Eric Mitchell Movies

1999  
R  
Charles Burnett directed this offbeat comic romance about a pair of aging eccentrics whose imaginary companions sometimes interfere with their "real" lives. Fish (James Earl Jones) is an elderly Jamaican expatriate who has spend much of his adult life in a mental institution in New York. One of the clearest manifestations of Fish's madness is Hank, an imaginary nemesis whom Fish must often beat until he obeys. After he's released, Fish heads to Los Angeles, where he takes a room in a boarding house run by Mrs. Muldroone (Margot Kidder). Living across the hall from Fish is Poinsetta (Lynn Redgrave), an older woman who may be crazier than Fish: she drinks a great deal, loves to listen to Puccini, and is convinced that the long-dead composer is following her around (and is in love with her). In time, Fish and Poinsetta become friends and then lovers, but when she accidentally "kills" Hank, Fish is suddenly robbed of one of the only constants in his life. The Annihilation of Fish was screened in the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Lynn RedgraveJames Earl Jones, (more)
1991  
 
A young Moroccan woman leaves her ramshackle native town to embark upon a dangerous mission to help better the circumstances of her people. Unfortunately, she ends up nearly trapped in a deadly web of political intrigue. The girl, Mouallem must travel to the US and deliver documents to a Moroccan-American journalist, Katrina, in Washington, D.C., proving that the decadent government has been abusing the common people. Unbeknownst to her, the wicked Moroccan ruler has sent an envoy there to find a suitable mansion. The crooked king is planning to leave his native country before it collapses. The envoy finds a perfect house that coincidentally, belongs to Katrina's lover, who is an important figure in manipulating world politics. The envoy also contacts an arms dealer who though knowing little about the Middle Eastern situation, eagerly makes deals with all comers. Meanwhile, Mouallem tires to contact the seemingly elusive Katrina, not knowing that she is being stalked by a mysterious photographer. Katrina, who is anxious to get Mouallem's information, has her own hands full trying to convince her editor to allow her to write an expose of the Moroccan political situation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Boris MajorJessica Stutchbury, (more)
1991  
 
In this independently produced black-and-white film, Remy Gravelle is trying to gather enough material from the story of a wealthy couple (murdered on a golf-course years before) to put together a screenplay for his Japanese employers. His investigations have put him in touch with the wealthy duo's children, who now live aboard a yacht, the Triple Bogey, which is in constant motion around New York harbor. There, the three grown or nearly grown children show the writer home movies of themselves and their parents and discuss the events of that bygone day. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Eric MitchellDaisy Hall, (more)
1990  
 
In this black and white independent melodrama, Joe Belinsky (Eric Mitchell) doesn't know how to cope with his wife's pregnancy and his loss of an insurance agency job, and feels adrift. As a consequence of that, he takes a job working the counter of a low-cost, somewhat hip eatery, and meets a French girl with whom he has a brief affair. Though the affair ends, it has created an obsession in him - first with the French girl, and later with slim young women in general. All of them reject him, and he leaves his waiting job to prowl around for these inaccessible beauties. Meanwhile, his wife is having their baby. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Eric MitchellAudrey Matson, (more)
1987  
R  
After promising a rock star he would find a particular guitar-maker to procure his valuable products, a musician takes a road trip in search of the legend. On his way, he meets various people who have--at one time or another-- been involved with the elusive guru. After he finally meets the man, he realizes that there is much more to one's art than financial reward. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kevin J. O'ConnorHarris Yulin, (more)
1986  
 
This thriller looks at the defection of a terrorist and focuses on frequent violence and repetitive sex scenes with full frontal nudity. Henri (Hubert Lucot) belongs to a terrorist gang that orders him to kill the sister of one of their members. The member himself died when he single-handedly carried out an attack on a carload of American military advisors in Paris. Henri balks at this assignment, since the gang only wants the sister assassinated because they believe that she would name them to the authorities. Instead of following through, Henri runs away, and the others soon follow in hot pursuit. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Hubert LucotChristine Laurent, (more)
1984  
 
