Richard Dreyfuss Movies
Stocky, frequently bespectacled, eventually balding, and prematurely gray, Richard Dreyfuss is an unlikely candidate for a movie star. Even so, he has been one of Hollywood's most versatile, charismatic, and energetic leading men since the mid-'70s. Born in Brooklyn, NY, on October 29, 1947, Dreyfuss moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was nine. There he became friends with Rob Reiner and began acting in school productions and at the Beverly Hills Jewish Community Center. He attended San Fernando Valley State College, but was expelled after getting into a heated argument with a professor over Marlon Brando's performance in Julius Caesar (1953). Not wanting to be drafted for Vietnam, he registered as a conscientious objector and spent two years as a clerk at a Los Angeles hospital instead of enlisting.During this time, Dreyfuss started getting a few acting jobs on network television series such as Bewitched and Big Valley; he had his first film role in 1967's The Graduate, speaking the lines "Shall I call the cops? I'll call the cops" to Dustin Hoffman. He continued playing bit parts in a couple more films, but did not get his first big break until he played Baby Face Nelson in the bloody biopic Dillinger (1973). A memorable leading role as an intelligent, contemplative teen in George Lucas' American Graffiti (1973) earned Dreyfuss critical acclaim, as did his portrayal of an entrepreneurial Jewish youth in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974).
In 1975, the actor's career exploded when he starred as an arrogant shark expert in Steven Spielberg's Jaws. He worked for Spielberg again two years later, playing an average Midwestern working stiff who learns that we are not alone in the universe in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Further success followed that same year when Dreyfuss portrayed a failed actor in Neil Simon's romantic comedy The Goodbye Girl. His performance won him an Oscar, making him, at the age of 29, the youngest performer ever to receive the Best Actor honor. After that, Dreyfuss was in demand and, until 1981, he continued to find steady work in a number of films. However, none of these proved particularly popular, and the actor's career began to nosedive. Matters were worsened by his reported drug use and Hollywood party antics; in 1982, he was involved in a car accident and arrested for possession of cocaine.
Fortunately, Dreyfuss managed to turn his life around, and after appearing in the rarely seen Buddy System (1984), made a big comeback in Paul Mazursky's hit comedy Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), starring opposite Bette Midler and Nick Nolte. With his reputation restored, Dreyfuss went on to appear in lead and supporting roles in numerous films of varying quality. Highlights included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), Postcards From the Edge (1990), What About Bob? (1991), and Quiz Show (1994). In 1996, Dreyfuss played one of his finest roles as a high school music teacher who sacrifices his dream of becoming a famous composer to help his students in Mr. Holland's Opus (1996). The role earned Dreyfuss an Oscar nomination. That same year, he won acclaim of a different sort, lending his voice to a sarcastic centipede in Tim Burton's animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. He went on to appear in Sidney Lumet's Night Falls on Manhattan (1997) and to star in Krippendorf's Tribe in 1998. The following year, he could be seen as titular Jewish gangster Lansky, a made-for-TV biopic scripted by David Mamet.
In 2001, with his film career struggling a bit, Dreyfuss took his first stab at series television since 1964's short-lived sitcom Karen. The hour-long CBS drama The Education of Max Bickford starred the actor as a college history professor opposite Marcia Gay Harden and received largely positive reviews from critics. However, despite the accolades, the show failed to garner a substantial audience and was cancelled after one season.
