Once in a Lifetime 1994 TV, 100 min. Genre: Drama / Romance aka: Danielle Steel's 'Once in a Lifetime'
Director: Michael Miller Cast: Lindsay Wagner, Barry Bostwick, Duncan Regehr, Amy Aquino, Rex Smith, Fran Bennett, Darrell Thomas Utley, Debra Sullivan, Michael Mitz, Michael Laskin
Widow Daphne Fields (Lindsay Wagner) is visiting her deaf son, Jeffrey (Rex Smith), at his boarding school where she meets Dr. Matthew Dane (Barry Bostwick). The two bond, and Daphne's life takes a change for the better. Based on Danielle Steele's novel.
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The Pirates of Penzance 1983 G, 112 min. Genre: Musical
Director: Wilford Leach, Joshua White Cast: Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose, Rex Smith, Tony Azito, David Hatton, Louise Gold, Teresa Codling, Nancy Wood, Tilly Vosburgh
From Gilbert and Sullivan's light opera, this musical is adapted to film in an upbeat performance about a pirate who would like to change his life style and become a respected citizen. 1 User Review
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| | The Best Gilbert and Sullivan on Film | 1fatts 03/07/2007 | One of the problems in presenting a "classic" is that the reverence that everyone brings to the project ends up as stodginess, heaviness and "the weight of the bard" on the shoulders of the audience.
What a pleasant surprise this movie was. While this is technically not more than a filming of the prize-winning Joseph Papp stage production, it is a very good, very professional filming. It is funny, bright. The singing is wonderful; everyone is playing for laughs, and you have the sense that if Gilbert and Sullivan had seen this production, they would have have said: "Of course. That's exactly what it should be!" Everyone hams it up and has a wonderful time: Kevin Kline, George Rose, Tony Azito (who won a drama critics award, I believe, for his stage work).
The work is so successful that it is doubley galling that the production is available only on VHS and very hard to find at that. BE WARNED: the DVD version that is available is a filming of the stage production (which did not include Angela Lansbury, no matter what the publicity says) which serves to demonstrate how much better filmed the VHS version was.
There is an online petition (serioiusly) to try to encourage the DVD release of the rare VHS, but who knows what will come of that. Get the VHS, if that is all you can find. . . or rent it, if you have to.
It is a rollicking couple of hours. |
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1984 TV, 60 min. Genre: Family / Fantasy
Director: Peter Medak Cast: Elizabeth McGovern, Vanessa Redgrave, Vincent Price, Shelley Duvall, Rex Smith, Michael Preston, Kevin Thompson, Tony Cox, Peter Risch, Phil Fondacaro, Kevin Thompson, Billy Curtis
All the fun, fantasy, and adventure are present in this TV adaptation of the popular story presented as one of the episodes of the popular "Fareie Tale Theatre" series. Elizabeth McGovern plays Snow White and Vanessa Redgrave takes on the role of the wicked queen.
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Sooner or Later 1979 TV, 100 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Bruce Hart Cast: Denise Miller, Rex Smith, Mary Beth Manning, Lynn Redgrave, Lilia Skala, Morey Amsterdam, Judd Hirsch, Vivian Blaine, Barbara Feldon, Maia Danziger
Thirteen-year-old Jessie (Denise Miller) is infatuated with Michael (Rex Smith), a rock musician, and to get his attention she pretends to be older. After he notices her, he encounters a dilemma when he finds out the truth.
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| 1. Once in a Lifetime (1994) aka: Danielle Steel's 'Once in a Lifetime'
2. The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1984)
4. Sooner or Later (1979)
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