Barry Levinson Movies
One of the more versatile American filmmakers of his generation, Barry Levinson's movies showcased subjects as diverse as the immigrant experience, mob intrigue, and political satire. He earned particular acclaim for his semi-autobiographical portraits of life in 1950s Baltimore, a topic that he explored to great effect in Diner, his 1982 directorial debut.Born in Baltimore on June 2, 1942, Levinson was the son of a warehouse manager. Initially intent on a career in the media, he studied Broadcast Journalism in college but didn't remain there long enough to earn a degree. He instead switched his interests to acting and standup comedy, and, after serving a stint as a staff writer on The Carol Burnett Show, he was hired by producer Mel Brooks. The first film to carry a screenwriter credit for Levinson (in the company of several other writers) was Silent Movie (1976); this was followed by Brooks' High Anxiety (1977), which also featured Levinson as a vengeful bellboy in the film's celebrated Psycho-parody scene.
Levinson's first directorial job was the low-budget Diner (1982), the first installment of his "Baltimore trilogy" (the others were Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990)); Diner served to showcase several stars-to-be, among them Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Daniel Stern, Paul Reiser, and Michael Tucker. A poignant, critically acclaimed, coming-of-age story, the film helped to establish Levinson as a bankable director; this status was further solidified with such purely commercial projects as The Natural (1984) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). In 1988, Levinson tackled one of his most ambitious projects in Rain Man, the remarkable saga of a disaffected yuppie's deepening relationship with his autistic savant brother. An all-around success, the film won numerous Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman).
Levinson had little difficulty imposing his own personal stamp on such star-oriented films as Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), starring Robin Williams, and Bugsy (1991), starring Warren Beatty. Although he has made few missteps in his career, Levinson suffered an intensely personal defeat with Toys (1992), a morality tale acted out in a toy manufacturing company. The film had been a pet project of Levinson's for nearly 20 years, and, when finally completed, it proved to be a complete turkey. Similarly disappointing was the director's Jimmy Hollywood (1994); a comedy starring Joe Pesci as a struggling actor, it sank at the box office. He had greater luck with Sleepers (1996), the disturbing tale of four lifelong friends seeking retribution for torture and sexual abuse they suffered as young boys at a reform school. The following year proved to be a banner one, as Levinson had two critically acclaimed hits, one as the producer of Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp as an undercover cop who develops a dangerous friendship with mobster Al Pacino, and the other as the producer/director of the sharp political satire Wag the Dog, starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. Following a semi-disastrous foray into science fiction with Sphere (1998), Levinson literally and figuratively returned to his home turf in 1999 with Liberty Heights. The story of two Jewish boys growing up in Baltimore in the '50s, it featured the familiar Levinson themes of family ties, ethnic tension, Cold War anxiety, and the growing pains of a changing society.
The 21st century started off in a less than stellar way for Levinson as his comedy An Everlasting Piece struggled to get a release in the United States. He oversaw the end of his highly respected television series Homicide by executive producing a TV-movie in 2000 that helped bring some major storylines to a close.
The next year he made the quirky comedy Bandits featuring a love triangle between Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. That film was a mild success, but the same could not be said of his next feature, Envy. The Ben Stiller/Jack Black comedy, with a script originally conceived by Larry David, failed to find support from the studio that funded it as well as from audiences. To steady himself, Levinson teamed yet again with Robin Williams for the political satire Man of the Year, about a political comic who ends up running for the Presidnecy.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Bill Bryson's satirical travelogue gets the big-screen treatment from director Barry Levinson and actor/producer Robert Redford in A Walk in the Woods. Plot details follow two friends who attempt to walk the 2,100-mile Appalachian Trail and discover the American wilderness along the way. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford
- 2009
Famed film director Barry Levinson (Rain Man) focuses his camera on the 2008 Democratic and Republican conventions during the race between Barack Obama and John McCain with this Screen Media documentary. Along with noted political leaders, members of the Hollywood activist elite are interviewed, including Anne Hathaway, David Crosby, Alan Cumming, and Susan Sarandon. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Acclaimed filmmaker Barry Levinson recounts the dedicated efforts of a devoted marching band to support their hometown football team at all costs. It was during a chilly March night in 1984 that Baltimore Colts owner Robert Irsay made the rash decision to move his team to Indianapolis, and when the fans awoke the following morning that could barely believe the news. Realizing that they were facing the biggest challenge of their careers, the members of the team's volunteer marching band made it their mission to help build up a team that Baltimore football fans could truly be proud of. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
An "ensemble drama" along the lines of The O.C. -- but with characters who wore more clothes and stayed indoors more often -- the WB network's weekly, hour-long Bedford Diaries was set at fictional Bedford college, a liberal-arts establishment somewhere in Manhattan (the series was lensed on-location at Barnard College).The focus of the drama was "Sex and the Human Condition," a seminar presided over by Kinsey-like professor Jack Macklin. Heading the cast was onetime Gilmore Girls co-star Milo Ventimiglia as Richard Thorne III, a wealthy student and recovering alcoholic, who was rather sweet on straight-A student Sarah Gregory (Tiffany DuPont) -- who in turn was having an affair with one of the teachers. Owen Gregory (Penn Badgley), Sarah's brother, was dating the resident (and self-proclaimed) "nutcase," Natalie Dykstra (Corri English). Other enrollees included freshman Lee Rasmussen (Ernest Waddell), torn between his high-school sweetheart and classroom seductress Zoe Lopez (Victoria Cartagena); Macklin's assistant, Prof. Carla Bonatella (Audra McDonald); and Harold Harper (Peter Gerety), Bedford's dean. Originally slated to debut in February 2006, Bedford Diaries did not make its WB bow until March 29 of that year, due to its producers' trepidations over presenting such raw, uninhibited material in an era of heavy FCC fines (virtually all of the episodes dealt with a particularly lurid aspect of contemporary sexuality, albeit always stressing personal responsibility over the antiquated "if it feels good, do it" attitude). However, the series was telecast uncut in Canada, and was likewise uncensored on the WB's Internet web stream. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Filmmaker Nicholas Jarecki offers a celluloid portrait of a cinematic mastermind at work in this documentary shot over an eight month period and following director James Toback through each phase of production of his 2004 thriller When Will I be Loved. From pre-production to final cut, Jarecki follows the existential-minded director through the entire process of making a movie as Toback opens up to the camera to discuss a variety of deeply personal matters and explore just how they have manifested themselves in such films as Love and Money, The Big Bang, and Black and White. Candid interviews with such well-known Toback collaborators as Woody Allen, Robert Towne, Harvey Keitel, Roger Ebert, Brett Ratner, show just how much impact the well-respected filmmaker has had in Hollywood despite his stubborn refusal to fit into the commercialized mold so frequently associated with the showbiz mecca. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The press secretary to the president of the United States has the tricky job of acting as a middle ground between the journalists who want information from and about the president and the leader who would generally prefer to tell them only what he wants them to know -- and would like them to report. Joe Lockhart held the position of press secretary during the final leg of Bill Clinton's administration, and The Press Secretary is a documentary that offers an inside look at Lockhart's balancing act between the press and the president as he prepares the final press conference of Clinton's term, which coincides with a visit by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the prime minister of India. Barry Levinson served as executive producer for The Press Secretary. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Lockhart, Helen A. Thomas, (more)
- 2000
Some six months after the cancellation of the popular, hard-hitting TV cop series Homicide, most of the cast members were reunited for a two-hour TV movie, which deftly (and somewhat surprisingly) combines stark, raw realism with Sartre-esque flights of fantasy. Several members past and present of the Baltimore Police Department's homicide squad are brought back together when their former skipper and current mayoral candidate, Al "G" Giardelli (Yaphet Kotto), is gunned down by a would-be assassin. As former partners Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) conduct their own personal search for the perpetrator, the comatose "G" discovers that not all police review boards are conducted by the living. Like its weekly predecessor, Homicide: The Movie was co-produced by Baltimore native Barry Levinson. The film made its first NBC network TV appearance on February 13, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 2000
Mark Ruffalo and Derek Cecil star in this gritty police drama, produced by Barry Levinson, about men who pound the streets and struggle with their inner demons. Officer Zane Marinelli (Ruffalo) is a conflicted womanizer who keeps company with Beatrice (Heather Burns), a psychotically unstable young lass who torches apartments to show her displeasure with things. His partner, Officer Mike Dorigan (Cecil), on the other hand, is devoted to his med student girlfriend. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heather Burns, Lea DeLaria, (more)
The real-life drama of the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial is given quasi-fictional treatment in this two-part CBS miniseries, which aired in November 2000. Much of the miniseries' plot focuses on the battle of egos between defense lawyers Johnnie Cochran (Ving Rhames) and Robert Shapiro (Ron Silver) and how the personalities of these men in part shaped the outcome of the trial. Also included in the cast are Bruno Kirby and Christopher Plummer. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ving Rhames, Ron Silver, (more)
- 1999
Veteran director Barry Levinson first gained fame with Diner (1982), a semi-autobiographical film about his youth in Baltimore with his friends during the late 1950s. In this film, Levinson creates a documentary about his friends who inspired Diner. Highlights include the interviewees musing about life, women, and the faux-profundity of "Puff the Magic Dragon." Original Diner Guys was screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Created by Tom Fontana and co-produced by Fontana and Barry Levinson (the same team responsible for Homicide: Life on the Street), the gritty, uncompromising cable drama series Oz was set within the walls of Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary (later rechristened Oswald State Correctional Facility), known to inmates and guards alike as "Oz". In a similar burst of grotesque whimsy, the action took place in "Emerald City," an experimental "prison within a prison," wherein the inmates were allowed to function as a more or less autonomous community, awarded with mobility and privileges in exchange for submitting to a daily routine and a strict set of rules and guidelines. Emerald City was established at the behest of Warden Leo Glynn (Ernie Hudson) by idealistic unit manager Tim McManus (Terry Kinney), who hoped that by giving the inmates a sense of community and responsibility, he could smooth the road to rehabilitation. Unfortunately, there were some convicts who just couldn't see things from McManus' "New Age" perspective, leading to sundry outbreaks of violence and bloodshed throughout the season's six-year HBO run. Additionally, Glynn and McManus were at the mercy of Governor James Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek), who sailed into office on a tough law-and-order platform, and who was dead set against McManus' alleged coddling of Em City's most dangerous cons. As it happened, Devlin's administration was itself waist-deep in corruption and collusion, making his entire pro-law stance somewhat laughable (except that no one was laughing).
As for the inmates, they had divided themselves along ethnic and personality lines into various tribe-like factions, eternally enmeshed in deadly power struggles. Among these "tribes" were The Brotherhood, The Homeboys, The Muslims, The Italians, The Irish, The Latinos, The Gays, and a nebulous bunch called "The Others," of which the series' narrator, wheelchair-bound con Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) was a member of long standing. The series boasted an enormous cast of characters on both sides of the bars. Those who were seen throughout the series' entire run included the aforementioned Leo Glynn, Tim McManus, James Devlin, and Augustus Hill (who remained a key player even after he was killed at the end of season five!), as well as inmates Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo), Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), Zahir Arif (Granville Adams), Vern Schillinger (J.K. Simmons), Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen), Bob Rebadow (George Morfogen), and the funky philosopher known as Poet (muMs).
Of the authority figures, those who went the full six-year distance included prison infirmary doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) and spiritual leaders Sister Peter Marie Reimondo (Rita Moreno) and Father Ray Mukada (B.D. Wong). Other recurring characters worth noting were volatile inmates Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) and Simon Abedisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), self-proclaimed escape artist Agamenon "The Mole" Busmalis (Tom Mardirosian), pregnant convicted murderer Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe), pro basketball player-cum-convict Jackson Vayhue (Rick Fox), imprisoned televangelist Jeremiah Cloutier (Luke Perry), sympathetic prison guards Sean Murphy (Robert Clohessy) and Diane Wittlesey (Edie Falco), and not-so-sympathetic turnkeys Claire Howell (Kristin Rohde) and Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam) -- the latter a psychopath who ended up attempting to assassinate Governor Devlin. Debuting July 12, 1997, Oz turned out between eight and 16 episodes per year (running times varied from 45 to 70 minutes), until its final first-run installment on February 23, 2003. ~ All Movie Guide
As for the inmates, they had divided themselves along ethnic and personality lines into various tribe-like factions, eternally enmeshed in deadly power struggles. Among these "tribes" were The Brotherhood, The Homeboys, The Muslims, The Italians, The Irish, The Latinos, The Gays, and a nebulous bunch called "The Others," of which the series' narrator, wheelchair-bound con Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) was a member of long standing. The series boasted an enormous cast of characters on both sides of the bars. Those who were seen throughout the series' entire run included the aforementioned Leo Glynn, Tim McManus, James Devlin, and Augustus Hill (who remained a key player even after he was killed at the end of season five!), as well as inmates Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo), Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), Zahir Arif (Granville Adams), Vern Schillinger (J.K. Simmons), Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen), Bob Rebadow (George Morfogen), and the funky philosopher known as Poet (muMs).
Of the authority figures, those who went the full six-year distance included prison infirmary doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) and spiritual leaders Sister Peter Marie Reimondo (Rita Moreno) and Father Ray Mukada (B.D. Wong). Other recurring characters worth noting were volatile inmates Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) and Simon Abedisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), self-proclaimed escape artist Agamenon "The Mole" Busmalis (Tom Mardirosian), pregnant convicted murderer Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe), pro basketball player-cum-convict Jackson Vayhue (Rick Fox), imprisoned televangelist Jeremiah Cloutier (Luke Perry), sympathetic prison guards Sean Murphy (Robert Clohessy) and Diane Wittlesey (Edie Falco), and not-so-sympathetic turnkeys Claire Howell (Kristin Rohde) and Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam) -- the latter a psychopath who ended up attempting to assassinate Governor Devlin. Debuting July 12, 1997, Oz turned out between eight and 16 episodes per year (running times varied from 45 to 70 minutes), until its final first-run installment on February 23, 2003. ~ All Movie Guide
This made-for-cable black-comedy stars Beau Bridges as a governor in a future United States, with an unusual plan for his state. Bridges stars as Jim Farley, the Governor of Idaho, who decides that the only way to keep the new immigrants out of his state is to close down the borders. Defying the President (Phil Hartman), he gets some help implementing his plan from some zealots in militias. Bridges won the Emmy for his performance. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, James Coburn, (more)
- 1997
The highlight of the homicide unit's New Year's party is the unreeling of "Back Page News," a documentary produced by the unit's in-house video photographer Brodie (Max Perlich). Some of the events covered by Brodie's camera prove to be embarrassing, especially when the identity of the infamous "lunch bandit" is revealed. And some of them are most amusing, notably the sequence in which Kellerman (Reed Diamond) and Lewis (Clark Johnson) chase a suspect right onto the set of a TV series titled "Homicide: Life on the Street," much to the consternation of director Barry Levinson (playing himself). Former series regular Isabella Hoffman makes a cameo appearance as Megan Russert. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1996
A Black Muslim civilian patrol group, hired to maintain law and order in a Baltimore federal housing project, resents the presence of homicide detectives Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) when a drug dealer is killed in the project. The two cops also face resistance from one of their own higher-ups, the PC-conscious Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef). Other cases handled by Homicide this evening include the deaths of both killer and victim at a murder scene, as well as Russert's (Isabella Hoffman) investigation of a uniformed officer whose slow reactions may have resulted in an unnecessary death. Future series regular Peter Gerety makes his first appearance as Officer Stuart Gharty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1995
Bruno Kirby guest stars as Victor Helms, a former plumber's assistant who was convicted of murder after causing the deaths of an entire family in a gas explosion. Newly released from prison, Helms has sworn vengeance against the Baltimore homicide cop who put him away: Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher). In concert with his buddy Danny Newton (Richard Newton), Helms conducts a carefully plotted campaign of persecution and harassment against Frank and his family -- a campaign that, unless nipped in the bud, will culminate in murder. This was the final episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
- 1993
Unsatisfied with the negotiating tactics of his current, more laid-back agent, Larry (Garry Shandling) decides to go for the gusto in his upcoming contract negotiations by hiring a new, more aggressive agent who isn't afraid to deal with the network on his own terms. Guest stars include Barry Levinson, James Karen, John Pleshette, Tommy Newsom, Doc Severinsen, and Bob Odenkirk. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
This terse, realistic hour-long crime series was based on Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, by reporter David Simon. Like many of executive producer Barry Levinson's movie projects, the series was set (and largely filmed) in Baltimore. The action centered around the homicide division of an inner-city Baltimore police station, with a large and fluid cast passing through the precinct's door during the series' seven seasons on the air. Originally, there were four main detective teams: avuncular veteran detective Stanley "The Big Man" Bolander (Ned Beatty) and his snide, conspiracy theory-spouting partner, John Munch (Richard Belzer); know-it-all Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin) and up-and-coming female detective (and later sergeant) Kay Howard (Melissa Leo); eternally grousing Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) and lackadaisical Steve Crossetti (Jon Polito); and bombastic "lone ranger" Frank Pembelton (Andre Braugher) and his rookie partner, Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor), who joined the department in the first episode and quit it on the series finale. In charge of this dedicated but somewhat raffish bunch was hard-driving, hard-driven Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). Of the above-mentioned characters, only Munch, Lewis, Bayliss, and Giardello survived the entire series' run. The first to defect was Crossetti, who went off the deep end after his former partner Thormann (Lee Tergesen) was blinded in a shoot-out, mysteriously dropped out of sight, and later turned up dead. Later, Felton, Bolander, and Howard were seriously injured in a shoot-out, after which the two of the three were suspended without pay because of their negative behavior at a police convention. Bolander never returned; Felton vanished and later died, reportedly by his own hand; and Howard stuck it out only for a year or so after Felton's disappearance. Finally, a disenchanted, burned-out Pembleton retired one year short of the final season.
Beginning with the series' third season, Isabella Hofmann joined the cast as Lt. Megan Russert, the abrasive skipper of homicide's night shift; Russert would be promoted to captain, then demoted; she ultimately left Baltimore, and the United States, to find romance and happiness in Paris. In season four, flippant former arson detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) joined the squad; he would depart after his questionable involvement in the death of vicious drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, whose killing led to a bloodbath at headquarters. That same season found videographer J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich) becoming a homicider full-time. Introduced during the sixth season was Chief Medical Examiner Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes), who made no secret of her contempt for homicide's procedural methods; and at the end of season six, Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda) joined the team, following his investigation of Felton's mysterious demise. Other later editions included former beat cop and Vietnam vet Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety), who along with Bayliss incurred serious wounds in the aforementioned "revenge" shoot-out vis-à-vis Luther Mahoney; Det. Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), formerly of the Seattle PD; Det. Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis), one of several recurring characters to graduate to "regular"; Det. Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele), a onetime beauty queen; and Giardello's son, FBI agent Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito).
Although the series' plotlines were not as a rule serialized, several story arcs ran over a period of many weeks, among them the investigation into the murder of an 11-year-old girl; Kellerman's neurotic reaction to an investigation of corruption in the arson squad; and the efforts by Munch and Lewis to run their own after-hours bar. And, of course, ample time was given over to the occasional romances that developed among the male and female members of the squad. Additionally, several episodes were "crossovers," concluding stories that had begun on another popular crime series, Law & Order. Making its first NBC appearance just after the telecast of 1993 Super Bowl, Homicide: Life on the Street took a little time getting started (season one ran a skimpy nine episodes, season two a skimpier four), but it hit its stride with the 1994-1995 season, remaining on the air until 1999, with a special "coda" one year later that tied up loose plot ends. ~ All Movie Guide
Beginning with the series' third season, Isabella Hofmann joined the cast as Lt. Megan Russert, the abrasive skipper of homicide's night shift; Russert would be promoted to captain, then demoted; she ultimately left Baltimore, and the United States, to find romance and happiness in Paris. In season four, flippant former arson detective Mike Kellerman (Reed Diamond) joined the squad; he would depart after his questionable involvement in the death of vicious drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, whose killing led to a bloodbath at headquarters. That same season found videographer J.H. Brodie (Max Perlich) becoming a homicider full-time. Introduced during the sixth season was Chief Medical Examiner Julianna Cox (Michelle Forbes), who made no secret of her contempt for homicide's procedural methods; and at the end of season six, Detective Paul Falsone (Jon Seda) joined the team, following his investigation of Felton's mysterious demise. Other later editions included former beat cop and Vietnam vet Detective Stuart Gharty (Peter Gerety), who along with Bayliss incurred serious wounds in the aforementioned "revenge" shoot-out vis-à-vis Luther Mahoney; Det. Laura Ballard (Callie Thorne), formerly of the Seattle PD; Det. Terri Stivers (Toni Lewis), one of several recurring characters to graduate to "regular"; Det. Rene Sheppard (Michael Michele), a onetime beauty queen; and Giardello's son, FBI agent Mike Giardello (Giancarlo Esposito).
