Drunks 1995  R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Peter Cohn
Cast: Richard Lewis, Faye Dunaway, Dianne Wiest, Parker Posey, Amanda Plummer, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Spalding Gray, Liza Harris, George Martin, Sam Rockwell
Jim (Richard Lewis) falls off the wagon after his wife dies. Meanwhile, we watch and listen to the rest of his AA group's problems. This film does not do a service for AA efforts.
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My Old Man 1979  TV, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: John Erman
Cast: Kristy McNichol, Warren Oates, Eileen Brennan, Joseph Maher, Jess Osuna, David Margulies, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Joseph Leon, Mark Arnold, Michael Jeter, Peter Maloney, Kenneth Kimmins
After 14 years of separation, teenager Jo (Kristy McNichol) and her horse-trainer dad, Frank (Warren Oates), reunite, select a horse, and enter it in a race. Things look good for father and daughter, but problems lie just around the corner.
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Ragtime 1981  PG, 156 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Milos Forman
Cast: James Cagney, Brad Dourif, Moses Gunn, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Debbie Allen, Kenneth McMillan, Pat O'Brien, Donald O'Connor, Mandy Patinkin, James Olson, Mary Steenburgen, Jeffrey DeMunn, Robert Joy, Norman Mailer
This story about New York, circa 1900, provides historical insights into four families of that era. In one story, millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw (Robert Joy) murders architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) who is having an affair with Thaw's wife, showgirl Evelyn (Elizabeth McGovern). Another plot involves immigrant artist Tateh (Mandy Patinkin) who becomes a successful, Hollywood director. Howard E. Rollins Jr. stars in another subplot as a Black man, Coalhouse Walker Jr., who is romancing a White, pregnant woman (Debbie Allen) living in the home of a mother and father (Mary Steenburgen and James Olson). Walker turns to rage when a racist fire chief (Kenneth McMillan) destroys his car. And, of course, there is James Cagney, returning to films after a retirement of 20 years in the role of Police Commissioner Waldo. The film received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actor (Howard E. Rollins, Jr.) and Supporting Actress (Elizabeth McGovern).
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A Soldier's Story 1984 PG, 102 min.
Genre: Mystery
Director: Norman Jewison
Cast: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Denzel Washington, Art Evans, David Alan Grier, David Harris, Robert Townsend, Wings Hauser, Dennis Lipscomb, Larry Riley
Racial hatred in the military is depicted in this story about a black Army lawyer who is given a murder case. When he arrives at the Fort he discovers that proud black soldiers do not understand sneering white soldiers; both groups are so steeped in their prejudices that it seems there is no hope that they can get together. This film does a good job of focusing on man's inhumanity to man and was nominated for an Oscar; Caesar was nominated for Supporting Actor.
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| 1. Drunks (1995)
2. My Old Man (1979)
3. Ragtime (1981)
4. A Soldier's Story (1984)
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