Anne Bancroft Movies
A dark-haired, earthy beauty and a versatile actress, Anne Bancroft has actually had two film careers. The first, which took place during the 1950s, was generally undistinguished and featured her in films that usually failed to fully utilize her talents. The second, which began in the early '60s, established her as an actress of great acclaim in films like The Miracle Worker and granted her screen immortality with roles such as that of the iconic Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate.A first generation Italian-American hailing from the Bronx, Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano) was four years old when she began taking acting and dancing lessons. Billing herself as Anne Marno, she began appearing on television in 1950. Two years later she signed a contract with Fox and launched a six-year career in second-string Westerns and crime dramas that began with Don't Bother to Knock in 1952. By 1958, Bancroft had enough of Hollywood and turned her attentions to Broadway, where she spent the next five years. She proved her mettle as a serious dramatic actress by winning a Tony for Two for the Seesaw in 1958. Two years later, she won her second Tony and a New York Drama Critics Award for her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. Armed with these triumphs, Bancroft returned to Hollywood to appear in the movie version of The Miracle Worker (1962), reprising her role opposite Patty Duke who played Helen Keller. Her performance earned her an Oscar for Best Actress; unable to attend the ceremony because she was performing on Broadway in Mother Courage, she was presented with the award by Joan Crawford a week later on the Broadway stage.
Bancroft followed this victory with a string of emotional dramas that included The Pumpkin Eater, which was released in 1964, the same year she married filmmaker/comedian Mel Brooks. Just when it would look like she would be typecast in such dramas, Bancroft showed up in Mike Nichols' seminal comedy The Graduate, playing Mrs. Robinson, the ultimate "older woman," to Dustin Hoffman's confused Benjamin Braddock. Her role in the landmark film won her an Oscar nomination, to say nothing of a permanent dose of notoriety. Although Bancroft seemed destined for a stellar career and she remained one of the more well-respected actresses in Hollywood, a long string of so-so films kept her from reaching major stardom. Still, Bancroft turned in a number of memorable performances in films such as The Turning Point (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), To Be or Not to Be (her 1983 collaboration with husband Brooks), Agnes of God (1985), 84 Charing Cross Road (1986), and Torch Song Trilogy (1988). In 1980, Bancroft made her debut as a director/screenwriter in the darkly comic Dom DeLuise vehicle Fatso.
Throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium, Bancroft continued to be visible onscreen, appearing in films like How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Home for the Holidays (1995), and Keeping the Faith (2000). Sadly, she became stricken with uterine cancer and succumbed to the disease in 2005. Her last performance would come postumously with a voice-role in the animated adventure Delgo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG13
'Night. Mother was adapted by Marsha Norman from her own harrowing Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Outwardly normal Sissy Spacek calmly informs her mother Anne Bancroft that she's about to commit suicide. Thus the stage is set for a war of nerves between the determined Spacek and the distraught Bancroft, who uses every emotional and psychological device at her disposal to stave off the inevitable. The film's tension grows not from its plot development--we know from the outset how it's going to end--but from whether or not we're going to learn all the reasons for Spacek's decision. She's an epileptic, an alcoholic, and supremely miserable, but she always holds a little something back, prompting the viewer to lean closer to the screen in hopes of ferreting out more answers. In the original play, the outcome was never predictable; perhaps understandably, there are many who prefer the staged 'Night Mother to the screen version. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Helene Hanff's book 84 Charing Cross Road had previously been a TV program and a stage play before it was converted into this 1986 film. The scene is New York, 1949: Anne Bancroft plays a struggling writer and passionate bibliophile, who answers an advertisement from a rare-volumes bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. Thus begins a two-decade romance by correspondence between Bancroft and Briton Anthony Hopkins, the man in charge of the overseas department of Marks and Company. Though several meetings are arranged, Bancroft and Hopkins never come face to face thanks to mitigating circumstances. But Anne finally makes it to London, and finds that much has changed. 84 Charing Cross Road was produced by Mel Brooks, the husband of star Anne Bancroft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
- 1955
Third-billed Lee Marvin dominates the proceedings in A Life in the Balance. Marvin plays a psycho killer, whose trail is dogged by inquistive young Jose Perez. Jose's father, musician Ricardo Montalban, has been accused of a series of murders. The boy is convinced (correctly, it turns out) that Marvin is the guilty party, and trails the man in hopes of bringing him to justice. No dummy he, Perez leaves a trail for the authorities to follow--a series of smashed-up police call boxes (a similar plot device was deployed for comic purposes by Harold Lloyd in Professor Beware). A Life in the Balance was filmed on location in Mexico City, with a great deal of screen time devoted to a colorful carnival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ricardo Montalban, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Agnes of God is an "opened up" adaptation of the minimalist stage play by John Pielmeier. Meg Tilly plays a young nun who secretly gives birth to a baby; the child's body is later found strangled to death. Court-appointed psychiatrist Jane Fonda is sent to the convent to investigate, a task made difficult by the weathervane behavior of mother superior Anne Bancroft. To draw out Tilly, who remembers nothing of the birth, Fonda suggests that hypnosis is called for. Playwright Pielmeier poses many questions--is Tilly a pure-and-simple murderess, or was there something "divine" in her act?--but offers frustratingly few answers. The evocative photography is by longtime Ingmar Bergman associate Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, (more)
DreamWorks and Pacific Data Images collaborated on this all computer-animated comedy-adventure about the ant angst of misfit worker ant, Z (voice of Woody Allen), who feels trapped by the conformist confines of his totalitarian ant civilization and eventually sets forth in search of Insectopia. After DreamWorks began animating Prince of Egypt June 1, 1995, the company launched Antz in Palo Alto a year later (5/20/96), the same month the DreamWorks/PDI partnership was announced. The screenplay by Chris and Paul Weitz and Todd Alcott has uncredited input by Woody Allen (who matched dialogue to fit his usual style of verbal delivery). The story suggests the possible influence of Yevgeny Zamatin's classic novel We (1923) and Ayn Rand's similar-themed Anthem (1936), filmed in the early '70s in a rarely seen unauthorized film adaptation (which Rand never allowed to be shown commercially). Following the 1995 Toy Story (1995), Antz is the second fully computer-animated feature, preceding the release of Disney's all-CGI A Bug's Life by seven weeks. Antz begins with worker ant Z discussing his feelings of insignificance with a shrink (voice of Paul Mazursky) before heading off to his tunnel-digging job, work supervised by General Mandible (Gene Hackman) and Colonel Cutter (Christopher Walken). Mandible has big dreams of conquest, and he convinces the Queen (Anne Bancroft) an attack is necessary to prevent a termite invasion. Her daughter is Princess Bala (Sharon Stone), who's not overly enchanted by her engagement to Mandible. The Princess goes slumming, visiting the bar where Z hangs out with his friend Weaver (Sylvester Stallone). To the tune of "Guantanamera," Bala dances with Z -- in a scene with allusions to the dance in Pulp Fiction (1994). Entranced by the encounter, Z convinces Weaver to swap places, so a military parade will allow him to see Bala in the reviewing stand. Befriended by soldier ant Barbatus (Danny Glover) during the parade, Z nervously realizes he's actually marching into battle. Attacked by termites, the troops experience horrors highly reminiscent of the Starship Troopers (1997) bug battles. The dying Barbatus tells Z, "Don't follow orders all your life." As the only survivor of the slaughter, Z returns home a war hero. Threatened by Mandible, Bala and Z are thrown together in a journey into the outside world, and they travel toward the legendary Insectopia. Major city newspaper critics were almost unanimous in their praise of Antz. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, (more)
- 1989
- R
Tony award-winning British musical comedy star Robert Lindsay makes his first important American film appearance in Bert Rigby, You're a Fool. Lindsay, of course, plays the title character, a coal miner who dreams of becoming a big showbiz star. Only problem is, there's very little demand for Bert Rigby's impersonations of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly. Undaunted, Bert heads to Hollywood, where, while working as a butler in the household of movie mogul Jim Shirley (Corbin Bernsen), he must fend off the advances of Shirley's hot-to-trot wife, Meredith (Anne Bancroft). Befitting the old-fashioned nature of Bert Rigby's behavior and tastes in entertainment, director Carl Reiner adopts a "retro" approach to his material; at times, the film looks as though it was made in 1939 rather than 1989, despite its R-rated sex, profanity, and body-function jokes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Lindsay, Cathryn Bradshaw, (more)
- 1992