Set against a backdrop of the streets of Lower Manhattan, this low-budget underground film by Eric Mitchell concerns a theater troupe working on an unorthodox production of Jean Cocteau's Orpheus. Tragedy strikes when the lead actress dies, and as each of the cast members delves into their past to try to figure out what exactly happened, each comes under suspicion of murder. As the complicated storyline snakes its way through 80 minutes of changes, the central fact of the actress' death almost recedes from memory.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Kai EricBoris Major, (more)
1983  
 
In this latest of a long string of underground films, Lothar Lambert has chosen to parody himself and the underground film industry, flying Ulrike S. to New York and Toronto for sequences in which she talks to the well-established movie director Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, Agnes of God) about mainstream work and to other underground filmmakers about their projects. Finally, Ulrike decides to chuck the whole business and go back to what she was doing in the first place -- working at a drug store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Ulrike S.Helke Sander, (more)
1980  
 
While the punk-new wave musical revolution was brewing on the Bowery and in downtown New York in 1976 and 1977, a new breed of underground filmmakers were beginning to emerge, whose work reflected the same rough textures and emotional immediacy as punk rock. One of the leading filmmakers of New York's New Wave was Amos Poe, and his feature Unmade Beds was one of the first features from this movement to receive any significant attention outside the underground music and art scene. To the rest of the world, Rico (Eric Mitchell) appears to be a photographer living in New York City in the mid-'70s. But in his mind, Rico is a character in a French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, living a bohemian life of danger and flinty glamour, and he's both a photographer and a hired gun, living a life straight out of one of the film noir classics he loves. Rico's fragile hold on reality and his mingled feelings about his art begin to collide when he falls in love with a beautiful woman. Unmade Beds also features Duncan Hannah and Patti Astor; musicians Deborah Harry and Robert Gordon highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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1980  
 
Jim Jarmusch made his directorial debut with this episodic profile of one troubled hipster trying to make sense of his life. Aloysius Parker (Christopher Parker), known to his friends as "Allie," is a young man with a damaged family background (his mother is in a mental institution and his father has gone missing) and an inability to sleep, causing him to dream while he's awake. After a troubling encounter with his girlfriend (Leila Gastil) and a frustrating visit with his mother, Allie drifts through a strangely under-populated New York City, crossing paths with a sharp-suited street musicians (John Lurie), a middle-aged jazz fan (Frankie Faison), a disturbed Latin woman (Maria Duval) and a popcorn girl at a movie theater (Lisa Rosen) who's fascinated with Eskimos. A chance encounter with a woman with a vintage Ford Mustang gives Allie the opportunity to escape the chaos around him. While Permanent Vacation made the rounds of European film festivals after its completion in 1980, it was all but ignored in the United States, and it wasn't until Jarmusch released Stranger Than Paradise in 1984 that his star began to rise on the independent film scene. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Leila GastilMaria Duval, (more)
1980  
 
The "underground" of the title refers not to crime but to the half-hidden world of two-bit hustlers, "artistic" poseurs, aberrant lifestyles and shattered dreams. Small-time Manhattan opportunist Eric Mitchell latches onto Patti Astor, a once-popular movie star fallen into penury. He briefly lifts her spirits, but in the final analysis betrays her. Astor sorrowfully decides that she'd rather not live any longer. Lensed in 16 millimeter by producer/ director/ star Eric Mitchell, Underground USA is occasionally effective, though for much of the proceedings it suffers from trying too hard to be the Big Apple counterpart to Godard's Breathless. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Patti AstorEric Mitchell, (more)
1978  
 
The avant-garde Rome 78 is the brainchild of James Nares and Eric Mitchell. Much of what unfolds on screen beggars description, so we won't attempt a detailed synopsis. Suffice to say that the main characters are Caligula and the Queen of Sheba. Oh, yes: the story doesn't take place in the Ancient World. Gaining a solid "word of mouth" reputation on the Underground Film circuit, Rome '78 isn't likely to pop up on Showtime, American Movie Classics or the Disney Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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1978  
 
Set in the strange world of the New York City club scene, agent Max Menace (Eric Mitchell) attempts to carry out his mission while being pursued by a bunch of lowlifes. Unusual events and adventures and meetings befall Menace on his journey. Featured in this film are appearances by the punk band The Erasers. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

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Starring:
Eric MitchellPatti Astor, (more)

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