James Bowman Movies
- 2002
The romantic comedy Being Claudine is a student film from writer/director I-Fan Quirk. Acting student Claudine Bloomberg (played by co-screenwriter Justine Litchtman) is a twentysomething gal looking for love in the big city. When her German model boyfriend Hans (James Bowman) takes off, she spends time with her fellow student, the shy but sweet Jack (Mushashi Alexander). Complications occur when her roommate Violet (Jordan Cael) leads her to believe that Jack is gay. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justine Litchman, Musashi Alexander, (more)
- 1995
Loosely adapted from Virgil's Aeneid by Nahum Tate and mounted at the Hampton Court House in Surrey, England in 1995, the opera Dido and Aeneas stars Maria Ewing and Karl Daymond as the two title characters. Henry Purcell authored the score; Peter Maniura directs. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Ewing, Karl Daymond, (more)
This made-for-TV drama was based on the true story of George McKenna (played by Denzel Washington in one of his first leading roles), an educator in Los Angeles who faced the greatest challenge of his career when he was named Principal of George Washington Memorial High School. Located in a run-down inner-city neighborhood, Washington High was being torn apart by gang violence and drug dealing, and much of the student body seemed more interested in surviving the day than in learning. McKenna was determined to make Washington High a safe place where students could get a quality education which would allow them to go to college if they so desired, but he soon realized he was facing an uphill battle, having to deal not only with gangs and delinquent students, but apathetic teachers and parents too busy or unconcerned to help in the education of their kids. The George McKenna Story also stars Lynn Whitfield, Debra Artis, and Richard Masur; after Denzel Washington's later rise to superstar status, the film was rereleased on home video under the title Hard Lessons. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington
This bold, brash biopic of George Frideric Handel, which originally aired on Britain's Channel Four in 1985, was produced to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Handel's birth. As scripted by John Osborne and directed by the iconoclastic Tony Palmer, it aggressively attempts to cut through the refined aura that time had attached to Handel, exemplified by sub-par performances of The Messiah. Osborne and Palmer paint an image of Handel (here played by the great Trevor Howard) as a musical revolutionary, who turned London upside down, permanently obliterated the stoicism of the Georgian Era, and set a precedent for centuries of assertive, aggressive, take-no-prisoners British music. The title comes from an exchange Handel purportedly had with the Turnbridge Wells Ladies' Music Society. That ensemble performed an appalling version of The Messiah that Handel could not stomach, prompting him to supposedly fire off the said phrase in a letter to them -- thereby shocking everyone. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Image Entertainment presents this performance of Handel's operatic retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar. Directed by John Copely and accompanied by the English National Opera under the conduction of Sir Charles Mackerras, the 1984 production features all of the lead roles filled by female performers. With Janet Baker as the titular ill-fated Roman emperor, Julius Caesar also includes Valerie Masterson as Cleopatra, Sarah Walker as Cornelia, and Della Jones as Sextus. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1983
When his wife becomes the new family breadwinner, a football coach must learn the ins and outs of child care and housecleaning. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Michael Glaser, Dee Wallace, (more)
- 1981
- Add A Midsummer Night's Dream (Glyndebourne) to QueueAdd A Midsummer Night's Dream (Glyndebourne) to top of Queue
This video presents a performance of William Shakespeare's classic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream. The story of fairies and the hapless lovers caught in their magic spells has delighted audiences for centuries. This show takes place at Glyndebourne's Festival Opera. Ileana Cortrubus, Curt Appelgren, and James Bowman star in the production. The London Philharmonic provides the musical accompaniment. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
An orphan grows up to become an Old West legend as the story of the Lone Ranger comes to the big screen in this western saga featuring Christopher Lloyd and Jason Robards. Orphaned as a young boy, John Reid struck up a lifelong friendship with a loyal Indian boy named Tonto. Years later, Reid has become a lawyer and returned to the west in order to ensure that vicious murderers such as the Cavendish gang are brought to justice. Having previously murdered Reid's parents, the Cavendish gang proves that they still rule this lawless land when they launch an ambush that leaves the lawyer serious wounded and his Texas Ranger brother dead. Nursed back to health by his old friend Tonto, Reid dons a mask and sets out to pursue justice anonymously atop his faithful horse Silver. His timing couldn't be better, either, because the Cavendish gang is about to carry out their most ambitious misdeed to date by kidnapping President Ulysses S. Grant (Robards). Upon learning that the president has been abducted by the most violent gang in the Wild West, the Lone Ranger sets out to settle an old score while rescuing the man who will steer the fate of a nation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse, (more)
- 1979
Muhammad Ali made his TV-movie dramatic debut in this adaptation of Howard Fast's novel Freedom Road. Though some of the names are changed, the story concerns the true-life efforts of senators Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens to bring political order and racial equality to the post-Civil War South. Ali is cast as Gideon Jackson, an ex-slave who is elected to the U.S. senate during the Reconstruction Era. Interestingly enough, the character upon whom Jackson is based was depicted as the villain of D.W. Griffith's 1915 Civil War epic Birth of a Nation. Just as Griffth offered his own biased slant on the facts, so too did Fast rewrite history to promote his own political ideology. As for Muhammad Ali, his performance is no threat to Olivier, but he acts with sincerity and a commendable lack of bravado. Made for TV, Freedom Road represented the final film effort of Czechoslovakian director Jan Kadar. It was first telecast in two parts on October 29 and 30, 1979, an event that warranted a cover story in TV Guide. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
