Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)
Thelonious “Monk” Ellison is in a rut. He’s still trying to get a publisher to accept his latest book in a market that doesn’t exactly embrace his erudite style. His gig as a college professor lecturing to students that are too “goddamn delicate” to embrace thorny topics of race has him ostracized from colleagues. He’s estranged from family, all of whom are juggling their own issues––health problems, divorce, the financial strain that comes with both. When Monk concocts an elaborate joke to get more fame and acceptance, it’s taken shocking seriously, setting off a series of misadventures exploring how white America is more willing to accept the most reductive, pandering stories of Black...
American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)
Thelonious “Monk” Ellison is in a rut. He’s still trying to get a publisher to accept his latest book in a market that doesn’t exactly embrace his erudite style. His gig as a college professor lecturing to students that are too “goddamn delicate” to embrace thorny topics of race has him ostracized from colleagues. He’s estranged from family, all of whom are juggling their own issues––health problems, divorce, the financial strain that comes with both. When Monk concocts an elaborate joke to get more fame and acceptance, it’s taken shocking seriously, setting off a series of misadventures exploring how white America is more willing to accept the most reductive, pandering stories of Black...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
From the celebrity trial of the century to a fantastic yule log stream, there’s something new and exciting to watch every day this week!
One more week until Christmas! As if there wasn’t enough stress during the holidays, let this paragraph serve as yet another reminder that time is running out to secure that last-minute gift, prep that special recipe or call that relative to make sure they know you’re thinking of them at this time of year!
To take as much of the stress away from the holidays as possible, there’s something new and exciting coming to your favorite streaming platforms each and every day this week! Check out The Streamable’s list of recommended new titles coming to streaming through Christmas Eve.
Monday, Dec. 18 ‘Gwyneth vs. Terry: The Ski Crash Trial’ | Max
It was the crash heard ‘round the world in 2016, when a fateful...
One more week until Christmas! As if there wasn’t enough stress during the holidays, let this paragraph serve as yet another reminder that time is running out to secure that last-minute gift, prep that special recipe or call that relative to make sure they know you’re thinking of them at this time of year!
To take as much of the stress away from the holidays as possible, there’s something new and exciting coming to your favorite streaming platforms each and every day this week! Check out The Streamable’s list of recommended new titles coming to streaming through Christmas Eve.
Monday, Dec. 18 ‘Gwyneth vs. Terry: The Ski Crash Trial’ | Max
It was the crash heard ‘round the world in 2016, when a fateful...
- 12/18/2023
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
Those six fateful words — “You skiied into my effing back” — are set to be immortalized on the small screen thanks to a new documentary about Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash lawsuit.
Production company Optomen are continuing their “Vs” series for Discovery+ with a doc about the “Sliding Doors” star’s legal woes. The civil trial earlier this year saw Paltrow sued by – and then counter-sue – retired optometrist Terry Sanders, after the duo collided on a Utah ski slope in 2016.
Sanders claimed his entanglement with the “Goop” founder caused him to suffer physical injuries and emotional distress while Paltrow, for her part, lost half a day of skiing.
The two-part doc will drop later this year.
Also in the “Vs” series is “Peltz-Beckham vs The Wedding Planners,” which will show how Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s Palm Beach wedding of the year ended in tears, at least for Nelson Peltz,...
Production company Optomen are continuing their “Vs” series for Discovery+ with a doc about the “Sliding Doors” star’s legal woes. The civil trial earlier this year saw Paltrow sued by – and then counter-sue – retired optometrist Terry Sanders, after the duo collided on a Utah ski slope in 2016.
Sanders claimed his entanglement with the “Goop” founder caused him to suffer physical injuries and emotional distress while Paltrow, for her part, lost half a day of skiing.
The two-part doc will drop later this year.
Also in the “Vs” series is “Peltz-Beckham vs The Wedding Planners,” which will show how Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz’s Palm Beach wedding of the year ended in tears, at least for Nelson Peltz,...
- 7/12/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Women in Film and Google have set Kameishia Wooten and Robin J. Hayes (Choices), Patricia Seely and Alexandra Clayton (Please In Spanish), and Katarina Zhu (Silverlake Cleaners) as the fellows for the inaugural Wif Shorts Lab supported by Google.
