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
Barry Levinson directed this $100+ million adaptation of Michael Crichton's science fiction novel about the investigation of a half-mile-long spacecraft sitting on the South Pacific ocean floor. Government functionary Barnes (Peter Coyote) assembles a crack scientific team -- psychologist Dr. Norman Goodman (Dustin Hoffman), who wrote a presidential report on alien contact; biochemist Beth Halperin (Sharon Stone), once involved romantically with Goodman; mathematician Harry Adams (Samuel L. Jackson); and astrophysicist Ted Fielding (Liev Schreiber). After descending a thousand feet, they set up housekeeping at their underwater Habitat base, suit up, and enter the craft, finding evidence that it's a U.S. ship from the future. However, the craft's cargo of a shimmering, golden sphere is definitely alien. After Harry contrives to enter the sphere, Norman notes his odd behavior. When the Habitat computer system receives an email message from the sphere ("I am happy"), it's not long before the messages from this entity take a threatening turn ("I will kill you all"), triggering fears to surface along with violent attacks to the Habitat. The film is divided into chapters, such as "The Ride Down," "The First Exchange," and "The Monster." Shot on soundstages at the abandoned Mare Island Naval Shipyard (Vallejo, California), the effects combine animation, miniatures, prosthetics, animatronics, and digital images. Ed Asner reads the Sphere audiobook. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, (more)
- 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
In a 29-day shoot, Barry Levinson filmed this $15 million political and media satire, adapted by Hilary Henkin and David Mamet from Larry Beinhart's novel, American Hero. Two weeks prior to re-election, the President (Michael Belson) is accused of cornering an underage girl in the Oval Office. To keep the media from learning of this, Presidential adviser Winifred Ames (Anne Heche) brings in political consultant and spin doctor Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), a specialist in such salvage operations. Brean suggests fabricating denials of non-existent emergencies -- such as denials about the B-3 bomber. The denial, of course, is true, since no B-3 bomber exists. Brean visits the mansion of Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Dustin Hoffman) and gives him the assignment to create a patriotic campaign centered around a war in Albania. Motss assembles a creative team -- Liz Butsky (Andrea Martin), the trend-setter Fad King (Denis Leary), and songwriter Johnny Green (Willie Nelson). Treated like an ad campaign, the songs and symbols are transmitted directly from a Hollywood soundstage to CNN. The star of their campaign is a "rescued" pilot -- in reality, a psychotic military prisoner (Woody Harrelson), who's a ticking time bomb. The flag-waving song, "The American Dream" was written for the film by Tom Bahler (who co-wrote "We Are the World"). Beinhart's original novel involved a real President (Bush), a real war (the Gulf War), and the premise that George Bush and Saddam Hussein staged it. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, (more)
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)
This drama about an undercover cop who learns the hidden dangers of working his way inside the mob was based on a true story. Joe Pistone (Johnny Depp) is an FBI agent who is given an assignment to infiltrate the Mafia; calling himself Donnie Brasco, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters. Lefty's marriage is falling apart, his son is a junkie, and his health is failing, which only adds to his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years with the Mafia (and killing 26 people) with little to show for it. But in Donnie, Lefty sees someone who can succeed where he failed; he takes the young man under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly rises through the ranks of organized crime; however, the longer he plays the role of the gangster, the more Joe Pistone finds himself becoming Donnie Brasco in his increasingly rare off hours; it drives a wedge between himself and his wife (Anne Heche) and children, and Joe realizes that a break in character among the hoodlums he's come to know could mean a death sentence for himself and his family. Just as importantly, Joe has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend, and Joe realizes that when the day comes where he has to turn in his Mob associates, he'll be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he put a slug in his head himself. The supporting cast includes Michael Madsen as Sonny, Lefty's boss, and Bruno Kirby as Nicky, one of Sonny's henchmen. The real-life Joe Pistone today lives under an assumed name with a 500,000-dollar contract on his life still in effect. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, (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)
Barry Levinson directed this crime drama based on a controversial bestseller. Jason Patrick stars as Lorenzo, a New York reporter more commonly called "Shakes," a nickname courtesy of his three childhood pals from Hell's Kitchen -- Michael (Brad Pitt), John (Ron Eldard), and Tommy (Billy Crudup). As kids, all four were sent to reform school after accidentally killing someone during a cruel prank. There, the boys were raped and beaten by several guards, including Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), a fact that they've kept secret into adulthood. Michael is now a rising star in the district attorney's office, while John and Tommy are founders of the Irish gang the Westies. When Nokes walks into John and Tommy's hangout, they kill him in cold blood and go on trial, defended by a drug-addicted lawyer (Dustin Hoffman). Michael and Shakes conspire with childhood friend Carol (Minnie Driver) and local priest Father Bobby (Robert DeNiro) to free their friends and get even with the surviving guards. Based on a true story chronicled by Lorenzo Carcaterra in his novel of the same name, Sleepers stirred controversy when the veracity of the book was challenged by reporters who could find no documentation of the events described. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Bacon, Robert De Niro, (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)
Michael Douglas runs afoul of a treacherous supervisor in this film version of Michael Crichton's novel. Douglas plays Tom Sanders, an executive at DigiCom, a leading computer software firm. DigiCom is about to launch a new virtual reality-based data storage system that is expected to revolutionize the industry, and Bob Garvin (Donald Sutherland), the owner of the company, is in the midst of negotiating a merger that could bring $100 million into the firm. However, while Tom is expecting a promotion, he discovers the position has been given instead to a new hire, Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore), with whom Tom had an affair years ago, before he was married. After her first day of work, Meredith invites Tom up to her office and makes a concerted attempt to seduce him; while Tom doesn't fight off her advances with very much gusto at first, eventually he decides things have gone too far and leaves in a huff. The next morning, Meredith accuses Tom of sexual harassment, and he realizes this was merely a power ploy to get him out of DigiCom for good; Tom, determined to fight, files a counter-suit, which makes him no friends at the company, since rocking the boat too hard could very well scotch the merger. Dennis Miller also appears as one of Tom's wise-cracking co-workers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Demi Moore, (more)
It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Rob Morrow, (more)
Clad in a blonde wig, Joe Pesci stars as the title character, a luckless actor. Unable to make it in the real showbiz world, Jimmy starts fantasizing about fame and fortune. His delusions eventually turn into reality when, through a fluke, Jimmy becomes known to one and all as "Jericho," a Robin Hood-like vigilante. Victoria Abril appears in a supporting role and the film's climax features a number of cameo performances. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Pesci, Christian Slater, (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
After a childhood spat drove brothers Wilder (Arliss Howard) and Wallace (Dennis Quaid) apart, they went their separate ways, until a chance meeting brought them back together again. Gifted with a psychic ability to spark fires, Wilder supresses his gift, marries the lovely Vida (Debra Winger), and attempts to lead a normal life. However, he runs into his brother, who is using his powers to work as a carnival attraction, and their reunion leads to disaster when the brothers begin to compete for Vida's attention. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 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)
Barry Levinson directed this cautionary fantasy fable--a triumph of production design--concerning the clash between benevolent, funny toys and malevolent, violent war toys and video games. Donald O'Connor is the kindly, gentle Kenneth Zevo, founder of Zevo Toys. The workers love him and the love they feel for Zevo comes through in the lovingly cute toys they produce. His son Leslie (Robin Williams) is an eccentric inventor who concentrates on coming up with different styles of plastic vomit and over-sized ears. His addle-headed daughter Alsatia (Joan Cusack) enjoys trying out all of Leslie's inventions. But their innocent, idyllic existence is soon to be shattered. Kenneth is dying and he is reluctant to bequeath the factory to the immature hands of Leslie and Alsatia. He finally decides to pass on his factory to his three-star general brother (Michael Gambon), reasoning that the general will run the factory efficiently and prod Leslie and Alsatia into adulthood. When Kenneth dies, the general and his army surplus son Patrick (LL Cool J) immediately turn Zevo Toys into an oppressive fascistic environment. The general also stops production of the innocent Zevo products and forces the workers to manufacture violent interactive video games and sadistic war toys. Leslie must rouse himself out of his over-long childhood to preserve the tradition of Zevo Toys. Although Toys did not fare well at the box office, it features a stunning combination of production design by Ferdinando Scarfiotti and art direction by Edward Richardson. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, (more)
