Van Dyke Parks Movies

Inspired by actual events, director Chen Shi-Zheng's socially conscious psychological drama follows the journey of an ambitious Chinese scientist working towards his Ph.D. in America, only to be marginalized to the extent that he ultimately loses his way. All Liu Xing (Liu Ye) ever wanted was to study the origins of the universe at a Western university. Upon arriving at the school, Liu immediately rents a modest apartment with a few other Chinese students and begins flirting with the pretty American who works at the local coffee shop. Personally welcomed into Department Head Jacob Reiser's (Aidan Quinn) select cosmology group, Liu remains dedicated to his studies and optimistic about the future. Things continue to look up as Liu becomes close with wealthy university patron Johanna Silver (Meryl Streep) after the two become acquainted at an orientation for foreigners sponsored by a local church.

Eventually, Liu becomes Reiser's protégé, and makes a sizable impression at a prestigious conference attended by the pair. But attitudes start to shift when Liu's studies in dark matter come into direct conflict with his mentor's prominent theories and well-established studies. His excitement about a potential breakthrough causes him to ignore repeated warnings that he must pay his dues, and Liu's findings are eventually eclipsed by that of more studious fellow student Laurence. Determined to have his studies published, Liu goes behind Reiser's back, but he ultimately becomes the target of ire rather than accolades, with Johanna's naïve encouragement prompting him along a dangerous collision course. While Liu remains enamored with the concept of the American dream and optimistic about American science being a free market of ideas, he begins to grow dejected after his dissertation is rejected, the girl at the coffee shop blows him off, and his roommates all find lucrative jobs. Essentially left behind at the university, Liu rejects Johanna's offer for help and vows not to return home to disappointed parents. Now, as he coasts on the fumes of his unrealized dreams, the dishonored student prepares to lash out with one final act of devastating annihilation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

As the primary songwriter and producer for the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson had already developed a reputation as one of the true visionaries of American pop music when, in 1966, he created Pet Sounds, a song cycle of love, growing up, and heartbreak that despite modest sales was acclaimed as a masterpiece (and was cited by Paul McCartney as an inspiration for the Beatles when they made Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). That year, Wilson planned an even more ambitious follow-up, a "teenage symphony" called Smile. However, for a number of reasons, Smile was scrapped at the last moment (though jackets had already been printed for the LP), and it developed a reputation as one of the great "lost albums" of American rock. In 2004, Wilson and collaborator Van Dyke Parks belatedly revisited the Smile material, first with a series of concerts in which they presented the songs in their proper sequenced form for the first time, and then by re-recording the tunes for a Grammy-winning album. Brian Wilson Presents Smile features Wilson and Parks performing the Smile album in concert (with Wilson's band joined by an orchestra). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Robert Altman directs the musical drama The Company from an original story by actress Neve Campbell, based on her own experiences with The National Ballet of Canada. At the center of the ensemble cast is the young dancer Ry (Campbell), a rising star with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. She struggles with the demands of being a dancer while supporting herself as a waitress and starting up a romance with Josh (James Franco). Meanwhile, the ballet company director, Alberto Antonelli (Malcolm McDowell), manages to balance his own administrative and artistic duties. Campbell does her own dancing in the film and the rest of the company is played by the actual members of the Joffrey Ballet. The Company was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Harold travels to the Crayon World once again; this time the destination is an art museum. In learning about famous artists ranging from Rembrandt to Warhol, Harold realizes an important element to his own self-expression. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Chaos reigns in the Crayon World when Harold draws several mischievous monkeys who take it upon themselves to let all of the other animal drawings out of their cages. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Just as Jon Voight's on-target portrayal of controversial sportscaster Howard Cosell) in the 2002 biopic Ali was making the theatrical rounds, actor John Turturro offered his own spin on "Humble Howard" in the made-for-cable movie Monday Night Mayhem. Based on the book by Bill Carter and Marc Gunther, the film chronicles the creation of ABC Television's Monday Night Football telecast in 1970, then continues with the weekly telecast's rapid ascent to the top of the ratings. Reasoning that such a momentous undertaking needed a spectacular "star" lineup in the announcing booth, ABC's aggressive sports director Roone Arledge (John Heard) teams the highly opinionated, irritatingly erudite Cosell with not one but two charismatic ex-athletes, "Dandy Don" Meredith (Brad Beyer) and Frank Gifford (Kevin Anderson). The film makes much of Cosell's open disdain towards his "intellectually inferior" co-anchors and of Meredith and Gifford's reaction to their booth-mate's jibes, and also recreates many of Monday Night Football's highlights, notably Cosell's announcement in the middle of an important game that John Lennon has just been murdered. Monday Night Mayhem originally aired on January 14, 2002, not on ABC (surprise, surprise!) but as part of the TNT cable network's prime time lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Crockett Johnson's popular children's books come to life in this, the first installment in an animated series inspired by his book Harold and the Purple Crayon. In this pilot episode, restless Harold (voice of Connor Matheus) is having a hard time sleeping, so he grabs his trusty purple crayon and sneaks outside, where he explores the wonders of the outside world and creates some new ones while he's at it. Sharon Stone serves as narrator. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Crockett Johnson's curious four-year-old boy draws up some more adventures in this episode from HBO's animated series based on the popular children's books. In "Harold in the Dark," Harold (voice of Connor Matheus) discovers that the moon isn't in the sky where it used to be, and he and his crayon set out to find it, with some help from his stuffed toy Lilac. Sharon Stone narrates this story. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Adventure looms ahead of Harold after receiving a book on dinosaurs. When he finds himself having trouble sleeping, he journeys once again to the Crayon World, where he comes face to face with the prehistoric beasts themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Harold journeys once again to the Crayon World, this time accompanied by his friend Lilac. With the help of his artistry, some animals, and a lot of imagination, they hope to bring music to their fantasy land. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

As a child, Lucy Cullins asked Santa Claus to bring her father home from Vietnam. But when her dad returned in a pine box, the embittered Lucy decided that Christmas -- and every other holiday for that matter -- was a humbug. Now all grown-up (and played by Whoopi Goldberg), Lucy is the hard-as-nails producer for the Shop-A-Lot Channel, a home-shopping cable service. While auditioning actors to play Santa Claus for a hokey Yuletide informercial series, Lucy hires a twinkly eyed old gentleman named Nick (Nigel Hawthorne), who, unbeknownst to everyone but the audience, is the genuine, bonafide "Ho Ho Ho" man himself. Facing mandatory retirement at age 200, Nick must find someone to take his place as Santa Claus for the next two centuries. The person he chooses in none other than Lucy Cullins -- and if she doesn't accept the job, the North Pole will melt, wreaking havoc upon everyone in the world, whether they're "naughty" or "nice." Originally conceived as a vehicle for a black man, Call Me Claus was reshaped as a showcase for Whoopi Goldberg when the actress signed on as co-executive producer. Also in the production lineup was country & western singer Garth Brooks, who penned a handful of new songs for the occasion. Call Me Claus debuted over the TNT cable network on December 2, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The true story of one of the most contentious labor disputes of the 1970s is the basis for this made-for-cable drama. In 1973, many of the men of Harlan County, Kentucky, were employed by Brookside Mining, who operated a number of coal mines. Brookside paid its employees meager wages for dangerous, backbreaking work, and also controlled housing and retail sales in the area, boarding its workers in shacks without central heating or indoor plumbing, and selling them food and clothing at inflated prices. Warren Jakopovich (Stellan Skarsgard), an organizer for the United Mine Workers Association, encouraged Brookside's workers to join the union and go on strike for fair wages and better working conditions. Many of the miners simply couldn't afford the loss of income that a strike would mean, but when two workers died as a result of Brookside's willful ignorance of safety standards, most of Harlan County's mine workers finally went on strike. A judge formerly employed by Brookside handed down an order forbidding the workers to picket the mine sites, but Ruby Kincaid (Holly Hunter), whose husband Silas (Ted Levine) was fired for protesting dangerous conditions and whose father was attacked by scab laborers, organized the wives of striking miners to picket in their place. The Harlan County War was based on the same strike portrayed in the Academy Award-winning documentary Harlan County, USA. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this modern noir-style drama, Claire (Elizabeth Rossa) is a former police officer who has drifted into an aimless funk. Her former husband Steve (Chris Byrne), however, pulls her out of her depression when he calls her, seeking her help. Steve has become the key suspect in the murder of a wealthy musician (Noel Harrison); it seems among the pianist's many eccentricities, he decided to embrace a life of celibacy. However, his wife Allison (Jennifer Starr) had no interest in putting her sexual appetites on hold, and was dallying with a number of men, including Steve. While Steve admits his affair with Allison, he states emphatically that he is innocent of the murder, and Claire begins to search for whoever might be responsible for the crime. Noel Harrison, who plays the murdered musician, had a briefly successful career as a musician in the late 1960's and enjoyed a hit single with his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne." Harrison wrote and performed several original songs for The Murder In China Basin, which was screened at the 1999 Dances With Films Festival of the Unknowns. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi