Emile Ardolino Movies
American filmmaker Emile Ardolino spent much of his distinguished career making television documentaries about classical dance and designing innovative multi-media presentations for theatrical productions, but he is still best known for his commercial feature film debut, the hit sleeper, Dirty Dancing. The New York born Ardolino, began his career as an actor in an off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks. He then joined the film industry as an editor, producer and director of industrial films, documentaries, and multi-media productions. Among the latter, his best-known productions are the Joffrey Ballet's rendition of "Astarte," Jesus Christ Superstar, and Oh! Calcutta! for which he won an Obie award. He then began directing and producing documentaries for public television. He worked for PBS from the '70s through the '80s and caught on film some of the finest work of the world's premiere dancers and choreographers in the Dance in America and Live from Lincoln Center series, for which he won a total of 17 Emmy Awards. In 1983 he won an Oscar for Best Documentary for He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'. After Dirty Dancing, Ardolino continued to find mainstream commercial success; in 1992 he scored another hit with the Whoopi Goldberg vehicle Sister Act (1992). His final features were the film adaptation of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker and the acclaimed TV movie Gypsy which was adapted from a famous Broadway musical. Ardolino died of AIDS in 1993. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- G
- Add George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to QueueAdd George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to top of Queue
Director Emile Ardolino's final film brings to the screen George Balanchine's famed ballet of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Balanchine's choreography has been restaged by the New York City Ballet under the direction of Peter Martins and features dancers Darci Kistler and Damian Woetzel as the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier. Unfortunately, it also features a smirking and incongruous Macauley Culkin as The Nutcracker. The familiar tale concerns Marie (Jessica Lynn Cohen), a young girl who, at Christmas time, is given a gift of a nutcracker by her godfather, a magician. She also meets his nephew (played by Culkin). When she falls asleep, in her peaceful Christmas Eve dreams, the Nutcracker is transformed into a prince who rescues Marie from a multi-headed Mouse King and takes her on a trip to the Land of Sweets. The film is narrated in hushed tones by Kevin Kline. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, (more)
Based on a Broadway play and featuring the Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim score, this is a remake of the 1962 movie which was based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a stripper, depicting her life growing up in "show biz." ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Cynthia Gibb, (more)
A sleeper hit that received a lukewarm reception from critics but was a success with audiences, Sister Act (1992) was star Whoopi Golberg's first bona fide smash after her Oscar victory for Ghost (1990). Goldberg stars as Deloris Van Cartier, a Reno lounge singer who accidentally witnesses a brutal murder carried out by her gangster boyfriend Vince (Harvey Keitel). Under the protection of a detective (Bill Nunn) who's trying to bring down Vince's criminal operation, Deloris is placed in protective custody at a San Francisco convent. Masquerading as a nun renamed Sister Mary Clarence, Deloris shakes up the established order of the sisters' lives, particularly enlivening their choral efforts. Although running constantly afoul of the Mother Superior (Maggie Smith), the new, jazzed-up musical act becomes a huge hit in the community, even drawing the attention of the Pope, but also alerting Vince to Deloris' whereabouts. Although credited to the pseudonymous Joseph Howard, Sister Act was actually written by Paul Rudnick and Carrie Fisher. The film was followed by a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, (more)
Emile Ardolino directed this treacly sequel to Three Men and a Baby. The middle-aged trio of doting fathers -- Peter the architect (Tom Selleck), Michael the cartoonist (Steve Guttenberg) and Jack the actor (Ted Danson) -- have returned, sublimating their swinging bachelor instincts in order to raise 5-year-old Mary (Robin Weisman). The child of Jack and Sylvia (Nancy Travis), Mary was abandoned by Sylvia in the foyer of the boys' apartment house in the first film. In five years, Mary has grown from a diaper-filling infant to a cute kid who insists that the guys sing rap songs to her before she goes to bed. Sylvia now also lives with the bachelors as she pursues a promising Broadway career. Peter, Michael, and Jack dote on the moppet and parenthood has rarely seemed more idyllic. But Sylvia once again disrupts their placid existence. Accepting the marriage proposal of British director and surly cad Edward (Christopher Cazenove), she announces that she and Mary are going to move to England, leaving the boys high and dry. When it turns out that Edward is secretly planning to ship Mary away to a boarding school after the marriage, the three guys race frantically to disrupt Sylvia's wedding. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, (more)
Handsome young Washington attorney Louie Jeffries (Chris McDonald) has it all: a promising career, a beautiful wife, and a baby on the way. But after discovering a local judge is in cahoots with the Mob, Louie bites it in a car crash and finds himself in Heaven. Unsatisfied with the customer service he's receiving, Louie jumps the gun and gets himself reincarnated -- before being administered the magic injection that will remove his memories of his former life. For the next quarter-century, Louie's museum curator wife, Corinne (Cybill Shepherd), remains true to her husband's memory, ignoring the frustrated devotion of Louie's best friend, Philip Train (Ryan O'Neal). Meanwhile, Louie's soul grows up in the body of Alex Finch (Robert Downey Jr.), an aspiring journalist. Alex's memories of his life as Louie return after he becomes romantically involved with Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) -- the daughter he never got to meet. Soon, Alex/Louie is romancing his wife, spurning his daughter's advances, and frustrating Philip's attempts finally to woo Corinne. Written by Mystic Pizza scribes Perry and Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino of Dirty Dancing fame, Chances Are didn't score as well at the box office as those earlier comedies. Its soundtrack, however, generated the hit Peter Cetera and Cher ballad "After All." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her family at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, (more)
- 1986
In this light-hearted entry from the American Playhouse series, a remarkable young man really believes he can fly without the aid of machines. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
The career of dancer Jacques d'Amboise is profiled in this inspirational video as the New York City Ballet principle dancer instructs children in the art of dance. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1982
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This charming fantasy was originally part of Shelly Duvall's HBO series Faerie Tale Theatre and features actor Herve Villechaize as the irascible gnome who grants the wish of an impoverished but boastful miller who claims his lovely daughter can spin straw into gold. While Rumpelstiltskin is willing to help the miller, his generosity does not come without a high price: in exchange for the gift, the daughter must give up her first-born child. She can only escape the bargain if she can guess his name. The bargain is struck. When the king learns of her talent, he marries her and puts her in a room to spin. The real trouble begins when she gets pregnant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