The 1986 stage hit Broadway Bound is the third entry in playwright Neil Simon's "autobiography trilogy". Unlike the cinemadaptations of Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound was filmed for television, where it debuted March 23, 1992. Brighton Beach Memoirs star Jonathan Silverman returns as Neil Simon's alter ego Eugene Jerome, while Corey Parker plays Eugene's brother Stanley (based on Simon's brother and early writing partner Mel). The year is 1948: Eugene and Stanley have begun writing comedy sketches for the Catskills resorts, hoping that this activity will be the first step on the road to fame and fortune. As they seek out funny material, the boys' home life is rapidly disintegrating. The crises at hand include their parents' constant quarrelling (brought about by their father's philandering) and a seemingly insurmountable dilemma involving their aged uncle. Just as WASPish Blythe Danner scored as Eugene's Jewish mother in Brighton Beach Memoirs, so too do non-Jewish actor Anne Bancroft and Hume Cronyn effectively essay Hebraic characterizations in Broadway Bound. Following its American television premiere, the film was released theatrically in Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Corey Parker, Jonathan Silverman, (more)
Sidney Lumet filmed this hospital satire at a Canadian studio. Alcoholic Dr. Butz (Albert Brooks in old-age makeup) advises younger Dr. Werner Ernst (James Spader) to only treat patients with much insurance. "When the lawyers start crawling all over you," says Butz, "that's when you know you're a doctor." Ernst, a second-year resident working in the ICU with head nurse Stella (Helen Mirren), winds up in the middle of a dispute between two sisters (Kyra Sedgwick and Margo Martindale). One wants to pull the plug on their wealthy father; the other demands that he remain alive (at a cost of $112,800 a month). Soon events swivel from the money-mad medical mire to equally murky legalistics. Steven Schwartz's screenplay was adapted from the novel by Richard Dooling. Shown at the 1997 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Spader, Kyra Sedgwick, (more)
Given up for adoption in infancy, 34-year-old Barbara Ann Williams (Gloria Reuben) launches a desperate search for her biological mother when she is diagnosed with a severe medical condition. Painfully assembling the pieces of her fragmented life, Barbara learns that her mom, a white woman named Gerry Cummins (Anne Bancroft) had been raped by a black man in 1961. With the social barriers of the time banning her from keeping a mixed-race baby, and her own religious convictions prohibiting her from having an abortion, Gerry farmed out her daughter for adoption. Barbara's first home was with black foster mother Corinne Burrell (Lynn Whitfield), but she ultimately wound up adopted by a dysfunctional white family in Wisconsin, with Annalise Jurgenson (Alice Krige) as her "official" mother. Thereafter, Barbara's life would be tainted with the onus of being a loser and an "outsider", no matter where she turned. With all this in mind, it seems incredible to even imagine that Barbara's lifelong misery will be purged by a happy denoument. Produced for the CBS network, the fact-based TV movie Deep In My Heart originally aired February 14, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, and Val Kilmer all lend their voices to this animated fantasy adventure set in a magical world divided by fear. As two dueling civilizations prepare to unleash the dogs of war, it's up to one troubled adolescent and his unlikely friends to save their world from unspeakable destruction. Chris Kattan, Malcolm McDowell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds, Kelly Ripa, and Sally Kellerman co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, (more)
Demetrius and the Gladiators was the sequel to The Robe, and though they were released several months apart, the films were shot at the same time. Based on characters originally conceived by Lloyd C. Douglas, the film stars Victor Mature as the title character, an ex-slave who embraced Christianity after being present at the Crucifixion. Thrown in jail for defending an elderly merchant from a sadistic Roman legionnaire, Demetrius is forced to attend gladiator school and fight in the arena for the amusement of the mad, debauched emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson, likewise repeating his performance in The Robe). The well-proportioned Demetrius attracts the attention of Messalina (Susan Hayward), the nymphomaniac wife of Caligula's would-be successor Claudius (Barry Jones). Briefly losing faith in Christ, Demetrius is saved from himself by the apostle Peter (Michael Rennie). Because of contractual complications, Demetrius and the Gladiators was released to television seven years before The Robe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Mature, Susan Hayward, (more)
Sex symbol Marilyn Monroe went dramatic in 1952's Don't Bother to Knock. Monroe plays Nell Forbes, a beautiful but suicidal young woman, recently released from a mental institution. She doesn't mention this on her resumé when she takes a baby-sitting job in a posh hotel. Jed Towers (Richard Widmark), a hotel guest, tries to make time with Nell after his own girlfriend, played by Anne Bancroft, has told him to take a hike. As Nell and Jed neck on the couch, the little girl whom Nell is tending (Donna Corcoran) surprises the spooning couple. This drives the psychotic Nell over the edge, forcing Jed to try to keep the baby-sitter from killing both herself and the child. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Widmark, Marilyn Monroe, (more)
In this dark and sometimes sad comedy, Dominick -- an extremely obese man -- is pushed by his sister Antoinette to shed a few pounds lest he end up dead like his cousin. To do so, she helps him enroll in the fanatical weight-loss group, the Chubby Checkers, who will do anything to keep fellow members from over-eating. Another incentive for Dominick is his love for Lydia, a women whom Dominick fears has deserted him because of his obesity.The process of weight loss is torture, and he is left with a painful choice (one that the naturally thin don't always understand), suffer the pain and lose the weight or somehow learn to live with it. After his initial attempts to lose weight end in failure, and he goes on a gigantic food bender (one of the great binge scenes in movie history), in the end, Dominick learns that Lydia loves him for who he is, and he decides that he should do himself the same favor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Ridley Scott directed this flawed but involving study of Lt. Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore), a Navy topographic analyst who is chosen as a test case for the presence of women in combat. Aware that she is making history and knowing that 60% of all male trainees will fail the rigorous training, Lt. O'Neil struggles to prove herself physically and mentally worthy of becoming a Navy SEAL. What she doesn't know is that she is being sold out by hardbitten Texas senator Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft in an amusing turn), who is being blackmailed by the Defense Department with politically fatal base closings unless O'Neil fails the program. The complicated political subplot, however, only distracts from the film's real virtues -- the wonderfully staged scenes of CRT selection training -- and fizzles at its climactic moment. The training scenes are wonderful, however, as the central recruits are pushed to their physical limits by a grueling weeding-out process. Viggo Mortensen is outstanding as Master Chief John James Urgayle, a steely-eyed, tough-as-nails instructor who somehow finds time to quote D.H. Lawrence when he isn't making people eat garbage and beating O'Neil senseless as part of a training exercise. Mortensen and the believably-buffed Moore are terrific, and their scenes of confrontation are the film's high points. Unfortunately, the screenplay by David Twohy and Danielle Alexandra falls down every time it attempts to sidestep a cliche, and the climactic mission (involving a downed satellite in the Libyan desert) positively wallows in a predictable Top Gun muddle. Still, the characters are engaging and those looking for an enjoyable variant on the basic-training subgenre of high-octane modern action films should be pleased. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, (more)
- 1984
- PG13
This bittersweet comedy is, among many other things, a tour de force for the marvelous Anne Bancroft. The star is cast as Estelle Rolfe, an unconventional divorcee who resides in New York, in close proximity to her grown son Gilbert (Ron Silver) and his wife Lisa (Carrie Fisher). Though his wife yearns to move back to her home state of California, Gilbert cannot quite cut the silver cord that binds him to his mother. Upon learning that Estelle is dying, her dutiful son offers to honor her last request to meet the reclusive actress Greta Garbo. The rest of the film plays wonderful variations on this theme, involving such peripheral characters as a gay Garbo fan (Harvey Fierstein), an elderly Shakespearean actress (Hermione Gingold), a "female Joe Papp" director (Denny Dillon), and an ageing papparazzi (Howard Da Silva). Without giving away the ending, it is worth noting that the divine Garbo shows up in the person of playwright/lyricist/ performer Betty Comden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, (more)
- 1954
Whenever Mel Brooks wanted to get a rise out of wife Anne Bancroft during their joint talk-show appearances of the 1970s, Brooks would bring up the subject of Gorilla at Large. Easily the low point of Ms. Bancroft's movie career, the film is good for a few chuckles if one's in the proper mood. The story is set in an amusement park, where the star attractions include trapeze artist Cameron Mitchell and a huge, vicious gorilla. When a series of murders take place, Mitchell is one of the prime suspects; another is Bancroft's husband Raymond Burr, who owns the big ape. The revelation of the actual killer is mildly surprising, not to mention thoroughly unbelievable. Gorilla at Large was filmed in 3D, resulting in a reasonably exciting "thrill" sequence atop a roller coaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Mitchell, Anne Bancroft, (more)