The next few years saw little more from Dreyfuss than voice-work and a pair of forgettable made-for-TV movies. However, in 2004, he received high-marks for his performance in director John Sayles political satire Silver City, which cast the actor as a Karl Rove-esque advisor to a dimwitted politico. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
An adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning, semi-autobiographical stage play by popular dramatist Neil Simon, this comedy-drama focuses on the difficulties faced by two young brothers forced to live with a group of eccentric relatives. Arty (Mike Damus) and Jay (Brad Stoll) are young teenagers when their their widower father heads South to seek work, leaving the boys with their stern, intimidating grandmother (Irene Worth). Also part of the household is the more likable Aunt Bella (Mercedes Ruehl), an odd duck with a scattered personality and childlike enthusiasm that make her seem more like a fellow kid than an adult. Bella is kept under close watch by Grandma, who reacts strongly when she attempts to show her independence, leaving Arty and Jay as witnesses to a conflict that could tear the family apart. Lost in Yonkers offers much of Simon's trademark humor with a more bittersweet feel than in most of the playwright's other work, thanks in large part to the performance by Ruehl, who reprises her Tony Award-winning role as the troubled but cheerful Bella. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Mercedes Ruehl, (more)
- 1992
Each episode in this series presents different battles from the war. Each uses re-enactments, expert commentary, and readings by actors such as Burt Reynolds, Charlton Heston, and Richard Dreyfuss to bring the events of the war to vivid life. This particular episode covers the final days of the war, including the siege of Petersburg and the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox courthouse. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1992
President Abraham Lincoln leads the Union in the fight to end the awful bloodshed of the Civil War. The year is 1863. The president had a continuous struggle with the commanders of his army, and the bloodshed from the fighting at Antietam and Fredericksburg distressed him greatly. 1863 was the year of his Emancipation Proclamation and Gettysburg Address. Listen to the story of the events that led to the amazing address at Gettysburg. Actor Jason Robards brings to life the voice of President Lincoln. PBS originally aired this program, the second of a four-volume set narrated by actor James Earl Jones. ~ Linda J. Shriver, All Movie Guide
- 1992
A shrewd politician, Abraham Lincoln had the intelligence, ambition, and principles to grow into his job as president. This is the first of four videos in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones, and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, Lincoln: I Want to Finish This Job, 1864, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This video is the fourth installment of the Lincoln series, originally aired on PBS. This volume focuses on the last days and hours of Abraham Lincoln's life. Viewers watch as Lincoln's enemies plot their final revenge on the man they believed had dishonored their heritage. The video also reveals how Lincoln's own dreams foreshadowed his murder and how the series of public funerals, following his death, helped fuel his legendary status that has only grown with time. ~ Karla Baker, All Movie Guide
- 1992
By the third year of the Civil War, personal and national tragedy had worn down President Lincoln. However, he focused on his job tenaciously, having a strong sense of history. This is the third of four programs in the Lincoln series, which originally aired on PBS. Produced and directed by Peter W. Kunhardt, this program is narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones and features award-winning actor Jason Robards reading from letters, speeches, and diaries. Highlights include period photographs. The other three programs in the series are titled Lincoln: The Making of a President, 1860-1862, Lincoln: The Pivotal Year, 1863, and Lincoln: Now He Belongs to the Ages, 1865. ~ Steve Blackburn, All Movie Guide
- 1992
A seven-part series that reviews and recreates the battles and sieges of the Civil War. Included are numerous artifacts and the words of participants. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1992
Each episode of this series presents different battles of the war. Each uses reenactments, expert commentary, and readings by actors such as Burt Reynolds, Charlton Heston, and Richard Dreyfuss to bring the events of the war to vivid life. This episode of the series concentrates primarily on the events surrounding the fighting at Chancellorsville, where Stonewall Jackson was killed, and Gettysburg, probably the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
- 1992
