Description

LEAP OF FAITH stars Steve Martin as Jonas Nightengale, a fraudulent faith healer who makes a living visiting small towns and giving hope in the form of prayer. Aided by his no nonsense manager, Jane (Winger), Jonas sets up his tent in a small suburb of Kansas where he soon learns that their hidden mikes, cameras and computers can’t fool the neighborhood sheriff (Neeson).But, when Jonas is touched by a local waitress (Davidovich) and her disabled son Boyd (Haas), he learns something new about truth and what real miracles are made of. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

A Pleasant Surprise
I had never heard of this movie before I saw it and I wasn't expecting it to be any good--but it is. It's really, really good.
Considering the star status of Steve Martin (who turns out an extrodinary performance in this film) why has it been so overlooked? Martin plays "Jonas Nightengale", a glib traveling evangalist, faith healer, and con man. When one of his trucks breaks down in the impoverished town of Rust Water, Kansas, he sets up his tent and invites the town to a revival. The sheriff (Liam Neeson) is determined to stop Nightengale from seperating the poor and desperate people from what little money they have. At first this film appears to simply be a cynical expose of the tricks fraudulent preachers use to shake down their flocks. But as it progresses it reveals itself to be something much more complex and subtle. At one point Nightengale, when confronted as being a fake, replies, "What difference does it make as long as I get the job done?" Yet when a real miracle occurs, something he can niether explain or control, his lack of faith is shaken and he actually becomes angry with God. As in real life conversions, the film unexpectedly turns you around 180 degrees by the end.

Outstanding!!
This movie touches everyone who watches it. Some may not admit it but you sit through it without being touched you are dead or numb. Steve Martin is super as Jonas Nightingale, definitely an academy award performance. My personal favorite moment is the little comical dance he breaks into in the middle of his sermon. It always breaks me up each time I watch it and I have seen it many times. It is one of those movies you never seem to see enough. Liam Neeson is also great as the sheriff who is skeptical of Jonas and tries to bring him down. Everyone knows how great Debra Winger is and this one of her best efforts. A must for every serious movie lovers library.

The Well Known Correlation Between MEATLOAF & Word Of Faith!
Steve Martin is born to play the starring role of Jonas Nightingale, a travelling huckster, fraud of a faith healer, demon "caster outer", "slay in the spiriter" & more importantly, a money grubbing false prophet. Along with his no-nonsense sidekick manager, Jane, played aptly by Debra Winger, they bilk poor souls from a small town out of their hard earned cash with the oldest profession in the world. No, not prostitution. The selling of the Gospel Of Jesus Christ!

This film exhibits many word-faith doctrines such as "positive confession", "gospel of health", "gospel of wealth" and the whole "name it and claim it" belief. More imporantly, what it also has is some great smaller role performances given by Lolita Davidovich as waitress Marva, Lukas Haas as Boyd, Liam Neeson as Will, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Matt, and MEATLOAF as Hoover!

This movie also has a great soundtrack with samplings from Don Henley, Patti LaBelle, Wynonna Judd and of course, the great Meatloaf with "Paradise By The Dashboard Lights"!

Seriously though... This film has a great ending and shows what REAL MIRACLES are made of and EXACTLY where they are made...

A fun & entertaining family film!

Happy Watching!

WOW
What an awesome movie! I have already watched so many Steve Martin's movies but in this one he gives us the best performance ever.
Jonah, is a public religious speaker who goes from town to town to heal and give hope to people. A whole team works for him. His main assistant gathers and passes on the information to him about people in the audience. Everything she says he got it through the "GOD" (microphones in his ears)...

Very very very funny for us and very very very threatening and serious for phony people such as Benny Hinn and some other wackos like himself.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Phe-no-men-al!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This movie has been one of my favorites since it hit the big screen many years ago. Not that I am old now, but I was a very young person when it came out, and being an avid lover of Gospel music, I was truly taken back by the music that was apart of this movie. Many Gospel music notables such as Ricky Dillard (Choir director) and Albertina Walker (soloist) quickly caught my eye as the movie and plot began to develop. I would truly recommend this movie to those who love Gospel music, and even those who love Steve Martin. He did a phenomenal job of playing a minister and a con simultaneously. I applaud him!!!!! I urge anyone that reads this review and is contemplating purchasing this movie to do so with no hesitation. You will not regret it!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Christine's Review - The Long Walk Home
'The Long Walk Home' was an excellent film. It was very informative and educational, as well as pleasurable. In Montgomery in 1955, life was difficult for those who lived there. I think this film was a great portrayal of how hard everyone's life was and the changes they had to make. Odessa Cotter and Miriam Thompson, two central characters, teach us an important lesson for other to live by. Miriam doesn't allow her husband, Norman, to tell her what is right and wrong. Miriam doesn't let him control her actions. She realizes that helping with the carpool and supporting the boycott is the right thing to do. Odessa is very strong while all this is going on. She has hope of a new order. At first, I was skeptical on all the violence and racist language, but later realized that having it all gave a more practical view and a better understanding on how harsh life was and what everyone had to deal with. I recommend and encourage everyone to see this movie, if not already seen. Even if you're not into this kind of historical background, it's still very good and enjoyable to watch!!

The Long Walk Home
This movie paints a very vivid picture of the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Odessa Cotter, a maid, is in the middle of the beggining of the civil rights struggle. One can see the differences between a white and black family during the 50's. Odessa struggles to support her family and the boycott. One feels the tension between the two groups, and the violence that sometimes resulted. I saw this movie in Morality class, and I'm glad I had the chance to see it. Because of this movie I am more aware of the civil rights struggle and all of the hardships that came with it. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to enrich their knowledge and enjoy a great movie.

Great movie concerning black's struggle
I thought this movie was a great movie. It depicted the black struggle in the Montogomery Bus Boycott very well. It was very relasitic in showing the inequality that the black people faced in that time period and how many white people were so racist and unfair to them. It also shows how some white people were very helpful and supported the boycott (Miriam). I believe that this movie is a greta movie to make all ages aware of was really occured during the black rights movement. It teaches you alot about the different views of people and what it is like living as a black person and a white person during this era.

Wonderful Film -- Terrible DVD
This is a marvelous film that gives an accurate account of life in the middle of the 20th Century in the Southern US. I couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD. And what did we get? The usual horrible ARTISAN shoddy worksmanship. The DVD has no extras, not even a trailer. It is in full frame instead of widescreen. But most important, the print is terrible. It is very soft, as if it is a copy of a copy. There is no sharpness to it at all, and colors bleed. It is as bad as Artisan's "The Quiet Man." Artisan should not be in the DVD business, as they have no concept of quality. I would be ashamed to work there.

mike's opinion and review
The film, The Long Walk Home, was a very excellent one in that it showed how things really were at one time. It showed the brutality that people had toward our fellow man and how people don't respect others because of a God-given feature such as skin color. It was hard to watch at times, hard to believe that people can be so rude, ignorant, and immature. It opened my eyes as to how exactly black people were treated and how they were looked down on and mis-treated. This film is one to be remembered because it showed the truth, and even though the truth is not what many wish to see, it is the facts. Odessa showed courage, love, and most of all faith. These three virtues helped her immensely to get through the tough times of her life. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to seek knowledge about the past and wants to learn from it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It may have been underrated when first broadcast on PBS on consecutive nights in the fall of '03, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for the seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Because the absence of lengthier vintage clips is the principal drawback of the series, Clint Eastwood's Piano Blues is the best of the lot; a musician himself, Eastwood simply lets the players play, which means we get extensive file footage of the likes of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Nat "King" Cole, as well as new performances by Ray Charles, Dr. John, and others.--Sam Graham ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Grade F+
A cop's partner is killed, and poor Richard feels he has to go and take care of the bad guy that did it. Richard's wife has left him and he now is divorced, so Kim, who is a white slave of the bad guy, ads more reason for Richard to go after the bad guy. Besides, Kim was there when Richard's partner was done in.
THE GOOD
Not much, Kim Bassinger is pretty to look at, and that is about it.
THE BAD
Richard and Kim along with rest of the cast, seem to be going thru the motions of acting. Richard has the same blank stare that he has in most of his moves. Living close to New Orleans, they did not take advantage of the local landscape. This movie could have been filmed anywhere. They do not know how to eat Crawfish in the movie, a southern treat. The Final fight scene is poorly shot.
C.P.O.V
The F word is used alot, along with other foul language. Kim's breast are shown thru her wet shirt as she poors water down blouse to cool off. The killings are pretty bloodless, compared to today's standards. Not a lot of killings in this movie anyway.-EJW

This is a 5 star!
this is such an incredible movie. We get to see to Oscar winning performances here. Both great bodies strut their stuff and intensify the moments in the movie with the dramatic impersinations of the charactors. Don't miss it!

Gere, Bassinger Have That Chemistry That Heats Up The Screen
A film that went unoticed in the 80's is a tight well acted thriller starring the incomparable Richard Gere as tough brash Chicago Cop who's on a revenge misson to the bayous of New Orleans to find his partner's killer and gets involved with a mobster's illerate mistress. Standard Script with a few good action sequences thrown in along with Gere's exceptional talent to hold the viewer's attention throughtout the entire film. Even though the viewer has been through familar territory with this type of script it is still a great movie. Memorable scene was when Gere & Bassinger are treding through the swamps handcuffed together Mouthing off to one another. First of two film this duo has done together the other film was released 6 years later in another steamy thriller "Final Analysis"

Spicy Cajun Cuisine
This is a fantastic cop thriller and one of the best films of it's ilk made during the 80's. It could easily have been made this year and not in 1986 it holds up so well. Basinger shows why she was so sought after and why so many were relieved when L.A. Confidential finally came her way. Before Richard Gere slipped into the slick but empty films he would make later on, he gave a terrific performance in this one.

Director Richard Pearce gives this crime story a special atmosphere as it moves from Chicago to the hustle and bustle of New Orleans and finally to the marshy swamps of the Bayou. There is a good script from James Carabatsos that adds a gritty realism missing in many films of this kind. The chemistry between Gere and Bassinger is explored slowly while they are on the run and the romance is very credible because of it.

Eddie Jillette (Gere) and his best friend and partner Joe Collins (Gary Basaraba in a nice role) are undercover at a car wash and when they blow a drug bust by jumping the gun they get a chance to redeem themselves by pretending to be hitmen. All they know is someone from Louisiana wants to make a hit in Chicago and their contact is suppose to be a heartstopper. It turns out to be gorgeous beauty Basinger. She is the heartstopper with a blue parrot tattoo on her shoulder and a rich Loisiana lawyer looking to hire a killer.

The man they want killed is a Loisiana crime lord named Losado (creepily played by Jerome Krabbe) who runs Algiers and owns Basinger, literally. Her parents sold her to Losado when she was thirteen in a world Jillette can't understand but is about to find out about when both the lawyer and Eddie's best friend are brutally killed. Michel dissappears back to the Big Easy with Losado and Eddie goes after her to get to his partner's killer.

It's a whole 'nother world down there and in spite of warnings to leave from the cops he tracks Michel down through her pretty Creole friend Cara (Aleta Mitchell), who finds it is unwise to cross Losado. There is some true menace here and not the cartoon stereotype villian we find in some action flicks. As Eddie and Michel leave the Big Easy for the Bayou handcuffed together he begins to sympathize and care for the illiterate Michel and she finally begins to have a little hope in escaping.

When Eddie tries to get rid of her so she doesn't get killed while he seeks his revenge, things get complicated emotionally for both of them and there is a terrific love scene that has the ring of truth. The gritty atmosphere and involving story separates this film from the rest of the pack. The final confrontation as Eddie and Michel face down Losado in an attempt to survive together is well staged and exciting.

George Dzundza as Eddie's Captain is noteworthy but so is the whole cast. The story is solid and the atmosphere simply dripping with the juice from crawfish. You feel like you're really in the Bayou here and that atmosphere adds greatly to the tense climax and the epilog to wrap up a very special film.

If you've never seen this or you can't remember it it's one you'll want to go back and take a look at. It will be one of your favorites after you do. This one is a real winner....

Have Mercy
No Mercy is one of those films that is not really that bad, but it leaves you wondering how did they get big stars to do it. In the film Richard Gere plays a tough New York cop with a drinking habit, an ex-wife, and a bad rep. So what happens to him? Well his good natured partner (you know the one with the with the wife and kids and a good reputation a.k.a has everything to lose) gets murdered when Gere takes a tip from a local hood that a hit is about to go down. So the film turns into the rouge cop on the revenge trail story. This will bring him to New Oreans(that whole "fish-out-of-water" thing), and to Kim Basinger. Along the way Gere will encounter lots of bad guys, bullets, cops who don't like him, swamps, crawfish, and cajons(sp?) all to a hip 80's soundtrack.

This film was the first pairing of Richard Gere and Kim Basinger together and to it's credit it is better than there second film, Final Analysis. However there really isn't much going on here. The plot was as predictable as traffic at five o'clock. Neither Gere nor Basinger is very good which is Richard Pearce's(the director) fault because they fall in and out of their accents. I have to say though there is something about Richard Gere that even in his weaker films, like this one, he is still fun to watch. The same can be said for Basinger who is always delightful on the eyes even when she is hard on the ears.

This film has it's momments, but they are pretty sparse. Maybe Richard and Kim will get it right on the third try since they seem to like doing this type of film together. If you're out there looking for some steamy action you might want to look elsewhere. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

very nice story, a lesson for all

A FAMILY THING

Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones, Michael Beach, Irma P. Hall, 1995

Synopsis

An Arkansas man (Duvall) in his 60's finds out, after his mother dies, that his birth mother was a black woman, who died giving birth to him. He then goes to Chicago to find his half brother (Jones), who does not want anything to do with him. It is thru his Aunt T. (his birth mother's sister) that the two men grow to understand the truth of their relationship.

My Review

You can't go wrong with Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones. Irma P. Hall (grandmama from 'Soul Food') gives a great performance giving this movie that special boost that makes it worth seeing and talking about. The flashback scene near the end of the film is superb. An interesting and touching story.

MOVIE BY OUTSTANDING VETERAN ACTORS FOR EVERYONE
Oddly enough, I purchased this video from a bargain bin of pre-viewed tapes at a local video store. The cast led by Robert Duvall (Earl Pilcher Jr.) and James Earl Jones (Ray Murdock ) was enough to peak my interest. I had not heard of FAMILY THING until taking it home that evening. This is the poignant story of an intense midlife crisis lived through by an ordinary middle aged white Arkansan, played by Duvall. Head of an extended family, upon his mother's death Pilcher is handed her personal letter to him by their family minister. Her letter says, his secret birth mother was his adoptive mother's then taboo Black friend. Also, he has an older half brother Ray Murdock (skillfully played by James Earl Jones). This is how the story begins. A central character named Aunt T (Murdock's surrogate mother) is so well played by veteran actress Irma P. Hall that her not receiving a nomination for an Academy Award cannot so easily be explained as an oversight. The tensions, ironies and intense character developments interpreted by Duvall and Jones keeps this movie alive from beginning to its happily resolved end. It is too bad that censors in Hollywood were embarassed by common and infrequent street talk and a mild childbirth scene in a flashback. Making an optimistic guess, these innocent segments alone led to the movie's PG-13 rating. Yet it contains important social and family messages that should be received by all children (and adults). Having raised four of my own, my position would have been to allow my nine years old and older to see Family Thing on their own.

IMPORTANT AND WELL MADE MOVIES STILL CAN BE SEEN AT THE TURN OF THE MILLENNIUM. Family Thing is one of them.

One Great Movie!
To make a long story short, this is one awesome movie. I'm proud to own it on dvd. I highly recommend it. This movie plainly proves that we're all God's children, pure and simple!

EXCELLENT MOVIE -- A FAMILY THING
When my husband asked me to watch this with him, I was like "ok, there's nothing on cable, might as well". I wasn't really thrilled about watching it but to my surprise it is one of the BEST movies I have ever seen. Robert Duvall is super in this movie not to mention James Earl Jones. This movie really says it all "it doesn't matter your color...family is family, it's just A FAMILY THING. I give this 2 thumbs up and 5 stars.

Overlooked masterpiece
When I looked over the video box and saw the fine cast, I rented this movie expecting some enjoyable but fluffy entertainment. However, this sleeper turned out to be a true masterpiece, easily making my list of all-time best. Within the first few minutes, Robert Duvall gives us a study in fine acting when he confronts his father with the mother's letter about their long-buried family secret. And how many people would recognize the authentic Southern slang when James Earl Jones declares, "I ain't studyin' you!"

The only flaw I can find in this picture is the jarring music that inappropriately breaks the mood to introduce the final credits. But that's the only one, a millionth of a percent. I will snap up the DVD now that it is available.

Good story, great cast, engrossing from beginning to end. So why didn't this movie receive more attention? Was it because it isn't the kind that generates huge box office receipts? Was it moviedom politics? Or did the reconciliation between brothers who grew up on different sides of the color line make the p.c. types, the ones for whom injustice and victimhood are the only valid racial topics, uncomfortable? ... Read more

Reviews (47)

A MASTERFUL PRODUCTION OF A GREAT MUSICAL
There's a reason that this production of SOUTH PACIFIC is the most watched TV movie musical of all time ~ it's brilliant!

If you're one of those purists who thinks that this script doesn't need to be tinkered with, think again! A lot of the original ideas are outmoded, but the new screenplay adds dimension to the story and characters only hinted at 50 years ago. The restructuring of the material, opening the show with THERE IS NOTHIN' LIKE A DAME, making Nellie Forbush, brilliantly and vibrantly played by our greatest American actress, Glenn Close, older, and strengthening the mission the DeBecque and Cable take on, are just some of this version's better changes.

There's nothing in the story that says Nellie needs to be in her 20s, and Glenn Close fulfills the promise of movie musical magic she hinted at during her engagement onstage in SUNSET BLVD. When she stands on the balcony and sings the TWIN SOLILOQUIES, you feel her falling in love with Emile. This Bloody Mary, small and mean as can be, a woman who would sell her daughter if she can make a profit, is a frighteningly real woman, not the caricature she's been played as in the past. (In a college production I saw, they had to do BALI HA'I as a comedy song because Bloody Mary couldn't pull off the drama!)

Harry Connick,Jr. is absolutely right as Lt. Cable,and his romantic renderings of CAREFULLY TAUGHT, YOUNGER THAN SPRINGTIME, and (on CD) MY GIRL BACK HOME show that he's the greatest crooner of standards in pop music.

Take a different viewpoint when you watch this SOUTH PACIFIC. See it, not as a film version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's greatest libretto, but as a genuine presentation of World War II. When looking at it as a war picture, it takes on a new dimension, and plays as the very real drama Michener portrayed in his novel, and which was what was hoped for on the stage. Be thankful that those awful filters which ruined the 1959 version are gone, and that Bali Ha'i is seen in Cable's mind, as it was meant to be seen. Enjoy the lively dance on the beach as Nellie and the girls perform A WONDERFUL GUY, and melt as Emile sings SOME ENCHANTED EVENING.

This SOUTH PACIFIC is a triumph! It's a masterful production of a great musical. Let's hope that upcoming productions (how about Ann Margret as MAME?) will come close to this great show!!!

I loved this new South Pacific Telefilm
This new SP telefilm received harsh criticism
from my fellow American musical theatre fans on
theatre message boards and newsgroups-but I do
not share their negative opinion.This new SP telefilm
combines realism and emotional depth with the magical
romance and fun of the original stage musical.Glenn Close
and Rade Serbedzija give superb acting performances.
Much has been written about GC`s being too old to play
Nellie, but IMHO Ms.Close nailed it when she stated that
"Nellie is a state of mind." GC`s lovely performance per-fectly
captures the essence of Nellie`s warmth and optimism.MS Close
and Rade Serbedzija have wonderful romantic chemistry and their
scenes together are a joy to watch.
IMHO,the best thing about this new SP is Rade Serbedzija`s
Emile.RS proves that it is heart and soul and not a powerful,
rich,operatic voice that is most important in playing Emile.
Mr.Serbedzija`s renditions of "Some Enchanted Evening" and
"This Nearly Was Mine", sung with true , heartfelt emotion
are beautiful.The Dites-Moi number with Emile and his children
is so sweet-I loved the wonderful rapport that RS shares with
the child actors. Mr. Serbedzija combined quiet strength and
sincerity with a true, gentle sweetness and human vulnerability
into a very moving performance. Thank You Ms.Close for casting
Rade Serbedzija as Emile-his performance touched my heart in a very special way.
Concerning the other cast members-Harry Connick shines in his

quietly effective rendition of "You Have To Be Carefully taught".
Robert Pastorelli is funny and endearing as Luther Billis.Lori
Tan Chinn was funny as Bloody Mary.
The location scenery was beautiful and the cinetography was
excellent.
I know that most people do not share my high opinion of this
new SP, and that is fine-I respect each persons right to have their own opinion. I loved this new SP and look forward to watching it on DVD for many years to come. Thank You Glenn Close
and ABC for a job well done.
Lorraine Chandler
Athens,Texas
P.S.It was good to see Jack Thompson again as Captain Brackett.

South Pacific
I think Ms. Close succeeded in her remake of South Pacific.

The idea that Ms. Close was not a 20 year old woman falling in love with a 50 year old man made the movie more believable. While I really liked the music, it was just like the original - everyone breaking out in song at some moment.

I like Rade Sherbedgia as Emile. Just as in the other movies I have seen, Mr. Sherbedgia not only acts through words, but also through his facial expressions and eyes. It makes the scenes more realistic. In the additional information on the DVD, Ms. Close indicated that she had looked for a drop dead gorgeous man in his 50s. She certainly succeeded with Mr. Sherbedgia. He was not only "drop dead gorgeous", but so much more realistic as Emile finding Nellie and not wanting to lose her. If Ms. Close had any reservations about casting Mr. Sherbedgia, she should have watched "Lies and Whispers".

Luther Billis was great - showing more of the scourger you would typically find in the Army or Navy. Who can find any fault with Harry Connick Jr. Gorgeous, sings and acts.

If someone isn't ready to see the cast members break out in song - like any musical - they shouldn't see this movie. However, if you want to see a much better version of South Pacific, this is it.

Interesting, different take on SOUTH PACIFIC
Though the stage show was one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's biggest hits, the script has not aged well. It is overlong and lacking in subtleness. The 1958 film, despite the beautiful scenery, is played woodenly. Even Rodgers and Hammerstein expressed disappointment with the finished film.

So, in 2000, ABC TV and Glen Close produced a new TB film with a new script that weaves in most of the songs and situations of the original play while at the same time fleshing out the characters and making them more realistic.

Is the film a complete success? Well, no. For starters Glen Close is too old for the role of Nellie. She does act it well, however, and she sings with a characterful chest voice though I do detect some of her high notes might be dubbed. I have just re-watched the movie and don't find her all that objectionable. She sounds like she is having fun cutting loose in "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair" and "A Wonderful guy." Remember too that Mary Marin and Mitzi Gaynor were both too old for the role originally. What Glen Close does play very effectively is Nellie's warring emotions. Aided by the camera work, we see her confusion and unhappiness when confronted with her own prejudices.

Rade Sherbedgia certainly looks the part of DeBecque but since we are so used to hearing robust Bass singers in the role, his softly sung arias take a good deal of getting used to. Instead of an outpouring of emotion in "this Nearly Was Mine" he offers a more introspective take on the role. It's actually a good idea and might work better with a stronger singer. His acting is quite good but the script does tend to shortchange Emile in favour of Nellie.

Harry Connick Jr acts the part of Cable quite well and shades the characters different emotions. True he is more of New Orleans than Philadelphia, and like the others he tends to pull the big musical moments inward. It is most effective in the scene after he first makes love to Liat and croons a tender "Younger Than Springtime." This is everything that the sung ought to be... passionate, sexy and filled with wonder. This is a young man caught off guard by true love for the first time and Connick communicates that brilliantly. His "crooning" is not wildly out-of-place and certainly in keeping with the types of singers he would have heard at home. Some scenes later he performs a remarkably understated "Carefully Taught" having played the intense anger in the dialogue scene that precedes the song. The result is more a case of Cable realizing what he is saying than just spitting out an angry indictment. It may not be the way it was originally done, but you can't argue with its effectiveness.

Lori Tan Chin as Bloody Mary is much closer to the description provided by James Michener in his original novel than Juanita Hall. Hall indeed made the part her own, but that is not to say that hers was definitive.