Bugsy is a character study of mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel wrapped up in a gangster movie. Siegel (Warren Beatty in a flashy performance) arrives in California in the Forties, assigned to oversee the L.A. rackets. He is quickly seduced by both the glamour of Hollywood and actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), whom he romances despite being unable to leave his wife and children. Siegel soon has a vision to transform a barren stretch of Nevada desert into an oasis of gambling and entertainment -- the seeds from which Las Vegas was sown. Funded by his gangster bosses, including Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley), the flamboyant Siegel sees his budget soar past its original $6 million, a problem compounded by the fact that Virginia has embezzled $2 million of it. In trouble with his superiors, Siegel flies back to L.A. to face the music, telling Virginia to keep the money. He would not live to see his dream of Las Vegas come true. The film is fast-paced and well-directed by Barry Levinson, with an intelligent script by James Toback and excellent support from Kingsley and Harvey Keitel as gangster Mickey Cohen. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, (more)
The third of director Barry Levinson's autobiographical "Baltimore Trilogy" (the first two entries were Diner and Tin Men), Avalon covers nearly forty years in the lives of an immigrant Jewish family. Sam Krichinsky (Armin Mueller-Stahl) emigrates to Baltimore in 1914, where Sam's brothers Gabriel (Lou Jacobi), Hymie (Leo L. Fuchs), and Nathan (Israel Rubinek) are awaiting his arrival. By and by, Sam meets his future wife, Eva (Joan Plowright). With the introduction of the Krichinsky's grown son Jules (Aidan Quinn), the film ventures into culture-clash country. Unwilling to become a manual laborer like his dad, Jules opts for the life of a door-to-door salesman. Eventually, he teams with his cousin Izzy (Kevin Pollak) to open the first TV store in Baltimore. Thereafter, the disintegration of the Krichinsky family is paralleled by the rise of TV's omnipresence in the American home. Avalon's elegiac and melancholy effect is underlined by Randy Newman's soulful musical score. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, Aidan Quinn, (more)
Self-centered, avaricious Californian Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise) is informed that his long-estranged father has died. Expecting at least a portion of the elder Babbitt's $3 million estate, Charlie learns that all he's inherited is his dad's prize roses and a 1949 Buick Roadmaster. Discovering that the $3 million is being held in trust for an unidentified party, Charlie heads to his home town of Cincinnati to ascertain who that party is. It turns out that the beneficiary is Raymond Babbitt (Dustin Hoffman), the autistic-savant older brother that Charlie never knew he had. Able to memorize reams of trivia and add, subtract, multiply, and divide without a second's hesitation, Raymond is otherwise incapable of functioning as a normal human being. Aghast that Raymond is to receive his father's entire legacy, Charlie tries to cut a deal with Raymond's guardian. When this fails, Charlie "borrows" Raymond from the institution where he lives, hoping to use his brother as leverage to claim half the fortune. During their subsequent cross-country odyssey, Charlie is forced to accommodate Raymond's various autistic idiosyncracies, not the least of which is his insistence on adhering to a rigid daily schedule: he must, for example, watch People's Court and Jeopardy every day at the same time, no matter what. On hitting Las Vegas, Charlie hopes to harness Raymond's finely-honed mathematical skills to win big at the gaming tables; but this exploitation of his brother's affliction compels Charlie to reassess his own values, or lack thereof. A longtime pet project of star Dustin Hoffman, Rain Man was turned down by several high-profile directors before Barry Levinson took on the challenge of bringing Ronald Bass' screenplay to fruition (Levinson also appears in the film as a psychiatrist). All three men won Oscars, and the movie won Best Picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, (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)
The film begins in 1965, when disc jockey Adrian Cronauer (Robin Williams) is assigned to take over the AFR's Saigon radio broadcasts. In contrast to the dull, by-rote announcers that have preceded him, Cronauer is a bundle of dynamite, heralding each broadcast with a loud "Goooooood morning, Vietnaaaaam," playing whatever records tickle his fancy (even those not officially sanctioned by his hidebound superiors), and indulging in wild flights of improvisational fancy. Cronauer's immediate superior Lt. Hauk (Bruno Kirby), whose own notions of humor are puerile and pathetic, jealously attempts to dethrone Vietnam's favorite rock jock. Fortunately, Cronauer's popularity is such that he enjoys the full protection of the higher-ups. But when Cronauer, after experiencing the horrors of war first-hand, insists upon telling his listeners the truth instead of the official government line, he is instantly replaced by the unfunny Hauk and must struggle to get back on the air. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, (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)
Also released under the title Young Sherlock Holmes and the Pyramid of Fear, this film follows the adventures of young John Watson (Alan Cox) when he is shipped off to boarding school and meets up with the brilliantly bizarre Sherlock Holmes (Nicolas Rowe). The two boys strike up a friendship and promptly become involved in the investigation of a number of mysterious murders. When their curiosity gets them into trouble with a dangerous religious cult, Watson and Holmes must struggle to avoid capture while attempting to notify the authorities. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Rowe, Alan Cox, (more)