As part of the program, fellows will benefit not only from Wif’s years of expertise in nurturing creatives, but also from funding support courtesy of Google, including grants to complete production on their short films. Additional production and post-production support is being provided to the filmmakers by Warner Chappell Music, Picture Shop, and Cinelease. The films will be completed by this summer and will be owned by the filmmakers, who will look to submit them to festivals and for award consideration.
The fellows were selected by a jury of industry leaders and veteran producers, including Stephanie Allain, Lake Bell, Margie Moreno and Talitha Watkins. They will be mentored in the...
As part of the program, fellows will benefit not only from Wif’s years of expertise in nurturing creatives, but also from funding support courtesy of Google, including grants to complete production on their short films. Additional production and post-production support is being provided to the filmmakers by Warner Chappell Music, Picture Shop, and Cinelease. The films will be completed by this summer and will be owned by the filmmakers, who will look to submit them to festivals and for award consideration.
The fellows were selected by a jury of industry leaders and veteran producers, including Stephanie Allain, Lake Bell, Margie Moreno and Talitha Watkins. They will be mentored in the...
- 3/17/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Two years ago, siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell shared in four Grammy wins for the album “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Album) and its single “Bad Guy” (Record of the Year; Song of the Year). Now, they have concurrently earned their first Oscar nominations for co-writing the song “No Time to Die” for the James Bond film of the same name. If they prevail later this month, they will become the fourth brother-sister pair to both be honored by the academy and the first to win for the same film.
The first brother-sister Oscar champs and first sibling winners overall were Douglas Shearer and Norma Shearer. In 1930, he triumphed in the Best Sound category for “The Big House” while she took the Best Actress prize for “The Divorcee.” They were followed by Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, who respectively...
The first brother-sister Oscar champs and first sibling winners overall were Douglas Shearer and Norma Shearer. In 1930, he triumphed in the Best Sound category for “The Big House” while she took the Best Actress prize for “The Divorcee.” They were followed by Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, who respectively...
- 3/16/2022
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
One of the splashier WW2 combat sagas adapts Norman Mailer’s respected book but ends up a bona fide mess. Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson and Raymond Massey flail about in a compromised screen story, augmented with side-dish appearances by sultry Barbara Nichols and — even though she’s allowed to contribute almost nothing — famous ecdysiast Lili St. Cyr. Let the search for outtakes begin.
The Naked and the Dead
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date August 28, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson, Raymond Massey, Lili St. Cyr, Barbara Nichols, William Campbell, Richard Jaeckel, James Best, Joey Bishop, Jerry Paris, Robert Gist, L.Q. Jones, Max Showalter, John Beradino, Saundra Edwards, Lydia Goya, Val Hidey, Taffy O’Neil, Liz Renay, Grace Lee Whitney.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Film Editor: Arthur P. Schmidt
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by Denis Sanders & Terry Sanders from the novel by Norman...
The Naked and the Dead
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 131 min. / Street Date August 28, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Aldo Ray, Cliff Robertson, Raymond Massey, Lili St. Cyr, Barbara Nichols, William Campbell, Richard Jaeckel, James Best, Joey Bishop, Jerry Paris, Robert Gist, L.Q. Jones, Max Showalter, John Beradino, Saundra Edwards, Lydia Goya, Val Hidey, Taffy O’Neil, Liz Renay, Grace Lee Whitney.
Cinematography: Joseph Lashelle
Film Editor: Arthur P. Schmidt
Original Music: Bernard Herrmann
Written by Denis Sanders & Terry Sanders from the novel by Norman...
- 9/1/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
California beaches and the Pacific Coast Highway are central characters in Terry Sanders’ nostalgic feature, but even so there’s no there there. Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey — taking its title from a 1929 Gershwin song and set in the summer of 1966 — is a meandering journey, too tepid to stir up the feelings of yearning and rebellion that it aims to evoke.
Sanders, who produced the Oscar-winning Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (directed by his wife, Freida Lee Mock) and served as second unit director on The Night of the Hunter, brushed off a screenplay he wrote 45...
Sanders, who produced the Oscar-winning Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (directed by his wife, Freida Lee Mock) and served as second unit director on The Night of the Hunter, brushed off a screenplay he wrote 45...
- 8/11/2017
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Robert Redford movies: TCM shows 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' 'The Sting' They don't make movie stars like they used to, back in the days of Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner, and Harry Cohn. That's what nostalgists have been bitching about for the last four or five decades; never mind the fact that movie stars have remained as big as ever despite the demise of the old studio system and the spectacular rise of television more than sixty years ago. This month of January 2015, Turner Classic Movies will be honoring one such post-studio era superstar: Robert Redford. Beginning this Monday evening, January 6, TCM will be presenting 15 Robert Redford movies. Tonight's entries include Redford's two biggest blockbusters, both directed by George Roy Hill and co-starring Paul Newman: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which turned Redford, already in his early 30s, into a major film star to rival Rudolph Valentino,...
- 1/7/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
DVD Playhouse December 2010
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
- 12/20/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
If you're a regular reader of this site you're familiar with my weekly What I Watched columns, where I detail the films outside of my regular work schedule that I've watched each week. The primary reasons I started the feature, outside of giving readers a place to discuss and recommend films they've watched, was to begin watching older films I had not seen and creating a starting point with each one. Films are never same the second, third and fourth time you watch them and one thing necessary to gain a better perspective on film's history is to have a greater understanding, and a first-hand understanding, of the film's that came before rather than always relying on what others have said.
As bad luck would have it, I didn't write up my thoughts on Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter when I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago.
As bad luck would have it, I didn't write up my thoughts on Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter when I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago.
- 12/8/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Chicago – Charles Laughton directed one movie in his entire career, the terrifying and brilliant “The Night of the Hunter,” a modern Grimm’s fairy tale in which the evil witch in the forest has come to life and taken the form of one of society’s most trusted figures. Laughton’s masterpiece was a critical and commercial failure on its release but history has wisely recognized the lyrical power and sheer terror of one of the best domestic horror movies ever made.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The Criterion Collection has had a spectacular year in the world of Blu-ray and their two-disc set for “The Night of the Hunter” stands as one of the best. With hours of fascinating special features, a perfect video transfer, and quite simply one of the best movies of its kind ever made, this is a must-own. The fact that “The Night of the Hunter” was widely-dismissed...
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
The Criterion Collection has had a spectacular year in the world of Blu-ray and their two-disc set for “The Night of the Hunter” stands as one of the best. With hours of fascinating special features, a perfect video transfer, and quite simply one of the best movies of its kind ever made, this is a must-own. The fact that “The Night of the Hunter” was widely-dismissed...
- 11/26/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
The Film:
Love. Hate. Two of the most polar opposite emotions a human has, yet ones that can be interestingly intertwined into a gray area, like how “Preacher” Harry Powell intends to use for evil. Night of the Hunter might be one of the most misunderstood American classics; a critical and box office failure at its time of release, only to find its (and how thematically fitting) resurrection to its masterpiece status. It’s a simple picture, yet its mixture of genres – ranging from horror to black comedy to its Christmas ending – makes for a rich, complex experience, worthy of the time down the river.
With its Southern Gothic style, Night of the Hunter is a horror film with a Recession as its backdrop (well, here it’s the Great Depression), which makes for its horrors to come vividly to life. The “Preacher” uses His word for no good, a clever Father of Lies,...
Love. Hate. Two of the most polar opposite emotions a human has, yet ones that can be interestingly intertwined into a gray area, like how “Preacher” Harry Powell intends to use for evil. Night of the Hunter might be one of the most misunderstood American classics; a critical and box office failure at its time of release, only to find its (and how thematically fitting) resurrection to its masterpiece status. It’s a simple picture, yet its mixture of genres – ranging from horror to black comedy to its Christmas ending – makes for a rich, complex experience, worthy of the time down the river.
With its Southern Gothic style, Night of the Hunter is a horror film with a Recession as its backdrop (well, here it’s the Great Depression), which makes for its horrors to come vividly to life. The “Preacher” uses His word for no good, a clever Father of Lies,...
- 11/23/2010
- by Jon Peters
- Killer Films
The Night of the Hunter: Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
The Film
While researching the aspect ratio of Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955) on DVDBeaver.com, I noticed something rather telling in the review. In each DVDBeaver review, there are links to books related to the film. For instance, if you look at the review of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), you'll find links to books on Kubrick. For the review of Night of the Hunter, DVDBeaver supplied a list of film noir book titles including Alain Silver's appropriately titled Film Noir, which features Hunter's antagonist Rev. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) on the cover. Re-watching the film, I couldn't help but wonder what classified it as noir (for my classical noir retrospective, click here).
Sure, I can see on the surface where one might brand the film a noir. The film owes its aesthetic to German Expressionism, is shot in black and white,...
The Film
While researching the aspect ratio of Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955) on DVDBeaver.com, I noticed something rather telling in the review. In each DVDBeaver review, there are links to books related to the film. For instance, if you look at the review of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), you'll find links to books on Kubrick. For the review of Night of the Hunter, DVDBeaver supplied a list of film noir book titles including Alain Silver's appropriately titled Film Noir, which features Hunter's antagonist Rev. Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) on the cover. Re-watching the film, I couldn't help but wonder what classified it as noir (for my classical noir retrospective, click here).
Sure, I can see on the surface where one might brand the film a noir. The film owes its aesthetic to German Expressionism, is shot in black and white,...
- 11/17/2010
- by Drew Morton
There is a trend these days amongst some film goers, in which they actively avoid trailers, as well as any kind of plot spoilers regarding upcoming films. I won’t go so far as to say that this is a recent trend, but it has certainly appeared on my radar a lot over the past few years. People want to keep that magic of the surprise, when it comes to upcoming media. At the same time, there is an abundance of information about everything media related thanks to the internet.
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
One aspect of the Criterion Collection that we all have come to accept, and learn to love in a holiday package opening sense, is their secrecy regarding upcoming releases. We have joked about how they are almost at Apple-like levels of secrecy, and when something gets out, Criterion fans jump on it.
I think we all want to know what...
- 8/16/2010
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Growing up with documentary filmmaker parents, I felt like my entire childhood was documented. Every birthday, vacation, big or small event, was filmed on 16mm film and later on video. I think there are thirty volumes of catalogued and organized photos of the first few years of my and my sister's life. My parents, Freida Lee Mock and Terry Sanders, have won multiple Oscars (Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision, A Time Out of War) and have made over 70 films, so our home movies really are movies. My dad is a great cinematographer and he shoots his home movies like a film - editing in camera, changing the frame size, camera angles, always following the emotional action... they are good. Seeing the filmmaking process through my parents' work, traveling the world and meeting the amazing people in their...
- 1/13/2010
- by Jessica Sanders
- Huffington Post
Arnold Schwarzenegger has earned a spot in the halls of Washington, but not because of his political career.
Instead, the former actor's turn as a robot from the future was enshrined in the Library of Congress as the National Film Registry announced Tuesday that "The Terminator" is among the 25 films that have been selected for preservation in the Registry in 2008.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films to the Registry that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. The choices aren't necessarily considered the best American films; they are chosen by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington on the advice of the Film Preservation Board and the library's motion picture staff because the selections possess "enduring significance to American culture."
James Cameron's 1984 "Terminator," in which the future governor of California's cyborg utters the classic line, "I'll be back," was cited for "blending an ingenious,...
Instead, the former actor's turn as a robot from the future was enshrined in the Library of Congress as the National Film Registry announced Tuesday that "The Terminator" is among the 25 films that have been selected for preservation in the Registry in 2008.
Under the terms of the National Film Preservation Act, each year the Librarian of Congress names 25 films to the Registry that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant. The choices aren't necessarily considered the best American films; they are chosen by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington on the advice of the Film Preservation Board and the library's motion picture staff because the selections possess "enduring significance to American culture."
James Cameron's 1984 "Terminator," in which the future governor of California's cyborg utters the classic line, "I'll be back," was cited for "blending an ingenious,...
- 12/30/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Truly Indie will handle the US theatrical release of Terry Sanders' Iraq war doctors docu Fighting For Life. The film, set for a March release, follows students at military medical school, doctors on the frontlines and a female Army soldier who's lost her leg in battle. The deal was negotiated by two-time Oscar winner Sanders with Truly Indie's Kelly Sanders and Jason Janego.
- 11/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Words such as courage and honor circulate easily in our culture without much thought given to their meaning. "Return With Honor", a film by Oscar-winning documentarians Freida Lee Mock and Terry Sanders ("Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision"), redefines these words with a jolt of reality.
The film offers profiles in courage and honor as it tells the story of American pilots shot down over North Vietnam who survived years of incarceration inside the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the release and homecoming of these POWs, it raises the question of whether we as a society can re-examine the Vietnam experience in human rather than political terms.
"Honor", a film about Vietnam without a scrap of political rhetoric, may be a starting point, which could mean solid boxoffice in urban areas. It also won't hurt that Tom Hanks has agreed to present the film.
"Honor", which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, opens this week in New York, next week in Los Angeles and will have playdates across the country throughout the summer.
Mock and Sanders combine interviews of 20 military officers with rare black-and-white 35mm footage of the capture and captivity of these men, taken by North Vietnamese cameramen 30 years before. These highly articulate ex-POWs, now settled into what appears to be a comfortable middle age, relate their stories with wit and candor. There are also a few, much briefer interviews with wives who didn't know "whether they were wives or widows."
It is hard to say which is more astonishing in these interview with the former POWs -- their skin-crawling tales of physical and mental torture or the relaxed, straightforward manner with which the men discuss their mistreatment. How, after years of such extreme distress, can these men be so mentally strong? Indeed, one is a U.S. senator (John McCain), another a congressman (Sam Jackson) and, most famously, Pete Peterson is ambassador to Vietnam.
These were, of course, unique POWs. Nearly all were highly motivated and trained top gun fliers. Then, in the course of a few harrowing minutes, they found themselves prisoners of their enemy.
"What a change in status", remarks Air Force Lt. Ed Mechenbier.
Collectively, these memories provide a fascinating glimpse of survival techniques: the communication system where everything -- from taps on the wall to coughs and sniffs -- was done in code; the rigorous exercise routines designed to keep mind and body alive; the mental games one plays while undergoing torture.
Navy Lt. John McGrath taught himself to paint. His first work was drawn on his jail cell wall using his own blood and pus.
The North Vietnamese were determined to break these men and use them for propaganda purposes. The POWs, in turn, had one goal: to return to their loved ones with their honor intact.
The astonishing degree to which the survivors succeeded is a testament to the human spirit.
RETURN WITH HONOR
Ocean Releasing
An American Film Foundation production
Presented by: Tom Hanks
Producer-directors: Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders
Co-producer: Christine Z. Wiser
Writers: Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders, Christine Z. Wiser
Photographed by: Eddie Marritz, Terry Sanders
Music: Charles Bernstein
Editor: Greg Byers
Color/black-and-white/stereo
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The film offers profiles in courage and honor as it tells the story of American pilots shot down over North Vietnam who survived years of incarceration inside the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" prison. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the release and homecoming of these POWs, it raises the question of whether we as a society can re-examine the Vietnam experience in human rather than political terms.
"Honor", a film about Vietnam without a scrap of political rhetoric, may be a starting point, which could mean solid boxoffice in urban areas. It also won't hurt that Tom Hanks has agreed to present the film.
"Honor", which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, opens this week in New York, next week in Los Angeles and will have playdates across the country throughout the summer.
Mock and Sanders combine interviews of 20 military officers with rare black-and-white 35mm footage of the capture and captivity of these men, taken by North Vietnamese cameramen 30 years before. These highly articulate ex-POWs, now settled into what appears to be a comfortable middle age, relate their stories with wit and candor. There are also a few, much briefer interviews with wives who didn't know "whether they were wives or widows."
It is hard to say which is more astonishing in these interview with the former POWs -- their skin-crawling tales of physical and mental torture or the relaxed, straightforward manner with which the men discuss their mistreatment. How, after years of such extreme distress, can these men be so mentally strong? Indeed, one is a U.S. senator (John McCain), another a congressman (Sam Jackson) and, most famously, Pete Peterson is ambassador to Vietnam.
These were, of course, unique POWs. Nearly all were highly motivated and trained top gun fliers. Then, in the course of a few harrowing minutes, they found themselves prisoners of their enemy.
"What a change in status", remarks Air Force Lt. Ed Mechenbier.
Collectively, these memories provide a fascinating glimpse of survival techniques: the communication system where everything -- from taps on the wall to coughs and sniffs -- was done in code; the rigorous exercise routines designed to keep mind and body alive; the mental games one plays while undergoing torture.
Navy Lt. John McGrath taught himself to paint. His first work was drawn on his jail cell wall using his own blood and pus.
The North Vietnamese were determined to break these men and use them for propaganda purposes. The POWs, in turn, had one goal: to return to their loved ones with their honor intact.
The astonishing degree to which the survivors succeeded is a testament to the human spirit.
RETURN WITH HONOR
Ocean Releasing
An American Film Foundation production
Presented by: Tom Hanks
Producer-directors: Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders
Co-producer: Christine Z. Wiser
Writers: Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders, Christine Z. Wiser
Photographed by: Eddie Marritz, Terry Sanders
Music: Charles Bernstein
Editor: Greg Byers
Color/black-and-white/stereo
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 6/10/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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