Although the series' plotlines were not as a rule serialized, several story arcs ran over a period of many weeks, among them the investigation into the murder of an 11-year-old girl; Kellerman's neurotic reaction to an investigation of corruption in the arson squad; and the efforts by Munch and Lewis to run their own after-hours bar. And, of course, ample time was given over to the occasional romances that developed among the male and female members of the squad. Additionally, several episodes were "crossovers," concluding stories that had begun on another popular crime series, Law & Order. Making its first NBC appearance just after the telecast of 1993 Super Bowl, Homicide: Life on the Street took a little time getting started (season one ran a skimpy nine episodes, season two a skimpier four), but it hit its stride with the 1994-1995 season, remaining on the air until 1999, with a special "coda" one year later that tied up loose plot ends. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1993
Originally telecast in the prime time slot following the 1993 Super Bowl, episode one of Homicide: Life on the Street wastes no time getting started, introducing the viewer to a myriad of characters and no fewer than three murder cases. Newly arrived at the Baltimore PD homicide division from the mayor's office, rookie detective Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is assigned by Lt. Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to investigate a brutal strangulation. Bayliss is teamed with Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher), the division's prickly lone wolf who balks at working with a partner. Other cases on the "board" involve a woman who has evidently murdered several husbands for the insurance, an assignment given to detectives Medrick Lewis (Clark Johnson) and Steve Crosetti (Jon Polito); the hit-and-run killing of Jenny Goode, a three-month-old case reopened by detectives Stan Bolander (Ned Beatty) and John Munch (Richard Belzer); and a fourth murder, one which Sgt. Kay Howard (Melissa Leo) would rather handle on her own so as not to jeopardize her winning "cases solved" streak, but one for which Howard is reluctantly teamed with Detective Beau Felton (Daniel Baldwin). Barry Levinson won an Emmy award for his direction of this episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Baldwin, Ned Beatty, (more)
Fred Olen Ray always manages to attract major names to his bargain-basement actioners, and Armed Response is no exception. The scene is Chinatown, where Yakuza boss Mako yearns to get his hands on a stolen jade statue. David Goss, son of retired cop Lee van Cleef and the brother of Vietnam veterans David Carradine and Brent Huff, is hired by Mako to deliver half a million dollars to the crooks who've got the statue. Things go awry, ending in a shootout. Mortally wounded, Goss brings the statue home, at which point a vengeful Carradine picks up the storyline. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, (more)
We'd rather not speculate over how much of Best Friends is autobiographical. We'll just note that this story of a male-female screenwriting team was written by real-life married scenarists Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. Lovers as well as collaborators, scriveners Richard Babson (Burt Reynolds) and Paula McCullen (Goldie Hawn) decide to make their union legal. Predictably enough, they discover that their relationship goes straight downhill after they say "I do." The stars are far less interesting than the supporting cast, including Jessica Tandy and Barnard Hughes as Hawn's parents, Audra Lindley and Keenan Wynn as Reynolds' folks, Ron Silver as an avaricious producer (no names, please!), and Richard Libertini as a Mexican justice of the peace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Goldie Hawn, (more)
- 1973
In this drama, a conservative Catholic priest representing the Pope is sent to Ireland to settle down a few influential radical priests whose doctrine is contrary to standard church guidelines. AKA The Conflict. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Trevor Howard, (more)
