John Pielmeier Movies

Durmot Mulroney, Gretchen Mol, and two-time Oscar nominee Emily Watson star in director Mick Jackson's feature adaptation of author Kim Edwards' New York Times best-seller concerning a physician whose painful decision to abandon one of his newborn twins has further reaching repercussions than he ever imagined. Dr. David Henry (Mulroney) and his wife Nora (Mol) have just given birth to a newborn set of twins when the husband makes the heartbreaking discovery that one of the children has Down syndrome. Completely unprepared with how to handle the situation, Dr. Henry ultimately decides to send the chromosomally damaged child away. Little does the doctor realize that the attending nurse has overheard his plan. Before the child can be sent away, the nurse intervenes - setting into motion a tragic sequence of events that will haunt the entire family for the following two decades. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

British actor Robert Carlyle stars as the 20th century's most infamous dictator in this two-part TV biopic. The film covers the life of Adolf Hitler from his childhood to his emergence as absolute ruler of Germany in 1934. Most of the ground covered should be familiar to history buffs: Hitler's failed efforts to become a great artist, his frustration at watching his adopted country fall apart at the seams during World War I, his resolve to put Germany back on its feet by exploiting the nation's horrendous postwar economic woes and its ingrained anti-Semitism, his 1923 arrest, the publication of Hitler's virulent screed Mein Kampf, the growing popularity of National Socialism, and the fatal error made by senile German chancellor Von Hindbenburg (Peter O'Toole) to "neutralize" Hitler by giving him a relatively unimportant political post in 1933. Also covered is Hitler's abortive romance with his half-niece Geli Raubal (Jena Malone) and his longer relationship with the estimable Eva Braun (Zoe Telford). Given the difficulties faced by actor Carlyle and the screenwriters to successfully convey pure, unadulterated evil, much of what we learn about Hitler is conveyed by the observations and reactions of other characters, notably crusading but ineffectual anti-Nazi journalist Fritz Gerlich (Matthew Modine), and especially German publisher Ernst Hanfstaengl (Liev Schreiber) and his wife, Helene (Julianna Margulies). Originally a staunch supporter of Hitler, Hanfstaengl eventually comes to realize the danger the man poses to the world ("He's not human. He simply studies others to become human."); in contrast, Helene, who at the outset is vaguely opposed to National Socialism, is ultimately seduced and swept up by the movement. Not surprisingly, this film stirred up a great deal of controversy even before it aired; some Jewish leaders and prominent Holocaust survivors worried that Hitler might come off as being sympathetic (a concern that may have dictated altering the film's title, which was to have been Hitler: The Early Years); and one of the film's producers was summarily dismissed after issuing a public statement which seemed to compare Germany's blind, unthinking allegiance to Hitler to America's rallying behind George W. Bush during the Iraq crisis. Hitler: The Rise of Evil originally aired May 18 and 20, 2003, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This two-part CBS TV movie was filmed as Talking to Heaven, the title of the autobiographical book upon which it was based. Ted Danson stars as real-life psychic James Van Praagh, a man who spent much of his life ignoring or denying his clairvoyant gifts until it became impossible for him to suppress them any longer. After experiencing several "visitations" from dead people in his youth, Van Praagh was tagged as a freak and shunned by friends and family members alike. It is only during a particularly difficult period of his adult life that James is willing to acknowledge his special talents, and then only because he has had visions of a forlorn young boy with bound hands. Galvanized into action by such grim images, not to mention the plaintive voices of several additional ghostly youngsters, James agrees to assist the authorities in locating the buried victims of a serial killer who may still be at large. Living With the Dead originally aired on April 28 and 30, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Matthew Modine stars in this adaptation of the classic novel by Daniel Keyes. In the film, Modine plays Charlie Gordon, a gentle, simple man with an IQ of 68 who is the subject of an intelligence-enhancing experiment. This lowly janitor, who was the butt of many of his co-workers' jokes, is soon alienating his friends by quoting Shakespeare and reading Aramaic. Unfortunately, his heightened intelligence proves to be temporary and he soon slides back into being unintelligent. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this National Geographic film, Omar Sharif, actor and native Egyptian, and Kate Maberly tell a story of a grandfather who regales his granddaughter with the mesmerizing saga of pharaohs and wondrous treasures made of gold. In Mysteries of Egypt, Sharif takes viewers back over 4,000 years, to the time when the pyramids were built amid the spectacular landscape of the Nile and the Valley of the Kings, offering a glimpse into King Tut's tomb. Included as a bonus is a behind-the-scenes film, "The Making of the Mysteries of Egypt," which reveals the processes that go into the creation of a program. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV The Shell Seekers was based on the best-selling novel by Rosamunde Pincher. Heading the cast is Angela Lansbury as Penelope Keeling, a reclusive British matron of comfortable means who suffers a near-fatal heart attack. While recovering, Penelope determines that her attack was a sign of sorts, urging her to get her life in order. As she prepares to break down the barriers she has built between herself and her three children, Penelope muses on her experiences during World War II, a time in which she solidified her outlook on life. Filmed in England and Spain, The Shell Seekers was the 162nd Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation; it debuted on December 3, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Choices of the Heart (aka In December the Roses Will Bloom Again) recounts the life and death of Irish lay missionary Jean Donovan. Together with three American nuns, the 27-year-old Donovan (here played by Melissa Gilbert) was murdered in El Salvador in 1980. Constructed in a complex flashback-flashforward style, the film shows how Donovan went from a selfish, materialistic girl to a champion of human rights. Martin Sheen plays the priest who is instrumental in Donovan's turnaround. The increasing demand for the US to withdraw its support of El Salvador's military-oriented government is a secondary but vital ingredient to the full dramatic impact of this made-for-TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide