Rob Nilsson Movies
American filmmaker/screenwriter Rob Nilsson became a director in the mid-'70s after receiving an English degree from Harvard, performing a stint in the Peace Corps, and working as a poet and artist. He made his feature-film debut with the highly acclaimed Northern Lights (1979), a docudrama he co-directed with John Hanson, which was based on a trio of three early documentaries chronicling the struggles of turn-of-the-century Norwegian immigrant farmers trying to eke out a living in Dakota that he made with his liberal film cooperative, Cine Manifest, an organization he founded. Northern Lights earned Nilsson and Hanson a Best First Film Award at Cannes that year. Though the film gave him an auspicious start, Nilsson found most producers unwilling to back his other projects and so, to continue making films, he developed "direct action cinema," a technique whereby actors improvised their lines according to a simple outline. Cinematographers and sound operators adopted a similar technique to follow the actors around. The resulting footage was then edited on much cheaper videotape and then transferred to film. Nilsson's first direct action film, Signal 7, a film examining the daily lives of San Francisco taxi drivers, was a success as was a subsequent direct action feature, Heat and Sunlight, which won the Grand Prize at the U.S. Film Festival in 1988. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1978
In 1915 North Dakota, Swedish-born farmer Ray Sorenson (Robert Behling) organizes the populist Nonpartisan League as a response to the bank foreclosures that threaten the livelihoods of himself and his neighbors. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Behling, Susan Lynch, (more)
Signal 7 is cab-driver jargon; if you want to know what it means, please treat yourself to this breezy low-budget effort. Shot on location in San Francisco, the film concentrates on the exploits of cabbies Speed (Bill Ackridge) and Marty (Dan Leegant). Their day-to-day adventures and misadventures are punctuated by their reactions to various large and small crises, and their oft-elucidated hopes of becoming actors. Lensed on videotape, Signal 7 was transferred to 35-millimeter stock for its theatrical showings. Given the fact that it sounds as though the actors were making it up as they went along, we shouldn't be too taken aback that Signal 7 was dedicated to pioneer improv filmmaker John Cassavetes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Ackridge, Dan Leegant, (more)
Looking none the worse for his age, Bruce Dern convincingly plays an amateur long-distance runner in On the Edge. Banned from American competition for violating his amateur status, Dern decides to prove he's still got what it takes. The middle-aged athlete enters the grueling Cielo Sea race, which has defeated many a man and woman half Dern's age. Our hero's obsession allows him to touch bases again with his former lover Pam Grier, his alienated father Bill Bailey, and his onetime trainer John Marley. It's Rocky for the rocking-chair set, but On the Edge is contagious in its euphoria. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Dern, Pam Grier, (more)
Rob Nilsson both directed and starred in Heat and Sunlight. Nilsson plays a San Francisco photographer who has trouble curbing his obsessions. He falls in love with dancer Consuelo Faust, then is unable to shake off his violently jealous impulses when the ardor cools. The musical score by David Byrne and Brian Eno successfully conveys the seismic disturbances in Nilsson's troubled psyche. The film itself lacks cohesiveness, though the individual sequences are for the most part worthwhile. Heat and Sunlight has enough exposed skin and profanity to fully warrant its R rating. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rob Nilsson, Consuelo Faust, (more)
- 1987
Anna Beringer (Melanie Dreisbach) is a 40-year-old housewife who leaves her family to study acting in San Francisco in this drama. She takes classes from Vincenzo (Robert Elross), a celebrated method-acting coach who does not shy away from the cold realities of her chances of success. Tony (Anthony Cistaro) is a fellow student who tries to seduce Anna. The lives and ambitions of the aspiring thespians and their experiences away from class are illustrated along with the grim reality that few ever make it in the often cruel world of entertainment. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard E. Arnold
- 1988
A cocky, irresponsible professional golfer discovers that he will have to clean up his act if he wants to compete in the PGA tour. Based on a novel by Dan Jenkins, this drama originally aired on cable television. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1990
In this made-for-cable adaptation of Roderick Thorp's crime thriller, Peter Weller stars as a Hollywood cop whose murder investigation runs into a wall of police corruption. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Sela Ward, (more)
The documentary Words for the Dying follows director Rob Nilsson as he attempts to capture the working process between collaborators John Cale and Brian Eno while they record an album consisting of songs inspired by the poetry of Dylan Thomas. Everyone goes to Russia to record, but things grow complicated when Eno wants nothing to do with the director and the camera. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- 1995
The struggle of country music's mother-daughter duo The Judds is told in this made-for-television drama. Kathleen York stars as Naomi Judd (then known as Diana Judd) a single mother of two daughters, who turned to music as way to help positively influence her increasingly belligerent and rebellious eldest daughter Wynonna (then known as Christina). The movie chronicles Naomi's struggle to provide for her daughters (the youngest is actress Ashley Judd), the singing duo's rise from Nashville fame to national celebrity, the ups and downs that accompanied a working family relationship, and Naomi's eventual retirement from the music business. The movie was based on Naomi's autobiography Love Can Build A Bridge. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
Dr. Helen Hudson (Sigourney Weaver), a psychiatrist famous for her writings about serial murderers, is nearly killed by obsessed psychopath Daryll Lee Cullum (Harry Connick Jr.). As a result of this trauma, Helen becomes a drunken, pill-taking agoraphobic who can't leave her San Francisco apartment. After a series of bizarre murders, she calls the police suggesting that the murders were the work of a serial killer. Detective M.J. Monahan (Holly Hunter) and her assistant Ruben (Dermot Mulroney) believe Helen and discover, during the investigation, that the man is re-creating murders by the killers described in Helen's book: The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy, Son of Sam and the Hillside Strangler. After Helen's secretary, Andy (John Rothmen) is murdered, Helen begins to fear for her own life. The film has a dramatic, terrifying conclusion as Helen confronts the killer and must overcome her own fears to save herself. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, (more)
- 1996
- R
With a cast comprised of a few professional and many more non professional actors and a realistic, earth setting, this independent drama of a young pool shark's decision whether or not to turn pro rings convincing and true. Most of the tale is set at the Crab Tree, a funky East Bay, San Francisco poolhall run by the aging curmudgeon, Pop. Pop and his real son have a tense relationship and frequently bicker. It is very different with his informally adopted on, T.C., a talented pool huckster who wandered into his bar two decades before as an orphaned 12-year-old. Though T.C. has the stuff to make it as a professional billiards player, he lacks ambition and no amount of cajoling from either Pop or his girl friend Lois seems to make him want to stop scamming nickel and dime winnings out of suckers, for though he really is good, T.C. remains unsure of himself. Then Pop gets diagnosed with throat cancer. To pay for the life-saving operation, loyal T.C. decides to overcome his fears and try to make it as a pro. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1997
Los Angeles district attorney Jess Kostner (Lori Laughlin) inaugurates her own personal descent into hell when she agrees to prosecute an accused rapist named Sean Ferguson (Tracey Walter). Having just recovered from a nervous breakdown brought about by the mysterious death of her mother, Jess is in no mood to discover that Sean's defense attorney is her own ex-husband Don Shaw (Bruce Greenwood). Things get really dicey when Ferguson's victim Connie (Lauren Tom) refuses to appear in court. Jess manages to persuade Connie to testify, only to be plunged into the abyss of guilt and self-loathing when Connie is "mysteriously" killed just before her testimony. The only positive aspect of this sordid affair is Jess' growing relationship with amiable courtroom spectator Adam Stiles (Joe Flanigan). Ultimately, the trial--and acquittal--of Sean Ferguson is revealed to be an elaborate charade, designed as a prelude to a uniquely perverse form of vigilante justice! Boasting so many plot twists that one virtually needs a scorecard to keep abreast of new developments, Tell Me No Secrets debuted January 20, 1997 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lori Loughlin, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
- 1998
- NR
Based on a teleplay by the late Rod Serling, this drama is set in a far-off and arid future. The tale follows the growing racial tension and conflicts within a mining town gripped by a terrible drought. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ron Perlman, Stephen Lang, (more)
- 2000
Directed by video-to-35 mm filmmaker Rob Nilsson, this largely improvised drama is set in, and populated by, real-life residents of San Francisco's notorious Tenderloin district. Three months after suffering a debilitating stroke, Phil (Teddy Weiler), a 55-year-old poet, is cared for by his longtime friend Johnny (Edwin Johnson). Unfortunately, the unemployed Johnny has troubles of his own, not least of which is the unwelcome attention of Modisco (Robert Viharo), a neighborhood scumbag who runs a strip club, among other dubious operations. Also vulnerable to Modisco's actions is Svetlana (played by transgender performer Omewene), a one-time adult entertainment worker who is being pressured by Modisco to resume her previous occupation. Both Johnny and Svetlana are trapped in a convoluted blackmailing scheme involving Modisco, and as the thuggish businessman tightens his grip on the two, they -- and by extension, Phil -- become trapped with nowhere to go. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- 2000
A man about to become a father ponders the notion of leaving his wife behind in this drama. Ryuki (Ryuki Tenmaya) and his wife Kaori (Naori Nakata) live in Sagi, a small island off the coast of Japan near Hiroshima. Kaori is soon to have a baby, and Ryuki is unhappy with his life -- he feels tied down by marriage and imminent fatherhood, and wishes he'd followed his youthful dreams of becoming an actor. When a group of tourists visit Sagi, Ryuki finds himself strongly attracted to a reporter (Hinako Atsumi) who is following them; he decides to pursue her, though the writer is more amused than intrigued. Winter Oranges was shot on a three-day schedule by American independent director Rob Nilsson, with the cast improvising most of their dialogue. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2000
Sullen yuppie scientist Perry (Jim Carpenter) returns home from work one night to find his opera-singer wife (Barbara Jaspersen) wearing only scanty lingerie and a naughty grin, apparently in an attempt to inject some much-needed life into the couple's flaccid marriage. Perry rejects her and takes off for San Francisco, where, after getting mugged, he repairs with his assailant to a strip club. No sooner has Perry made himself comfortable with his attacker and an opera singer (Dominique Lozano) who happens to be lounging in the joint, than he finds himself fending off a rape in the establishment's bathroom. Following this unsavory experience, the indefatigable hero journeys into the night with the opera singer, and generally wanders about getting beaten, and harassed by cops, before deciding to return to the relative comfort of his home and previously spurned spouse. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
A young gun enthusiast longing for a permit to carry soon finds that wielding a firearm can be a weighty responsibility in a chilling thriller that follows in the tense tradition of Elmore Leonard. Twenty-three year old Dillon McCarthy would like nothing more than a chance to work at Bill's Gun Shop. When he's hired and subsequently offered the opportunity to ride along on a dangerous bounty hunt, he is about to find out how quickly a dream can transform into a nightmare when a little lead come into play ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Scott Allen Cooper, John Ashton, (more)
- 2002
Coming as part of a spate of interrelated films made in collaboration with San Francisco's experimental theater troupe the Tenderloin yGroup, venerable indie filmmaker Rob Nillson delivers this Cassavetes-style meditation on a group of desperate, downtrodden characters who try to find connection with each other -- with varying degrees of success. The lead character of Noise is Ben (Robert Viharo), a recent ex-con who returns to San Francisco to visit old friends, only to find that the city has changed since he last saw it 20 years ago, and that his means of getting by -- counterfeiting - could cause him more trouble than even he knows. After his luck turns bad at a less-than-friendly party, Ben tries to contact a pen-pal he made from behind bars, also with little success. Noise is the sixth part of a seven-film series made between 2000 and 2003 called "9@Night," which all involve the same 40 actors from the theater troupe, and are made according to Nillson's theory of "Direct Action Cinema" -- digitally-shot, improvised films that attempt to heighten the viewer's awareness of social issues. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Viharo, Paige Olson, (more)
- 2002
- NR
Coming as part of a spate of interrelated films made in collaboration with San Francisco's experimental theater troupe the Tenderloin yGroup, venerable indie filmmaker Rob Nilsson delivers this Cassavetes-style meditation on a group of desperate, homeless, or otherwise downtrodden characters who try to find connection with each other -- with varying degrees of success. Attitude takes as its lead character Spoddy (Michael Disend), a recently HIV-positive mechanic and petty thief who, fearing retribution from some shady business associates, takes refuge with a group of homeless people living at a landfill. There, he self-centeredly rails against the forces that conspired to cause his demise -- never realizing that he oversaw his own downfall. Also starring Selena Allen, Attitude is the fifth part of a seven-film series made between 2000 and 2003 called "9@Night," which all involve the same 40 actors from the theater troupe, and are made according to Nilsson's theory of "Direct Action Cinema" -- digitally-shot, improvised films that attempt to heighten the viewer's awareness of social issues. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Disend, Robert Viharo, (more)
- 2005
The desperate lives of a handful of denizens of San Francisco's Tenderloin district are chronicled in this independent drama from filmmaker Rob Nilsson. Lou (Brette McCabe) is an aging street prostitute who wants to get out of the life, but she lacks the temperament for the straight life, and has started using heroin again, which even her dealer regards as a bad idea. Lou is also living dangerously by not giving a cut of her earning to her pimp, who usually responds to such behavior with violence. Jane (Marianne Heath) is Lou's daughter, who makes her living dancing at a dingy strip club, though she's grown tired of the work and has become willing to join her friend Petite (Diane Gaidry) in strong-arming johns for their wallets. And Francesca (Gabriela Maltz Larkin) is a friend of Jane who runs a combination brothel and phone sex service. While Francesca arranges pleasure for others, she's desperately lonely herself, and when Jane begins dating a handicapped man who shares a flat with Francesca, she explodes with resentment and jealousy. Need is the sixth film in director Nilsson's "9@Night" series, which documents life along the margins in the Bay Area. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diane Gaidry, Marianne Heath, (more)
Filmmaker Judy Irola chronicles the 1970s film movement known as Cine Manifest in this 2006 documentary. Comprised of San Franciscan Marxists, the film collective ambitiously sought to produce several cutting-edge politically-relevent movies. Irola herself was a member of the group and in the film she reunites with the other original contributors to reflect on their time together. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
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