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Each episode of this series examines different battles of this war. Each uses re-enactments, expert commentary, and readings by actors such as Burt Reynolds, Charlton Heston, and Richard Dreyfuss, to bring the events of the war to vivid life. This first episode covers the first months of the war. Battles covered include the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the First Battle of Bull Run, and Grant's dramatic capture of Fort Donelson. The program also covers the savage fighting that came to be known as Shiloh. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom made his American movie debut with this romantic comedy, starring Holly Hunter as Renata Bella, an aimless Bostonian thirtysomething who attends a seminar for aspiring condo salespersons. Here she meets hotshot salesman Sam Sharpe (Richard Dreyfuss), who immediately falls in love with her. After the marriage, Sam's well-meaning but obnoxious insistence on insinuating himself into every aspect of Renata's life rubs the rest of her family the wrong way. Though the script occasionally veers into both cliché and sentimentality, Once Around ends up a thoroughly charming experience, thanks to Hallstrom's knowing direction and the marvelous chemistry between Hunter and Dreyfuss. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 1991
This program chronicles the events of December 7, 1941, the day of the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor and the event that brought America into World War II. The events of that day are chronicled here, effectively and dramatically bringing across the horror and heroism that walked hand in hand. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide
Directed by Ken Russell, Prisoner of Honor is a made-for-cable retelling of the 1894 court-martial of French Army officer Alfred Dreyfus. The historical drama stars Richard Dreyfuss (no relation) as the head of counter-intelligence who uncovers several damning pieces of evidence. It turns out that the French government has sent an innocent man to prison for their own suspicious reasons, and Dreyfuss is the only man willing to fight for the prisoner's freedom. Prisoner of Honor also stars Oliver Reed and Peter Firth, as well as featuring Lindsay Anderson, Brian Blessed, Jeremy Kemp, and Peter Vaughan. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Oliver Reed, (more)
In this comedy about a doctor-patient relationship pushed way beyond the office, Bill Murray plays Bob Wiley, a neurotic New Yorker struggling with a whirlwind of paralyzing phobias. When an exasperated colleague pawns the handful off on Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss), the psychologist has no idea his last appointment will follow him north to New Hampshire on a month's vacation. Bob takes to Dr. Marvin's latest book like no therapy before it, so the well-meaning pest tracks Marvin down at his lakeside summer home to further discuss his problems. But Marvin, preparing for an interview on Good Morning America and a few weeks of R and R, views Bob's stalking as highly inappropriate, and demands he return to New York. But Bob can't take even the strongest hint, and sets up camp with a neighbor to indulge in his own "vacation" -- from his problems. Meanwhile, Marvin's son Sigmund (Charlie Korsmo), daughter Anna (Catherine Erbe), and wife Fay (Julie Hagerty) take to Bob's loopy charm, which Marvin views as an irritating threat. Marvin's temperature rises as Bob insinuates his way into the family, helping Sigmund learn to dive and counseling the previously ignored Anna. As Bob's stock continues to rise, and his to plummet, Marvin becomes increasingly unhinged as the minutes tick down to the interview. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, (more)
- 1990
- PG
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Much as he would later do with Shakespeare in Love (1998), writer Tom Stoppard delivered a tale of Shakespearean origin from a skewed and unexpected perspective. In this case, it's the perspective of two relatively minor characters from Hamlet, Rosencrantz (Gary Oldman) and Guildenstern (Tim Roth), courtiers who, in the original play, were dispatched offstage before the narrative's conclusion. In Stoppard's script (which he also directed), the two supporting players take center stage as the events unfold in Elsinore Castle. Unable to determine the source of the prince's tortured despair, the duo ponders the question of fate as their predetermined roles are played out. Meanwhile, they dabble in a little verbal tennis and some ill-advised science experiments, and endure the puzzling attentions of mysterious wandering thespians led by (Richard Dreyfuss). Ordered to accompany Hamlet (Iain Glen) to England, the pair learn that the letter they carry instructs that nation's king to decapitate their mentally unbalanced and irksome charge, a revelation that Hamlet overhears. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, (more)