Alfonso Cuaron (The Little Princess) directed this Mitch Glazer screenplay, a modernization of the 1860-61 classic by Charles Dickens. Some situations in the film are presented as memories -- the way the central figure, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) recalls events many years later. At a Florida fishing village, eight-year-old orphan Finn Bell (Jeremy James Kissner), talented at art, is left in the care of his sister and her husband, Joe (Chris Cooper). One day, Finn helps a chained, escaped convict who appears in the surf. On other days, he visits Paradiso Perduto, where he plays with young Estella (Raquel Beaudene), niece of the mansion's colorful, flamboyant, and extremely wealthy owner, Ms. Dinsmoor (Anne Bancroft), who parallels the novel's tragic Miss Havisham, a woman jilted at the altar and left emotionally scarred and mentally imbalanced. As Ms. Dinsmoor watches Finn draw a portrait of Estella, she plots to mold Estella into a hard woman capable of destroying men. In a flash forward to the '90s, Finn (Hawke) and Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), now in their late teens, re-create the water-fountain kiss of their childhood, but Estella vanishes, breaking Finn's heart to such a degree that he doesn't draw or paint for seven years, choosing to eke out a marginal existence with his uncle Joe (after Finn's sister abandons the two). Then Manhattan art representative Jerry Ragno (Josh Mostel) turns up with a startling offer -- if Finn will return to painting and relocate in New York, Ragno will give him a one-man show. With an apparent assist from Ms. Dinsmoor, Finn makes the move and begins his new life with great expectations and a deadline of 10 weeks to complete the necessary paintings. When Finn next encounters Estella, she has a wealthy boyfriend, Walter (Hank Azaria). As Finn once again becomes entranced by Estella, he also begins to question exactly how his life is being manipulated. Francesco Clemente did the paintings and drawings seen in the film. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natasha Richardson, Hal Holbrook, (more)
After the little white lies of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), director David Mirkin focuses on scheming of a different sort in Heartbreakers. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play Max and Page Conners, a mother and daughter who share everything with each other: relationship advice, hair and makeup hints, and the money they win in costly divorce settlements with rich men. When the film opens, the Conners are putting the finishing touches on conning Dean (Ray Liotta), an auto-body shop owner. When the dust from that scam clears, Page announces she's ready to move away from her mother and set up shop on her own -- but in order to clear an outstanding debt, Max insists they bankrupt one more bachelor together. They settle upon phlegmatic Palm Springs widower William B. Tensy (Gene Hackman), a chain smoker with a heart of gold and a similarly bountiful bank account. Only two things stand in their way: Tensy's Teutonic caretaker Miss Madress (Nora Dunn) and beachfront bartender Jack (Jason Lee), a wry stargazer with whom Page becomes unexpectedly smitten. Heartbreakers is the third collaboration from writers Steven Mazur and Paul Guy, whose previous screwball comedy was 1997's international hit, Liar Liar. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, (more)
It's been said that while most people love their families, they don't always like them very much, and that emotional dividing line is the heart of this comedy directed by Jodie Foster. Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) usually approaches family reunions with a certain trepidation, but as she prepares to fly from her home in Chicago to her parent's place in Baltimore for Thanksgiving, she is more apprehensive than usual. Claudia has just lost her job, she's not feeling at all well, and her teenage daughter, Kitt (Claire Danes), who is staying behind, informs Claudia on the way to the airport that she plans to use the weekend to lose her virginity with her boyfriend. The family festivities are already under way when Claudia arrives at the home of her mother, Adele (Anne Bancroft), and father, Henry (Charles Durning). Claudia's brother, Tommy (Robert Downey Jr.), whose homosexuality is tolerated without being discussed on a practical basis, has brought along his new friend Leo Fish (Dylan McDermott). Tommy doesn't get along well with his fussbudget sister, Joanne (Cynthia Stevenson), who wears her self-sacrifice like a badge of honor, and he simply hates her husband, Walter (Steve Guttenberg), who has often been the target of Tommy's barbed sense of humor. While the siblings and in-laws struggle to remain civil, their quite eccentric aunt Gladys (Geraldine Chaplin) arrives; she insists on discussing her digestive problems, and after a few drinks, she confesses her long-ago lust for Henry. Home for the Holidays was Jodie Foster's second film as a director, and the first in which she didn't also star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
- 1996
In this tender made-for-TV drama, four children are effectively orphaned when they are deserted by their mother. With nowhere else to go but some institution, the kids manage to locate their estranged grandmother. A bitter, and seemingly cold-hearted loner, the woman reluctantly takes the waifs into her farmhouse. They then do their very best to ingratiate themselves and make her love them. Unfortunately, this grandmother has a very tough outer shell and it will take plenty of hard work on the part of the kids. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Kimberlee Peterson, (more)
After making a deathbed promise to his mother that he would never marry, Jack Singer (Nicolas Cage) finds that resolve challenged when his girlfriend, Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker), begins making noise about wanting to start a family. Worried he might lose her, Jack makes the rash decision that they should fly to Las Vegas that weekend to tie the knot. Feet still cold, Jack spurns Betsy's idea to get married the moment they step off the plane, preferring to procrastinate for a few hours over a game of poker arranged by notorious gambler Tommy Korman (James Caan). Peddling the game as a get-to-know-you thrown by the hotel, Korman steadily raises the stakes on Jack until the novice is in for 65,000 dollars of the house's money on a hand he's sure he'll win -- a straight flush to the jack. When he loses the fixed hand, the flabbergasted Jack has a major problem on his hands. Korman offers an unusual solution: If Betsy, whom Korman spotted in the lobby because of her resemblance to his late wife, will spend the weekend with him, Jack's debt will be forgiven. Betsy initially refuses, considering it a ploy by Jack to postpone the wedding, but soon agrees to fly to Hawaii with Korman, in part because it will teach Jack a lesson. When she finds herself charmed by Korman's smooth and sensitive shtick, her desperate fiancé goes to incredible lengths to win her back, including jumping from a plane with a troop of skydiving Elvises. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Caan, Nicolas Cage, (more)
- 1995
- PG13
- Add How to Make an American Quilt to QueueAdd How to Make an American Quilt to top of Queue
A young woman at a crossroads in her life finds herself receiving plenty of advice from her older and wiser counterparts in this drama. Finn Dodd (Winona Ryder) is a graduate student trying to finish up her doctoral thesis on women's folk art while deciding if she should marry her fiancé Sam (Dermot Mulroney); she's not sure if she's ready to settle down, and suspects that Sam is unfaithful to her. Needing time to sort things out, Finn chooses to spend the summer with her grandmother Hy (Ellen Burstyn) and great aunt Gladys Jo (Anne Bancroft). Hy and Gladys Jo are avid quilters, and with a group of their friends, they work on a special quilt for Finn's wedding; as the women work together, they share stories of their lives, and Finn finds herself learning as much from hearing them talk as she does from her schoolwork. Finn also receives a visit from her free-spirited mom Sally (Kate Capshaw) and finds herself infatuated with a good looking young man who lives nearby. Maya Angelou plays one of the quilters, as do Kate Nelligan, Jean Simmons, and Alfre Woodard. How to Make an American Quilt was the directorial debut of Jocelyn Moorhouse, and was based on a novel by Whitney Otto that itself began as a doctoral thesis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, (more)
- 2001
- Add In Search of Peace Part One: 1948-1967 to QueueAdd In Search of Peace Part One: 1948-1967 to top of Queue
The difficult birth of the nation of Israel is the subject of this documentary feature, the first in a projected three-part series that explores how the nation came to be formed in the wake of World War II, and the frequent skirmishes between Arab and Israeli forces, leading up to the Six-Day War of 1967. Combining rare newsreel footage with interviews from a number of participants in Israel's struggle for peace, In Search of Peace Part One: 1948-1967 also features narration from actor Michael Douglas. Edward Asner, Richard Dreyfuss, Anne Bancroft, and Michael York also contribute readings of historical documents to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Because director Franco Zeffirelli noted publicly that he intended to depict Jesus Christ as a human being rather than a religious icon, his expensive made-for-TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth fell victim to protestors long before its April 3, 1977, debut. Despite the pullout of several sponsors, Jesus of Nazareth was aired as scheduled, sweeping the ratings in the process. In avoiding the usual overproduced Hollywood approach to the Gospels, Zeffirelli offers one of the most sensitive and reverent portrayals of Jesus ever seen on film. In the title role, Robert Powell heads a huge international cast, which includes Olivia Hussey as Mary, Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great, Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas, Michael York as John the Baptist, James Farentino as Simon Peter, Donald Pleasence as Melchior, James Earl Jones as Balthazar, Ian McShane as Judas, Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene, Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate, James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea, Anthony Quinn as Caiaphas, Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus, Ernest Borgnine as the Centurion, and Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress. Filmed in England, Tunisia, and Morocco, Jesus of Nazareth was scripted by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi D'Amico. It originally aired in two three-hour segments, telecast Palm and Easter Sunday of 1977 as part of NBC's Big Event anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, (more)
