Michael Chapman Movies

King: The Martin Luther King Story originated as a three-part miniseries, first telecast February 12, 13 and 14, 1978. Paul Winfield is starred as Martin Luther King, with Cicely Tyson as Coretta Scott King. The film covers the years 1954 through 1968, taking Rev. King from his first peaceful protests against segregation in Montgomery to his murder in Memphis. Scenarist/director Daniel Mann came under fire in 1978 for his adaptation of King's life, and for once the critics were right. Despite Winfield's masterful and accurate portrayal of King, the rest of the 6-hour drama compromises the truth with the hokiest of fabrications. Just a few examples: Sheriff "Bull" Connor's men walk out on him en masse when he threatens to hose down black schoolchildren; Mayor Daley warns King against protesting in Chicago, saying "We have a reputation to protect; this is the home of Al Capone"; King has a friendly meeting with Malcolm X in 1966, a full year after Malcolm X was killed....and so it goes. Martin Luther King certainly deserved a superior mini-series. Perhaps some day he'll get one. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Directed by E. Elias Merhige, Suspect Zero follows the disgraced FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart), who was transferred to a desolate area in Albuquerque, New Mexico as punishment for botching a procedure which ultimately led to the release of one of the most notorious criminals on the FBI's list. Mackelway is given an opportunity to redeem himself, however, when he is called in to investigate the strange murder of a traveling salesman. Mysteriously, the mark of a circle with a line through it is the only clue that the killer left behind. Before long, the prime suspect is identified as former agent Benjamin O'Ryan (Ben Kingsley), who is seemingly obsessed with hunting down serial killers and murdering them rather than turning them in to the proper authorities. Though Mackelway believes he knows the area where O'Ryan (Kingsley) is living, he has no idea what he looks like -- a problem that the rogue agent exploits with great success. Despite his brilliance, Mackelway finds himself caught in a psychological labyrinth of sorts, and is faced with an even greater quandary after learning that O'Ryan is looking for none other than Suspect Zero, a murderer of hundreds and the FBI's most wanted man. The supporting cast includes Carrie-Anne Moss and Harry J. Lennix. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer star in this romantic comedy as Ben and Katie Jordan, a couple who have been married for fifteen years. They have two great kids, a nice home, and a comfortable life, but somewhere down the line, the spark went out of their marriage, and they find that they don't really love each other anymore. With their relationship at a crossroads, Ben and Katie, two different people who have never felt more different, have to decide if they want to try to salvage their marriage, or if it's time to move on. The Story of Us was directed by Rob Reiner, and features Julie Hagerty, Tim Matheson, Paul Reiser, Tom Poston, Rita Wilson, and Jayne Meadows. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A vengeful Native American woman hunts for the business tycoon who destroyed her life when she was only 12. Her ordeal began when he had her parents killed and then made it look as if she did it. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

When Michael Crichton wrote his best-selling thriller Rising Sun, he wrote the character of hero John Connor with Sean Connery in mind. For Philip Kaufman's film version of the novel, Sean Connery, needless to say, fits seamlessly into the role of a legendary police detective who is an expert in Japanese culture. The story takes place in the towering office building of the Japanese Nakamoto Corporation in Los Angeles, who are negotiating a deal with Microcon, an American electronics firm. During a gala held one night in the Nakamoto offices, the body of a woman, Cheryl Lynn Austin (Tatjana Patitz) is found murdered in the main conference room. Arriving quickly on the scene is high-amped police lieutenant Tom Graham (Harvey Keitel), who oozes hatred for anything Japanese from every pore. When he has trouble getting cooperation from the Nakatomo executives, Graham calls in Web Smith (Wesley Snipes), a Special Services liaison, and John Connor (Connery), a man well-versed in Japanese culture and traditions. Together they form a team as they investigate the crime. Connor questions computer video expert Jingo (Tia Carrere), who works on a security system computer disc that captures the killer's identity. The only problem is that the image of the killer on the disc has been altered to conceal the murderer's face. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Bill Murray co-directed (along with Howard Franklin) this mixture of The Out-of-Towners and After Hours, concerning Grimm (Bill Murray), a frustrated city planner who is fed up with the corruption and venality of New York City. Getting together a couple of accomplices -- Phyllis (Geena Davis), who admires Grimm for his audacity, and Loomis (Randy Quaid), a follower to Grimm's leader since grade school -- Grimm decides to rob a bank, pocket the money, get out of town and take off to tropical splendor. Dressing in a clown suit, Grimm devises a unique way to rob a bank -- taking a group of hostages at the bank and inviting the police to surround the bank. Amazingly, although pursued by a police chief (Jason Robards), the trio manage to pull off the robbery. However, the problems really start when they try to get from the bank to the airport -- which proves to be more difficult than the robbery. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This devilish blend of film noir and Gothic melodrama first aired August 21, 1988, over the Showtime Cable service. Tommy Lee Jones stars as Eddie Mallard, an end-of-pier private eye, hired by a millionaire (Colin Bruce) to do some snooping. Eddie's client claims that he is being hounded for money by his ex-wife (Virginia Madsen). A simple case of harassment -- hardly: the man's wife has been dead for 10 years. As Eddie investigates, he himself is confronted by the "deceased" wife, who insists that she's not a ghost and who eventually becomes the gorgeous object of Eddie's own obsessions. The stars sometimes seem as bewildered as the audience, but the film's excellent production values help smooth over the more confusing passages. Originally unrated, Gotham now carries an "R" for violence, language and sexual situations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Cinematographer Michael Chapman directed this John Sayles adaptation of Jean M. Auel's best-selling ode to Cro-Magnon women. The story begins at the moment in pre-history when the last of the Neanderthal men were becoming extinct and the superior race of Cro-Magnons were starting to supersede them. Focusing on a tribe of wandering Neanderthals who adopt a young girl named, Ayla (played as an adult by Daryl Hannah). She grows tall, lithe, and smart. The Neanderthals quickly accept her into their tribe, but once a tribal member, Ayla begins to question the tribe's male chauvinistic presumptions. Unable to conceive of why only men are given weapons, she takes it upon herself to learn how to use a slingshot. She then questions the tribe's assumptions concerning sexual politics. She learns to count and becomes the assistant to the local medicine expert. As the seasons wear on, the tribe utilizes Ayla's knowledge for their own good while Ayla's continues to try the patience of the tribe with her unspeakable feminist demands. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner concoct one of Martin's best comic vehicles with Martin playing the world's top brain surgeon, Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr -- he ought to know, he said so himself. Hfuhruhurr pioneered the radical new cranial screw-top technique, but he grieves over the untimely death of his wife Rebecca, carrying around a small plastic likeness of her to get through the long and lonely evenings. Thinking of her while driving home, Hfuhruhurr takes his eyes off the road and runs down the beautiful but deadly Dolores Benedict (Kathleen Turner). Hfuhruhurr performs surgery which saves her life, but as she recovers, Hfuhruhurr doesn't realize Dolores is a gold-digging vixen who has driven her latest husband (George Furth) to death by apoplexy. She is now looking for a new victim and Hfuhruhurr fits the bill. They marry, but Dolores denies her husband sexual favors, which frustrates Hfuhruhurr to distraction. He takes Dolores on a belated honeymoon to Austria, where he meets fellow brain surgeon Dr. Necessiter (David Warner), who keeps a wide assortment of brains in his laboratory. Dolores takes the opportunity to have an extramarital affair, and when Hfuhruhurr finds out he dumps her. But in Necessiter's laboratory, Hfuhruhurr becomes attracted to Brain #21, Ann Uumellmahaye (voice of Sissy Spacek), with whom he communicates telepathically. At last, here is one case where a man loves a woman for her mind rather than her body (which doesn't exist)! But Ann's brain is deteriorating rapidly; Hfuhruhurr needs to find a body and transplant the brain quickly in order to save Ann. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Martin Scorsese's brutal character study incisively portrays the true rise and fall and redemption of middleweight boxer Jake La Motta, a violent man in and out of the ring who thrives on his ability (and desire) to take a beating. Opening with the spectacle of the over-the-hill La Motta (Robert De Niro) practicing his 1960s night-club act, the film flashes back to 1940s New York, when Jake's career is on the rise. Despite pressure from the local mobsters, Jake trusts his brother Joey (Joe Pesci) to help him make it to a title bout against Sugar Ray Robinson the honest way; the Mob, however, will not cave in. Jake gets the title bout, and blonde teenage second wife Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), but success does nothing to exorcise his demons, even as he channels his rage into boxing. Alienating Vickie and Joey, and disastrously gaining weight, Jake has destroyed his personal and professional lives by the 1950s. After he hits bottom, however, Jake emerges with a gleam of self-awareness, as he sits rehearsing Marlon Brando's On the Waterfront speech in his dressing room mirror: "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody." Working with a script adapted by Mardik Martin and Paul Schrader from La Motta's memoirs, Scorsese and De Niro sought to make an uncompromising portrait of an unlikable man and his ruthless profession. Eschewing uplifting Rocky-like boxing movie conventions, their Jake is relentlessly cruel and self-destructive; the only peace he can make is with himself. Michael Chapman's stark black-and-white photography creates a documentary/tabloid realism; the production famously shut down so that De Niro could gain 50-plus pounds. Raging Bull opened in late 1980 to raves for its artistry and revulsion for its protagonist; despite eight Oscar nominations, it underperformed at the box office, as audiences increasingly turned away from "difficult" films in the late '70s and early '80s. The Academy concurred, passing over Scorsese's work for Best Director and Picture in favor of Robert Redford and Ordinary People, although De Niro won a much-deserved Oscar, as did the film's editor, Thelma Schoonmaker. Oscar or no Oscar, Raging Bull has often been cited as the best American film of the 1980s. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi