Joan Allen Movies
Largely underappreciated for years in Hollywood before her Oscar-nominated turn as the First Lady in Nixon (1995), Joan Allen has had a distinguished career encompassing the stage, screen, and television. A native of Rochelle, Illinois, where she was born August 20, 1956, the blond, swanlike actress developed an interest in acting while in high school. Voted Most Likely to Succeed by her senior class, Allen went on to study theatre at Eastern Illinois University. She then moved to Chicago, where she became one of the founding members of the vaunted Steppenwolf Theatre Company, along with such respected talents as Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.Allen made her screen debut with a small role in the 1985 film Compromising Positions and a year later played two wildly different characters in Manhunter and Peggy Sue Got Married. Her portrayals of a tragically confused young woman who attempts to seduce a serial killer in the former film and a brainy high school student in the latter impressed a number of critics, but it was on the stage that Allen was most appreciated. In 1988, she won a Tony award for her Broadway debut performance in Burn This, and a year later she earned her second Tony nomination for her role in Wendy Wasserstein's highly acclaimed The Heidi Chronicles.
Following increasingly substantial roles in such films as In Country (1989), Ethan Frome (1992), and Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Allen won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her stunning portrayal of First Lady Pat Nixon in Oliver Stone's Nixon. The acclaim surrounding her performance in the 1995 film finally gave Allen the Hollywood recognition she deserved; the following year this recognition was further enhanced with her Oscar-nominated turn as the long-suffering Elizabeth Proctor in Nicholas Hytner's adaptation of The Crucible.
More praise came Allen's way in 1997, when she headlined a stellar ensemble cast in Ang Lee's lauded adaptation of Rick Moody's The Ice Storm. Starring as a troubled upper middle-class Connecticut housewife alongside the likes of Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Ricci, and Tobey Maguire, Allen gave repression a stirring, beautifully nuanced name. That same year she went in a completely different direction, starring as the wife of an FBI agent (John Travolta) in John Woo's popular action thriller Face/Off. Allen returned to the realm of the repressed housewife in 1998, starring (and reuniting with Maguire) in the acclaimed 1950s-set comedy drama Pleasantville. The turn of the century found Allen taking leads in a trio of issue-oriented dramas: In the multi-character handgun treatise All the Rage (released on video in 2000), she played the wife of a short-fused lawyer (reuniting with Pleasantville's Jeff Daniels in the process); in the Irish production When the Sky Falls, she teamed with The Long Good Friday (1980) director John Mackenzie to tell the true, tragic story of a Dublin crime reporter; and in Rod Lurie's The Contender, Allen nabbed her biggest role to date -- and her first Best Actress Oscar nomination -- as a would-be U.S. vice president who finds herself at the center of a sex scandal.
After all the attention for The Contender, the savvy Allen continued to oscillate between big roles in low-profile independent films and small roles in big-budget popcorn fare, to even greater success. She featured prominently in two of the biggest box-office hits of 2004: the sentimental romance The Notebook and the wildly successful second installment of the Jason Bourne franchise, The Bourne Supremacy. In the latter, she dug into a meaty, sympathetic supporting role as an all-business CIA agent who pursues the framed title character. Spring 2005 saw the near-concurrent release of two of her indie films, both of which premiered at Sundance Festivals from years prior: Campbell Scott's lapsed-hippie family drama Off the Map and Mike Binder's Terms of Endearment-ish saga The Upside of Anger. The former cast Allen against type as a let-it-all-hang-out New Mexico naturalist who finds her family coming apart at the seams in the mid-1970s. More widely acclaimed was her Anger appearance: As a drunk, headstrong, suburban Detroit housewife who lashes out at her four daughters -- and everyone else -- after her husband leaves the family, Allen turned in a performance that was both caustic and relatable, and garnered some of the best notices of her film career. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 2008
The meteoric emotional and intellectual development of Hungarian Jewish poet Hannah Senesh coincided neatly with the rapid-fire rise of anti-Semitic racial hostilities throughout Europe during WWII -- thus predestining Hannah for the life and role of a resistance fighter. The attempt that Hannah made to rescue Jews from the grim jaws of the Holocaust may have ultimately proven unsuccessful, but projected astounding nobility, fortitude, and self-sacrifice, and marked one of the only external rescue efforts of its kind mounted specifically for Hungarian Jews. An emigrant to Palestine, Senesh joined a British resistance force known as the Special Operations Executive, or SOE (which trained her as a parachutist), then helped devise a plot to parachute into Yugoslavia and deliver the Jews prior to the pending German occupation. Tragically, when Senesh and two male colleagues reached Yugoslavia, they learned that the Germans had already arrived in Bucharest, prompting the other two to turn back. Senesh marched on unabated, however, and ultimately fell prey to repeated torture and murder at the hands of the Nazis. As narrated by Oscar nominee Joan Allen, Blessed Is the Match marks the first documentary to relay Senesh's story for the sake of posterity. It blends dramatic reenactments featuring actresses Marcela Nohynkova and Meri Roth with recitations from Senesh's letters to her mother, interviews with the other parachutists and with kibbutz members, and a discussion with historian Sir Martin Gilbert -- which collectively etch out a portrait of an indomitable spirit with unfathomable courage. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Based on the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, as well as on a true story, Hachiko: A Dog's Story stars Richard Gere as a college professor who finds an abandoned dog and takes the poor lost animal in. The film follows the two as the man and animal soon form a strong and unexplainable bond. Joan Allen co-stars in the Inferno Entertainment production. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Joan Allen, (more)
Adolf Hitler spent years struggling to establish himself as an artist before his political ambitions rose to the surface and he brought the Nazi Party to power in Germany, and documentary filmmakers Richard Berge, Nicole Newnham, and Bonni Cohen offer a unique perspective on how Hitler's aesthetic viewpoint may have affected his nation's actions during World War II. The Rape of Europa examines the artistic tastes of Hitler and his leading advisors, and how they looted many of the great museums and private art collections of Europe during the course of World War II in order to stock museums built during the Third Reich (and benefit the collections of Germany's leaders). In addition, Axis forces actively participated in raids to destroy artwork and artifacts from nations and cultures Hitler regarded as "degenerate," serving as a curious parallel to "the Final Solution" that left six million dead. The film features rare newsreel footage and photographs documenting the Nazis' obsession with art; Joan Allen narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen
- 2002
- Add American Experience: War Letters - Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice to QueueAdd American Experience: War Letters - Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice to top of Queue
One commonality that seems to link every modern war is that soldiers almost invariably write their families and loved ones on a regular basis and their correspondence covers a broad range of human emotions -- funny camp stories, reassurances to worried folks at home, confessions of fear, anxieties about the dangers of the battlefield, and prescient goodbyes from fighting men and women who know they may never return. American Experience: War Letters -- Stories of Courage, Longing and Sacrifice is a documentary produced for PBS which follows America's history in armed conflict through the letters written home by men and women in uniform. American Experience: War Letters features readings from a cast of distinguished performers, including Joan Allen, Edward Norton, Bill Paxton, Giovanni Ribisi, David Hyde Pierce, and many more. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
This three-hour miniseries adapts Marion Zimmer Bradley's feminist recasting of the Arthurian mythos into a big-budget cable television event. In ancient England, Christianity is spreading and the Saxons are invading. It's up to Viviane (Anjelica Huston) -- Lady of the Lake and high priestess of the kingdom's ancient pagan religion -- to make sure that the next king will honor both the old and new faiths and thereby banish the barbarian hordes. Viviane manipulates her sister Igraine (Caroline Goodall) into marrying King Uther Pendragon (Mark Lewis Jones) and bearing a son, Arthur (Edward Atterton) -- much to the consternation of Viviane's other sister, the power-hungry Morgause (Joan Allen). Arthur grows up happily with his older half-sister, Morgaine (Julianna Margulies), until Merlin (Michael Byrne) spirits him off for training and Viviane brings Morgaine to the mystical island of Avalon to develop her magical connection to the Goddess. Years later, the siblings reunite in a masked mating ritual, unaware that their union is incestuous -- or that their son, Mordred (Hans Matheson), will fall into Morgause's clutches and destroy the delicate balance that Viviane has sought to maintain. As Arthur gathers the knights of the round table and ushers in a golden age with Queen Gwenhwyfar (Samantha Mathis) at his side, the seeds of his destruction, and Avalon's, have already been planted -- by Arthur himself. Filmed on-location in Prague, The Mists of Avalon premiered on the TNT cable network July 15 and 16, 2001. Director Uli Edel, best known for his feature adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn, had previously helmed Purgatory for TNT. The titular mists -- developed by Edel and executive producer Mark Wolper -- utilized custom fluid dynamic software designed specifically for the project. Celtic musician Loreena McKennitt added her theme music to composer Lee Holdridge's score. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies, (more)
In this crime drama adapted from a true story, Sinead Hamilton (Joan Allen) is a public relations agent turned journalist who is appalled at the corruption and drug trafficking in her native Dublin; determined to do something about it and make the city a safer place in which to bring up her son, Hamilton begins a series of investigative pieces exposing the major players in the city's dope trade, as well as possible links between drug dealing and the Irish Republican Army. Hamilton's stories win wide acclaim and lead to a public outcry to see that justice is served; they also make Hamilton a number of very dangerous enemies among the underworld, as well as the more corrupt segments of the law enforcement community. When the Sky Falls is based on the true-life story of Irish investigative reporter Veronica Guerin; Guerin worked on the early drafts of the script before she was murdered by members of the drug cartel she helped to expose, leading the producers to change the names of the characters and alter the story's outcome. The supporting cast includes Patrick Bergin as a police investigator, Pete Postlethwaite as a criminal insider who gives information to Hamilton, and Liam Cunningham as another notorious crime boss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Patrick Bergin, (more)
Director James D. Stern debuts with this darkly comedic, archly ironic look at America's obsession with guns. The film opens with Helen and Warren Harding (Joan Allen and Jeff Daniels) awaking one night to the sounds of their suburban trophy getting broken into. Warren grabs his trusty handgun and blows away the intruder, only to complain about the blood spots on his newly purchased bathrobe from Sundance. The unlucky guy turns out to be Warren's business partner, and it does not take long for him to wonder out loud if his wife and the dead man were having an affair. Meanwhile, Warren's lawyer Tim (Andre Braugher), whose civil-rights leading father was gunned down when he was a boy, receives a handsome gun from his film fanatic boyfriend Chris (David Schwimmer). Others involved include the young nymphet Annabel Lee (Anna Paquin) and her thuggishly violent brother Sidney (Giovanni Ribisi); Mr. Morgan (Gary Sinise), an eccentric and extremely paranoid Internet tycoon; and Tennel (Josh Brolin), a video store manager turned poet. All of these characters have their own personal axes to grind and all have easy access to guns. The result is as violent as it is senseless. All the Rage was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1998
This 1998 episode of Saturday Night Live is hosted by Joan Allen and features musical guest Jewel. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Jewel, (more)
- 1996
With his nerves at the breaking point, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) is in no mood for the rude behavior he encounters at every turn at the Café Nervosa. When one customer becomes particularly abusive, Frasier uncharacteristically administers an "etiquette lesson" with physical force. Word quickly spreads concerning this outburst turning Frasier into a local hero -- whereupon his radio listeners follow his example by settling their problems with their fists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
More a series of ragged comic anecdotes than a unified whole, the made-for-TV The Room Upstairs top-bills Stockard Channing as a Boston teacher of the hearing-impaired. Strapped for cash, Ms. Channing converts her family home into a boarding house. Six tenants with varying degrees of eccentricities and personal hang-ups take up residence, including soft spoken cellist Sam Waterston. Various crises involving her boarders inspire Ms. Channing to come out of her own emotional shell--she even stops her chain-smoking. Based on a novel by Norma Levinson and originally telecast as a Hallmark Hall of Fame special, The Room Upstairs was filmed on location in Boston and Vancouver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
All My Sons is the 1986 TV adaptation of Arthur Miller's 1947 Broadway play (a film version, starring Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster, was produced in 1948). James Whitmore stars as Joe Keller, a bullying industrialist who'd been accused of selling defective weapon parts to the government during World War II. He was acquitted when the court decided that it was his business partner who was responsible. Keller and his family desperately await the post-war return of son Larry, who was officially listed as missing in action. Larry's fiance Ann (Joan Allen), the daughter of Keller's imprisoned business partner, is attracted to Larry's brother Chris (Aidan Quinn), but she has vowed to remain faithful to her missing fiance. The play's third act reveals that it was indeed Joe Keller, and not his partner, who was responsible for the defective material -- and that his penny-pinching carelessness ended up costing the life of his own son Larry. Michael Learned co-stars as Keller's wife, who like her husband vainly tries to lock out the truth. First telecast January 19, 1987, All My Sons was the sixth-season opener of PBS's American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this comedy, an overweight patient escapes from a mental institution and travels to New York City for some fun and adventure. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tibor Feldman, Peter Linari, (more)
- 1985
Based on the novel by Belva Plain, the three-part NBC miniseries Evergreen covered a time span from 1909 to 1959. The story begins in New York's Lower East Side with the arrival of Polish-Jewish immigrant Anna (Lesley Ann Warren). At first employed as a humble seamstress, Anna is whisked into a whole new world when she becomes the wife of the enterprising Joseph Friedman (Armand Assante), who eventually becomes a wealthy Westchester contractor. Even so, Anna's heart belongs to Paul Lerner (Ian Shane), the son of the prosperous Fifth Avenue family which employs her relatives. In 1918, Anna gives birth to Paul's daughter, allowing Joseph to believe that he is the father. The secret surrounding Anna's child will lead to a daunting and frequently heartbreaking chain of events, culminating decades later in the newly formed state of Israel, where Anna's grandson Eric hopes to "find himself" -- and ends up finding more than he bargained for. Also in the cast was Richard Burton's daughter, Kate Burton, as the wealthy Gentile wife of Anna and Joseph's son Maury (Tony Soper), a woman whose very presence causes a near-irreparable rift in an already fragmented family unit. Running a total of six hours, Evergreen originally aired on February 24, 25, and 26, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The Transporter star Jason Statham takes the wheel in director Paul W.S. Anderson's remake of the Roger Corman classic about a hyper-violent cross-country race that breaks all of the traditional rules of the road. The time is the not-so-distant future, and as America's prisons begin overflowing with violent criminals, the powers that be devise a grisly game that will free up space in the cells and entertain the masses at the same time. Jensen Ames (Statham) is a three-time speedway champion with a dark past. A survival expert and ex-con whose sordid history comes back to haunt him when he is framed for a murder he didn't commit, Ames is forced to choose between donning the metallic mask of a mythical racer known as Frankenstein or languishing away on Terminal Island -- America's most notorious penitentiary. Over the course of the next three days, this unlikely champion will get behind the wheel of a nightmare machine outfitted with machine guns, grenade launchers, and flamethrowers in a desperate attempt to outrun some of the most violent criminals ever imprisoned. Should Ames be the first to cross the checkered flag, he will win his freedom; should he come in second, however, death would be preferable to a grim future in a cramped concrete cell. Co-stars include Joan Allen, Ian McShane, Natalie Martinez, and Tyrese Gibson, who takes over the role of Machine Gun Joe, made famous by Sylvester Stallone in the original. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, (more)
Two friends wonder if there might be more between them when their lives both take a left turn in this romantic comedy. Terry (Joan Allen) is a middle-aged housewife and mother of four teenaged daughters and gets the shock of her life when her husband, without a word of warning, leaves them behind, presumably to move to Sweden with his secretary. Going through a bender of depression and alcohol, Terry finds herself commiserating with Denny (Kevin Costner), a former baseball star turned unenthusiastic radio personality who was her husband's colleague and friend and an occasional presence at the house. With both Terry and Denny feeling down in the dumps about recent events in their lives, the two find themselves drawn to one another, and while Terry fights the notion of a new romance, her daughters -- Andy (Erika Christensen), Hadley (Alicia Witt), Emily (Keri Russell), and Lavender (Evan Rachel Wood) -- each have different ideas about their futures. The Upside of Anger was written and directed by Mike Binder, who also plays a supporting role as the producer of Denny's radio show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, (more)
Filmmaker Sally Potter directed this artful meditation on the dynamics of the romantic and sexual relationship. She (Joan Allen) is an intelligent and gifted genetic scientist of Irish-American heritage who feels smothered in her marriage to a British politician (Sam Neill). While dining at a friend's house, She meets He (Simon Abkarian), a handsome Lebanese exile who was a respected surgeon in his homeland but now supports himself in London as a cook. He flirts with her, and She is pleased with his advances; weeks later, she contacts him, and an affair begins. However, despite their mutual attraction, He and She find it difficult to set aside their political and national differences for very long, as love and lust wage a quiet war against the conscience and the intellect. Yes also features supporting performances from Shirley Henderson and Sheila Hancock. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, (more)
The hard-ball gamesmanship and casual character assassination of American politics sets the stage for this thriller from writer and director Rod Lurie. When the Vice President of the United States unexpectedly dies, all eyes in Washington D.C. are on President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) as he chooses a new VP. Sen. Jack Hathaway (William Petersen), a respected career politician enjoying a new swell of popularity after a well-publicized attempt to save a drowning woman, is expected to be Evans' choice, but instead he picks Sen. Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), a decision that raises eyebrows on both sides of the political fence. Veteran power broker Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman) is vehemently opposed to Hanson's appointment, in part because the Democratic senator was once a Republican, and vows to do everything in his power to prevent her from being confirmed. Runyon and his staff start digging for dirt on Hanson, and soon make a surprising discovery -- her personal morality is called into question when it's alleged that she took part in a group sexual liaison while she was a college student. The Contender also stars Mike Binder as one of Hanson's advisors, Mariel Hemingway as an old friend with a surprising secret, Christian Slater as an ambitious congressmen assisting Runyon, and Philip Baker Hall as Hanson's father; it was the second feature from former film critic Rod Lurie. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, (more)