Mike Nichols lends some comic structure to Carrie Fisher's best-selling confessional novel concerning a woman's struggles with drug addiction and mother-daughter rivalry (subjects Fisher admits to understanding all too well). Meryl Streep, in her most full-blown comic performance up to that point, plays Suzanne Vale, a popular movie actress well on her way to a Hollywood crack-up. Suzanne suffers from blackouts and memory lapses, and awakens in the beds of men she doesn't remember; she is a barely-functioning wreck on the set of her latest movie. When a coke dealer who delivers stops by her dressing room between takes, she swiftly finds herself being rushed to the hospital, suffering the effects of a narcotics bender. While in detox, Suzanne attempts to piece her life and career back together, but her confidence is shattered when her mother arrives at the rehab clinic -- Doris Mann, a famed film icon from the 1950s and 1960s (Shirley MacLaine). Doris is soon soaking up the adulation and applause of Suzanne's fellow recovering drug addicts. Upon Suzanne's release, she must compete with her mother for attention and fame as she tries to walk a thin line as a recovering drug abuser. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
Joe Pytka's comedy stars Richard Dreyfuss as Trotter, a cab driver who gets a hot tip on a horse race and soon finds himself on the gambling hot streak of his life. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, David Johansen, (more)
For all its state-of-the-art special effects, Always is essentially a remake of the 1943 Spencer Tracy-Irene Dunne fantasy vehicle A Guy Named Joe--minus the wartime context. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a reckless fire-fighting pilot who is killed in what was to have been his final mission. Ascending to Heaven, Dreyfuss is introduced to businesslike angel Audrey Hepburn (playing the equivalent of the Lionel Barrymore role in A Guy Named Joe). Hepburn instructs the spectral Dreyfuss to pass on his aviation knowhow to his young successor, Brad Johnson. Our ghostly hero also smoothes the course of romance for his earthly girl friend Holly Hunter, who after several months' worth of grieving has fallen in love with Johnson. John Goodman injects a dose of comedy relief as Dreyfuss' faithful buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, (more)
Jack Noah (Richard Dreyfuss) is all actor: Self-possessed, obsessive, vulnerable, and an addict for praise, his soul burns with "the craft." Having just finished a grade-Z straight-to-cable crime thriller in the fictional South American country of Parador, he gets the ultimate acting challenge (though it's more like an offer he can't refuse) from Roberto Strausman (Raul Julia), the Paradorian dictator's chief advisor. The challenge: impersonate the country's dictator, whose just died. Strausman knows just how to manipulate Noah: He takes him to a meat locker, shows him the director's body (actually Dreyfuss' brother, Lorin), threatens to kill him, and he brings clips of Noah's best reviews. Thus enticed, and bearing a striking resemblance to the man, Noah accepts the job. Under the exacting direction of Strausman, he follows the script precisely. Noah immediately enjoys the job's perks, not least of which is the dictator's scorching mistress, Madonna (Sonia Braga), but of course cannot conceal his real identity to her. A close call with Parador's revolutionaries and Madonna's brimming social conscience push Noah to take command of the role. He starts pushing a kinder, gentler social agenda, and incurs Strausman's wrath. It begins to look like Noah will play the dictator's last act, but a chance meeting with a stunt man friend (Michael Greene) inspires a caper that will change all of the characters' fates. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Raul Julia, (more)
High-priced hooker Barbra Streisand has been arrested for the murder of one of her clients. The attorney engaged by Streisand's parents hope to cop an insanity plea so that she can avoid a trial and manslaughter conviction. But she refuses this, citing a proviso in New York law that may result in her spending the rest of her life in an institution. Against all odds, struggling lawyer Richard Dreyfuss tries to prove that Streisand is not crazy and capable of standing trial. Dreyfuss certainly has his work cut out for him: from what we've seen in the film thus far, the violently impulsive Streisand is not only "nuts," but certifiably so. Though she has plenty of opportunity in Nuts to give out with her usual bravura Streisandisms, Streisand (who also produced the film and wrote the songs) is surprisingly restrained through most of the proceedings. And then there's that extended-monologue climax. Nuts was adapted by Tom Topor, Darryl Ponicsan and Alvin Sargent from Topor's stage play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbra Streisand, Richard Dreyfuss, (more)
The second of director Barry Levinson's Baltimore Trilogy (the first was Diner, the third Avalon), Tin Men seems at first glance to be much ado about nothing. Set in 1963, the story begins when two aluminum siding salesmen, played by Richard Dreyfuss and Danny DeVito, are involved in a traffic accident. Fueled by their own individual frustrations--Dreyfuss dislikes the phonier aspects of his profession, while DeVito is unhappily married to Barbara Hershey--the two men begin an all-out war of harassment against one another. DeVito goes on a destructive rampage against Dreyfuss' material possessions, while Dreyfuss contrives to steal away DeVito's wife. An ironic twist of fate ironically, brings the two men to common ground at the finale. As with the earlier Diner, Levinson spends a great deal of screen time showing small minds obsessed with small things: counterpointing the snow-balling hostilities between Dreyfuss and DeVito is Jackie Gayle as DeVito's partner, who can talk of nothing but the TV series Bonanza. Michael Tucker, who like Barry Levinson was Baltimore born and bred, repeats his Diner role as "Bagel." Listen for director Levinson's voice as a baseball stadium announcer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, (more)
Though John Badham's Stakeout doesn't flinch in the violence department, the film concentrates primarily on characterization. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez play a pair of Seattle detectives, assigned to capture escaped hood Aidan Quinn. The twosome spends much of the film on stakeout in a lonely, deserted house; the object of their scrutiny is Madeline Stowe, Quinn's former girlfriend. Pretending to be a telephone repairman, Dreyfuss plants a bug in Stowe's apartment--thereby inaugurating a romance that compromises the detective's objectivity. In the climax, Quinn gets the upper hand--at least until the fists start flying. Perfect as it stood, Stakeout didn't need to be elaborated upon with a sequel, but Another Stakeout was produced all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, (more)
Down and Out in Beverly Hills is an updated remake of the 1932 Jean Renoir film Boudu Saved From Drowning. Philandering businessman Dave Whiteman (Richard Dreyfuss) rescues scraggly tramp Jerry Baskin (Nick Nolte) from drowning himself in Dave's swimming pool. Much against his will, Jerry is invited to enjoy the hospitality of Dave, his social-climbing wife Barbara Bette Midler, and their sexually ambivalent son Max (Evan Richards). The hapless hobo bonds only with the family dog Matisse, which fascinates Barbara to the point that she's willing to share her bed (and a few other things) with him. Dave is twice cuckolded when Jerry makes out with the maid (Elizabeth Pena), with whom he has been carrying on a torrid--and noisy--affair. He plans to wreak revenge on the tramp, but several plot twists result in Dave and Jerry becoming bosom companions. Little Richard appears as the family's easily irritated next door neighbor. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was the R-rated film which compelled the Disney Company to create its adult-oriented Touchstone Films division. The property was later cleaned up for TV consumption and converted into a short-lived Fox Network sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, (more)
Based on the Stephen King short story The Body, Rob Reiner's easygoing nostalgia piece is set in Castle Rock, OR, over Labor Day weekend, 1959. A quartet of boys, inseparable friends all, set out in search of a dead body that one of the boys overhears his brother talking about. The foursome consists of intellectual Gordie (Wil Wheaton), born leader Chris (River Phoenix), emotionally disturbed Teddy (Corey Feldman), and chubby hanger-on Vern (Jerry O'Connell). The boys' adventures en route to the elusive body are colored by the personal pressures brought to bear on all of them by the adult world. Richard Dreyfuss, playing the grown-up Gordie, narrates the film, while Kiefer Sutherland dominates every scene he's in as a brutish high-school bully. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, (more)
- 1983
- PG
A cautious single mom and a frustrated writer dance around the prospect of getting together in this romantic comedy. Caustic, difficult Emily (Susan Sarandon) lives with her potty-mouthed son, Tim (Wil Wheaton), and her obnoxiously bossy mother (Jean Stapleton). Her social life consists of afternoon dalliances with a total cad. When part-time writer/inventor and full-time school security guard Joe (Richard Dreyfuss) passes up the chance to turn Tim in for not meeting the school's residency requirements, a paranoid Emily accuses him of masterminding a blackmail scheme. Unbeknownst to Emily, though, the friendless, fatherless Tim strikes up an unlikely friendship with Joe. Eventually, against her better judgement, so does Emily herself. But when one of Joe's inventions begins to take off, his sadistic ex-girlfriend, Carrie (Nancy Allen), shows up to spoil things. Directed by TV vet Glenn Jordan, The Buddy System was written by future Beaches scribe Mary Agnes Donohue. The film marked the feature debut of future Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wheaton. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, (more)
- 1981
This is the made-for-TV version of the romantic drama that chronicles the exploits of a group of glamorous women caught up in the entertainment industry. This version contains material author Jacqueline Susann omitted from her original novel. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