In re-writing the screenplay, the scenes and songs were re-arranged from their traditional order. In this new version we see the first meeting of Nellie and Emile at an officers club dance, and the song "A Cockeyed Optimist" is used in this sequence to establish Nellie's outlook. It's part of her charm and clearly attracts DeBecque. The structure also allows the first two scenes of the musical to unfold simultaneously.

Anyone considering a Broadway revival of SOUTH PACIFIC might do well to examine the TV film for its style and construction. There might indeed be a way to make the story work for modern audiences, clearing away some of the hoary old jokes and developing character instead.

Classic
This movie musical was good, singing was great. I thought worst part was Glen Close's acting. Her singing was okay, especially Honey Bun (where she played the man). I did believe the French planter was in love with her, although one couldn't imagine why, but I didn't believe she was in love with him. She was in love with Harry Connic whose voice is definately lovable. The technical quaility was fine. ... Read more

Description

Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard are Jewell and Gil Ivy. They work the land in America's heartland, on a farm that has bound their family together for generations. For Jewell and Gil, the land has always been their life. So when the government bureaucrats decide to take it all away, there’s only one decision the family can make ... the Ivys are staying. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Bobby Batton (Tom Sizemore) is a middle-class father and family man who just happens to make his living as a mobster. After surviving a midnight attempt on his life in his own home, he packs up and hustles his family off to a motel, where he tries to figure out who wants him dead. The FBI offers him a choice: face prison time on previous indictments, or turn state's evidence and enter the Witness Protection Program. The family soon finds itself in an interim facility run by the agency, a sterile apartment with all the personality of a hotel suite, trying to leave their past behind and make the adjustment to new lives and new identities. Batton's family is about as "normal" as a mobster's family could be, but things soon begin to fall apart under the strain of their situation. The reliable Sizemore and costar Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are both good in their roles, as is Forest Whitaker as a sympathetic federal official, but they never quite rise above the shopworn story. To the screenwriter's credit, Batton's character has some real depth; on the surface, he's a fairly unsympathetic figure, a slimy mob type who's made his living as a professional criminal. When things are turned upside down, though, he shows himself to actually care about his family and struggle to make things work out. That aside, though, this is still a fairly average made-for-cable drama, with a cast making the best of an uncompelling screenplay and flat direction. --Jerry Renshaw ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Flawlessly Performed
The performances make this made for cable efforta must see. Some of the writing particularly in the middle section of the film is really strong. Give it a chance it is quite fascinating.

Good movie
This movie starts off with a bang and keeps you in suspense but the ending becomes obvious during the last 20 or so minutes. Ms. Mastrantonio is incredible in this movie and I recommend viewing it when you've got nothing on your mind because the story really pulls you in and you might forget those important car insurance bills that have overwhelmed you tired little mind.

This one is a good one to rent
Witness Protection is one of the few movies that focuses on the guys behind the scenes. In this mob story of a man who goes into hiding with his family, few things are clearly stated to the viewer. The acting is decent, a good director is in the making with Richard Pearce, but the story moves slowly and is very choppy. You are left to wonder how they got from one place to another. It had a well-developed plot, but it never followed through. I was particularly disappointed with the ending and the fact that the wife really had no idea what her husband did. All in all it was a decent movie. But rent it before you consider buying it.

An engaging drama
Witness Protection is a bit of a curiousity. It takes the viewer into a world that is a little alien - the infamous witness protection program that is run by the US government to protect witnesses from major criminals. The epilogue to the film tells us that 16,000 people have entered the program to date - this is the story of one such family. Tom Sizemore plays the father, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio the mother and with their two children they spend five days in the Witness Protection safe-house where, instead of the family coming together, they are slowly ripped apart by unspoken anger, fear and terror. Yet the movie is neither depressing or solemn - you do feel for these people who have ended up in this situation, but as Forrest Whitaker keeps reminding the family as their liason in the program, they only have themselves to blame for entering this world in the first place. The direction is sharp, and though the writing is sometimes sluggish, it picks up again shortly afterward. Another great movie from HBO. ... Read more

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It may have been underrated when first broadcast on PBS on consecutive nights in the fall of '03, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for the seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Red, White & Blues is Mike Figgis's entry in the series. --Sam Graham ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Nitty gritty dirt land
Torn and Ferrell star in an authentic depiction of the harshness of homesteading about a hundred years ago in Wyoming. (It's still a tough place to ranch.) It's exciting and sad and sometimes blissfully joyful. A great movie I hadn't seen in a long time, but had been looking for for years to buy.

Based on a series of letters written by the homesteading woman in the early years of this century, the film tells a story far more grim than the determined cheerfulness of Elinore Pruitt Stewart does in "Letters of a Woman Homesteader." Both stories are true.

Finally
I can't believe that this movie is finally available. I loved this movie so much, I found a used PAL video in England (over the internet), bought it and then took it to a video place and had it transfered to NTSC format. This is a terrific movie. Conchata Ferrell is brillant. A wonderful actress, she rarely gets a role that is worthy of her (anyone out there know if the TV series Hot l Baltimore is going to be transferred to video?). But this movie. Watch it. Share it.

Very good movie
I did not read the book but I totally disagree with the viewer from Alamo, NV. I thought is was a wonderful movie. From the start to the end. It shows you how hard life was back then.

this is a good movie.And Conchata Ferrell was wonderfun in it. She makes the movie as good as it is and it is a good movie.

heartland disappointment
My wife had read the book and she told me a lot about it. The movie was a complete and total disapointment. It doesn't even come close the the focus of the book. By itself, it isn't even a good movie. I'm sorry I ever bought the DVD.

Simple Pleasures of Survival
A brilliant and absolutely authentic story about the stark realities of pioneer life in late 1800's Wyoming. "Heartland" is based on a series of letters ("Letters of a Woman Homesteader" by Elinore Pruitt Stewart). The actors are very real, and the story unfolds almost like a documentary. Rip Torn and Conchita Ferrell are superb in mostly just living their everyday lives. However, they perform tasks and "everyday pleasures" considered quite extraordinary by modern standards, especially considering the harsh winter conditions. Excellent photography, and DVD bonus commentary explaining each scene. ... Read more

Reviews (32)

Christine's Review - The Long Walk Home
'The Long Walk Home' was an excellent film. It was very informative and educational, as well as pleasurable. In Montgomery in 1955, life was difficult for those who lived there. I think this film was a great portrayal of how hard everyone's life was and the changes they had to make. Odessa Cotter and Miriam Thompson, two central characters, teach us an important lesson for other to live by. Miriam doesn't allow her husband, Norman, to tell her what is right and wrong. Miriam doesn't let him control her actions. She realizes that helping with the carpool and supporting the boycott is the right thing to do. Odessa is very strong while all this is going on. She has hope of a new order. At first, I was skeptical on all the violence and racist language, but later realized that having it all gave a more practical view and a better understanding on how harsh life was and what everyone had to deal with. I recommend and encourage everyone to see this movie, if not already seen. Even if you're not into this kind of historical background, it's still very good and enjoyable to watch!!

The Long Walk Home
This movie paints a very vivid picture of the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Odessa Cotter, a maid, is in the middle of the beggining of the civil rights struggle. One can see the differences between a white and black family during the 50's. Odessa struggles to support her family and the boycott. One feels the tension between the two groups, and the violence that sometimes resulted. I saw this movie in Morality class, and I'm glad I had the chance to see it. Because of this movie I am more aware of the civil rights struggle and all of the hardships that came with it. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants to enrich their knowledge and enjoy a great movie.

Great movie concerning black's struggle
I thought this movie was a great movie. It depicted the black struggle in the Montogomery Bus Boycott very well. It was very relasitic in showing the inequality that the black people faced in that time period and how many white people were so racist and unfair to them. It also shows how some white people were very helpful and supported the boycott (Miriam). I believe that this movie is a greta movie to make all ages aware of was really occured during the black rights movement. It teaches you alot about the different views of people and what it is like living as a black person and a white person during this era.

Wonderful Film -- Terrible DVD
This is a marvelous film that gives an accurate account of life in the middle of the 20th Century in the Southern US. I couldn't wait for it to come out on DVD. And what did we get? The usual horrible ARTISAN shoddy worksmanship. The DVD has no extras, not even a trailer. It is in full frame instead of widescreen. But most important, the print is terrible. It is very soft, as if it is a copy of a copy. There is no sharpness to it at all, and colors bleed. It is as bad as Artisan's "The Quiet Man." Artisan should not be in the DVD business, as they have no concept of quality. I would be ashamed to work there.

mike's opinion and review
The film, The Long Walk Home, was a very excellent one in that it showed how things really were at one time. It showed the brutality that people had toward our fellow man and how people don't respect others because of a God-given feature such as skin color. It was hard to watch at times, hard to believe that people can be so rude, ignorant, and immature. It opened my eyes as to how exactly black people were treated and how they were looked down on and mis-treated. This film is one to be remembered because it showed the truth, and even though the truth is not what many wish to see, it is the facts. Odessa showed courage, love, and most of all faith. These three virtues helped her immensely to get through the tough times of her life. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to seek knowledge about the past and wants to learn from it. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Grade F+
A cop's partner is killed, and poor Richard feels he has to go and take care of the bad guy that did it. Richard's wife has left him and he now is divorced, so Kim, who is a white slave of the bad guy, ads more reason for Richard to go after the bad guy. Besides, Kim was there when Richard's partner was done in.
THE GOOD
Not much, Kim Bassinger is pretty to look at, and that is about it.
THE BAD
Richard and Kim along with rest of the cast, seem to be going thru the motions of acting. Richard has the same blank stare that he has in most of his moves. Living close to New Orleans, they did not take advantage of the local landscape. This movie could have been filmed anywhere. They do not know how to eat Crawfish in the movie, a southern treat. The Final fight scene is poorly shot.
C.P.O.V
The F word is used alot, along with other foul language. Kim's breast are shown thru her wet shirt as she poors water down blouse to cool off. The killings are pretty bloodless, compared to today's standards. Not a lot of killings in this movie anyway.-EJW

This is a 5 star!
this is such an incredible movie. We get to see to Oscar winning performances here. Both great bodies strut their stuff and intensify the moments in the movie with the dramatic impersinations of the charactors. Don't miss it!

Gere, Bassinger Have That Chemistry That Heats Up The Screen
A film that went unoticed in the 80's is a tight well acted thriller starring the incomparable Richard Gere as tough brash Chicago Cop who's on a revenge misson to the bayous of New Orleans to find his partner's killer and gets involved with a mobster's illerate mistress. Standard Script with a few good action sequences thrown in along with Gere's exceptional talent to hold the viewer's attention throughtout the entire film. Even though the viewer has been through familar territory with this type of script it is still a great movie. Memorable scene was when Gere & Bassinger are treding through the swamps handcuffed together Mouthing off to one another. First of two film this duo has done together the other film was released 6 years later in another steamy thriller "Final Analysis"

Spicy Cajun Cuisine
This is a fantastic cop thriller and one of the best films of it's ilk made during the 80's. It could easily have been made this year and not in 1986 it holds up so well. Basinger shows why she was so sought after and why so many were relieved when L.A. Confidential finally came her way. Before Richard Gere slipped into the slick but empty films he would make later on, he gave a terrific performance in this one.

Director Richard Pearce gives this crime story a special atmosphere as it moves from Chicago to the hustle and bustle of New Orleans and finally to the marshy swamps of the Bayou. There is a good script from James Carabatsos that adds a gritty realism missing in many films of this kind. The chemistry between Gere and Bassinger is explored slowly while they are on the run and the romance is very credible because of it.

Eddie Jillette (Gere) and his best friend and partner Joe Collins (Gary Basaraba in a nice role) are undercover at a car wash and when they blow a drug bust by jumping the gun they get a chance to redeem themselves by pretending to be hitmen. All they know is someone from Louisiana wants to make a hit in Chicago and their contact is suppose to be a heartstopper. It turns out to be gorgeous beauty Basinger. She is the heartstopper with a blue parrot tattoo on her shoulder and a rich Loisiana lawyer looking to hire a killer.

The man they want killed is a Loisiana crime lord named Losado (creepily played by Jerome Krabbe) who runs Algiers and owns Basinger, literally. Her parents sold her to Losado when she was thirteen in a world Jillette can't understand but is about to find out about when both the lawyer and Eddie's best friend are brutally killed. Michel dissappears back to the Big Easy with Losado and Eddie goes after her to get to his partner's killer.

It's a whole 'nother world down there and in spite of warnings to leave from the cops he tracks Michel down through her pretty Creole friend Cara (Aleta Mitchell), who finds it is unwise to cross Losado. There is some true menace here and not the cartoon stereotype villian we find in some action flicks. As Eddie and Michel leave the Big Easy for the Bayou handcuffed together he begins to sympathize and care for the illiterate Michel and she finally begins to have a little hope in escaping.

When Eddie tries to get rid of her so she doesn't get killed while he seeks his revenge, things get complicated emotionally for both of them and there is a terrific love scene that has the ring of truth. The gritty atmosphere and involving story separates this film from the rest of the pack. The final confrontation as Eddie and Michel face down Losado in an attempt to survive together is well staged and exciting.

George Dzundza as Eddie's Captain is noteworthy but so is the whole cast. The story is solid and the atmosphere simply dripping with the juice from crawfish. You feel like you're really in the Bayou here and that atmosphere adds greatly to the tense climax and the epilog to wrap up a very special film.

If you've never seen this or you can't remember it it's one you'll want to go back and take a look at. It will be one of your favorites after you do. This one is a real winner....

Have Mercy
No Mercy is one of those films that is not really that bad, but it leaves you wondering how did they get big stars to do it. In the film Richard Gere plays a tough New York cop with a drinking habit, an ex-wife, and a bad rep. So what happens to him? Well his good natured partner (you know the one with the with the wife and kids and a good reputation a.k.a has everything to lose) gets murdered when Gere takes a tip from a local hood that a hit is about to go down. So the film turns into the rouge cop on the revenge trail story. This will bring him to New Oreans(that whole "fish-out-of-water" thing), and to Kim Basinger. Along the way Gere will encounter lots of bad guys, bullets, cops who don't like him, swamps, crawfish, and cajons(sp?) all to a hip 80's soundtrack.

This film was the first pairing of Richard Gere and Kim Basinger together and to it's credit it is better than there second film, Final Analysis. However there really isn't much going on here. The plot was as predictable as traffic at five o'clock. Neither Gere nor Basinger is very good which is Richard Pearce's(the director) fault because they fall in and out of their accents. I have to say though there is something about Richard Gere that even in his weaker films, like this one, he is still fun to watch. The same can be said for Basinger who is always delightful on the eyes even when she is hard on the ears.

This film has it's momments, but they are pretty sparse. Maybe Richard and Kim will get it right on the third try since they seem to like doing this type of film together. If you're out there looking for some steamy action you might want to look elsewhere. ... Read more