Set on Thanksgiving weekend of 1973, The Ice Storm looks into the lives of a wealthy Connecticut family who are calm and civil on the outside, but whose lives are quietly falling into chaos. Sixteen-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is home for the holidays from prep school; he'd just as soon have stayed at school, given the usual level of tension around the house and his desire to win the affections of Casey (Katie Holmes), a girl living in Manhattan. His 14-year-old sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci), is already a hardened cynic obsessed with the ongoing Watergate investigation, and she has begun acting out sexually with a neighbor boy, Mikey (Elijah Wood). Apparently, this runs in the family: Wendy's father, Ben (Kevin Kline), is having an affair with Mikey's mother, Janey (Sigourney Weaver), though Ben sees a future in the relationship and Janey does not. Elena (Joan Allen), Ben's wife, knows something is wrong with her marriage and her life, but she has no idea what she should do about it. As the teenagers surreptitiously experiment with drugs and alcohol, and the adults drift into mate-swapping, a dangerous blanket of freezing rain begins to cover New Canaan. The Ice Storm was adapted from the acclaimed novel by Rick Moody. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, (more)
The third of John Woo's American-made feature films, Face/Off stars John Travolta as Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a criminal genius who years before killed Archer's son while trying to assassinate the agent. Archer's single-minded pursuit of Troy has caused serious harm to his marriage, but Archer thinks the light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when a seriously wounded Troy is captured in a bloody shootout. However, it turns out that Troy has planted a time bomb, with a biological payload that could destroy the entire city of Los Angeles -- and Troy isn't about to say where it is. The only other person who knows the bomb's location is Troy's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), who is no more helpful than Castor. FBI scientists hatch a plan: they have developed an experimental surgery which would allow them to graft Troy's face temporarily on Archer's head and allow him to question Pollux as if he were his brother. But after Archer has taken Troy's face, Troy regains consciousness and forces the doctors to give him Archer's face. Now the criminal mastermind has the FBI at his disposal, and the lawman is underground with few places to turn. Along with Woo's usual elaborately choreographed action scenes, Face/Off features a number of notable supporting performances, including Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Colm Feore and C.C.H. Pounder as FBI scientists, and Gina Gershon as Troy's loyal but long-suffering girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, (more)
Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, (more)
- 1991
- R
In the made-for-cable film Without Warning: The James Brady Story, Beau Bridges stars in the true-life story of the Ronald Reagan press secretary who was critically wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan by John Hinckley. Brady was left crippled by the shooting, and the film follows his recuperation process, as well as his fight for more stringent gun control. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Joan Allen, (more)
Norman Jewison directed this subdued character study of the effect of the Vietnam War on a small-town Kentucky family -- based on the novel by Bobbi Ann Mason. The film centers upon 17-year-old Samantha (Emily Lloyd) who lives in Hopewell, Kentucky with her Uncle Emmett (Bruce Willis), a quiet, laid-back veteran of Vietnam suffering from post-traumatic stress. Samantha's father was killed in Vietnam when he was 19-years-old (almost her age now), and her mother Irene (Joan Allen) has remarried. Samantha finds some old photographs of her father, and she becomes obsessed with finding out more about him. Irene, who has moved to Lexington with her second husband, wants Samantha to move in with them and go to college. But Samantha would rather stay with Uncle Emmett and try to find out more about her father. Her mother is no help, as she tells Samantha, "Honey, I married him four weeks before he left for the war. He was 19. I hardly even remember him." Finally Samantha, Emmett and her grandmother (Peggy Rea) go to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Finding her father's name in the memorial releases cathartic emotions in Samantha and her family. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Emily Lloyd, (more)
Red Dragon, the Thomas Harris novel that introduced serial killer Hannibal Lecter to the world, was adapted for the screen by Michael Mann as Manhunter. Ace criminal profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) is very good at his job because he has the ability to make himself think like the killers he tracks. Will has been in retirement since catching Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter (Brian Cox), as being inside that particular deranged mind caused Will to have a breakdown. Will's boss Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina visits Will at his home, showing him pictures from a murder scene and asking for his help in catching a new killer they have dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan). In order to test his mental strength, Will visits Hannibal in his prison cell. Adding to the already substantial mental stress Will experiences when he returns to the job are nosy tabloid reporter Freddy Lounds (Stephen Lang), as well as Hannibal's attempts at seeking revenge through the Tooth Fairy. After two additional films that featured Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal) became box-office blockbusters, Manhunter was re-made as Red Dragon starring Hopkins and Edward Norton as Will Graham. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William L. Petersen, Kim Greist, (more)
- 1985
- R
Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Sarandon, Raul Julia, (more)
