on the Bard of everyone from renowned scholars and Shakespearean actors to random New Yorkers. A trip to England allows brief visits to Shakespeare's birthplace and the Globe Theater, but Pacino's focus remains on the United States and his desire to prove that American actors can act the plays without mimicking their British counterparts. Clearly a labor of love for Pacino, the film benefits from his passionate persona and direct, no-nonsense attitude; while the performances may vary in quality, the film manifests a refreshingly casual, unpretentious, and enthusiastic approach to Shakespeare. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Geena Davis stars in this adventure saga as the most swashbuckling female pirate to ever lay waste to the seven seas. Morgan Adams (Davis) is the daughter of a pirate who has followed in her father's footsteps. When he dies, he passes along his ship, a crew of bandits, and one third of a treasure map (which happens to be tattooed on his skull). Morgan is eager to search out the rest of the map and retrieve the riches, but the fragment she holds is in Latin. Morgan then buys a well-educated slave, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), who can read the ancient language and already has a taste for the criminal life. However, Morgan and William are not long into their search when they discover that someone else is following the same trail for the rest of the treasure map: Dawg Brown (Frank Langella), Morgan's uncle and as black-hearted a scurvy dog as ever boarded a ship. As Morgan and Dawg battle each other over the fragments of the map, a British journalist (Maury Chaykin) covers their feud for the penny press. William Shaw was originally to have been played by Michael Douglas, who dropped out in the early stages of this troubled production. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A scientist finds himself walking a fine line between reason and fantasy in this family-oriented drama. Dr. Jonathan Dempsey (Ted Danson) is an American scientist who has devoted his career to searching out the truth behind contemporary legends and psudeo-scientific phenomena like Bigfoot, which has not gained him much credibility among his peers. Dempsey's superior, Dr. Mercer (Harris Yulin), has a new project that would seem to be right up his alley -- Mercer wants Dempsey to travel to Scotland to prove once and for all that there is no such thing as the Loch Ness Monster. Dempsey takes the assignment and settles into a small hotel near the Loch run by Laura MacFeteridge (Joely Richardson), a single mother with a young daughter, Isabel (Kirsty Graham). Isabel strikes up an immediate friendship with Dempsey while her mother soon takes a more mature interest in the American scientist, but most of the locals don't take kindly to the notion of an outsider flying in to prove that Nessie isn't real, especially the town's self-proclaimed monster expert the Water Bailiff (Ian Holm). What Dempsey does learn about Nessie surprises him a great deal -- and so does his decision about what to do with his findings. Jim Henson's Creature Shop pitched in for the special effects sequences with Nessie. Loch Ness was released theatrically in Europe, but had its American premiere as a network television presentation. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman is the seemingly random victim of a letter bomb. As the detectives and the D.A.'s office pursue their investigation, it becomes painfully apparent that the killing was no accident of fate. It seems that the dead woman was the estranged wife of scientist Edward Manning (Harris Yulin), and she had driven him to distraction by delaying their divorce proceedings. This episode was directed by former Law & Order regular Dann Florek. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Harris Yulin guest stars as Marritza, a Cardassian visitor to DS9. While undergoing medical treatment, Marritza arouses the suspicions of Kira. Could the seemingly mild-mannered Cardassian actual be a notorious war criminal, guilty of unspeakable atrocities at a hellish prison labor camp? First broadcast June 12, 1993, "Duet" was scripted by Peter Allan Fields, from a story by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Final Analysis, Richard Gere stars as Isaac Barr, a San Francisco psychiatrist whose alluring patient Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman) is being treated for traumatic memories. In order to find out more about her trauma, Diana suggests that Isaac speak to her sister and question her about what went on between them in the past. But when Isaac sets eyes on Diana's sister Heather (Kim Basinger), they become involved in a torrid and steamy sex affair. Unfortunately, Heather is married to psychotic sadist Jimmy Evans (Eric Roberts). ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

An unlikely friendship develops between two seemingly dissimilar women in this made-for-television adaption. Gena Rowlands stars as Pat Foster, the wife of a wealthy Seattle businessman. When he dies unexpectedly, her finances are put into jeopardy and she suddenly feels empathy for a homeless woman (Tyne Daly) she regularly sees on the street. The film was adapted from Marsha Norman's play. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Narrow Margin directed by Peter Hyams and loosely based on the classic film noir of the same title, tells the story of a resourceful District Attorney who must return a witness to San Francisco alive so she can testify in a trial. Carol (Anne Archer) is in the bathroom of the hotel room of her blind date when he is murdered by mobsters for stealing money. Knowing she is the only witness, Carol flees to an isolated Canadian mountain home to hide out. She is followed by Caulfield (Gene Hackman) who knows that she is a witness and wants to make her testify. When the mobsters track Caulfield to the cabin, Carol must join him in a run for her life on a Canadian train. This film, while it is somewhat uneven, is a tour de force for director/writer/cinematographer Peter Hyams, who delivers a fast-paced, action-packed chase through the Canadian mountains, stunningly photographed and well acted by both Hackman and Archer. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

On September 1, 1983, the Russians caused a major international incident by shooting down Korean Air Flight 007 -- a jet transporting 269 civilians including Georgia congressman Lawrence McDonald -- when it strayed into Soviet airspace. The U.S.R.R. claimed that they misinterpreted the plane as the product of a CIA operative. This factual docudrama chronicles the global political crisis surrounding the event. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The sole survivor of a psycho-led mass suicide awakens from a 13-year coma and begins having visions of the cult leader who was also killed in the fiery death scene. She resists his efforts to have her join him in the hereafter, and soon members from her therapy group start dropping like flies. ~ All Movie Guide

In 1978, an East German waiter used a toy gun to hijack a Polish airliner heading for East Berlin and forced the pilot to land at an American Air Force base in West Germany. The best-selling book about the ensuing trial of the hijacker -- written by the presiding judge, Herbert J. Stern -- is given film treatment by director Leo Penn. The back story involves a West German contractor working both sides of Germany, who has fallen in love with a woman from East Berlin. The contractor arranges for the woman, her daughter and another man (Heinz Hoenig), who has children living in West Germany, to meet him in Gdansk, Poland, where he will give them false documents allowing them to get into West Germany. When the contractor is arrested, they must make other plans. Sneaking a toy gun on an airplane bound for East Germany, the man compels the pilot to steer the plane to West Germany, where he hopes to seek asylum and see his children. But this is the first time a hijacker has sought asylum in the west and it sets off a political firestorm. The American and West Germany governments have signed an international accord to prevent skyjackings and the Soviet government is pressuring them to prosecute the hijackers to the fullest extent of the law. The United States Justice Department wants a quick trial and hires a tough judge (Martin Sheen), who, they think, will prosecute the case swiftly and be done with it. However, the judge is more than the authorities have bargained for -- he wants the defendants to be given a fair trial and all of the rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

After promising a rock star he would find a particular guitar-maker to procure his valuable products, a musician takes a road trip in search of the legend. On his way, he meets various people who have--at one time or another-- been involved with the elusive guru. After he finally meets the man, he realizes that there is much more to one's art than financial reward. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Rita Rizzoli (Whoopi Goldberg) is a crusading narcotics cop assigned to track down the source of some killer crack cocaine in this pretentious and preachy anti-drug crime drama. Rita poses as a prostitute and is soon hot after two small-time hoods (Brad Dourif and Mike Jolly) who murder their way up the drug-dealing ladder in hopes of becoming kingpins. Cheech Marin and Catherine Blore provide interesting cameos in this feature that co-stars Ruben Blades and Sam Elliott. Contains stereotypical characters and gratuitous violence. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide