As remakes go, 1981's "The Postman Always Rings Twice" from director Bob Rafelson ("The King of Marvin Gardens" 1972) has enough melodrama to keep viewers interested, minus the allure and charisma of the original 1946 black-and-white noir thriller starring Lana Turner and John Garfield. [..]
The Man of Destiny (1981)
"The Man of Destiny" is the fictional story of a young Napoleon Bonaparte arriving at an inn in Italy on the verge of one of his great victories. This made-for-television movie was well directed by Desmond Davis from one of George Bernard Shaw's least known plays; the [..]
The Four Seasons (1981)
Alan Alda makes an attempt to write and direct a major motion picture with mixed results. "The Four Seasons" is the story of three married couples who vacation together four times a year. One of the couples break up and the others are left to adjust [..]
Pennies from Heaven (1981)
"Pennies from Heaven" is a romantic comedy is about a sheet-music salesman in the 1930's whose business is failing and his marriage is not doing very well either. Director Herbert Ross ("California Suite" 1978) put together a flat and dull story with a poorly written screenplay by [..]
Masada (1981)
"Masada" is a fictionalized account of the Roman siege of the famous citadel in 73-74 AD, which resulted in the mass suicide of 960 Jews who did not want to be subjugated to Roman rule. Director Boris Segal and teleplay writer Joel Oliansky put together this engrossing drama [..]
Chariots of Fire (1981)
The Best Picture of 1981 is....."Chariots of Fire." This is the story of two determined runners in the 1920's who are training for the British track team that is to appear in the 1924 Paris Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of [..]
SOB (1981)
"SOB" is a black comedy which tells the story of a movie producer who has a potential box office bomb on his hands, and the only way he knows of making it profitable is to convince his actress wife, who has a squeaky-clean image, to do a nude [..]
Modern Problems (1981)
"Modern Problems" is a comedy film telling the story of a man who gets into a car crash with a truck containing nuclear waste, which spills on his car and on his person. The next day he notices he has supernatural powers and the limited comedy proceeds from [..]
Grease 2 (1982)
"Grease 2" is basically a mediocre remake of 1978's classic musical "Grease," rather than the sequel it was advertised to be. Director-choreographer Patricia Birch, screenwriter Ken Finkelman, and music composer Louis St. Louis made this dud for Paramount Pictures; it barely made a profit at the box [..]
First Blood (1982)
"First Blood" is an action film where Sylvester Stallone plays a troubled Vietnam veteran who wanders into a small town and soon experiences trouble with local law enforcement. The suspense holds through most of the film due to focused direction by Ted Kotcheff ("Fun with Dick and [..]